privacy
Facebook CEO’s missive on privacy disturbs as it tries to take over messaging too
If ever Alanis Morrissette wanted a definition of "ironic" it was Mark Zuckerberg's use last week of the word "privacy". He says bizarre things like Robert Mugabe used to, oblivious to the reality on the ground, and how absurd his utterance sound.
Facebook’s ‘pivot’ is less about privacy and more about profits
Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s latest promise is that his social media conglomerate will become a “privacy-focused” one. By turns lauded and lambasted, this move does not quite address users’ primary problems with the company.
WhatsApp is testing an image search tool to fight fake news
The messaging service, WhatsApp, is working on a feature that’ll allow users to do reverse-image searches, which will help combat fake news.
Becoming more like WhatsApp won’t solve Facebook’s woes – here’s why
Zuckerberg aims to make private messages private and ephemeral – meaning Facebook can’t read our messages, and the data doesn’t stick around on the company’s servers for longer than necessary. His vision involves merging Facebook and the company’s other digital platforms – Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger – into a super app, similar to China’s WeChat.
Mark Zuckerburg promises a “privacy-focused” future for Facebook
We've gotten used to Facebook being rather terrible at anything like protecting user privacy, being transparent about ... most things, or keeping its promises. So we could be forgiven for being skeptical of Mark Zuckerburg's newest note to the internet, which claims that Facebook is looking towards a "privacy-focused" future for the social network.
Facebook ten year challenge: how our need to belong trumps our distrust of social media
When the ten year challenge began doing the rounds on social media, people rushed to post profile pictures of themselves from 2009, side by side with one from 2019, to highlight how much they had changed (or not) in the meantime. It is estimated that more than 5.2m social media users participated in this challenge.
How criminals access your digital devices and what happens when they do
Every day, often multiple times a day, you are invited to click on links sent to you by brands, politicians, friends and strangers. You download apps on your devices. Maybe you use QR codes. Most of these activities are secure because they come from sources that can be trusted. But sometimes criminals impersonate trustworthy sources to get you to click on a link (or download an app) that contai...[Read More]
Is your VPN secure?
About a quarter of internet users use a virtual private network, a software setup that creates a secure, encrypted data connection between their own computer and another one elsewhere on the internet. Many people use them to protect their privacy when using Wi-Fi hotspots, or to connect securely to workplace networks while traveling. Other users are concerned about surveillance from governments an...[Read More]
How Facebook went from friend to frenemy
As Facebook celebrates 15 years of virtual friendship, social science has compiled an expansive body of research that documents the public’s love-hate relationship with its best frenemy. What many once viewed as a confidant has devolved into a messy codependence, mired by ambiguity and mistrust. It’s a relationship that’s both taken for granted, yet extremely high-maintenance, leaving users to won...[Read More]
Very risky business: the pros and cons of insurance companies using artificial intelligence
It’s a new day not very far in the future. You wake up; your wristwatch has recorded how long you’ve slept, and monitored your heartbeat and breathing. You drive to work; car sensors track your speed and braking. You pick up some breakfast on your way, paying electronically; the transaction and the calorie content of your meal are recorded. Then you have a car accident. You phone your insurance co...[Read More]
Data breaches are inevitable – here’s how to protect yourself anyway
It’s tempting to give up on data security altogether, with all the billions of pieces of personal data – Social Security numbers, credit cards, home addresses, phone numbers, passwords and much more – breached and stolen in recent years. But that’s not realistic – nor is the idea of going offline entirely. In any case, huge data-collection corporations vacuum up data about almost every American (a...[Read More]
Your smartphone apps are tracking your every move – 4 essential reads
If you have a smartphone, it probably is a significant part of your life, storing appointments and destinations as well as being central to your communications with friends, loved ones and co-workers. Research and investigative reporting continue to reveal the degree to which your smartphone is aware of what you’re up to and where you are – and how much of that information is shared with companies...[Read More]