Privacy

These alternatives to popular apps can help reclaim your online life from billionaires and surveillance

There is immense power in being in control of your own data. As ownership and governance of apps and online services consolidate, it’s understandable if you want to consider your options when it comes to where you store your private data and records of your everyday activities.  Fortunately, not every service out there is trying

These alternatives to popular apps can help reclaim your online life from billionaires and surveillance Read More »

PSA: You shouldn’t upload your medical images to AI chatbots

Here’s a quick reminder before you get on with your day: Think twice before you upload your private medical data to an AI chatbot. Folks are frequently turning to generative AI chatbots, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, to ask questions about their medical concerns and to better understand their health. Some have relied on

PSA: You shouldn’t upload your medical images to AI chatbots Read More »

UK revives plan to reform data protection rules with an eye on boosting the economy

A new data bill from the U.K. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) aims to revive several measures that failed to pass under the prior government, while rowing back on some controversial post-Brexit reforms proposed by Conservative ministers. The government reckons the “Data (Use and Access) Bill” (DUA) stands to boost the U.K. economy

UK revives plan to reform data protection rules with an eye on boosting the economy Read More »

A hidden microphone on a San Francisco street pole is spotting ‘bops’ in the wild

In San Francisco’s Mission district, good music is all around you. That’s why, high up on a street pole at an undisclosed location in the Mission, Riley Walz installed a solar-powered box containing an old Android phone running the song identifying service, Shazam, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The so called “Bop

A hidden microphone on a San Francisco street pole is spotting ‘bops’ in the wild Read More »

We are skeptical of VPN providers, and you should be, too

VPNs are practically everywhere. In editorials, in advertorials, and featured by influencers on your favorite YouTube shows. There are ads for VPNs on websites, during television commercials, plastered on billboards, and on subway ads. There might even be a VPN ad somewhere on this very webpage right now.  VPNs, or virtual private networks, are a

We are skeptical of VPN providers, and you should be, too Read More »

Meta fined $101.5M for 2019 breach that exposed hundreds of millions of Facebook passwords

Reset your clocks: Meta has been hit with yet another privacy penalty in Europe. On Friday Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced a reprimand and a €91 million fine — around $101.5M at current exchange rates — after concluding a multi-year investigation into a 2019 security breach by Facebook’s parent company. The DPC opened a

Meta fined $101.5M for 2019 breach that exposed hundreds of millions of Facebook passwords Read More »

Mozilla hit with privacy complaint in EU over Firefox tracking tech

Mozilla, the non-profit that develops the Firefox web browser, has been hit with a complaint by European Union privacy rights group noyb, which accuses it of violating the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by tracking Firefox users by default without their permission. It’s unusual to see a privacy complaint targeting Mozilla, an organization which

Mozilla hit with privacy complaint in EU over Firefox tracking tech Read More »