privacy
Encrypted Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Private: A Look at WhatsApp Privacy Concerns
By Karen McInnes on June 10, 2022 | Tagged with cybersecurity, Data Collection, Data Protection, Digital Security, personal data, privacy, surveillance, Texting, Whatsapp
Guest Post by Karen McInnes What’s up with WhatsApp? You may have noticed increased news coverage on WhatsApp, this post will break down some of the privacy concerns being discussed. This all started in 2014, when WhatsApp was bought by Facebook. Two years later, WhatsApp began sharing user data with Facebook, unless users specifically chose […]
The Surveillance Economy: How Amazon Uses Your Alexa Data to Drive Profits
By Jill Pineau on May 13, 2022 | Tagged with data, Data, Data Collection, privacy, surveillance
The Surveillance Economy: How Amazon Uses Your Alexa Data to Drive Profits Guest Post by Jill Pineau Voice AI assistants collect massive amounts of highly personal user data. Of the corporations that sell these devices – including Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon – Amazon’s data harvesting is arguably the most concerning, as the company itself […]
Period-Tracking Apps Do Not Keep Your Health Data Private
By Emma Cornelius on March 4, 2022 | Tagged with Data, Data Collection, privacy
Period-Tracking Apps Do Not Keep Your Health Data Private By Emma Cornelius Your period-tracking app knows all about you, but it is not protecting your privacy. There is no doubt these apps can be useful. Tracking your period, emotions, ovulation, pain, and sexual activity might help you get to know yourself and understand what is […]
Are your Fitness Trackers Spying on You???
By Sheryl Lim on January 20, 2022 | Tagged with data, Data, Data Collection, digital tracking, fitness, guest post, privacy
Are your Fitness Trackers Spying on You??? Guest Post by Sheryl Lim Quantifying and tracking our physical activity, lifestyle, and habits is increasingly conveniently today. Gary Wolf termed this rise in self-tracking the “quantified self” movement [1], where people turn towards numbers to measure and interpret their lives. As wearable fitness trackers such as Fitbits […]
(Privacy) Check, Please!: The Privacy Implications of QR Code Menus
By Britt Dzioba on December 24, 2021 | Tagged with Data, data, Data Collection, Online Safety, privacy
(Privacy) Check, Please! The Privacy Implications of QR Code Menus There are many habits we now consider the “new normal”. Masks, sanitizer, and awkward Zoom hangouts are just some of the facets of daily life we no longer think twice about. As restaurants open and we can meet outside our screens again, one of the […]
Guest Post: The Revolution Will Not Be Streamed: Digital Activism in the Era of Mass Surveillance
By Rachael Bradshaw on September 21, 2021 | Tagged with Data Collection, democracy, Digital Activism, Digital Security, Online Safety, police, Politics, privacy, safety, Social media, surveillance
The Revolution Will Not Be Streamed: Digital Activism in the Era of Mass Surveillance by Leila Matte-Kaci On December 4th, 2020, the State Council of France expanded three decrees to widen the scope of police surveillance. [1, 11, 28] French police will now be able to track citizens or groups whose activities indicate that they […]
Guest Post: Targeted Advertising and Ad Blocking Technologies
By Rachael Bradshaw on August 24, 2021 | Tagged with Advertising, Data, data, Data Collection, data harvesting, facebook, google, Online Safety, privacy, Social media
Targeted Advertising and Ad Blocking Technologies by Laura Moberg Have you ever wondered if your phone was listening to you? In an episode from their podcast Reply All, Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt investigate the belief many people have that Facebook is listening to us through our devices and using that information to create targeted […]
Guest Post: Algorithms and the Death of Democratic Discourse
By Rachael Bradshaw on July 27, 2021 | Tagged with big data, data, Data, Data Collection, facebook, google, Online Presence, Politics, privacy, Search Engines, Social media, surveillance
Algorithms & The Death of Democratic Discourse by Christian Koch Our entire digital history tracked— and is still being tracked. Platforms like Google, Facebook, and others collect data from links clicked, time spent on a particular page, whether or not the content is shared, and even the most seemingly inconsequential choices— all to build pictures […]
Guest Post: Chubby Cheeks, Tiny Hands, and Digital Footprints
By Rachael Bradshaw on July 13, 2021 | Tagged with Digital Footprint, Digital identity, digital tattoo, Instagram, Online Safety, privacy, Social media
Chubby Cheeks, Tiny Hands, and Digital Footprints By Kira Vandermeulen We’ve all seen those sweet posts featuring snaps of our friend’s baby with chubby cheeks and little hands. Today, social media is filled with children. This only makes sense: what with kids being so cute, why wouldn’t you Instagram it? However, as it becomes easier […]
Guest Post: A Clear Cookie Jar: Discussing the Increased Autonomy of Our Digital Privacy
By Rachael Bradshaw on June 15, 2021 | Tagged with big data, Bill C-11, Cambridge Analytica, Data, data, data mining, law, laws, online privacy, privacy
A Clear Cookie Jar: Discussing the Increased Autonomy of Our Digital Privacy by Olivia Done We all have privacy agreement fatigue, often accepting all cookies on browsers and skipping new privacy agreement emails. [1] However, recent changes to EU and Canadian digital privacy laws provide us with more user autonomy over data mining [2], terminology […]
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