When activated, repair mode prevents a range of behaviors – from casual snooping to outright lifting of personal data – by blocking access to photos, messages, and account information. The mode provides technicians with the access they require to make a fix, including the apps a user employs. But repairers won’t see user data in Read more about Samsung adds ‘repair mode’ to smartphone[…]

Twitter has published its 20th transparency report, and the details still aren’t reassuring to those concerned about abuses of personal info. The social network saw “record highs” in the number of account data requests during the July-December 2021 reporting period, with 47,572 legal demands on 198,931 accounts. The media in particular faced much more pressure. Read more about Twitter warns of ‘record highs’ in account data requests[…]

Investigators raised alarm bells when they learned Homeland Security bureaus were buying phone location data to effectively bypass the Fourth Amendment requirement for a search warrant, and now it’s clearer just how extensive those purchases were. TechCrunch notes the American Civil Liberties Union has obtained records linking Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Read more about Records reveal the scale of Homeland Security’s phone location data purchases[…]

Ring is rejecting the request of a U.S. senator to introduce privacy-enhancing changes to its flagship doorbell video camera after product testing showed the device capable of recording conversations well beyond the doorsteps of its many millions of customers. Security and privacy experts expressed alarm at the quality of the distant recordings, raising concerns about Read more about Amazon Ring Tells Sen. Markey It Won’t Enhance Doorbell Privacy, will listen in to long range conversations[…]

Ring, the maker of internet-connected video doorbells and security cameras, said in its latest transparency report that it turned over a record amount of doorbell footage and other information to U.S. authorities last year. The Amazon-owned company said in two biannual reports covering 2021 that it received 3,147 legal demands, an increase of about 65% Read more about Amazon’s Ring gave a record amount of doorbell footage to the US government in 2021[…]

[…] The Cyberspace Administration of China’s (CAC) policy was first floated in October 2021 and requires businesses that transfer data offshore to conduct a security review. The requirements kick in when an organization transfers data describing more than 100,000 individuals, or information about critical infrastructure – including that related to communications, finance and transportation. Sensitive Read more about China’s cyberspace regulator details data export rules[…]

[…] LIBE committee member and Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer said that during the meeting last week, the committee discovered that the UK – and three EU member states, though their identities were not revealed – had already signed up to reintroduce US visa requirements which grant access to police biometric databases. In the UK, Read more about UK + 3 EU countries sign US border deal to share police biometric database[…]

In yet another example of T-Mobile being The Worst with its customer’s data, the company announced a new money-making scheme this week: selling its customers’ app download data and web browsing history to advertisers. The package of data is part of the company’s new “App Insights” adtech product that was in beta for the last Read more about T-Mobile Is Selling Your App and Web History to Advertisers allowing extremely fine personal targetting (they say)[…]

Riot Games will begin background evaluation of recorded in-game voice communications on July 13th in North America, in English. In a brief statement (opens in new tab) Riot said that the purpose of the recording is ultimately to “collect clear evidence that could verify any violations of behavioral policies.” For now, however, recordings will be Read more about Valorant will start listening in to and recording your voice chat in July[…]

Numerous companies, including Facebook, Marketo, Olytics, and HubSpot, utilize custom URL query parameters to track clicks on links. For example, Facebook appends a fbclid query parameter to outbound links to track clicks, with an example of one of these URLs shown below. https://www.example.com/?fbclid=IwAR4HesRZLT-fxhhh3nZ7WKsOpaiFzsg4nH0K4WLRHw1h467GdRjaLilWbLs With the release of Firefox 102, Mozilla has added the new ‘Query Read more about New Firefox privacy feature strips URLs of tracking parameters[…]