Your TV has been collecting info about you for years now. What you watch, when you’re tuned in, how long you manage to stay awake, and more — all hoovered up and sent off to the manufacturer, for them to use and sell and share. Television-based data collection and automatic content recognition (ACR) wasn’t much … Read more
Personal trackers are everywhere, nowadays. People use them to know where their keys are, or to keep tabs on the family pet. Unfortunately, they can be misused to track objects & people without explicit permission, so I want to go over how you would check for and detect unwanted trackers. Just in case! Personal Trackers … Read more
Yes, there has been a recent class action suit against YouTube, and now that it’s wrapping up, you can consider getting involved. The case revolved around your children watching YouTube while Google allegedly collected data about them. Were your kids’ privacy violated? Google has settled the matter to the tune of $30M, and admitted no … Read more
Google Maps is amazing: One of its abilities is to drop you down to a photographic “street view“. You can see what it looks like to stand on the street of so many locations, all from the comfort of home. While this is useful and fine for public buildings and such, it may also raise … Read more
When 23andMe went public in 2021, it was a big deal. The popularity of its genetic tests carried the company to a valuation of US$6 billion. But in recent times, some dramatic changes have occured with its leadership and finances, and now 23andMe is worth very little. This leads to some worries about the future … Read more
If you use Venmo, I want you to stop and take a moment to check its privacy settings. Your payment activity in Venmo may be visible to the world! I wager that many people would not want that, so I’ll describe how to hide your Venmo history: You’ll want to pay attention to two settings … Read more
Consumer Reports has developed a new free app called Permission Slip. They made this tool to help the average person understand where their personal data is collected and sold, and take back some control over that information. To use this app, you do have to sign up and hand over your personal info. CR promises … Read more
Folks are asking me to sound off on the Saturn app. If you have Saturn concerns, please consider this blog post: The Saturn App Saturn is an iOS app, intended for high school students. Saturn can help kids manage their schedules, and it also has social media functions, too. Teen users may enjoy using Saturn … Read more
Smartphones offer you an important tool for hiding photos on your phone. Whether you have an Android or an iPhone, you should consider using this function! For Android users: Google gives you the ability to securely stash photos in the Locked Folder, in the Google Photos app. Here’s a simple Google article on how you … Read more
Nextdoor is a social networking website with a focus on neighborhood connections and local resources. If your neighborhood isn’t already connecting through a Facebook group, Nextdoor might be a useful option. But your first encounter with this company may seem scammy. Nextdoor’s questionable marketing tactics often weird people out! Postcards in the Mail? To attract … Read more