A setting most people never knew they had stopped being available in one country, quietly, and nobody's notes moved an inch.

Advanced Data Protection makes your iCloud data unreadable to Apple. New UK users can't switch it on, and existing ones were asked to switch it off. Apple withdrew the protection rather than build a back door.

I'm not re-litigating any of that. What it leaves you with is notes sitting under a key someone else holds.

https://catchlight.app/journal/uk-advanced-data-protection/

#Privacy #Encryption

The goal was never to disappear. It is to decide what you share, instead of letting a default toggle decide for you. That one shift, from opted in by accident to opted in on purpose, is most of privacy right there. You do not need to go off grid, you just need to choose.

#privacy #digitalprivacy #indigoprivacy

For years, the FBI pushed for ways around encryption, not more of it.

Then a massive breach of the US phone network flipped that stance almost overnight.

https://shortlivedage.substack.com/p/the-fbis-own-advice-changed-yours?r=8uodfo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

#digitalsafety #encryption #privacy #practicaltech #tech #technology

Smart irrigation controllers that connect to municipal weather data also transmit property location and usage patterns to the manufacturer's cloud platform.

#privacy #IoT #smarthome #indigoprivacy

Hello, I just pushed something new for users want extra privacy.

PH4NTXM AI LockGuard is a local AI-powered camera monitor for Linux.

It uses your webcam to detect whether you’re still present in front of your machine. If you leave or another person appears in the frame, it can automatically lock the session.

Everything runs locally. No cloud. No telemetry. No remote image processing.

Built for privacy, physical security, and people who want their workstation to lock itself when something looks wrong.

https://github.com/PH4NTXMOFFICIAL/PH4NTXM-AI-LOCKGUARD

#ph4ntxm #linux #debian #os #live #privacy #security #opsec #infosec #research #tech #technology

I’m at Renton City Hall for the rally against Flock, kicking off the #NoALPRs week of action … And oh no I forgot to bring a sign! Fortunately there are some other good ones here …

Alt text: Get the Flock out!

Alt text: Stop mass surveillance! No ALPRs. Big brother is watching you. 1984 was a warning, not a blueprint

#Flock #surveillance #privacy

#Google has a service which will scan the internet for these and inform you of them; when found, you can remove them from Google search! Neat. https://myactivity.google.com/results-about-you/ (I know, it still shows up in other search engines, but it's something at least.)

The way I approach (trying to) keeping my private info safe: when I am going to use a website which wants personal information, I either:

1. Ignore the privacy policy and just don't give any personal information they could abuse (or leak!) in the first place. Or,
2. Read the privacy policy of the site (or use an LLM to summarize the privacy policy if it's super long (and if you're OK with auto-summarizing) ) to determine whether or not you want to use it any longer, and if the privacy policy is OK, give them the information (if you have to).

#peopleSearch #privacy #Whitepages #privacyPolicy

As #Wisconsin cities flee Flock, its shared #camera network loses value

Over the past few months, a spate of Wisconsin towns and cities have withdrawn from #Flock deals over #privacy and #trust concerns. As they did so, another issue revealed itself: With each city that leaves, the Flock network becomes less useful to the cities that remain. And cities are starting to notice.
#alpr #privacy #surveillance #tracking

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/08/as-wisconsin-cities-flee-flock-its-shared-camera-network-loses-value/

Found in my Calishat Snaps: Digital Escape Tools. From the About Page: “Digital Escape Tools exists to make strong privacy and security choices easier to discover. The web is crowded with pay-to-play lists, opaque rankings, and products that treat users as inventory. This platform takes a different stance: clear categories, editorial context, and a bias toward open source, self-hosting, and […]

🚨 DEFEND PRIVACY!

🇨🇦 Canada's privacy reform Bill C36 puts enforcement of our rights under the thumb of the AI Minister, not the Privacy Commissioner.

