Is WhatsApp invasive on device or just in messages?

I currently use the app for limited work in a dedicated work profile that doesn't contain any personal data.

Unfortunately my current business obligations are requiring me to use it more and more, making this tedious.

Does the app snoop through your phone's files and so forth? Am I really doing anything isolating it within a work profile?

Thanks in advance. Hate this app.

https://redd.it/1ctv2wb
@r_privacy

Twitter/Xitter is now broken in FF when anti-browser fingerprinting settings are used

The Twitter domain now forcibly redirects to x, but that isn't the problem.

x.com just doesn't work with the warning:

"Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection (Strict Mode) is known to cause issues on x.com"

They've also enabled some form of mouse based fingerprinting too, with spoofers like MouseVader leading to glitchy behaviour.

I wish more people would use alternatives, like Lemmy, Mastodon etc but...

https://redd.it/1ctxa3v
@r_privacy

How do y'all deal with this??

I swear everytime I learn more about cyber security/privacy it just feels like the only way to protect yourself is to burn everything that can connect to anything, move into the woods and never interact with society ever again.

Even this post isn't mine the second I hit send because Reddits selling data to OpenAI. Hell theres probably an app that's tracking each of my keystrokes so that they can sell it. My fucking exact local coordinates are being traded as I write this.

How do y'all manage to keep any data your own??? Please don't say to go vote. As a Californian my vote doesn't matter as is. (I still vote)



Edit: I'm sorry if this is me being doomerish, but it just feels so insane. Company's just secretly track your data and there's nothing you can do. Do I just need to monitor my network traffic at all times and reset my computer every time something looks weird??

It just seems like the only way to keep yourself safe is to never use anything tech related and be in complete paranoia at all times.

https://redd.it/1ctww2h
@r_privacy

Reddit’s deal with OpenAI will plug its posts into “ChatGPT and new products”
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/16/24158529/reddit-openai-chatgpt-api-access-advertising

https://redd.it/1cu0z3f
@r_privacy

Use fingerprints given for beaurocratic proceedures to unlock your phone

Especially for migrants, the governments (of Europe) takes your fingerprints for all kind of things, beginning with the residence permit. It only occured to me now that that's already a digitized version of your fingerprints. If you later got arrested, and of course eschewing the legality of it, could law enforcements use those images to unlock your finger-print-locked phone?

https://redd.it/1cu1nna
@r_privacy

Reporting to HR anonymously

Not sure if this is the right sub but I'll try.

I need to report a situation to HR. There is a web form for this purpose, where you can add no information from you. But I really need it to be completely anonymous, so that I can't be tracked by means of my IP, and also leaving behind as less information as possible from my browser or my OS in case someone has access to that.

What are my options? I guess I should use Tor browser on a windows 11 machine because using Linux (I use both at home) will narrow the possibilities.

What is your advice?

https://redd.it/1cu5hhm
@r_privacy

Protect Screenshots sensitive data with this macOS BlurData tool

Hello /privacy,

I'm excited to share the latest update to BlurData, this macOS application dedicated to those who prioritize their privacy while handling sensitive documents. Here’s what you can expect with version 0.5:

Improved Accuracy: Enhanced detection algorithms for emails and monetary amounts ensure your confidential data stays private.
Name/Surname Detection: By popular demand, we now support automatic detection and blurring of personal names, keeping your identity safe.
Customizable Blurring Colors: Add a personal touch while securing your documents with various color options for blurring.
Simplified Error Correction: Mistakes can be undone with just a single tap, thanks to our new intuitive interface.

Key Benefits:

Completely Offline: All processing is done on your device, ensuring that no data ever leaves your computer.
Ultra-Fast Performance: BlurData works so swiftly, you won’t even notice it’s running in the background.

Currrently 50% off.

https://redd.it/1cu6fu6
@r_privacy

Regarding Snapchat Account deletion

I sent a GDPR right to erasure notice per e-mail to snap support and as far as i am concerned i got a pretty copy and paste e-mail saying i can delete my account blabla, but i am a little wary - is that the same as a gdpr erasure? i responded to their emails but i am still waiting


any things i can do to minimize the crumbs left behind once i delete my snapchat? certain snap contacts have saved messages and images in chats, im wondering if those go as well, and if i should manually delete all my memories? i will probably go ahead and delete it their way since they will probably not respond, anyone with experience mind sharing a little guidance

thanks!

https://redd.it/1cu7obb
@r_privacy

Phone seizure

I'm in Iran and the Guidance Patrol, or morality police, seized my phone but it has a passcode and is set to Airplane mode. Is there still a way for me to erase the device? I assume گشت ارشاد (or gašt-e eršād) will attempt to bypass the passcode. Then, Guidance Patrol might turn it on to copy data...I think?

https://redd.it/1cu9nv4
@r_privacy

Got a letter from my bank

Got a letter from my bank that a a unauthorized third party tried hacking a employees email or account back in September and in that my deep personal info was viewed bank account details and such. I don’t know what to do just had that att data breach. My credit is all frozen and I put fraud alert. Tried calling my bank, the girl in the phone wasn’t helpful she said to call the number on the letter. There no number I just called the bank and she had no idea ? Like all they offered was the experian id thing like att ? Should I switch banks ? Since my account info is out there ? Don’t know if it’s related to att breach ?

https://redd.it/1cuaqe5
@r_privacy

How to remove from data broker
https://www.intelius.com/privacy-center

https://redd.it/1cualpa
@r_privacy

Italian company develops ability to monitor tech in passing autos

In this Forbes article about an Italian company called Leonardo, developing the ability to monitor active tech in moving autos, it says:

technology that can scan moving vehicles for anything that emits a signal, including phones, smartwatches, cat and dog tracking chips and even library books
…
can identify specific models of devices like iPhones and Bose headphones inside moving vehicles
…
can even detect the RFID of a library book

