Topic: Data Privacy
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What Do Customers Really Want From Data Security?
Individuals increasingly view themselves as the primary stewards of their own data privacy, expecting tools that empower their choices through transparency and informed consent. While people voice strong privacy concerns, price sensitivity often influences final decisions, creating a tension betw...
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U.S. State Privacy Laws: Your Essential Guide
The U.S. lacks a unified federal privacy law, creating a complex patchwork of state regulations that businesses must navigate, with common consumer rights but differing scopes and obligations. Key state privacy laws, such as those in California, Virginia, and Colorado, set specific thresholds for...
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Take Back Control of Your Online Shopping Data
Online shopping involves extensive collection and sharing of personal data, often without full user awareness or consent, posing significant privacy risks. Data is frequently stored indefinitely and shared with third parties, increasing exposure to breaches, misuse, and targeted scams, as seen in...
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Wearable Tech Booms Amid Rising Privacy Concerns
Widespread wearable device adoption generates sensitive personal health data, raising significant consumer concerns about data stewardship that directly impact trust and purchasing decisions. Consumer loyalty is heavily influenced by privacy perceptions, with a majority of users concerned about d...
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How Much Does Google's AI Know About You?
Google's new AI, called Personal Intelligence, can access and analyze a user's extensive digital history from connected services like Gmail and Photos, creating a highly personalized but potentially invasive assistant. The system infers specific personal details, such as license plates or travel ...
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Google to Pay $135M for Android Data Collection
Google has agreed to a $135 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging it collected Android users' cellular data without proper consent, even when apps were inactive or location services were off. The settlement mandates Google to simplify user controls over data transfers, obt...
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The All-Access AI Agent Era Has Arrived
The rise of all-access AI agents requires deep integration into operating systems and personal files, raising significant cybersecurity and privacy concerns due to centralized, sensitive data. These autonomous agents function by accessing broad data sources like emails and calendars to perform ta...
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Kohler's Smart Toilet Cameras Claim E2EE Despite Data Access
Kohler's smart toilet camera, which analyzes waste for health insights, claims to use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for privacy, but experts challenge this as the company itself can decrypt and access the sensitive data. The company's interpretation of E2EE means data is encrypted in transit to it...
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DHS Privacy Breach, AI Romance, and Google's Lawsuit
Using online tools like ChatGPT involves sharing personal data with for-profit companies, highlighting the need for user awareness about data privacy. OpenAI is relaxing content restrictions, including allowing erotic content, as a strategy to reignite user growth by enabling more personal intera...
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Oura CEO Responds to Backlash, Envisions 'Cloud of Wearables'
Oura CEO Tom Hale denies any data-sharing with the Department of Defense or Palantir, asserting that user health data remains private and is not shared without explicit consent. The company's involvement with the DoD is limited to a secure enterprise solution, and its terms of service strictly pr...
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Why You Should Never Share Health Data With a Chatbot
Millions are using AI chatbots for health advice, but experts warn against sharing sensitive medical data as these platforms lack the strict legal protections of traditional healthcare settings like HIPAA. AI health tools operate under company privacy policies that can change, not under enforceab...
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8 Paid Media Shifts Every Marketer Must Make in 2026
The digital advertising landscape is rapidly evolving, requiring marketers to proactively adapt strategies by embracing new AI tools, shifting privacy standards, and emerging platforms to stay competitive. Key practical shifts include using conversational AI for scalable ad creation, refining tar...
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Google AI Security Expert's Forbidden Chatbot Secrets
Treat interactions with public AI chatbots as public communications, never sharing sensitive personal or financial information, as this data can be used for model training or exposed in a breach. Use enterprise-grade AI solutions for work-related tasks, as they are designed not to train on user d...
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AI Toys for Kids: Unexpected Conversations on Sensitive Topics
AI-enabled children's toys lack basic safeguards, engaging in inappropriate conversations about explicit topics and propaganda, raising urgent safety and privacy concerns. A U.S. border proposal could require travelers from visa-waiver countries to submit years of social media history and persona...
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Google Launches Rival to Apple's Private AI Cloud
Google has launched Private AI Compute, a secure cloud platform that enables advanced AI processing on personal devices while ensuring data privacy, mirroring industry trends like Apple's Private Cloud Compute. The platform addresses the limitations of on-device AI by handling complex tasks in a ...
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Who Else Has Access to Your Wearable's Heartbeat Data?
The proliferation of smartwatches and connected medical devices enables remote health monitoring and personalized care, but it also introduces significant security vulnerabilities due to the constant flow of sensitive data. Ambiguity in health data ownership and sharing practices raises privacy c...
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Neon App Shut Down After Major Security Breach Exposes User Data
The Neon app, which paid users to record calls for AI data sales, was abruptly taken offline after a major security breach exposed all users' private call recordings, transcripts, and phone numbers. A critical vulnerability allowed any logged-in user to access others' sensitive data due to a lack...
