Tag: privacy
Google to let users delete location and activity history
Google users can now delete data linked to their location and web activity after a set period of time. The firm has introduced a new tool that will allow users to delete data gathered on their location, as well as searches made using Google. The tool is an extension to an existing Google feature which…
Jumbo privacy app allows you to delete old social media posts automatically
A new privacy assistant app claims it can help users “fix the privacy mess” by automatically tightening privacy controls on social media and removing old posts. Jumbo, which has just launched on Apple’s iOS and will shortly also arrive on Android, asks users to connect their Twitter and Facebook accounts to the app in order…
WhatsApp gives users power to decide who can add them into groups
WhatsApp is giving users more control over who can add them into group chats in a bid to prevent unwanted invitations. Until today, group chats on the messaging app could become a nuisance for some, as anyone could be added into conversations without their permission simply by adding their phone number. The Facebook-owned platform is…
Living in the smart city – solar powered pavements and roads that can charge electric cars
From big data gathering information about pollution, water use and traffic through to smart roads capable of managing autonomous vehicles and charging electric vehicles, Fast Future's Rohit Talwar, Steve Wells and Alexandra Whittington look at what the future has in store for the smart city In the coming decades, the planet’s most heavily concentrated…
Blackphone launching a “privacy focused” app store
Blackphone is hoping to lure business users with promises of a more secure app store, it has emerged. According to The Guardian, the store which will launch in January will carry out a higher degree of vetting on potential apps - checking that they actually do what they say they will. This means that if…
The Samaritans Radar app is a reminder that we have no control over how our data is used
It has been almost a week since Samaritans launched its "Radar" web app - and almost a week since the backlash began. Astonishingly, the charity is sticking to its guns - and this should remind us that once our data is out there, we can't control what happens with it. On the surface the app…
Backlash against “invasive” Samaritans Radar web app
Samaritans new web has received criticism on social media today for being "invasive", and essentially misconceived in its attempt to flag up friends at risk. You may have read in The Digest this morning about the new app aimed at helping those in need. It sounds pretty clever: Essentially you sign in with your Twitter…
How the rich and famous disappear from Google Street View
It seems that UK celebrities are taking the newfound "right to be forgotten" literally. Gizmodo reports (http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2014/07/celebs-and-the-generally-wealthy-blur-their-homes-in-google-street-view/) that mansions owned by former prime minister Tony Blair and former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney have started to appear blurred on Google's Street View, where people’s faces and car licence plates are usually covered up. Also looking a…
Cory Doctorow: Those who have nothing to hide have a duty to protect the privacy of those who do
Influential digital rights activist Cory Doctorw, founder of Boing-Boing, is speaking at the Don't Spy On Us conference in London today. Speaking to me earlier, he argued that the best way to combat mass-surveillance is by raising the cost by…
Privacy campaigners sue UK spy agency over 'unlawful hacking'
Privacy International has filed a legal complaint against the British government in a bid to stop the intelligence service GCHQ from hacking into devices to gather information. The privacy campaign group claims that millions of devices have been infected by…