 

The article continues to point out the uniqueness or a person's auto which could be used to develop a profile identifying the people involved (of course they could always use the license plate)

I thought a car was a faraday cage, also I did not think that RFUD emitted a signal, just responded to a signal sent to it.  So, how can this even work? 

article link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/05/14/police-car-surveillance-tech-uncovers-phones-pet-trackers-and-library-books/

 



https://redd.it/1cubbjz
@r_privacy

By default Slack is using all your internal convos to train their AI stuff.
https://x.com/PierreDeWulf/status/1791416750124192177

https://redd.it/1cudoeu
@r_privacy

Original My Talking Angela app was spying on children. It was not a hoax

This is old news, this was back in 2014, but it’s still regarded as a hoax. I want to talk about my experience with it and why I’m completely convinced it wasn’t just the result of a chatbot going haywire.

My talking Angela was a ChatBot app for children. Talking Angela was a cat you could talk to and dress her up, you can ask her to sing, all fun things a child would enjoy. You could talk to her through your microphone or just type. There was a feature that would turn your camera on and if you nod it will respond yes in chat and shake your head it will put no. you could turn this feature on and off at any time. As of now the app still exists but the chatbot is completely removed from the game.

The allegation is that the app was being manipulated by some human entity (whether it’s hackers or one of the developers) to spy on and have inappropriate conversations with children.

Misinformation started spreading about it that “you can see a man in her eye!” YouTubers would make click baity videos “talking to haunted talking Angela!” Making it all sound even more ridiculous and even more like an internet hoax.

Snopes “debunked” it with really their only proof being they couldn’t replicate it and taking Out Fit 7 ltd (the developer) by their word that it’s “impossible for a person to take control of what Angela says in the game”.

Sophos also “debunked” it in a now deleted blog. The only quotes relating back to it I can find are it’s a scary hoax not real don’t believe everything you read on the internet. 🤷‍♀️ if you can find it lmk.

Anyway what evidence do I bring to the table? When I was 10 or so I loved this game it was very novel to have this cat character understand me and respond in way I haven’t seen in any other game. Most the time her responses were very predictable, she’d respond to the same questions in the same way however every now and then she’d have something a little different to say. I remember her asking me how old I was, where I lived, if I fantasize about kissing boys.. then even creepier she’d ask me who I’m with who’s talking in the background. I guess these things could just be chalked up to the chatbot acting up but it gets weirder. In the corner the camera feature shows your face on screen tapping it turns it on and off, I remember trying to turn it off and every time it kept turning back on. Another time I would ask her to sing which switches to a cut scene of her singing but this time it would start playing then immediately switch back to chat which she would respond “I don’t want to sing”. That is not at all how the app should work and it’s definitely not just the result of the chatbot acting funny. Finally what I think was the weirdest experience I had she asked me if I liked parkour. I told her I didn’t know what that was and she sent me a link to a YouTube video of a man doing parkour she asked me if I watched it and said “that’s me”. The YouTube videos I saw her link prior were only from official talking Tom channel.

Anyway, this is old and done with. The chat feature doesn’t exist anymore, but I will die on that hill that there was someone using the app to interact with children






https://redd.it/1cueeng
@r_privacy

You Can No Longer Sign Up for Reddit Without Giving Your Email Address

Previously,
You could go to old.reddit.com and sign up.
The first slide would ask for your email, but if you pressed “continue”, you could bypass that and make an account only using a username and password.
Now, there is no way to sign up without giving your email.
I hate Reddit.

https://redd.it/1cuhseg
@r_privacy

Sudden JShelter fingerprint warnings about Startpage

I have suddenly been getting JShelter warnings about Startpage. It appears that Startpage is accessing WebGL data (JShelter Fingerprint Detector Report), Canvas data (JShelter Fingerprint Detector Report), and Speech Synthesis (from a Firefox banner saying Speech Synth. is not supported).

The script that is collecting this data is on the subdomain vf.startpage.com. Disabling the script (along with the entire subdomain) via uBlock Origin does not appear to affect Startpage's ability to provide search results. The subdomain did not exist before the suspected fingerprinting started.

In the Network tab in Firefox's debugger, POST requests appear to be sent to vf.startpage.com, containing at minimum my window size (ws: "1290x296", changes on window resize).

I have a screen recording of this phenomenon from a fresh virtual machine: https://drive.proton.me/urls/RNZ4NQJHAW#faKIDqFIvqa9

I have been using Startpage for two years, and never seen anything like this. Can someone tell me what's going on here?

https://redd.it/1culldp
@r_privacy

Discord is allegedly assigning gender to users with machine learning AI
https://www.dexerto.com/tech/discord-is-allegedly-assigning-gender-to-users-with-machine-learning-ai-2721391/

https://redd.it/1cums8c
@r_privacy

eviltracker.net

I started using the app Privacy Pro on my phone and one of the first trackers it blocked was from eviltracker.net. Does anyone know about this?

https://redd.it/1cun6wu
@r_privacy

How can I use Google services more privacy?

Hello everyone!

Can you tell me how I can use Google services more privacy? These include only google meet, gmail and google docs. I wouldn't use them, but I need them for work and school. I hate Windows, so I can only use Linux, and it's my only OS. But how can I use it without Google collecting my data?

https://redd.it/1cutz49
@r_privacy

Are there any ways to read a long X Twitter thread without a sign up to it or another service now in 2024?

I searched around, and most of the recommended services for taking screenshots of long twitter threads requires a login using either Twitter or your email, and the one open source Nitter service mentioned in a few places looks like it's defunct (unless it changed names)

It's 2024, are there any privacy-friendly methods left for reading long twitter threads?

https://redd.it/1cuvay5
@r_privacy