Living Tech
January 3rd, 2024
This site typically focuses on privacy as it pertains to (or how it is undermined by) our phones, tablets, and home computers. Devices, some of which are small enough to fit your pocket. But an alarming article in the New York Times points out the threat to privacy by another—much bigger—device: our cars.
We’ve written about this before, but given how much time we spend in cars and…... Continue reading >
December 13th, 2023
Lots of scams this time of year, lots of opportunities to make a quick slip and hand personal information to the wrong folks. Yes, the Grinch is on the prowl, and with all the online shopping we’re compelled to do during the holiday season—all the sites we visit, deals we chase, ads we click—it’s easy to become a victim. That’s the bad news. The good news is there are simple steps you can take to stay…... Continue reading >
November 15th, 2023
Have you ever been doxxed? Is someone out there doxxing a friend now? It’s in the news again, which means now is as good a time as any to remind ourselves just what it is, how it works, and how harmful the practice can be.
Doxxing is the act of publicly revealing private or identifying information about someone, typically online. (The term comes from “dropping documents.”) This information can include a person’s real…... Continue reading >
October 24th, 2023
Increasing numbers of people are questioning whether significant use of Facebook and Instagram is good for our kids. Well, not just question. Nearly all the states—41 of them plus the Washington, D.C., to be precise—are suing Facebook and Instagram parent Meta, accusing the tech giant of deliberately using addictive features in its social media platforms.
“Our bipartisan investigation has arrived at a solemn conclusion: Meta has been harming our children and teens, cultivating addiction…... Continue reading >
October 17th, 2023
What happens to the images you post online? They’re stored on a server that somebody else owns, their content mined for any data that can be monetized. That data includes the faces in the image. So think about what happens when you post a photo of your kids. Their faces get stored, identified, tagged, analyzed, and used to perfect facial recognition technology. That’s all valuable data for tech firms over which you have little, if any, control….... Continue reading >
October 10th, 2023
We steer clear of politics here at Privacy Parent—our focus is entirely on building a world in which technology prioritizes safety and security for the people who use it—but you don’t have to get into blue vs. red to see it’s a problem when Alexa is culling its answers from random internet commenters. The Washington Post reports Alexa, Amazon’s smart speaker, is telling people Donald Trump won Pennsylvania during the 2020 election (he didn’t), and citing Substack,…... Continue reading >
October 4th, 2023
It seems, finally, like we’re starting to value our digital privacy and to take steps to protect it. We have a long way to go, and anything resembling a solution is far off in the distance, but it would be a mistake not to acknowledge the real progress made in recent years. Let’s not celebrate prematurely, but let’s recognize that norms are shifting. Digital privacy is no longer a fringe concern. It’s inching toward the mainstream, which…... Continue reading >
September 22nd, 2023
New cars may run on gas or electricity, but the car industry runs on data. Your data.
For the last century, cars have played a variety of roles in our lives. More than just a machine carrying us from here to there, they reflect our identity. They signify our status. They symbolize opportunity, escape, and hope. And now, improbably, after having offered the freedom of the open road to generations of drivers, they’ve…... Continue reading >
August 31st, 2023
Do you use Venmo to pay the babysitter? Do your kids use it to buy snacks or payback their friends? Then check your privacy settings. According to a recent article in the New York Times, Venmo is notorious for gathering your personal information and sharing it far and wide. Your contact lists, past purchases, and lots else, are scooped up and made available for just about anyone on the app to see. The reporter who wrote the…... Continue reading >
July 19th, 2023
Threads, the new Twitter-like social media app from the makers of Instagram, racked up 100 million users within five days of launching. Obviously, it’s popular (though engagement is waning). But it’s also worrisome, as it presents new concerns about privacy and safety and appears to be “gobbling data.”
Produced by
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Threads allows users to
connect with the people on their Instagram “close friends” list. You can post
messages,…... Continue reading >