privacy
Meta to resume AI training on content shared by Europeans
Meta announced today that it will soon start training its artificial intelligence models using content shared by European adult users on its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms. The content used for AI training includes posts and comments from adult users, as well as questions and queries made when interacting with the company’s Meta AI […]
Google Chrome 136 fixes 20-year browser history privacy risk
Google is fixing a long-standing privacy issue that, for years, enabled websites to determine users’ browsing history through the previously visited links. The problem arises from allowing sites to style links as ‘:visited,’ meaning showing them as another color instead of the default blue if a user had previously clicked on them. The system displays this color […]
Apple fined €150 million over App Tracking Transparency issues
Autorité de la concurrence, France’s antitrust watchdog, has fined Apple €150 million ($162 million) for using the App Tracking Transparency privacy framework to abuse its dominant market position in mobile app advertising on its devices. App Tracking Transparency (ATT) requires apps to request users’ permission to collect their data for targeted advertising purposes before tracking them […]
Vivaldi integrates Proton VPN into the browser to fight web tracking
Vivaldi has announced the integration of Proton VPN directly into its browser without requiring add-on downloads or plugin activations, allowing users to protect their data against ‘Big Tech’ surveillance for free. When enabled, browsing activity will be transmitted through Proton VPN’s encrypted tunnels while also obfuscating the user’s IP address, safeguarding their privacy and protecting them […]
23andMe files for bankruptcy, customers advised to delete DNA data
California-based genetic testing provider 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to sell its assets following years of financial struggles. 23andMe has been providing direct-to-consumer DNA testing services since November 2007 to customers who send a saliva sample and receive a report on their ancestry and genetic predispositions. Since then, 23andMe has sold over […]
New Chirp tool uses audio tones to send messages between devices
A new open-source tool named ‘Chirp’ transmits data, such as text messages, between computers (and smartphones) through different audio tones. The tool, developed by cybersecurity researcher solst/ICE, maps each character into a specific sound frequency and plays it along with real-time visualization. Other microphone-equipped computers running Chirp may capture the sound and translate the message back into […]
Open-source tool ‘Rayhunter’ helps users detect Stingray attacks
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has released a free, open-source tool named Rayhunter that is designed to detect cell-site simulators (CSS), also known as IMSI catchers or Stingrays. Stingray devices mimic legitimate cell towers to trick phones into connecting, allowing them to capture sensitive data, accurately geolocate users, and potentially intercept communications. With the release […]
UK watchdog probes TikTok and Reddit over child privacy concerns
On Monday, the United Kingdom’s privacy watchdog announced that it’s investigating TikTok, Reddit, and Imgur because of privacy concerns about how they are processing children’s data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says it’s now looking into how TikTok uses children’s data to make recommendations that could lead to inappropriate or harmful content being added to their […]
New WinRAR version strips Windows metadata to increase privacy
WinRAR 7.10 was released yesterday with numerous features, such as larger memory pages, a dark mode, and the ability to fine-tune how Windows Mark-of-the-Web flags are propagated when extracting files. WinRAR is a popular file archiver and compression tool for Windows that allows users to create, extract, and manage compressed files, primarily in RAR, ZIP, […]
Microsoft to remove the Location History feature in Windows
Microsoft announced the deprecation of the Location History feature from Windows, which let applications like the Cortana virtual assistant to fetch location history of the device. By deprecating and removing the feature means that the data will no longer be saved locally and the setting will disappear from the operating system (Windows 10 and 11). […]