Topic: privacy settings
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Ring denies providing ICE with camera access
A campaign urging the destruction of Ring cameras highlights public concern over potential data sharing with agencies like ICE, though Ring denies any partnership or video sharing with ICE. Ring's Community Requests tool allows local police to ask users for footage, raising questions about survei...
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New York Moves to Regulate Roblox Gaming Platform
New York is proposing new regulations, led by Governor Kathy Hochul, to enhance children's digital safety on online gaming platforms like Roblox, filling gaps left by stalled federal action. The proposed rules would require platforms to verify user ages, set the strictest privacy defaults for min...
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Data Breach Exposes 700K Illinois Human Services Clients
A data breach at the Illinois Department of Human Services exposed sensitive information of nearly 700,000 residents due to publicly accessible maps with incorrect privacy settings. The exposed data included addresses and case numbers for Medicaid recipients, while a smaller group also had full n...
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Spotify Now Shows Friends' Listening Activity on Mobile
Spotify has launched its Listening Activity feature on mobile, allowing users to see what friends are playing in real-time and discover new music directly from their smartphones, with the feature being opt-in for privacy. The update includes a new collaborative tool called Request to Jam for Prem...
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Kickstart Your Year: 10 Essential Tech Cleanup Tasks
Start your digital cleanup by emptying your computer's trash bin and closing browser tabs to free storage and reduce clutter. Maintain hardware by cleaning devices with compressed air and organize digital files by creating folders and backing up important photos. Enhance security and efficiency b...
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Mastodon: The Beginner's Guide to the Open-Source Twitter Alternative
Mastodon is a decentralized, open-source social network founded in 2016, where users join independent, community-moderated servers that form a federated network similar to email. The platform offers a distinct experience from centralized services, with features like server-level moderation, post ...
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Gartner: Block AI Browsers for the Foreseeable Future
Gartner strongly advises blocking AI-powered web browsers due to significant security and privacy risks, primarily from their agentic capabilities and potential for data exposure. A core vulnerability is the transmission of sensitive user data, like browsing history and active tabs, to cloud-base...
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TikTok Launches 'Shared Feeds' for Collaborative Content
TikTok has globally launched **Shared Collections**, allowing users over 16 to collaboratively save and organize videos into folders with mutual followers, enhancing group content discovery. The platform previewed **Shared Feeds**, a future feature that will create a daily, curated feed of 15 vid...
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Unlock Your 2025 Discord Recap & Stats
Discord has launched its first year-in-review feature called **Discord Checkpoint**, providing users with a personalized summary of their 2025 activity and community engagement. The feature is rolling out gradually; users can access it via a desktop icon or mobile profile banner, provided their a...
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Google Denies Using Gmail Emails to Train AI
Google has denied using personal Gmail emails to train its AI systems, clarifying that Gmail Smart Features are separate from AI model training and no changes have been made to user settings for this purpose. Some users experienced unexpected reactivation of Smart Features after a January update,...
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ChatGPT Now Lets You Chat With Groups
OpenAI has launched a group chat feature in ChatGPT, allowing up to twenty participants to collaborate in a single AI-assisted conversation, now available globally to all logged-in users. The AI is trained to follow the natural flow of group discussions, contributing appropriately or when directl...
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WhatsApp Security Flaw Exposed 3.5 Billion Users
A security vulnerability in WhatsApp's contact discovery system allowed researchers to verify nearly all active accounts and access profile details for a significant portion of its 3.5 billion users. Meta addressed the flaw by October after being notified, implementing stricter rate-limiting to p...
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Google Wallet Adds New Personalization for Purchases & Passes
Google Wallet is adding customization features that use purchase and pass data to provide personalized recommendations based on transaction history and stored items like loyalty cards and tickets. Users have control over privacy settings, with options to disable the feature or adjust how their da...
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Discord Expands Parental Controls to Monitor Teen Activity
Discord has expanded its Family Center with enhanced parental controls that offer guardians detailed insights into their teenagers' platform usage while preserving the teens' sense of independence. New features allow parents to manage sensitive media, control communication permissions, and access...
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New Discord safety feature gives parents control over teen contacts
Discord's Family Center now allows parents to control who can send direct messages to their teens, choosing between friends or shared server members, while keeping message content private. Teens can automatically notify parents when they report another user for misconduct, and both parties can vi...
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Threads Launches 24-Hour Disappearing 'Ghost Posts'
Threads is introducing "ghost posts," a feature that allows users to share content that automatically archives after 24 hours, aiming to encourage spontaneous and informal conversations without a permanent digital footprint. To create a ghost post, users tap a ghost icon in the mobile app, and th...
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Microsoft Tightens Windows 11 Grip, Removes Account Workarounds
Microsoft is systematically removing methods to bypass the mandatory Microsoft account login during Windows 11 setup, making it harder to create a local account. The company justifies this by claiming that bypass methods skip critical setup screens, which could leave devices unprepared, though us...
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Fix a Slow Fire TV: 10 Instant Performance Boosts
A slow Fire TV is commonly caused by outdated software, too many background applications, or accumulated temporary files, but simple adjustments can restore performance without technical expertise. Disabling unnecessary background features like Prime Photos, automatic app updates, and gaming serv...
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![Gemini Arrives Early on Google TV with New Voice Selection [Gallery]](https://digitrendz.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/gemini-google-tv-2-390x220.jpg)
Gemini Arrives Early on Google TV with New Voice Selection [Gallery]
Gemini, Google's advanced AI assistant, has unexpectedly appeared early on select Google TV devices like the TCL QM9K and a Sony Bravia model, ahead of its broader planned release. During setup, users can choose from ten distinct voice options for Gemini, which differ from those on mobile devices...
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Upgrade to Windows 11 Free: 3 Easy Ways (+1 for Older PCs)
Windows 11 can be installed for free on compatible devices by checking eligibility with Microsoft's PC Health Check tool and updating through Windows Update or the Installation Assistant. For incompatible hardware, users can bypass TPM and Secure Boot requirements using Rufus to create a bootable...
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OpenAI's New Parental Controls: What You Need to Know
OpenAI has launched parental controls for ChatGPT, allowing parents to manage teen accounts by limiting sensitive content, disabling features like memory and voice mode, and adjusting privacy settings. Parents can link their account to their teen's but cannot read their conversation history, exce...
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Control ChatGPT for Teens: New Parental Guide
OpenAI has introduced parental controls for ChatGPT, allowing parents to manage features, set time limits, and customize safety settings to create a safer environment for teenagers. Key settings include reducing sensitive content exposure, disabling model training and memory features, and enablin...
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PlayStation Unveils New Parental Control App for Safer Gaming
Sony has launched the PlayStation Family app for iOS and Android, enabling parents to remotely monitor and manage children's gaming on PS5 and PS4 consoles. The app provides features like activity reports, playtime approval, spending controls, and customizable privacy settings for tailored family...
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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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Google Fined $425M in Landmark Privacy Violation Case
A federal jury ordered Google to pay $425 million for continuing to collect user data even after individuals disabled tracking features, marking one of the largest penalties for digital privacy violations. The class action lawsuit, representing about 98 million users, accused Google of unlawfully...
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