Tag: privacy

  • Google faces $5 billion lawsuit in US for tracking 'private' internet use

    Reuters: The lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion, accusing the Alphabet Inc unit of surreptitiously collecting information about what people view online and where they browse, despite their using what Google calls Incognito mode. According to the complaint filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, Google gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad…

  • Google chief: I’d disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

    Leo Kelion reported for BBC News that Google chief: I’d disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home. After being challenged as to whether homeowners should tell guests smart devices – such as a Google Nest speaker or Amazon Echo display – are in use before they enter the building, he concludes that the answer…

  • Facebook says it ‘unintentionally uploaded’ 1.5 million people’s email contacts without their consent

    Business Insider reported that Facebook says it ‘unintentionally uploaded’ 1.5 million people’s email contacts without their consent. Facebook harvested the email contacts of 1.5 million users without their knowledge or consent when they opened their accounts. Since May 2016, the social-networking company has collected the contact lists of 1.5 million users new to the social…

  • Apple tells app developers to disclose or remove screen recording code

    Zack Whittaker reported for TechCrunch that Apple is telling app developers to disclose or remove screen recording code. It follows an investigation by TechCrunch that revealed major companies, like Expedia, Hollister and Hotels.com, were using a third-party analytics tool to record every tap and swipe inside the app. We found that none of the apps…

  • Facebook gave Spotify and Netflix access to users’ private messages

    Casey Newton reported for The Verge that Facebook gave Spotify and Netflix access to users’ private messages. I find it helpful to read the allegations in the Times’ story chronologically, starting with the integration deals, continuing with the one-off agreements, and ending with instant personalization. Do so and you read a story of a company…

  • Google tracks your movements even if you don’t allow it to

    Associated Press reported that Google tracks your movements even if you turn of location services. An Associated Press investigation found that many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store your location data even if you’ve used a privacy setting that says it will prevent Google from doing so. What’s the point of having an…

  • What’s stored in your school’s Google Drive account

    Missouri Education Watchdog reported that what Google Drive’s school account stores. The Elys claim that the SPS Google Drive, given to all SPS employees and students, automatically begins to store information from any device the drive is accessed on. This includes browser history, but also personal information such as files and passwords. They add that…

  • Facebook removed Onavo VPN from Apple App Store for violating data collection policies

    Mac Rumors reported that Facebook removed Onavo VPN from App Store after Apple says it violates data collection policies. Onavo, a free VPN, promised to “keep you and your data safe when you browse and share information on the web,” but the app’s real purpose was tracking user activity across multiple different apps to learn…

  • A bug in Samsung’s default texting app is sending random pics to other people

    Gizmodo reported that a bug in Samsung’s default texting app is sending random pics to other people. According to user reports, the problem stems from Samsung Messages, the default texting app on Galaxy devices, which (for reasons that haven’t been determined), is erroneously sending pictures stored on the devices to random contacts via SMS. One…

  • Apple Maps privacy

    TechCrunch reported that Apple is rebuilding Maps from the ground up. “We specifically don’t collect data, even from point A to point B,” notes Cue. “We collect data — when we do it — in an anonymous fashion, in subsections of the whole, so we couldn’t even say that there is a person that went…