Flo is the most popular period app, 230M+ downloads, and the one the FTC settled with in 2021 for sharing users' health data with Facebook and Google after promising not to.

Two options:

Lock it down: turn on Anonymous Mode (avatar → Profile), set a passcode, don't sign in with Google.

Or leave: deleting the app doesn't erase your data. Tap avatar → Privacy settings → Delete account, then switch to a private tracker like Euki.

#Flo #periodapps #privacy #indigoprivacy

Surprising good news from 🇫🇷 !

"France's Constitutional Council strikes down social media ban for under-15s"

🔗 : https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2026/08/14/france-s-constitutional-council-strikes-down-ban-on-social-media-for-under-15s_6756507_13.html

"In its decision, the Constitutional Council raised concerns about the possible impact on privacy from instituting an age-verification system for all users."

Wow! I was not expecting this at all.

#privacy #AgeVerification #France

this is really super cool:

https://likebutter.app/blog/butterbox-deltachat

quite some other projects try to solve "offline communications" by using Bluetooth but I think this is very unpractical for anything that is not looking like an IRC or SMS app

but if people setup local interconnected wifi hotspots and build a mesh network in the cities/towns then you can have a something much more interesting while not draining everyone's battery

enabling people to do things like this and becoming truly resilient and autonomous

things like this you can never do with centralized messengers like #WhatsApp, #Telegram, #Signal, etc. if you really care about digital independence, centralized alternatives are just NOT an option at all

#mesh_network #mesh #offlinefirst #deltachat #autonomy #privacy #security #freedom #resilience #decentralization #opensource #europe #european #digitalindependence #diday #butterbox

The Government is Monitoring Anti- #Flock #TikTok and #Instagram Accounts

https://www.404media.co/the-government-is-monitoring-anti-flock-tiktok-and-instagram-accounts/

#privacy #surveillance #FreeSpeech #ALPR #police

🔐 #Privacy news & updates from @privacyguides:

“⛔️ This isn't being used for local crime prevention, researchers have found thousands of instances of Flock data being accessed across state lines․ 🚓 In multiple states local police granted federal agencies (like ICE) …”

https://mastodon.neat.computer/@privacyguides/117084426830635711

🤖 via RSS feed. May not reflect our views.

The easiest way to tell that Flock Safety doesn’t really care that its massive network of ALPR (automatic license plate reader) cameras is being abused by cops to stalk their exes and harass residents is to judge it by its actions. When confronted with court case after court case detailing these allegations (and those are […]

not a supporter of #ArcaneChat yet??? you can not only watch but also be part of the change! ✨

💜 join our contributors 👉 https://arcanechat.me/#contribute

#privacy #europe #european #android

#TutaMail and #ProtonMail are by far the world's two best email providers/services for #Anonymity, #Privacy and #Security (#APS).

I have recently (12th August 2026) carried out a thorough research into this as I am planning to migrate to whichever is the best email provider/service for APS and move away and ditch US Big Tech.

Between the two, the one that comes on top depends on what you value most on aggregate. In individual edge terms, here is how they compare:

Tuta Mail: cheaper; more custom domains; more email addresses; more established/robust Post-Quantum (PQ) Security;

ProtonMail:

@Tutanota
@ProtonMail
@protonprivacy

You cannot buy your way to privacy with one app or one setting. It is a handful of habits you repeat. Check permissions. Share less by default. Ask why an app wants what it wants. Do it for a month and it stops feeling like work and starts feeling like common sense.

#privacy #digitalprivacy #indigoprivacy

Ferguson said he’s been surprised to see the “growing community backlash” against #Flock specifically, given that the #technology isn’t new & other companies sell it as well. But Flock & the movement against it have “captured people’s sense that maybe they don’t want to be surveilled all the time,” he said.

#law #privacy #InfoSec #immigration #MassSurveillance #tech #AbuseOfPower #deflock

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, a professor at the George Washington University Law School whose scholarship has focused on #policing, #BigData #surveillance & the #FourthAmendment, said Thursday’s shifts were “better than the opposite” but called for further scrutiny of the #technology in the form of “sustained democratic engagement with the rules & judicial checks on access at a minimum.”

