March 23rd, 2023
You may have suspected this already, but deepfake videos, in which footage is heavily manipulated, are here. And, predictably, they’re alarming. Students in a school about an hour north of New York City recently fabricated a video that showed—even though it never happened—a middle school principal going on a racist rant. To be clear, the principal didn’t say what the video showed him saying. And that, of course, is what’s so alarming.
It offers… Continue reading >
March 14th, 2023
Tech companies and advertisers want your email address. Don’t give it to them. A recent article in the New York Times likens your email address to a “digital breadcrumb” and advises you to keep that crumb to yourself. As one advertising executive said to the Times, “I can take your email address and find data you may not have even realized you’ve given to a brand. … The amount of data that is out there on us… Continue reading >
March 1st, 2023
It seems even Tik Tok realizes staring at a phone for hours on end isn’t good for developing minds. The company behind the app announced on March 3 it would limit use of Tik Tok to 60 minutes a day. It’s a good start, and it hints at a growing understanding that spending hours on social media is unhealthy.
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February 26th, 2023
Your infant grandson sitting on the (endlessly patient) family dog. His older sister’s kindergarten portrait. The giddy dance they perform every time you play “Yellow Submarine.” They’re all moments you cherish and want to remember. And you know your friends would love them, too. So you do what so many of us do now. You share them. Not just with your closest confidants, but with hundreds of “friends” and countless people you’ll never meet.
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February 22nd, 2023
Wired and others are reporting on a new bug that can slip past Apple’s security standards and access your messages, photos, and call history. Now would be a good time to update your iPhone, iPad, and any other Apple devices you’ve got. Researchers have identified a bug “that could allow criminal hackers to break out of Apple’s security protections and run their own unauthorized code.” Not good. Update.
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February 1st, 2023
Even our government is making money off of your personal data. Sure, it’s legal, but is it right?
You likely know that mega businesses, such as Amazon, social media and search engine companies, collect vast amounts of data about us. That’s so they can target their goods and services more precisely to customers. It’s all in the name of helping advertisers reach specific audiences and demographics.
And… Continue reading >
January 19th, 2023
Ever wonder how the pros—the privacy pros, the people who make a career out of studying digital privacy—live? Consumer Reports put out a piece at the end of last year that gives a glimpse into the lives of the experts. Do they use Alexa? Is their home completely wired? Some good tips in here, including (gasp!) using an alias to sign up for services and discounts.
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January 13th, 2023
An interesting review of the latest CES expo in Las Vegas by the Washington Post shows the companies introducing the latest tech devices don’t care about your privacy. CES is the country’s biggest annual trade show for the tech industry. It’s where the latest products and services are introduced to the world. And according to the Washington Post reporter who attended the most recent CES, personal privacy is on the back-est of the back burners. Yikes.
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December 27th, 2022
Every year we make New Year’s resolutions. Sometimes we succeed, often we don’t. Either way, resolutions can be useful. They indicate an awareness that something about the way we live needs to change. For many of us, the way we use technology—smartphones, fitness trackers, social media—needs to change. So here are a handful of resolutions aimed at improving our relationship with tech. They’ve got two things going for them: they’re important… Continue reading >
January 6th, 2023
Remember those “This is your brain on drugs” ads with the egg in the frying pan? The New York Times has an interesting article out about research exploring how the heavy use of social media can affect teens’ brains. As one of the researchers put it, “teens who are habitually checking their social media are showing these pretty dramatic changes in the way their brains are responding, which could potentially have long-term consequences well into adulthood, sort… Continue reading >