X starts the rollout of update that renders blocking near-pointless
Back in September, Elon Musk announced upcoming changes to the blocking feature of X. Once fully implemented, the change means that when an X user blocks someone, that blocked user will still be able to see all of the content posted by the blocker, although no interaction will be possible.
The precise reasons for changing the functionality of blocking in this way is not really clear, but it is something that has sparked concern. In addition to risks to privacy, there are also worries about what the changes could mean for victims of cyber-stalking.
Shoppers willing to hand over personal data to get a holiday bargain
A new survey from Norton shows that 60 percent of UK holiday shoppers say they are swayed by good holiday deals and nearly two-thirds (61 percent) give away their personal information to receive a discount when shopping.
The study reveals that 70 percent of Brits have tried to secure discount codes, through means like signing up to a website's mailing list or answering a survey. 61 percent of those who tried to secure discounts admit to divulging their personal information to do so.
Tor Browser 14.0 amps up privacy, but drops support for older Windows and macOS systems -- are you still protected?
The Tor Project has announced the release of Tor Browser 14.0 for Windows (both 32-bit and 64-bit), Mac, Linux, and Android. The browser offers increased privacy to users by redirecting their internet traffic through the open Tor network.
Tor Browser 14.0 updates the browser’s underlying code to the latest Firefox ESR release -- 128 -- while also introducing new improvements that allow its fingerprinting protections to work with several new features introduced in Firefox’s latest ESR release.
Adding contacts to WhatsApp just got a whole lot easier
Managing WhatsApp contacts has proved to be a frustrating friction point for many users, and Meta has just announced that it is taking steps to simplify things.
As well as making it possible to add contacts via the web interface and Windows app, soon it will be possible to use linked devices -- not just your primary mobile -- to manage them. There are also new privacy controls including the option to create WhatsApp-only contacts to keep your main address book separate. And there is more on the horizon, with contact usernames being a particular highlight.
Microsoft is giving Windows 11 users (a bit of) control over the in-OS ads they see... but there’s a sting in the tail
Microsoft’s insistence on levering ads into Windows 11 in a variety of ways has long been a source of frustration for users. While the company shows no signs of letting up in this department, there is a tiny bit of good news cresting the horizon.
In the latest beta and canary builds of Windows 11, there are new options in the Settings app that make it possible to take control of ads. This is clearly encouraging, but before you get too excited it is important to note that the level of control the new settings afford users is limited, and there remains no way to avoid ads altogether. Predictably, there is even more bad news.
Meta is training its AI using an entire nation’s data… with no opt-out
The question of how to train and improve AI tools is one that triggers fierce debate, and this is something that has come into sharp focus as It becomes clear just how Meta is teaching its own artificial intelligence.
The social media giant is -- perhaps unsurprisingly to many -- using data scrapped from Facebook and Instagram posts, but only in Australia. Why Australia? Unlike Europe where General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) necessitated Meta to give users a way to opt out of having their data used in this way, Australia has not been afforded this same opportunity. What does this mean?
How IT leaders can address online privacy risks [Q&A]
Enterprises are facing a rapidly changing privacy landscape, in which some laws contradict each other, while struggling to reduce costs and gain visibility into their privacy risks.
Indeed there’s been a recent increase in lawsuits against companies for online privacy violations that is putting significant strain on C-level executives and they're looking to their IT leaders to address all of this risk with technology.
If you're worried about privacy and security, you'll be able to uninstall Recall from Windows 11
The Recall feature of Windows 11 has not even launched yet, but it has proved endlessly controversial since it was first announced a few months back. Microsoft says that Recall will help users retrace their steps by taking snapshots of activity every few seconds, providing a way to step back in time and jump to an earlier activity.
Such was the uproar about the security and privacy implications of the feature, Microsoft has already made concessions. The company first pulled the feature from preview builds of Windows 11 to do further work on it, and then announced that it would be opt-in rather than enabled by default. Now it turns out that it will be possible to uninstall it completely.
Proton launches secure cloud storage for businesses
Swiss company Proton is known for its privacy focused solutions including secure mail, VPN and password manager. Today the company launches a new service, Proton Drive for Business.
This is a comprehensive solution designed to provide secure and private cloud storage, file sharing, and real-time document collaboration for organizations. In an era where data breaches and unauthorized use of company documents are common, this new service offers security and privacy to businesses of all sizes, with end-to-end encryption.
Proton VPN launches updates to protect free speech
Governments in many countries are imposing internet shutdowns at alarming rates, reaching new milestones each year with 283 shutdowns documented in 39 countries in 2023. Often these are triggered by public protests, active conflict, elections or political instability in order to keep people in the dark.
Proton VPN is announcing three major updates designed to fight censorship and protect free speech around the world.
Artificial Intelligence: Convenience at the cost of privacy?
We live in an age that is witnessing the rise of Artificial Intelligence. Many companies have begun incorporating AI features in their operating systems and apps, whether we like it or not.
AI assistants are not new per se, the likes of Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon's Alexa have existed for over a decade. But, the emergence of Open AI's ChatGPT changed how people view digital assistants. Chatbots offer a more interactive experience, you can text them like would a friend, access a history of your chats, and get relevant results. This was something that the old-gen couldn't provide, contextual interaction.
Tweak your settings in X if you don't want Elon Musk using your data to train Grok AI
Artificial intelligence is underpinned by the data used to train it, and even in this early stage of the game this has already proved controversial. In addition to complaints about the use of copyrighted content to train AIs, concern has also been voiced about the use of personal data.
Elon Musk, unsurprisingly, wants a slice of the AI pie, and is looking to train up the Grok AI model. The social platform formerly known as Twitter, X, is being used as a source of training data, meaning that your tweets (sorry, posts) are, by default, being sucked up for this very purpose.
Encrypted privacy for the public's safety
One of the many challenges government and local authorities constantly face is that of keeping up with changes and innovations coming from the outside: conflicts and emergencies, environmental factors, inputs from industries and productions and, of course, evolving technologies. Whether these are developed in the private or public sector, or the academic community, it is unquestionable that tech innovations are tightly woven into everyday life.
These innovations frequently move forward at a speedy pace, spreading across different fields and inevitably reaching a level of integration that can no longer be left to the sole responsibility of the individuals. Thankfully, governments and organizations are increasingly wisening up when it comes to new and emerging technologies, whether this means creating ad hoc policies and regulations (the UK AI bill, the European AI act, the American Privacy Rights Act, or Chat Control) or taking targeted actions towards specific platforms or providers compromising users’ privacy like the TikTok ban for federal and state employees in the USA.
YouTube may deem AI-generated content to be a privacy violation
With AI-generated content now proliferating the internet, companies are scrabbling to put polices in place to handle such material on their platforms. Among them is YouTube, and the Google-owned video site has updated its privacy guidelines to better take into account artificial intelligence.
It is now possible for anyone to issue a request to YouTube to remove content if it simulates their face or voice. This is separate to the way in which deepfakes are handled, and it is interesting to see such AI-generated content being seen as a potential violation of an individual's privacy.
Microsoft has quietly withdrawn Windows 11 24H2 after Recall privacy fiasco
When Microsoft announced the new Recall feature that is coming to Windows 11 later this year, privacy concerns were very quickly voiced by many.
In response to this, the company announced that Recall would not be enabled by default and would be made an opt-in feature. This PR move was made very publicly for maximum attention, but Microsoft has also withdrawn the build of Windows 11 which provided early access to Recall.
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