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NEWS ABOUT: online privacy

Facebook Smear Campaign a Bust, but Questions Valid

Google Social Search is too broad—but Facebook could do something about it

(Newser) - Facebook's recent "smear campaign" against Google may have been bad PR, but the social media giant had a good point—Google's "social search" function can be problematically thorough, even when users takes steps to protect their privacy, writes Lauren Indvik at Mashable . "I have always... More »

Apple Fixes iPhone Tracking Problem

Now users can delete the data entirely

(Newser) - The uproar over the revelation that your iPhone is tracking you has led Apple to fix the problem. A software update released yesterday reduces the amount of location data stored on iPhones and iPads from a year to about a week. The iOS 4.3.3 software also allows users... More »

iPhones Grab Location Data When Tracker Function Is Off

Some call for a congressional inquiry

(Newser) - Not only do Apple's iPhones and iPads track your location in unencrypted, easily hackable files, but they continue to do so even if you turn off the location service function, reports the Wall Street Journal . Apple and Google had said that location tracking was done anonymously and could be... More »

Your Apple iPhone Is Tracking You

Researchers say hidden file stores data

(Newser) - This sounds a wee bit creepy: Two researchers say the latest iPhones and iPads are keeping track of your every move. They found a file on the devices that stores longitudes and lattitudes along with time stamps. "What makes this issue worse is that the file is unencrypted and... More »

Facebook Ready to Cash in On Your Data

Facebook ads mining user data like never before

(Newser) - After seven years of concentrating on the cool, Facebook is finally ready to cash in. The social networking giant is starting to mine its immense database to match users to advertisers like never before, reports the LA Times . Facebook's ad revenue reportedly doubled last year to $2 billion, and... More »

Google App Would ID Faces, Dish Out Personal Info

Search giant being 'extra careful' amid privacy concerns

(Newser) - Imagine this: You're sitting in a cafe. Someone snaps a photo of you on their cell. An app matches your face with your name. Said photographer suddenly knows who you are ... and maybe even your phone number and email. Google is reportedly developing just such a a facial-recognition mobile app,... More »

Facebook Dumps 20K Underage Users Daily

US, Australian lawmakers voice privacy concerns

(Newser) - Facebook kicks 20,000 users under the age of 13 off the site daily, its privacy chief told Australian officials. “There are people who lie,” he said, adding that the site’s methods of catching them aren’t “perfect,” reports Australia’s Daily Telegraph . Almost half... More »

EU Demands Better Privacy for Facebook Users

New rules will call for improvements on social networking sites

(Newser) - The EU is demanding enhanced privacy on Facebook and other social networking sites, calling for a “right to be forgotten." The justice commissioner will unveil rules before summer demanding, among other things, that strict privacy settings be the default for users. Sites like Facebook “can't think they're... More »

Microsoft Adds Do-Not-Track to Internet Explorer

New version is out Tuesday

(Newser) - Good news for privacy enthusiasts: The new version of Internet Explorer, out Tuesday, will include a do-not-track tool, making Microsoft’s Web browser the first major one to offer such a feature. Internet Explorer, the most widely used browser, answered the call for a do-not-track system within just three months... More »

Your Online Privacy Is Shot —but Don't Sweat It

Time's Joel Stein thinks the benefits of data mining outweigh the costs

(Newser) - It's a fact of modern life: If you go online, know that you're being tracked and that data mining companies are selling bits of information about you—websites you visit, the apps you use, etc.—to any willing buyer. With Congress ready to start hearings next week on ways... More »

Google, Spain Battle Over Privacy

Part of a Europe-wide debate over the 'right to be forgotten'

(Newser) - A Spanish plastic surgeon has complained to Spanish regulators that a Google search of his name still turns up a dispute over a botched operation covered by El Pais 20 years ago. It's one of 80 "privacy invasion" cases in which Spanish authorities have told Google to remove personal... More »

Facebook Makes Privacy Policy Easier to Read

It has less gobbledygook, though policy itself remains the same

(Newser) - Facebook is attempting to make its privacy policy more user friendly—it's deployed "the Facebook design experience" to a chunk of legalese that many users found challenging to understand. Noting that the previous policy was "longer than the US constitution," the site has created a new draft... More »

Lawyers Use Facebook to Pick Jurors

They vet candidates based on their likes and dislikes online

(Newser) - Here's the latest way Facebook is changing life as we know it: Lawyers snooping for extra information on potential jurors have been looking them up on the site, the Wall Street Journal reports. "It's a waterfall of information, compared to the pinhole view you used to get," says... More »

Firefox to Offer Do-Not-Track Tool ... With One Catch

Companies will first have to agree not to track you

(Newser) - If you don’t like the idea of online companies tracking your every move , you may want to start using Firefox. Mozilla announced its Web browser will be the first to answer the FTC’s call for a do-not-track system , the Wall Street Journal reports. Just one problem: In order... More »

Germany Says 'Nein' to Facebook's Friend Finder

Privacy concerns forces Facebook to change invitation feature

(Newser) - Score one for Germany in its face-off with Facebook. Facebook has agreed to drop its controversial "Friend Finder" feature, which allows the social networking site to access users' address books and send invitations to the people in them. "For many, it wasn't clear at all how Facebook could... More »

Facebook Pauses Phone, Address Sharing

It will be back, but only if you want it, says rep

(Newser) - You can breathe easier: Facebook won’t be sharing your phone numbers and addresses with third-party applications—at least, not just yet. After the company’s announcement of the new feature generated yet another privacy uproar, a director wrote on Facebook’s developer blog that it will put the feature... More »

Google Takes Spain's Privacy Laws to Court

Case will be heard Wednesday

(Newser) - Google has never been a big fan of privacy , and now it’s going so far as to challenge Spain’s privacy laws in court. A government organization claims that Spanish law requires Google to remove links from its search engine if those links go to information that could compromise... More »

Facebook Now Lets Apps Grab Your Address, Phone Number

Analysts fear benefits for 'rogue' applications

(Newser) - Facebook is making users' addresses and cell phone numbers available to third-party developers, the site announced Friday on its blog . Users who accept the terms and conditions attached to a Facebook app while downloading it will be letting that app's makers see their contact information if they’ve posted it... More »

Apple Sued for Letting Our Apps Track Us

iPhone, iPad contain identifiers that can't be blocked: suit

(Newser) - Apple allows iPhone and iPad apps to send users' personal info to advertising networks without consent, according to a lawsuit filed last week. The suit says the gadgets contain identifying devices that let these networks track users' app downloads and usage, Bloomberg reports. Some apps also sell information like users'... More »

Facebook Rolling Out New Face Recognition Photo Tags

Also: Site poised for $2B in revenue this year

(Newser) - Get ready for another Facebook update: Next week, the site will start rolling out new face-recognition technology for photos, the Huffington Post reports. It’s “comforting” to know that the service won’t be automatic, writes Larry Magid. If the site thinks it recognizes someone, it will ask you... More »

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