Privacy

WhatsApp Vulnerability Could Have Allowed Attackers to Hijack Phones Using Malicious GIFs

Fair warning: It’s time for users to update encrypted messaging service WhatsApp. A security researcher discovered a vulnerability in the Facebook-owned app that could allow attackers to obtain access to a device and steal data by sending a malicious GIF file, The Next Web reported on Wednesday. The issue is a double-free vulnerability, i.e. a…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay

Google Begins Rolling Out Incognito Mode for Maps

Bolstering its claims of a greater focus on user privacy, Google is finally starting to roll out Incognito mode for its Maps app. Google announced the feature’s launch in a blog post on Wednesday. Much like browsing in Incognito mode in Chrome or on YouTube through the app, enabling the privacy mode in Maps means that…

Tech News Catie Keck

Fake Lightning Cables That Can Hijack Connected Devices Are Heading for Mass Production

Dummy Lightning cables that allow an attacker to gain remote control of computers they’re plugged into are slated to hit mass production, per a Wednesday report in Motherboard. Mike Grover, who goes by the pseudonym MG, designed the “O.MG cable” to look and function exactly like a legitimate Lightning cable made by Apple—but they are…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay

Watch Steve Jobs Assure Americans in 1981 That Computers Wouldn’t Be a Privacy Nightmare

From the perspective of the early 21st century, it’s safe to say that computers have been a privacy nightmare. Our world is so interconnected by machines, that corporations, governments, and almost anyone can find out almost anything they want about an average citizen thanks to our digital footprints. But the late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs…

Privacy & Security Matt Novak

House Antitrust Investigators Now Scrutinizing Google’s Plans to Add DNS Encryption to Chrome

Antitrust investigators with the House Judiciary Committee are looking into Google’s plans to add Domain Name System over Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (DNS over HTTPS) to its Chrome browser, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, in the latest escalation of scrutiny over the company’s business practices. The Department of Justice has also heard complaints,…

Tech News Tom McKay

Report: U.S. to Sign Treaty Forcing Platforms Like Facebook to Share Encrypted Chats With UK Police

The U.S. and UK governments are expected to sign a treaty in October that will force social media platforms based in either of the countries to “disclose encrypted messages from suspected terrorists, paedophiles and other serious criminals” to police in the other, according to the Times of London. Police in either country have restricted ability…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay

How Firefox and Chrome’s New Tech Will Better Protect Your Browsing History

Firefox has announced it’s making encrypted DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) the default way of connecting to sites on the web. And this browser tech is coming soon to Google’s Chrome, too. If you’ve got no idea what any of that means, here’s what you need to know about the technology and the future of your browsing. When…

Gadgets David Nield

Amazon’s Favorite New Word Is ‘Privacy,’ But Does It Even Know the Meaning?

Few companies have done more than Amazon to dilute the meaning of the word “privacy.” A little more than a decade ago, “privacy” was a word used by people to describe the state of being alone and unobserved, away from prying eyes and ears. Today, so-called “privacy” policies are little more than legal disclosures vaguely…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

A Nevada Law That Fines Companies for Selling Private Data Is About to Go Into Effect

Starting next Tuesday, Nevada residents may choose to opt-out of having their personal information resold by online businesses. A privacy bill, signed into law this May, requires website operators to respond to requests from consumers and halt the sale of their personal information within 60 days—or potentially face strict fines. The law, passed as Senate…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Google Changing Privacy Protections for Assistant, Plans to Auto-Delete More of Your Audio Data

In recent months, it became clear that Google, Apple, and Amazon were all guilty of having humans review audio recordings collected by digital assistants. Today, Google’s trying to mitigate some of the backlash by updating and clarifying its policies on what it does with your audio data. In July, a Google subcontractor leaked over a…

Tech News Victoria Song

FBI Served Secret Subpoenas to a Video Game Developer, Antivirus Maker, and More

The names of more than 120 companies secretly served FBI subpoenas for their customers’ personal data were revealed on Friday, including a slew of U.S. banks, cellphone providers, and a leading antivirus software maker. Known as national security letters (NSL), the subpoenas are a tool commonly used by FBI counterterrorism agents when seeking individuals’ communication…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

The News App That’s Testing a Promising Way to Build In Privacy From the Ground Up

These days privacy online feels like an unattainable dream. Everything you do becomes data for companies, which sell that data to affiliates, which then sell your data back to you in the form of targeted ads and personalized recommendations. That is just how things are. But what if it didn’t have to be? Last week,…

Privacy & Security Victoria Song

WeWork Is Exposing an ‘Astronomical Amount’ of Data on Poorly Protected Wifi Network