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Australians Prefer Human Connection Over AI by 2-to-1 Margin
Australian consumers strongly prefer human interaction over AI in customer service, with over half concerned about losing genuine connections and only 23% trusting companies to use AI responsibly, significantly lower than the global average. Poor AI implementations negatively impact business, as ...
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Nearly Half of Workers Share Confidential Data with AI
A significant gap exists between the rapid daily adoption of generative AI by over 65% of individuals and the lack of workplace training, with 58% receiving no instruction on data security and privacy risks. The study highlights that 43% of workers have shared sensitive company information with A...
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$10K Bounty to Hack Ring Cameras and Block Amazon Data Sharing
A public backlash against Ring's data-sharing practices, fueled by a controversial Super Bowl ad, has created demand for greater user control over home security camera footage and data. In response, the Fulu Foundation is offering a bounty exceeding $10,000 for a hack that severs Ring cameras' ma...
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Microsoft Copilot Accessed Private Emails Without Consent
A security flaw in Microsoft's AI Copilot service allowed it to access and summarize confidential emails, bypassing data protection policies. Microsoft identified and fixed the code defect, which affected the Copilot Chat feature in Outlook and other 365 apps, highlighting new AI-related cybersec...
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Microsoft Office Bug Leaked Private Emails to Copilot AI
A security flaw in Microsoft's Copilot AI service allowed it to access and summarize confidential emails, bypassing data protection controls and affecting organizations with specific security policies. Microsoft confirmed the bug, internally identified as CW1226324, and began rolling out a fix in...
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DJI Robovac Security Flaw Exposed Thousands to Remote Access
A hobbyist accidentally discovered a major security flaw in DJI's Romo vacuum, allowing remote access to thousands of devices globally and exposing sensitive data like live camera feeds and home floor plans. DJI patched the vulnerability after notification, attributing it to a server permission i...
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Discord to Require Face Scan or ID for Full Access
Discord is implementing a mandatory global age verification system, automatically restricting all accounts to a "teen-appropriate" experience unless users prove they are adults to access age-restricted content and features. Users must verify via AI facial age estimation or a third-party ID check,...
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Who Owns TikTok? Key Facts About Its US Operations
TikTok's U.S. operations have been restructured into a new American-owned entity, "TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC," in response to a 2024 U.S. law mandating separation from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. ByteDance now holds only a 19.9% stake, with the remaining 80% owned by a consortium o...
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ChatGPT Is Getting Ads: Here's How They'll Work
OpenAI will introduce non-intrusive, clearly marked advertisements to ChatGPT's free and lower-tier plans, ensuring ads do not influence the chatbot's core responses. The ads will be matched to conversation topics with strong privacy safeguards; user data and conversations will not be sold to adv...
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2026's New Tech Laws: What You Need to Know
A significant wave of new state-level technology regulations took effect in early 2026, creating a complex patchwork of rules governing AI, data privacy, and consumer rights across the U.S. Key examples include Colorado's right-to-repair law, California's stringent AI transparency statutes, and v...
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Google Faces Outcry Over Gmail Setting That Gave Gemini AI Inbox Access
A default Gmail setting automatically granted Google's Gemini AI access to user inboxes and calendar data for training, sparking widespread user backlash and privacy concerns without explicit consent. Google clarified the feature is part of its existing Smart Features system, designed to automate...
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Google's "Private AI Compute" Matches On-Device Security in the Cloud
Google's Private AI Compute initiative enables secure cloud-based generative AI by using encrypted connections and isolated processing to protect user data. The system's security is verified by an independent audit, ensuring that not even Google employees can access data during AI operations. Thi...
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Unlikely allies unite to remove flawed traffic cameras
A coalition is challenging automated license plate readers due to privacy risks and operational flaws, with Flock Safety facing pressure from legislators and activists over its extensive camera network. Legislators have called for a federal probe into Flock's negligent data handling and cybersecu...
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GOP Plan Could Easily Unmask Census Data
Republican efforts are targeting differential privacy, a key safeguard designed to protect individual identities in US census data, with critics warning that its removal could expose sensitive personal information and skew political representation. The push to eliminate differential privacy is ba...
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Get Paid $30/Day to Record Calls for AI: Is It Worth It?
Neon - Money Talks is a free app that pays users for recording their phone conversations, which are then sold as anonymized data to AI companies for training language models. The app records only calls made through it, with a tiered payment system offering up to 30 cents per minute, and includes ...
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Enterprise AI's Hidden Security Blind Spot
Widespread adoption of AI tools without proper oversight in enterprises is creating significant security vulnerabilities, with 89% of AI usage going undetected by IT departments, leading to risks in data privacy and compliance. AI integration into everyday business applications and the use of per...
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UAE, Saudi Arabia Lead Europe in Generative AI Adoption at 58%
The UAE and Saudi Arabia lead in generative AI adoption, with 58% of consumers actively using tools like ChatGPT, significantly outpacing engagement in the UK and Europe. Data privacy concerns are a major barrier to broader AI adoption, with one in four respondents citing it as their primary hesi...
