Category: Privacy

Brave’s browser now includes a privacy-focused video calling app

[ad_1] Brave users in the US will be able to access Brave Together via a widget on their desktop (support for iOS and Android will come later), although at this stage it’s only available for Brave Nightly users for testing before it goes into beta. It’s not clear yet whether users will be able to […]

Qatar’s contact tracing app put over one million people’s info at risk

[ad_1] Qatar’s app, called EHTERAZ, uses GPS and Bluetooth to track COVID-19 cases, and last week, authorities made it mandatory. According to Amnesty, people who don’t use the app could face up to three years in prison and a fine of QR 200,000 (about $55,000). “This incident should act as a warning to governments around […]

Israel restricts COVID-19 phone tracking to ‘special cases’

[ad_1] Officials initially wanted to track the location of virtually every infected person with the technology, which was originally intended to fight terrorism. It theoretically helped Israel determine if people were isolating properly, and would help determine who might have been exposed. Privacy advocates quickly objected, though, and the Israeli parliament put a stop to […]

Google is working on end-to-end encryption for RCS texts in Messages

[ad_1] RCS is supposed to be the spiritual successor to classic SMS and MMS texting, but the lack of built-in encryption puts a damper on that — someone could theoretically snoop on your messages where they can’t with services like iMessage. You might get your privacy after all, though. The 9to5Google crew has found evidence […]

District judge rules FBI needs a warrant just to access your lock screen

[ad_1] When police arrested a suspect named Joseph Sam in Washington state last year, an officer hit a button on the man’s phone to bring up its lock screen. Months later, an FBI agent turned the phone on to take a photograph of the lock screen, which contained evidence in the form of a contact, […]

Canada fines Facebook almost $6.5 million over ‘false’ data privacy claims

[ad_1] In a statement to Reuters, Facebook said it “did not agree” with the finding, but wanted to resolve the matter quickly. “Although we do not agree with the Commissioner’s conclusions, we are resolving this matter by entering into a consent agreement and not contesting the conclusions for the purposes of this agreement,” a spokesperson […]

Chrome is getting more intuitive privacy and security controls

[ad_1] Google Chrome is also making it easier to manage cookies, and in Incognito mode, it will block third-party cookies by default. In its Privacy & Security section, Chrome is bumping the “clear browsing data” option to the top of the page, so you can clear your slate that much faster. A new safety check […]

Google Photos now offers more control over album sharing

[ad_1] For people who don’t have Photos or a Google account, you’ll still have the option to share an album with them using a link. You can enable and disable link sharing as you wish, and Google gives you the option to decide whether other people can contribute content. When you remove someone from an […]

AG Barr seeks ‘legislative solution’ to make companies unlock phones

[ad_1] Last December, a Saudi Arabian cadet training with the US military opened fire at Naval Air Station Pensacola, killing three soldiers and wounding eight others. The FBI recovered two iPhones, and after failing to access their data, asked Apple to unlock them. The company refused, but eventually the FBI unlocked at least one of […]

Banjo CEO resigns to preserve the company’s AI surveillance deals

[ad_1] Utah had put its surveillance contract with Banjo on hold after learning that Patton had been a KKK member as a teenager, and had joined a group leader in a drive-by shooting. Patton had renounced his past and vowed that it didn’t affect his company’s practices, but Utah paused its use of the technology […]