Articles about Privacy

Still reeling from a security breach that affected up to 90 million users, Facebook has announced two new pieces of hardware designed to make video chat easier and more immersive than ever. Portal and Portal+ are 10- and 15-inch smart displays complete with integrated cameras and packed with AI. But even Facebook acknowledges there are privacy concerns.

The social networking giant says: "When you can’t be there, Portal and Portal+ let you feel there". What does it mean by this? The cameras are intelligent, meaning they pan and zoom, following people around the room as necessary. Facebook promises that Portal "follows the action" and "keeps everyone in frame" but -- seemingly acknowledging that people won't trust its claim that the devices are "private by design" and that the mic and camera can be disabled with a single tap -- a physical camera cover is included.

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The UK's High Court has blocked legal action brought against Google by the group Google You Owe Us. The group represented Apple smartphone owners and claimed that Google had collected personal data from over 4 million iPhone owners.

Fronted by former Which? director Richard Lloyd, Google You Owe Us said that between August 2011 and February 2012 the search giant bypassed iPhone privacy settings and gathered user data for advertising purposes.

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Google has announced that its Safety Centre hub is rolling out across Europe. The announcement means that people in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK have access to Google's selection of tools and tips for staying safe online.

The launch has been timed to coincide with European Cyber Security Month, but Google doesn't quite seem to have decided how to spell the name of its own offering.

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In the modern world people often say they care about privacy, but their actions don't reflect their words. Exploring this privacy paradox is a new infographic from privacy app company Keepsafe.

It shows that 35 percent of people have concerns when making purchases on their mobile devices, but 43 percent do so anyway in the name of convenience.

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We live in an age where privacy is simultaneously highly valued and under increasing attack -- and nowhere is this truer than online. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) has been fighting the corner for web users for some time, and with the latest version of its Privacy Badger extension it is helping people fight back against Google.

The latest update to the extension -- which is available for Chrome and Opera on the desktop, and Firefox on both the desktop and Android -- introduces new blocks on "link tracking" in Google web search, Hangouts and the Docs suite

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Facebook has revealed that it discovered a security issue which could have exposed the accounts of 50 million people.

A vulnerability was discovered in Facebook's View As feature on Tuesday, September 25, but the company has not given too many details about how the flaw was exploited or by whom, but it has said that attackers were able to steal access tokens and access other people's accounts. Law enforcement agencies have been informed, and an investigation is under way.

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Modern startups are awash in information, from real-time customer insights collected via mobile applications to employee data received through online portals.

Founders are constantly making decisions about where to invest, when to hire, how to hire and, most importantly, how to grow. In the rush to cultivate clients and consider business scalability, many startups may fail to truly appreciate the immense responsibility that comes with gathering and storing data in the current digital environment, a place where cybercriminals roam and users are painfully aware of the risks that come with sharing private information online.

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Mozilla has partnered with Troy Hunt -- the brain behind data compromise checking service Have I Been Pwned -- to create its own data breach notification service. Called Firefox Monitor, the free service lets users check if any of their email accounts or personal data have been involved in data breaches.

More than this, Firefox Monitor can also keep an eye out for future data breaches and notify those who have signed up whether their data has been affected.

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With the release of Chrome 70, Google is set to address two recent privacy concerns with its browser. Users have been unhappy with Chrome 69 forcibly signing them into the browser when they sign into a Google website, and there have also been concerns about the handling of cookies.

Due for release in the middle of October, the next version of the web browser will enable users to disable the controversial sign-in feature, as well as changing the way Chrome handles the clearing of auth cookies.

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Chrome users have reacted angrily after the discovery of a new forced sign-in for the web browser. In short, the change means that when you sign into a Google service -- such as Gmail -- you are also automatically signed into this account within Chrome itself.

While a handful of people have welcomed the new sign-in activity, there is a very vocal number who are extremely unhappy. In addition to the perceived privacy concerns, what has particularly upset people is the fact that they are being signed into Chrome without being told about it.

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Earlier in the year it was revealed that a security flaw made it possible to determine not only the location, but also the HIV status of Grindr users. Months down the line, Grindr is still exposing the precise location of its users by failing to block third-party access to a private API.

Using a trilateration technique, and exploiting the fact that Grindr lets users know -- with some degree of accuracy -- how far away they are from others, it is very easy for just about anyone to build a tool that shows precise locations.

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It recently came to light that a number of apps in the mac App Store were collecting data about users' browsing histories and uploading them to a remote server. Included in this list were several apps from security firm Trend Micro.

Apple responded by kicking the offending apps out of the App Store, and Trend Micro started an investigation into the privacy concerns raised about Dr Cleaner, Dr Cleaner Pro, Dr Antivirus, Dr Unarchiver, Dr Battery and Duplicate Finder. Confirming that these apps did in fact collect and upload browser data, the company at first defended the activity, but then went on to cease data collection.

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It seems like mere moments since an updated version of Tor for the desktop was released, and now there's great news for owners of Android smartphones. The Tor Project has released an Android version of the Tor browser, and it's available to download either directly from its website, or from Google Play.

Currently in alpha -- so expect there to be a few issues -- this is the only mobile Tor browser that's supported by the Tor Project, and the developers promise that it will block trackers, protect against surveillance and ensure privacy.

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A highly popular anti-adware tool in the Mac App Store "surreptitiously steals your browsing history", alleges a security researcher. "All your data are belong to China!", as he puts it.

Patrick Wardle conducted research into Adware Doctor -- one of the most popular paid-for apps in the App Store -- after concerns were raised by another security researcher. His research "uncovered blatant violations of user privacy and complete disregard of Apple's App Store Guidelines", including the theft and sharing of browsing history with a Chinese server.

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Mozilla has announced some of its plans for Firefox, and there's a strong focus on privacy. At an as-yet unspecified point in the "near future" the browser will block all tracking by default, although it is being trialed this month.

In addition to this -- which is a change from the current Do Not Track option -- Firefox will include a new set of options which Mozilla says will give users greater control over the information they share with websites. As well as helping to improve privacy, Mozilla is also hoping to improve the performance of its web browser with a new set of controls that it says will empower users and give them a voice.

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