It turns out WeWork’s dicey wifi problem is exactly as bad as suspected. Just a month after a report surfaced alarming security risks associated with the wifi offered at WeWork locations, an investigation from CNET has illustrated just how serious those security holes can be. The outlet reported it was able to review wifi scans…

Tech News Catie Keck

Report: FBI Tried to Get Encrypted Phone Firm to Build Backdoor So They Could Spy on Sinaloa Cartel

The FBI tried to get the CEO of encrypted phone company Phantom Secure, Vincent Ramos, to install a backdoor in his service so that the agency could spy on Sinaloa Cartel members, Motherboard reported on Wednesday. The FBI, along with Canadian and Australian police, busted Phantom Secure last year, with prosecutors indicting Ramos in the…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay

Anyone Can Look at Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data, Report Finds

It turns out that anyone with basic computing skills and an internet connection can access millions of private medical images and data—such as MRIs, X-rays, and CT scans—as well as a buffet of valuable private info, according to a disturbing report from ProPublica. The gist is that as the medical community moved from analog to…

Privacy & Security Victoria Song

Airbus Testing New System to Collect Data on Everything From Bathroom Breaks to Beer Preference

Your flight could soon be keeping tabs on everything from your preferences for in-flight snacks to the length of your bathroom trips. Airbus announced this week that it’s started testing a new system to more closely monitor the in-flight experience—including bathroom breaks and passenger preferences—a process that will help streamline service for flight crew and…

Tech News Catie Keck

California Temporarily Bans Face Recognition Tech on Police Body Cams

California became the largest state to ban police from using body cameras with facial recognition software after lawmakers passed a three-year moratorium Thursday, Reuters reported. This landmark bill comes as legislators nationwide struggle to keep regulations apace with the fast-growing, and notoriously inaccurate, technology. The bill, AB-1215, bars state and local law enforcement from using…

Privacy & Security Alyse Stanley

Spotify Cracks Down on Family Plan Misuse By Periodically Vetting Where You Live

To make sure subscribers aren’t abusing Spotify’s family plan, the streaming music giant has started checking in on where they live. Over and over again. It’s all in the Premium Family program’s terms of service that Spotify updated in August. A single sentence outlines this new policy, which explains why the change went unnoticed until…

Tech News Alyse Stanley

Maybe Don’t Let Facebook Track Your Location in iOS 13 and Android 10

With the arrival of iOS 13 and Android 10, Facebook is preemptively warning users that location settings are about to change and it’s surely just trying to help you out. Android 10 gives users more insight into what apps can access their smartphone’s exact location. Before Android 10, users only had an on/off toggle for…

Social Media Victoria Song

Apple Avoids Saying ‘Privacy’ During iPhone 11 Event

Despite celebrating its privacy initiatives non-stop in recent years, Apple was surprisingly mum on the topic during its annual iPhone announcement event. With millions of eyes focused on a single stage Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook had every opportunity to address the series of embarrassing security foul-ups that have plagued the company over the past…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

WhatsApp Vulnerability Could Have Allowed Attackers to Hijack Phones Using Malicious GIFs

Google Begins Rolling Out Incognito Mode for Maps

Fake Lightning Cables That Can Hijack Connected Devices Are Heading for Mass Production

Watch Steve Jobs Assure Americans in 1981 That Computers Wouldn’t Be a Privacy Nightmare

House Antitrust Investigators Now Scrutinizing Google’s Plans to Add DNS Encryption to Chrome

Report: U.S. to Sign Treaty Forcing Platforms Like Facebook to Share Encrypted Chats With UK Police

How Firefox and Chrome’s New Tech Will Better Protect Your Browsing History

Amazon’s Favorite New Word Is ‘Privacy,’ But Does It Even Know the Meaning?

A Nevada Law That Fines Companies for Selling Private Data Is About to Go Into Effect

Google Changing Privacy Protections for Assistant, Plans to Auto-Delete More of Your Audio Data

FBI Served Secret Subpoenas to a Video Game Developer, Antivirus Maker, and More

The News App That’s Testing a Promising Way to Build In Privacy From the Ground Up

WeWork Is Exposing an ‘Astronomical Amount’ of Data on Poorly Protected Wifi Network

Report: FBI Tried to Get Encrypted Phone Firm to Build Backdoor So They Could Spy on Sinaloa Cartel

Anyone Can Look at Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data, Report Finds

Airbus Testing New System to Collect Data on Everything From Bathroom Breaks to Beer Preference

California Temporarily Bans Face Recognition Tech on Police Body Cams

Spotify Cracks Down on Family Plan Misuse By Periodically Vetting Where You Live

Maybe Don’t Let Facebook Track Your Location in iOS 13 and Android 10

Apple Avoids Saying ‘Privacy’ During iPhone 11 Event

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

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