✊ Defend independent enforcement! Tell your MP to fix C-36! https://openmedia.org/DefendOPC

#privacy #news #Canada @OpenMediaOrg

Canada’s Age Verification Bill Was Always an Unconstitutional Mess

On the heels of the French court ruling, some are wondering is Canada's version is going to share the same fate. Yes.

https://www.freezenet.ca/canadas-age-verification-bill-was-always-an-unconstitutional-mess/

#Censorship #LawAndTechnology #News #Privacy #Security #AgeVerification #BillC34 #Canada #CanadianCharterOfRightsAndFreedoms #court #France

For anyone using a third party Mastodon app I highly recommend you check out their privacy policy. While Mastodon nor most instances data mine, I’ve leaned many apps (even many developed by one person) do collect alarming amounts of data.

Mastodon itself has no use for this data , which means they are collecting to use for their own means.

#mastodon #privacy #apps #ios #windows #android #webapps

SF Standard: Castro bars dropped face scanners. The bigger fight isn’t over. “A months-long fight over an ID-scanning system that photographs arriving patrons at Castro gay bars has come to a head, with all three venues known to use it — Badlands, Toad Hall, and The Mix — halting the practice under pressure from privacy advocates. But the retreat from the tool, PatronScan, hasn’t […]

"We utterly defanged our regulators and let corruption hollow out Congress. The U.S. federal government genuinely no longer functions.

Yet we're still somehow subjected to this bizarre, performative pantomime in the press where we pretend the emperor is fully clothed and is capable of following through on elaborate protectionist policy that time and time again doesn't achieve any coherent goal outside of the enrichment of a bunch of preposterous assholes.

The reality remains that if the U.S. cared about consumer privacy, we'd pass a modern privacy law holding all companies (foreign and domestic) accountable. If we cared about national security and foreign influence, we'd dismantle the most corrupt administration in U.S. history. If we cared about social media propaganda, we'd properly fund journalism, boost media literacy, and embrace antitrust reform. If we cared about labor, we'd modernize and bolster unions.

The federal government no longer does these things because it's simply too corrupt to function. And the U.S. press, ostensibly tasked with conveying the truth to the electorate, is largely incapable of bluntly informing the public; in part because the truth might upset advertisers, event sponsors, ownership, and ad outreach."

#corruption #privacy #tech #nationalsecurity #oligarchy #economics

U.S. Anti-China Tech Protectionism Is Sloppy, Corrupt, And Stupid
https://karlbode.com/u-s-anti-china-tech-protectionism-is-sloppy-corrupt-and-stupid/

404 Media: The Government is Monitoring Anti-Flock TikTok and Instagram Accounts. “Government surveillance centers are monitoring viral anti-Flock Instagram posts, warning local police about upcoming DeFlock events including one scheduled to start next week, and have told cops to ‘increase patrols around ALPR [automatic license plate readers]’ as backlash to Flock grows, according to government […]

A couple of interesting webinars coming up soon from Association of Public Data Users (APDU):

August 25 Demystifying Data Privacy: Public Perspectives on Data Privacy https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iTElzyTlSpGdnKJyFI1ujg?mc_cid=4a962c8371&mc_eid=d08b806c0d#/registration

August 27 Perspectives on AI: Can AI "digital twins" replace human respondents? https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8eSiLLf2QFqe-Wo816o9Zg?mc_cid=4a962c8371&mc_eid=d08b806c0d#/registration (link to report: https://apdu.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=51494c54e490f7986d3d95dfb&id=de0c7a7b6d&e=d08b806c0d)

#privacy #data #datascience

#security #privacy #DataBrokers #WebTracking

'A powerful and free new service called DecryptAds scrapes and correlates this adtech data and makes it simple to quickly learn a great deal about the entities that are tracking you.'

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/08/whos-tracking-you-use-this-new-service-to-find-out/

AudioMass is a free, open-source audio editor that runs directly in your browser. You can cut, trim, record, add effects, edit waveforms, and now work with multiple tracks.

It can also be run locally, so you can edit audio without uploading your files to a third-party service. Lightweight, simple, and useful for quick audio editing.

