Encrypted Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Private: A Look at WhatsApp Privacy Concerns
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
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
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???
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
(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
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
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
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
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
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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