Americans fear losing control of AI more than losing their jobs, study shows
New research suggests Americans are more worried about who controls AI, and how it’s governed, rather than about losing their jobs to it. A study from Cybernews and nexos.ai tracked search interest across 2025 and found people spent far more time looking up questions about regulation, privacy and data use than employment fears, even after a year of tech layoffs.
The study looked at five types of AI concerns from January to October. Control and regulation came out on top with the highest average score. Data and privacy followed close behind. Job loss ranked last, showing that most people aren’t as focused on employment as headlines often suggest.
Orion 1.0 is a privacy focused browser for macOS, but will Apple users really leave Safari?
Kagi, a small company best known for its paid, ad free search engine, has announced the launch of version 1.0 of Orion, a new web browser designed around privacy and user control rather than advertising or data collection.
Kagi has already released iPhone and iPad versions of Orion, but this is the company's first desktop browser and arrives following a long beta phase.
Facebook introduces new nickname option when posting in Groups
Meta is giving all Facebook users the option of posting under a nickname in Facebook Groups. While the option to post anonymously already exists, the nickname option takes things a little further.
The use of a nickname still allows for a degree of anonymity, while simultaneously allowing for some expression of personality. Additionally, posting with a nickname makes it easier for other people to track things that have been posted by the same person.
Would you swap personal information for a bargain?
Ahead of Black Friday a new study shows that, while 95 percent of Americans are concerned their data could end up in a breach, 78 percent are still willing to share personal information for discounts, perks, or free shipping.
The report from Incogni, based on a study of over 1,000 US adults, finds that volunteering personal information for discounts or access to content and rewards has become so routine that few likely consider the implications before doing so.
Facebook Group admins are gaining the option to switch group visibility from private to public
If you are in a Facebook Group which is private, you might want to keep an eye on things. Meta has just announced that Group administrators will be getting a new option that will enable them to change their group from private to public.
While Meta is promoting this as a way for group admins to “grow their communities”, there will be obvious privacy concerns for people who joined particular groups precisely because they were private. Meta believes, however, that it has things in control, insisting that member privacy can be maintained even if the switch from private to public is made.
Google is retiring Privacy Sandbox
Privacy Sandbox was Google’s vision for replacing third-party cookies, but now the company is giving up and moving on from the idea. First launched six years ago, Privacy Sandbox suffered with low-adoption, and Google has gradually snuffed out various technologies relating to the system. Now it has taken things further.
Google says that “after evaluating ecosystem feedback about their expected value and in light of their low levels of adoption”, it has taken the decision to retire more Privacy Sandbox technologies. But this does not really paint a true picture of what is happening.
Get ready to reserve your WhatsApp username
It has been known for a little while that Meta has been working on a username system for WhatsApp. The popular messaging app is slightly unusual in not offering people a way to choose a username, but this is going to change at some point in the future.
Recent beta builds of the iOS and Android apps show that work is gathering paced, and the most recent development is a username reservation system. This will serve as a way for users to try to pre-select their preferred username even before the username system rolls out to everyone.
Google steps up the fight against scams with new tools and more education
Scams and fraud are an ever present threat on the internet and the rise of AI means that they’re getting harder to spot with the old giveaways of bad grammar and dodgy attachments largely eliminated.
Google is announcing a range of new tools and initiatives to help people remain safe online. These include improved app features, new account recovery tools and better education and awareness programs.
Your PC is spying on you and Ashampoo Privacy Inspector 3 has the evidence
Ashampoo has released Privacy Inspector 3, a new version of its Windows privacy management software. The latest release gives users more transparency about what data their systems store, as well as how activity logs, device histories, and hidden files could leak personal information.
Privacy on Windows is a big concern for a lot of users as the OS and related applications gather information in order to improve functionality and deliver personalized experiences (as well as serving up personalized ads).
Parents worry about children falling for online scams but fail to monitor usage
A new study of over 1,000 US parents with children at home between the ages of two and 20 finds that 35 percent of families have experienced a phishing scam via text, email or chat, and 25 percent have had a game or social media account hacked.
The report from Bitwarden finds that children as young as three to five are already using the internet, and 42 percent of parents in this age group say their child has unintentionally shared personal information. Nearly 80 percent of kids ages three to 12 have their own tablet, making device access nearly universal by early elementary school.
Organizations face more AI-powered fraud attacks but privacy tools make detection harder
A new study from fraud prevention specialist Fingerprint finds 41 percent of over 300 fraud and technology leaders surveyed say their organizations are already facing AI-powered attacks.
These sophisticated threats, which range from generative AI phishing schemes to automated bot attacks, are creating a significant operational crisis. According to the report, 93 percent of fraud teams have seen noticeable operational impacts, with 38 percent of organizations citing higher costs from manual review and triage as a top business concern.
One in four free mobile VPN apps fail privacy checks
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are trusted by millions to protect privacy, secure communications, and enable remote access on their mobile device. But what if the apps designed to safeguard your data are not secure?
Analysis by Zimperium zLabs of 800 free VPN apps for both Android and iOS reveals that the threat is real and widespread.
AI use increases alongside plummeting consumer trust
A new report from Ping Identity finds that 68 percent of consumers are now using AI, up from 41 percent a year ago. But at the same time fewer than one in five (17 percent) say they have ‘full trust’ in the organizations that manage their identity data.
The findings of the study, carried out by Talker Research which interviewed 10,500 consumers across 11 countries, show that 75 percent say they are more concerned about personal data security than five years ago. In addition 39 percent cite AI-driven phishing as the modern scam that concerns them most.
Mobile apps expose sensitive data and create privacy risks
New research from NowSecure tested 50,000 mobile apps in August and finds over 77 percent contain common forms of PII.
It’s well known that the vast majority of mobile apps are built using third-party components like SDKs. The study finds that 98 percent of iOS apps have incomplete privacy manifests due to omissions relating to third-party components, violating Apple transparency requirements and creating major blind spots.
The social media apps harvesting your data for AI
We all know that data is a valuable commodity, whether it’s to build marketing profiles or target advertising. Increasingly it’s also being used to train AI models, but do you know what the sites you use are doing with your information?
Data privacy and removal company Incogni has released its Social Media Privacy Ranking 2025 report, which ranks major social media platforms on user privacy, compliance, and overall data protection practices.
Recent Headlines
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.