More details: https://digitalescapetools.com/tools/tool.html?id=audiomass

#OpenSource #Privacy #AudioEditing #FOSS #SelfHosted

Alt...

Screenshot of the AudioMass web app in multitrack mode, showing a dark-themed editor with seven audio tracks (guitar rhythm, drums, bass, piano, harp 2, piccolo 1, flute 1) as colored waveforms staggered along a timeline. Toolbar at top has File/Edit/Effects/View/Help menus, transport controls (play, pause, record, loop), a timecode readout, and selection start/end/duration fields. A 'MultiTrack BETA' badge appears in the top right.

@Beggarmidas Clever people can have the same extreme #patterns as fascist people - and out-do themselves by going to their own spectrum's #extreme.

what I mean is :

- for #fascists it might be "getting rid of people" until they're the only one's left (then they have to get rid of them-self or whoever is left)

- for #clever people (tech #privacy) they might think "everything is insecure" and over-focus - to the extent they never #communicate / build much! (stuck in a mono-tunnel)

Makes sense?

One privacy story, every Monday. Legislation, lawsuits, data breaches, and tools that help you respond.

#privacy #news #indigoprivacy

🔐 #Privacy news & updates from @privacyguides:

“🚨 This Week In Privacy ⌗66 will be live in 30 minutes, we'll be talking about the new security upgrades on the Pixel 11 and whether it will support custom operating systems like GrapheneOS․👋 Come and watch and join th…”

https://mastodon.neat.computer/@privacyguides/117095755047944299

🤖 via RSS feed. May not reflect our views.

Children's apps in the Google Play and Apple App stores routinely violate COPPA by collecting device identifiers, location data, and contact lists without parental consent.

#privacy #children #COPPA #indigoprivacy

A quick look at zero-knowledge proofs

https://bernsteinbear.com/blog/zkp/

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49303776

#HackerNews #zero-knowledge-proofs #cryptography #privacy #security #technology

Woman claims her stepfather used #Grok to transform childhood photo into explicit imagery

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/15/woman-claims-her-stepfather-used-grok-to-transform-childhood-photo-into-explicit-imagery/

#nsfw #csam #X #Twitter #privacy #AI #deepfake

New York City Lawmakers Push to ‘Ban the Scan’ at #MSG

https://www.wired.com/story/new-york-city-lawmakers-push-to-ban-the-scan-at-msg/

#NYC #privacy #surveillance #FRT #FacialRecognition

🔐 #Privacy news & updates from @privacyguides:

“We'd like to extend our gratitude to Cape for becoming an organizational member of Privacy Guides․ Becoming a member is the best way to support our privacy advocacy work and protect privacy rights at a time when the wor…”

https://mastodon.neat.computer/@privacyguides/117090787178658754

🤖 via RSS feed. May not reflect our views.

#France's top court blocks #SocialMediaBan for under-15s

https://www.reuters.com/world/frances-top-court-rules-social-media-ban-curtails-freedom-expression-2026-08-14/

#privacy #AgeVerification

#Firefox for #iOS now has a built-in #AdBlocker

https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/firefox-for-ios-now-has-a-built-in-ad-blocker/39902

#privacy #FOSS #Mozilla

#US courts will start publishing how often the government uses #spyware

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/14/us-courts-will-start-publishing-how-often-the-government-uses-spyware/

#cybersecurity #privacy

#Meta Patents #AI Glasses to Use #FacialRecognition to Identify People, Make Highlight Reels of Your Dinner Party

https://www.404media.co/meta-patents-ai-glasses-to-use-facial-recognition-to-identify-people-make-highlight-reels-of-your-dinner-party/

#privacy #FRT #PervertGlasses #SmartGlasses #IoT #Oakley #RayBan

Associated Press: Flock announces changes amid backlash over its license plate reader network. “Flock Safety, the surveillance technology company increasingly under scrutiny from lawmakers from both parties, civil liberties advocates and citizens across the U.S., announced Thursday that it is making changes to its platform intended to quell privacy concerns and address documented abuses of its […]

Wallabag is an open-source, self-hosted read-it-later app that lets you save web pages and read them later without relying on a proprietary cloud service.