#Flock #law #privacy #InfoSec #immigration #MassSurveillance #tech #AbuseOfPower #deflock

Robert Frommer, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that’s led litigation over the #tech, called the changes “window dressing” from a company in “panic mode.”

“This is window dressing that doesn’t address the fundamental problem, which is that police officers are the ones deciding who & when to search, & that should be done by #judges with real warrants,” he said.

#Flock #law #privacy #InfoSec #immigration #MassSurveillance #AbuseOfPower #deflock

Critics of the company reacted skeptically to the changes, which they said appeared designed to address the growing bipartisan anger about the cameras but could still leave room for #police to abuse the system.

The ACLU said that the shortened evidence retention window could be “a step in the right direction,” but it characterized the other changes as “retreads” of inadequate safety measures.

#Flock #law #privacy #InfoSec #immigration #MassSurveillance #tech #AbuseOfPower #deflock

Imani Thompson (26) hosted “Break Up With Google” at Wonderville Bar in Brooklyn—“cybersecurity disguised as a party” with DJs and practical steps to reduce surveillance by big tech. Across the US, community groups are offering workshops on safer, transparent digital tools. 🍸🕵️‍♀️ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/big-tech-breakup-parties #Cybersecurity #Privacy #DigitalRights

Customers will also be allowed to decide which offense types — such as homicide or arson — outside agencies can search their data for, which would allow a customer to block outside searches related to #immigration enforcement, the company said.

Langley said that change will give individual cities & departments control to use the system in a manner “consistent with community values.”

#Flock #law #privacy #InfoSec #MassSurveillance #tech #AbuseOfPower #deflock

#Flock CEO Garrett Langley said many product changes will make what were once optional guardrails mandatory for its users to implement by Jan 1.

Among them∶ #LawEnforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool intended to flag abnormal search behavior. When the system detects abnormal behavior, the user would be locked out pending an internal review, the company said in a description of the changes provided ahead of Thursday’s announcement.

#law #privacy #immigration #surveillance

The company operates a vast nationwide network of automated cameras that record the license plate numbers & other characteristics of all passing vehicles every day. Thousands of #LawEnforcement agencies in 49 states can search & share Flock’s data across jurisdictions to aid their investigations.

#Flock #law #privacy #InfoSec #immigration #MassSurveillance #tech #AbuseOfPower #deflock

#Flock Safety, the #surveillance #technology company increasingly under scrutiny from lawmakers from both parties, civil liberties advocates & citizens across the #US, announced Thursday that it is making changes to its platform intended to quell #privacy concerns & address documented abuses of its system by some members of #LawEnforcement.

#law #privacy #InfoSec #immigration #MassSurveillance #AbuseOfPower #deflock
https://apnews.com/article/flock-license-plate-cameras-surveillance-deflock-2a93bc075e2f7ffcca9e04a35d75a3fe?utm_source=app&utm_medium=iOS_share&utm_campaign=copy_link

"...At one anti-ICE event at a church, agents documented the license plate information of attendees, the records showed. When two agents were approached by a man who “asked if they were ICE”, the agent responded, falsely, that they were not...." #surveillance #bigbrother #privacy #uspol

Well worth reading this one on Flock and all the issues automated license plate readers have (esp. over the Fourth Amendment), and a handy "what you can do" section.

https://mastodon.social/@theblufnews/117090947328980808

#flock #privacy #alpr

🔐 #Privacy news & updates from @privacyguides:

“🔍 Flock says that the data is secured and restricted to specific police departments․Independent researchers have demonstrated that Flock's video feeds are accessible publicly, highlighting how dangerous mass location d…”

https://mastodon.neat.computer/@privacyguides/117084426843128373

🤖 via RSS feed. May not reflect our views.

This Tool Unmasks the Shadowy World of Ads that Track Your Location

https://www.404media.co/this-tool-unmasks-the-shadowy-world-of-ads-that-track-your-location/

#privacy #advertising #DecryptAds

That's a new one... mobile phone. Which is synced to carrier time. But I have all cookies/location/etc blocked and running Waterfox. #privacy

Alt...

