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 Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a consumer advocacy group which has received large donations from Apple and Alphabet, has drafted a privacy bill it would like to see made federal law.
The bill would ban the collection of biometric data – like fingerprints and face-recognition data – as well as precise location data unless specifically needed to provide consumers with a service they have chosen to use …
Last week, we reported that Australia had passed a new anti-encryption law that could force Apple and other tech companies to help law enforcement access encrypted messages. TechCrunch reports today, however, that Apple is among a handful of tech companies coming out against the legislation.
Apple already offers fairly tight control of location data privacy. We can choose whether or not to share it at all. We can choose to share it or not with specific apps. We can specify whether an app is allowed to access location data in the background, or only while we are actively using it. And we can see which apps are accessing the data at any given time.
But as we’ve been reminded this morning, that doesn’t entirely solve the problem …
A lengthy NY Times feature provides some stark illustrations of the extent to which potentially-identifiable location data is being captured, shared and retained by both iOS and Android apps, threatening user privacy.
The paper was able to identify specific individuals from some location patterns, and found that one iOS app was passing exact location data to a total of 40 different companies …
One of the questions asked in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal was whether Facebook was selling user data. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told a Congressional hearing that the answer was very simple.
I can’t be clearer on this topic: We don’t sell data.
But it appears that while the company has never done it, it did consider effectively doing so …
A senator has suggested that a US privacy law could be drafted early next year in the form of a bipartisan bill.
While there is as yet no consensus on the wording of such a bill, there is widespread agreement that some form of legislation is required …
A large-scale survey has found that the majority of Americans now back Apple’s call for tech regulation.
Some 55% fear that the government won’t do enough to regulate tech giants …
Cloudflare has made it easier for you to protect your browsing privacy on iOS and Android devices with a new 1.1.1.1 app …
Speaking to a roomful of privacy commissioners today, Apple CEO Tim Cook quoted something Steve Jobs said about tech privacy way back in 2010.
Steve Jobs said in no uncertain terms: “Privacy means people know what they’re signing up for, in plain language, and repeatedly.”
To me, three things are notable about this statement …
We yesterday got a preview of a few elements of Tim Cook’s speech to the 40th International Conference of Data Protection & Privacy Commissioners.
The full speech is now available as a video, and Apple’s CEO spoke about why privacy, dignity and respect are key issues for the tech industry as well as society as a whole …
Apple has updated its dedicated Privacy website today, something it typically does each year following the release of new iPhones and a new version of iOS. The new Apple Privacy website offers a detailed look at the steps the company takes to protect user privacy and data through its latest hardware and software updates.
When Facebook entered the smart speaker business last week, it was keen to stress that it understood potential concerns about the privacy of Facebook Portal and Portal+ devices.
The company said then that four forms of protection were employed …
Apple’s stance on privacy is clear: it will do its best to comply with law enforcement, however, it believes creating a backdoor for its operating system is the wrong thing do to.
I’ll make a statement that might be unpopular: Apple shouldn’t promote their privacy stance to schools when they aren’t offering a compelling service that schools can sign up for that replaces G-Suite. They’ve built solutions for schools that are siloed off from most of the student information systems without making an identity management system. They’ve created solutions (like Classkit, Apple Business Manager, and Apple School Manager) that don’t 100% replace anything else a school or business has. They’ve simply added more overhead to deploying iPad. Apple proclaiming their stance on privacy while also accepting a 9 billion payment from Google just makes them look hypocritical. If Apple is really concerned about privacy, they need to be building tools to replace what Google offers enterprise and education customers. Let me explain how.
Apple is one of four tech giants to come out in opposition to a proposed new law in Australia which would force companies to provide access to encrypted user data. The fear is that, if the law is allowed to pass, it could set a precedent which other countries are likely to follow – with the USA high up the list of likely candidates to effectively ban strong encryption …
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Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, has announced that he has put most of his work on hold to develop a way for web users to regain control of their personal data.
The concept, first developed at MIT, is known as Solid. A Solid POD is effectively a secure repository for all our personal data, and from there we can choose what access to grant to other companies and apps …
We heard earlier this month that Apple VP Guy ‘Bud’ Tribble would be testifying at a Senate hearing into the possibility of federal privacy legislation – and, as expected, he has told the Senate that Apple is fully in favor of the idea …
As we previously reported, Apple’s VP of software technology, Bud Tribble, will testify at a Senate hearing tomorrow on federal privacy legislation. While there are no surprises expected, Axios obtained his prepared statement that details how Apple will voice its support of “comprehensive federal privacy legislation.”
Senator Marco Rubio sent out a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook this morning, asking him why Apple didn’t immediately respond to reports about an app that was sending customer browsing data to servers in China.
Apple VP Guy ‘Bud’ Tribble is to testify at a Senate hearing into potential federal privacy legislation, set to take place on September 26.
Washington Post tech policy reporter Tony Romm tweeted that Google’s chief privacy officer would also be testifying, along with ‘top execs from AT&T, Amazon and Charter’ …
[Update 8:54 am PT: Apple has pulled Adware Doctor from the Mac App Store. See below for more.]
Adware Doctor, the number one paid utility in the Mac App Store, is secretly logging the browser history of users, and sending it to a server in China.
Security researcher Patrick Wardle says that he notified Apple of this a month ago, but the malware app still remains available in the Mac App Store today …
A ‘sophisticated’ attack on British Airways’ mobile app and website has exposed the names, email addresses and full credit card details of 380,000 customers.
Of particular concern is the fact that the attackers captured the three-digit CVV security codes on the backs of cards, something that should not normally be possible …
mSpy, a company which makes spyware used by suspicious parents and partners to spy on iPhone usage, has accidentally exposed millions of private records on the web. Data exposed includes passwords, text messages, contacts, call logs. notes and location data …
An international network of intelligence agencies has told the tech industry that ‘privacy is not an absolute’ and that the use of end-to-end encryption ‘should be rare’ …