It extracts article content so you can read without ads, pop-ups, and other distractions. Android, iOS, and browser apps/extensions are also available.

More details: https://digitalescapetools.com/tools/tool.html?id=wallabag

#OpenSource #SelfHosted #Privacy #ReadItLater #FOSS

Alt...

Screenshot of the Wallabag webpage showing its description as a web application for saving web pages for later reading. It extracts article content to reduce distractions such as pop-ups and includes a self-hosting option. The page also shows project badges and a preview of the Wallabag interface with saved articles displayed in a grid.

Vol 07 of my newsletter just dropped. Lots of cool stuff about design, code, accessibility, privacy, and antifascism.

https://markwrites.io/nano-bytes-07

If you want to know when I publish new stuff, grab the RSS feed or subscribe to the email list. Or don’t. Whatevs.

#NanoBytes #Newsletter #Writing #Design #Code #Privacy #Antifascism

Data brokers re-list you after removal. We track it and send a new guide every Friday.

#databrokers #privacy #indigoprivacy

WebRTC protocol leaks real IP addresses even when users are connected to a VPN, a vulnerability that can identify users behind anonymizing proxies.

#privacy #VPN #encryption #indigoprivacy

really weird being a privacy advocate and into ham radio in america
I want to rebuild my APRS node but…
#HamRadio #AmateurRadio #privacy

AI is watching you: tracking, traps and surveillance.

From AI-powered trafficking scams to workplace monitoring and government scrutiny, AI is changing who can find, profile and watch you. Where's the line between safety, privacy, and surveillance?
Good video from DW
#privacy #survelliance #AI #technology

https://youtu.be/vYZ4d3biLDU?si=Uvt-SNsLWY-D9DmL

#RingCentral #DataBreach exposed info of 1.6 million accounts

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ringcentral-data-breach-exposed-info-of-16-million-accounts/

#cybersecurity #privacy

If #Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a #spyware attack, take it seriously

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/13/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously/

#cybersecurity #iPhone #iPad #Mac #cybersecurity #privacy

#Akira hackers disable #EDR with #SafeMode, steal data but fail to encrypt

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/akira-hackers-disable-edr-with-safe-mode-steal-data-but-fail-to-encrypt/

#cybersecurity #privacy

Meet KEMchatka: an experimental, serverless P2P terminal chat over Tor hidden services.

No accounts, no port forwarding, zero disk logging.

​Features hybrid post-quantum encryption: X25519 + ML-KEM-1024 (FIPS 203) combined via HKDF-SHA512 to defeat "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks. Simple out-of-band setup.

​When privacy is under threat, build tools that protect it.

https://github.com/bashcore/kemchatka

​ #PostQuantum #Tor #Python #CyberSecurity #Privacy #OpenSource #Cryptography

#Amazon will train on #Twitch streamers’ content by default, unless they opt out

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/12/amazon-will-train-on-twitch-streamers-content-by-default-unless-they-opt-out/

#streaming #streamer #AI #privacy #gaming

#Flock says its new tool will help identify #police abuse, but hasn’t explained how it works

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/13/flock-says-its-new-tool-will-help-identify-police-abuse-but-hasnt-explained-how-it-works/

#privacy #surveillance #stalking #ALPR

#Germany plans to give intelligence services sweeping new powers

https://www.euractiv.com/news/germany-plans-to-give-intelligence-services-sweeping-new-powers/

#privacy #surveillance

#Brave improves protections against GPU fingerprinting

https://brave.com/privacy-updates/38-webgl-webgpu-fingerprinting-protections/

#privacy #FOSS

#Trezor discloses #DataBreach affecting nearly 14,000 customers

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/trezor-discloses-data-breach-affecting-nearly-14-000-customers/

#privacy #cybersecurity #crypto

Reuters: German advocacy group lodges criminal complaint over Meta AI glasses. “A German advocacy group has filed a criminal complaint ‌against Meta and other companies selling the technology group’s AI glasses in Germany, arguing the devices violate privacy laws.:

"Stop Using #Discord Right Now..."

https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=J1-Gfi2KNlc #Video #Privacy #Security

I finally turned one of my recurring rants into a petition:

The U.S. needs a real federal right to privacy.

