Privacy is a growing concern in today’s world. Follow along with all our coverage related to privacy, security, what Apple and other companies are doing to keep your information safe, and what steps you can take to keep your information private.
The scale and reach of Chinese surveillance of its own citizens is well documented, but a new piece shows that the country’s government is now trying to use this vast trove of data to predict crimes and protests before they happen.
The Supreme Court ruling on abortion is also raising fresh concerns about the way that personal data may be used to prosecute women. We’re increasingly living in a world where Apple’s decision to have privacy be a major focus is looking increasingly prescient – but even the Cupertino company may now need to do more …
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A report by The Wall Street Journal shows that four Democratic lawmakers want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Apple and Google due to collecting and selling their users’ personal information.
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iPhone hacks developed by Italian company RCS Lab have been used by law enforcement agencies in Europe, according to a new Google report. The hacking tool used a variety of exploits to allow the firm’s customers to spy on private messages, contacts, and passwords.
However, Apple has patched all six of the exploits used in different versions of iOS (see below), so keeping your iPhone up to date will protect it from the hacking tools …
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Hopes of passing a federal privacy law during the current session of Congress are now fading. The problem to date has been getting enough Republicans on board, but now there are challenges on the Democrat side, too.
Two key Democratic figures say they are unwilling to see the current version progress any further …
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NSO Pegasus spyware has been used by at least five EU countries, admits the company. The admission was made as part of a European investigation into the impact of Pegasus, with an interim report now published.
It’s likely that the true number is higher, with the company promising to provide a ‘more concrete number’ …
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After first launching its Total Cookie Protection privacy feature back in early 2021 for Mac, Windows, and Linux, Mozilla is now making it the default for all users on desktop. The privacy change comes after the non-profit launched Firefox 100 back in May with new features for desktop and mobile.
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An App Tracking Transparency antitrust investigation is underway, on the basis that Apple requires third-party apps to ask permission for tracking, but the company does not do so for its own apps.
The investigation has been launched in Germany, which is a somewhat surprising fact …
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Apple CEO Tim Cook has penned a letter to United States lawmakers today, calling for the passage of new federal privacy legislation in the United States “as soon as possible.” Cook, who has been meeting with lawmakers in Washington DC this week, says that Apple “stand[s] ready to assist in this process in the days ahead.”
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A Tim Cook privacy-focused interview at the Time 100 Summit focused on why the issue matters so much to Apple’s CEO.
Cook was last month named one of the Time’s 100 most influential people of 2022, when we also learned that he would speak at the summit …
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Back in 2020, iOS 14 introduced a new banner to alert users when an app is pasting from the clipboard. This way, you know when an app is reading the clipboard without your consent. Now with iOS 16, Apple is taking this feature further as the system now asks for the user’s permission to copy and paste between apps.
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Apple’s privacy bill lobbying has greater credibility than that of any other tech giant, says a privacy campaign group run by some high-profile figures.
There is strong public support for a federal privacy law, but the process of creating one has been complicated by mixed political views, and by tech giant lobbying …
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The financial problems of iPhone spyware maker NSO were so bad by the end of last year that it struggled to make payroll – after the company failed to make a single sale over a period of several months.
The company, which sells software to remotely carry out zero-click hacks of both iPhones and Android smartphones, has been in deep trouble ever since it was blacklisted by the US government. However, its plan to overcome its woes could make Pegasus an even nastier threat …
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iOS 15 offers strong privacy controls for how to handle apps’ access to your location data. Whether there’s a specific app you want to check on or would just like to do a general audit, follow along to see your iPhone apps’ location access and how to change it.
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Discussions about the role of social networks in the wake of the deadly mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, look set to rekindle arguments about end-to-end encryption of private messages.
Politicians weighed in after it was discovered that both Buffalo and Uvalde alleged killers used social media apps to discuss their plans with online groups …
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Some state privacy laws use wording written by tech companies and their lobbyists, says a new report today. A formerly Apple-backed lobbying group has previously been cited as pushing for weaker privacy protection based on this wording.
Tech giants are aiming to push through weak privacy legislation in order to fend off more meaningful requirements, with one state senator admitting that the text of a privacy bill he put forward was supplied by a tech lobbyist …
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Millions of children who used remote learning apps during the pandemic have had their personal data – and even behavioral information – shared with advertisers, says a new report.
This includes apps which students were required to use by their schools, says Human Rights Watch …
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Way back in 2017, a security researcher created a fake apple.com website where the URL looked completely correct. The trick was that the domain he registered used a unicode character that looks like an “a” but is in fact a Cyrillic character.
Browsers were updated to detect this kind of fakery, but it’s far from a simple process – as a new video (below) illustrates …
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Privacy has been one of Apple’s main concerns for quite some time, and every year the company announces new ways to make its devices even more secure. This week, ELLE magazine published an interview with Apple’s chief privacy officer Jane Horvath, in which she talks about backdoors in iOS, GDPR, and more.
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Apple is launching a new worldwide ad campaign today that yet again emphasizes the company’s focus on privacy. This time, Apple is taking on the topic of data brokers wugs a new ad called “Privacy on iPhone.” In addition to a 90-second ad that will run on social and YouTube, Apple is also running billboards and other forms of advertising prompting “Privacy on iPhone.”
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Ad tech companies share your online behavior and location with advertisers an average of 747 times a day in the US, and 376 times a day in Europe, according to a report by a civil liberties group. It describes the practice as the biggest privacy breach in the world.
The report says Google is the biggest offender, using a process called real-time bidding (RTB) to let advertisers target internet users by browsing behavior and locations …
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Apple has released iOS 15.5, macOS 12.4, and more today with updates like new features for Apple Cash, the Podcasts app, and the Studio Display webcam fix. However, a bigger reason to update your devices is the security patches with today’s releases. iOS 15.5 includes almost 30 security fixes while macOS 12.4 features over 50.
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We learned yesterday that a proposed new EU CSAM scanning law for tech giants would force Apple to revisit its own plans for detecting child sexual abuse materials. The company had quietly set these aside in response to a huge amount of controversy over its proposed approach.
Many had feared that the proposed law would involve yet another assault on end-to-end encrypted messaging, and this has now been confirmed by wording in the document …
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Update: The EU has now announced the proposed new law. More details at the bottom.
Apple’s CSAM troubles may be back, after controversy over the issue of scanning iPhones for child sexual abuse materials led to the company suspending its plans.
A report today says that the European Union is planning a law that would require tech giants like Apple to detect, report, and remove CSAM, and that we’ll see a draft of the new law as early as this week …
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Pro-choice and privacy campaigners are warning that app data and other personal data pulled from smartphones could be used to prosecute women who have had abortions …
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