Privacy

A Man Sent 1,000 Men Expecting Sex And Drugs To His Ex-Boyfriend Using Grindr, A Lawsuit Says
“It was like an episode of Black Mirror,” said Matthew Herrick, whose high-profile lawsuit alleges that Grindr looked the other way while his ex-boyfriend tormented him.

Tracking The Biggest Star In The World
One thing is for sure: David Johnson knows Jay-Z. But does Jay know him?

Police In At Least 24 Countries Have Used Clearview AI. Find Out Which Ones Here.
As of February 2020, 88 law enforcement and government-affiliated agencies in 24 countries outside the United States have tried to use controversial facial recognition technology Clearview AI, according to a BuzzFeed News investigation.

No, A New iOS Update Won't Make It So People Can See Your Exact Location On Instagram
Have we learned nothing from the "i do not give Facebook permission to share anything of mine" meme?

Nothing Sacred: These Apps Reserve The Right To Sell Your Prayers
Prominent venture capitalists are flocking to invest in Christian worship apps. The apps say users’ prayers are a business asset.

Why Facebook Shutting Down Its Old Facial Recognition System Doesn’t Matter
Facebook just made a big deal of shutting down its original facial recognition system. But the company’s pivot to the metaverse means collecting more personal information than ever before.

Why Paris Hilton Disappeared
The party-girl heiress who defined aughts celebrity culture never made the leap to an age of reality stardom where nothing is private, and everything is content.

How Indian Kids Raised Without Personal Space Became Adults Who Don't Care About Privacy
As the courts decide whether Indians have a "right to privacy," the real battle rages on in living rooms and principal's offices.

Big Tech Thought It Had A Billion Users In The Bag. Now It Might Be Forced To Make Hard Choices To Get Them.
Long viewed as the world’s biggest market for “the next billion users,” India is fast becoming Silicon Valley’s biggest headache.

A Clearview AI Patent Application Describes Facial Recognition For Dating And Identifying People Who Are Unhoused Or Use Drugs
A patent unveiled on Thursday describes several potential uses for Clearview AI, such as creating networks for people in industries like real estate or retail to “share headshots of high-risk individuals.”

Venmo Is Ditching Its Public Feed. But It Still Needs To Do More.
The payments platform still needs to make friends and transactions private by default.

If You Have Venmo, Do This Now: Make Friends Private
Pete Buttigieg, Antony Blinken, and other Biden Cabinet officials were recently exposing their personal information on the payments app. Here's how you can make your account safer.

Venmo Exposes All The Old Profile Photos You Thought Were Gone
Old photos on Venmo, which is owned by PayPal, are easily exposed on its website. There’s no way to delete them or make a profile private.

We Found Joe Biden’s Secret Venmo. Here’s Why That’s A Privacy Nightmare For Everyone.
The peer-to-peer payments app leaves everyone from ordinary people to the most powerful person in the world exposed.

People Are Really Mad About Facebook's Changes To WhatsApp's Privacy Policies
And they are moving to Signal and Telegram as a result.

DHS Authorities Are Buying Moment-By-Moment Geolocation Cellphone Data To Track People
The Department of Homeland Security also argues that using the information is perfectly legal and that the agency does not need a warrant to purchase it, according to a memo obtained exclusively by BuzzFeed News.

Amazon Just Released A Ring Camera That Flies Around Your House
It also released a new Ring car alarm, a car cam to monitor break-ins, a new version of the Echo, and more.

Elizabeth Warren Wants To Know Why This Company Was Spying On BLM Protesters
A group of Democratic lawmakers is demanding answers about protester surveillance conducted by data broker Mobilewalla.

Almost 17,000 Protesters Had No Idea A Tech Company Was Tracing Their Location
Data company Mobilewalla used cellphone information to estimate the demographics of protesters. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says it’s “shady” and concerning.

Workers Around The World Are Already Being Monitored By Digital Contact Tracing Apps
Coronavirus contact tracing apps aren’t government-mandated. But they may be employer-mandated.

Qatar Has Made Its Coronavirus Contact Tracing App Mandatory
Citizens and residents will be required to download the Ehteraz app when “leaving the house for any reason.”

Here's Why Some Professional Photographers Are Making Their Instagram Accounts Private
The judge said Instagram's terms of service are clear.

For A Billion Indians, The Government’s Voluntary Contact Tracing App Might Actually Be Mandatory
Aarogya Setu, which more than 75 million Indians have downloaded, might soon become more than a contact tracing app.

We Need An “Army” Of Contact Tracers To Safely Reopen The Country. We Might Get Apps Instead.
Without enough human contact tracers to identify infected people, the US is barreling toward a digital solution, and possible disaster.

Ontario Has Given Its Police Access To People's COVID-19 Test Data
A civil liberties group says the order violates the privacy of Ontarians.

UPDATE: The Company Running An Oregon Online Coronavirus Symptom Tracker Now Says It Won't Sell Your Data To Advertisers
The privacy policy for Vital's coronavirus symptom tracker for Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties had previously reserved the right to sell residents' personal data.

Google Told Its Workers That They Can’t Use Zoom On Their Laptops Anymore
Zoom has exploded in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic while also coming under fire over security issues.

The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Set Off A Massive Expansion Of Government Surveillance. Civil Libertarians Aren't Sure What To Do.
As nations around the world take on sweeping new powers to fight the disease, critics aren't sure what's necessary and what's too far.

Amazon Bought A Router Company You've Never Heard Of. It's A Huge Deal.
Experts are concerned about what Amazon’s acquisition of Eero means for consumer privacy.

Venmo Users Are Being Inundated With Payment Requests From Strangers
Spammers are targeting Venmo users who show up in the app’s public feed and flooding them with dozens of payment requests.