Access. Delete. Correct. Opt out. Data minimization. Data broker limits. AI transparency. Real penalties.

Privacy is not secrecy. Privacy is control.
https://c.org/x9VLHQrVHN
#Privacy

Who’s #Tracking You? Use This New Service to Find Out

It can be daunting to determine who’s responsible for showing #ads on the websites we visit, or who’s harvesting data from the mobile apps we use every day. That information is already semi-public, but it is not easily parsed and traditionally much of it has remained walled away in the hands of large #advertising platforms. Not anymore: A powerful and free new service called #DecryptAds scrapes and correlates this #adtech data and makes it simple to quickly learn a great deal about the entities that are tracking you.

#surveillance #privacy

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/08/whos-tracking-you-use-this-new-service-to-find-out/

#CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues

https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-workers-allegedly-used-government-databases-to-spy-on-exes-crushes-and-colleagues/

#privacy #surveillance #stalking

How to improve your #Google #privacy settings and why you should

https://proton.me/blog/google-privacy-settings

#guide

#BigTech Wants to Harvest Your Thoughts

https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-the-vanishing-earth-james-crawford-brain-mining/

#privacy #neurotech

Wired: "...In one case, a CBP officer allegedly used government databases to contact a flight attendant. In another, an officer was accused of pulling information from trusted-traveler applications to ask people out. Other CBP employees were accused of providing border-crossing data to someone involved in a “heated divorce.” And yet another DHS employee allegedly used controversial ad-tech-derived location data to track several coworkers’ cell phones..."

#stalking #bigbrother #privacy #surveillance

Wired: CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues
Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues’ cell phones.

https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-workers-allegedly-used-government-databases-to-spy-on-exes-crushes-and-colleagues/

#bigbrother #privacy #surveillance #stalking

Alt...

CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues’ cell phones.

California can protect privacy without undermining #Innovation. CCIA urged lawmakers to improve California's SB 1130 so liability falls on those who unlawfully record others, not the manufacturers, retailers, and employers behind everyday wearable technology. #Privacy and legal certainty should go hand in hand. Read more: https://ccianet.org/news/2026/07/ccia-raises-privacy-and-liability-concerns-with-california-wearable-devices-bill-sb-1130/

My new YT video is up!

This week's video is about the NoRecognition project and its adversarial design and learning model, which creates visual patterns that fool Flock cameras.

It's an exceedingly neat story. If you give it a watch, please tap the like button. That engagement helps a small creator out in a big way. Thank you.

https://youtu.be/y9jXa6V72mk

#YouTube #Tech #Technology #AdversarialDesign #Flock #Privacy #MassSurveillance

#UberFreight reportedly investigating after hacking group claims #DataBreach

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/12/uber-freight-reportedly-investigating-after-hacking-group-claims-data-breach/

#cybersecurity #privacy #Uber #Helix

German advocacy group lodges criminal complaint over #MetaAI glasses

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/german-advocacy-group-lodges-criminal-complaint-over-meta-ai-glasses-2026-08-12/

#Meta #AI #privacy #Germany #HateAid

👁️ AI could make mass surveillance easier than ever.

Facial recognition, predictive analytics and real-time data analysis can all be useful for security. But combined, they can also create incredibly powerful surveillance systems.

So where should we draw the line between security and privacy?

Read our article:
https://novacustom.com/knowledge-base/why-new-ai-technologies-can-fuel-mass-surveillance-by-governments/

#AI #privacy #surveillance #DigitalRights

Researchers Show How #Meta's ' #PervertGlasses ' Are Used to Harass Women

https://www.404media.co/meta-ray-ban-smart-glasses-pov-instagram-pickup-artists/

#SmartGlasses #RayBan #Oakley #IoT #privacy