ZDNet – “Here’s why and how to delete them for good. If you like keeping your phone tidy by periodically deleting old messages and voicemails, you may be surprised to hear that those voicemail messages you deleted two years ago may still be on your phone…Voicemail messages are typically stored in the mobile carrier’s servers;… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Privacy
FTC Investigation Into Amazon Prime Dark Patterns Intensifies
“The Federal Trade Commission has reportedly deepened its investigation into Amazon’s employment of dark patterns in the Amazon Prime subscription cancellation process. As EPIC explained in a complaint to the D.C. Attorney General last year, Amazon employs dark patterns to deter customers from canceling their Prime subscriptions, enabling Amazon to continue collecting, retaining, and using misdirected subscribers’ personal… Continue Reading
How to Block Spam Calls and Text Messages
Wired: “Life is busy enough without wasting time on spammers, scammers, and telemarketers. Whether you are suffering insistent injury lawyers, fraudulent car warranty representatives, or a drunk-dialing ex, there is a way to stop the endless calls and messages. The major carriers and phone manufacturers have upped their game against unwanted calls and messages in… Continue Reading
Change These Default Settings and Be Happier With Your Tech
The New York Times – “Simple steps can make your smartphone, computer and TV work better for you. Many default settings buried deep inside our technology make us share superfluous amounts of data with tech companies. In my last column, I went over how to shut those off. But not all default settings do sneaky… Continue Reading
How to find out if you are involved in a data breach and what to do next
ZDNet: “Think you’ve been involved in a data breach? This guide will help you find out where and when, and it lists the steps you should take next. Data breaches are security incidents we now hear about every day. They strike every industry, every sector, every county; victim organizations can be everything from small, independent… Continue Reading
A Phone Carrier That Doesn’t Track Your Browsing or Location
Wired – “The new Pretty Good Phone Privacy service for Android hides the data linking you to your mobile device…As marketers, data brokers, and tech giants endlessly expand their access to individuals’ data and movements across the web, tools like VPNs or cookie blockers can feel increasingly feeble and futile. Short of going totally off… Continue Reading
Phones Know Who Went to an Abortion Clinic. Whom Will They Tell?
WSJ.com: “…Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, companies across the location-data industry are examining and in some cases revising how they handle data regarding visits to abortion clinics. Some are agreeing voluntarily not to sell the data or say they will store it in ways that mask the location. Some such as Tapestri, which pays… Continue Reading
The Founder of GeoCities on What Killed the ‘Old Internet’
Gizmodo: “David Bohnett on what sets the social web apart, how GeoCities handled hate speech, and the profound need to log off more often. In the early aughts, my wheezing dialup connection often operated as if it were perpetually out of breath. Thus, unlike my childhood friends, it was near to impossible for me to… Continue Reading
DuckDuckGo browser now blocks all third-party Microsoft trackers
Bleeping Computer: “DuckDuckGo announced today that they will now be blocking all third-party Microsoft tracking scripts in their privacy browser after failing to block them in the past. This change comes after the company faced massive blowback in May for not blocking some third-party Microsoft trackers in the DuckDuckGo browser due to a syndicated search content… Continue Reading
Brave vs. Tor: Which Browser Offers More Security and Privacy?
MakeUseOf: “There are dozens of web browsers out there, some more popular than others, but only a select few can actually be considered both safe and private. Brave and the Tor Browser are certainly among them, and though they are similar in some respects, they are two very different pieces of software. So, how exactly… Continue Reading
Why The Massive China Police Database Hack Is Bad News For Surveillance States Everywhere
TechDirt: “A couple of weeks ago, Techdirt wrote about how an anonymous user had put up for sale the data of an estimated one billion Chinese citizens, probably obtained from the Shanghai police. Back then, what exactly had happened was a little unclear — not least because the Chinese authorities were shutting down any discussion… Continue Reading
DOJ is suing to make sure women who need medically necessary abortions can actually get them
Vox: “A month after the Supreme Court’s decision overruling Roe v. Wade, it’s unclear whether many patients with dangerous pregnancies can receive medically necessary abortions. Some women have traveled to other states for lifesaving care because doctors in their home state feared prosecution. Others were left to bleed by their health care providers who feared… Continue Reading