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AI Cybercrime & Secure Assistants: The Download
AI tools are lowering the barrier to cybercrime, amplifying the scale and speed of online scams by enabling less skilled criminals to launch sophisticated attacks. Deepfake technology and AI agents with access to real-world tools present immediate security risks, enhancing existing fraud and crea...
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OpenAI Researcher Quits Over ChatGPT Ads, Warns of "Facebook" Path
A former OpenAI researcher resigned, warning that introducing ads into ChatGPT risks exploiting user trust by monetizing deeply personal and unprecedented disclosures shared with the AI. She draws a direct parallel to platforms like Facebook, fearing OpenAI's initial ad safeguards could erode ove...
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Google Can Now Track Your ID Searches
Google has expanded its "Results about you" dashboard to let users monitor and request removal of search listings that expose sensitive government IDs like Social Security and passport numbers, helping combat identity theft. The tool automatically scans for these identifiers and notifies users of...
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Stop Your TV From Spying: Disable Data Tracking on LG, Samsung, Roku
Smart TVs use Automated Content Recognition (ACR) to collect detailed viewing data, primarily for targeted advertising, often without explicit user knowledge. Users can disable this tracking by adjusting specific privacy settings, which vary by TV brand and software (e.g., Samsung, LG, Roku, or A...
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Qualcomm Invests in SpotDraft, Doubling Valuation to $400M for On-Device AI
SpotDraft, a legal tech startup, has secured an $8 million strategic investment from Qualcomm Ventures, doubling its valuation to approximately $380 million since last year. The company addresses enterprise AI adoption barriers in legal services with its VerifAI platform, which performs contract ...
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DOGE Misused Social Security Data, DOJ Admits
Court filings reveal government agencies may have overstepped legal boundaries, including the improper sharing of sensitive Social Security data via unsecured servers. Broader privacy concerns are highlighted by law enforcement purchasing personal data to circumvent warrants and by significant di...
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Exposed: Dozens of Flock AI Camera Feeds Left Unsecured
A major security lapse exposed live feeds from Flock Safety's AI surveillance cameras, allowing unauthorized access without a password and raising serious privacy concerns. Researchers found the unsecured streams and associated control panels, enabling them to view intimate moments, download arch...
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Texas Sues TV Makers Over Alleged Smart TV Spying
Texas has sued five major TV manufacturers (Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense, and TCL) for allegedly using hidden Automated Content Recognition (ACR) software to spy on consumers and harvest viewing data without proper consent. The state alleges this software constantly monitors and transmits detailed ...
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Texas Sues Major TV Makers Over Viewing Data Spying
Texas has sued Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL, alleging their TVs use Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology to secretly record viewing habits and sensitive personal data without proper consent for targeted advertising. The lawsuits claim the companies use deceptive practices to acti...
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Flock Surveillance AI Built by Overseas Gig Workers
Flock's AI surveillance cameras, widely used by U.S. law enforcement, create a vast database of vehicle and pedestrian details, often accessed without a warrant. The company trains its algorithms using overseas gig workers, who review sensitive domestic footage, raising privacy and data security ...
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Google's Gemini Cloud Matches Local Privacy with AI Compute
Google is launching Private AI Compute to bring advanced cloud-based AI capabilities to Android devices while maintaining strong privacy protections similar to on-device processing. The service offloads complex AI tasks to secure cloud servers using encryption and Google's Tensor Processing Units...
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The Many Faces of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is now deeply integrated into daily life across education, governance, and wellness, with widespread use and massive investments. Society is engaged in a largely unregulated global experiment with AI, lacking adequate safeguards and facing potential extremes from benefits ...
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Your Android's 2FA and Messages Aren't Safe From Hackers
A security flaw called Pixnapping allows malicious apps to intercept sensitive data like two-factor codes and private messages without requiring special permissions by exploiting screen display mechanisms. The attack works by forcing targeted apps to show confidential information on screen, where...
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1 in 5 Teens Have Dated AI or Know Someone Who Has
One in five high school students reports having or knowing someone with a romantic relationship with AI, and 42% have used AI for companionship, indicating a shift in youth-tech interactions. Schools with extensive AI integration face increased risks, including data breaches, deepfakes used for h...
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Start Your Day with ChatGPT Pulse, Says OpenAI
OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Pulse, a proactive feature for Pro subscribers that delivers personalized daily summaries by learning from your apps and chat history. This marks a shift towards AI agents that anticipate user needs and act autonomously, moving beyond reactive question-answering. Pulse...
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Europe's Push for Digital Sovereignty: Reclaiming the Stack
Europe is prioritizing digital sovereignty to reduce reliance on foreign tech giants and mitigate strategic risks associated with external control over critical infrastructure. Actions include adopting sovereign cloud platforms, open-source software, and local alternatives to decrease dependencie...
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