Security validation fail on a website due to clock settings

Alternative #search engines to #Google

https://tuta.com/blog/alternative-search-engines-to-google

#privacy

The Play That Taught #Garissa Its Rights

https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5852/play-taught-garissa-its-rights

#Kenya #privacy

#BTP expands Live #FacialRecognition ( #LFR ) trial into #LondonUnderground stations

https://www.btp.police.uk/news/btp/news/england/btp-expands-live-facial-recognition-lfr-trial-into-london-underground-stations/

#UK #London #FRT #privacy #surveillance

How to turn off #Siri on #iPhone and other #iOS devices

https://proton.me/blog/turn-off-siri

#Apple #privacy

***if I read this right: FLOCK CEO IS ADMITTING MISUSE OF THEIR SYSTEM IS RAMPANT ****

#flock #privacy

🙄

Flock CEO: "...Misuse proved so rampant that Langley decided Flock needed to make the audit feature standard...."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrv1rjwgl9o

#flock #bigbrother #stalking #privacy

Alt...

When he asked her why she disliked the technology so much, she told him it was ultimately a tool for police to "abuse their power." It turned out that police "kind of feel the same way" as her, Langley said. Conversations he had with police would often turn to officers saying of their colleagues 'we knew that person was not good. We had no way to prove it'.

Alt...

It automatically creates an audit log of searches being done on Flock, and flags unusual search behaviour. Most police customers turned on the feature when it became an option. Misuse proved so rampant that Langley decided Flock needed to make the audit feature standard.

#Linux desktop use surged to 22% on one workday, #Cloudflare data shows

https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-desktop-use-surged-on-one-workday-cloudflare-data-shows/

#FOSS #privacy

#FBI says cybercriminals are hacking into victims’ online accounts to steal their intimate pictures

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/11/fbi-says-cybercriminals-are-hacking-into-victims-online-accounts-to-steal-their-intimate-pictures/

#privacy #cybersecurity #SocialMedia #nsfw

#Flock #privacy #LawEnforcement #misconduct

'A new database launched Wednesday... details more than 100 cases of alleged abuse by law enforcement officers using Flock Safety’s nationwide camera network.'

https://www.commondreams.org/news/police-abusing-flock-cameras

Common Dreams: New Database Documents Over 100 Cases of Cops Abusing Flock Surveillance Cameras. “A new database launched Wednesday that details more than 100 cases of alleged abuse by law enforcement officers using Flock Safety’s nationwide camera network is adding fresh urgency to the growing backlash against automated license plate readers.”

Surveillance tech company Flock is rolling out updates to address reports of cops across the country abusing its tools to stalk ex-romantic partners and others. CEO Garrett Langley is delivering a mea culpa, and in an interview with @verge says he’s changed his mind on what responsibility Flock bears for how law enforcement uses it.

https://flip.it/NAJ0ZP

#Flock #Privacy #Technology

#Signal: Introducing Automatic Key Verification

https://signal.org/blog/automatic-key-verification/

#cybersecurity #FOSS #privacy

Old Reddit is making people log in now to use that platform.

Let's get it clear, when they all force you to log in, they get your email, perhaps phone number, and other information they can sell.

Almost every platform forces you to make an account. And I see this as a "precursor" to the age (ID) verification that came after.

I rant about this pet peeve of mine below:
https://theforesthiker.github.io/ThoughtForest/Blogs/loginRant.html

#internet #freeinternet #reddit #blog #technology #writing #rant #privacy

Small update. We’re working on bug fixes and improvements, and 3.0.2 will be pushed as soon as it’s ready.

We’ve had a death in the family, so we’re a bit slower than usual here and with replies for a while. Thanks for your patience and understanding. The work continues, just at a gentler pace right now.

zerion.chat

#foss #privacy

🔐 #Privacy news & updates from @privacyguides:

“⚠️ Surveillance isn't inevitable ⚠️Over 100 communities - including Austin, Denver, Cambridge, and Eugene have already canceled or suspended their Flock contracts․🏡 Communities are fighting back against mass surveillan…”

https://mastodon.neat.computer/@privacyguides/117084426855984221

🤖 via RSS feed. May not reflect our views.

🏆 Congratulations to COSIC researcher Tim Vlummens and co-authors!
Their paper, "Bridges to Self: Silent Web-to-App Tracking on Mobile via Localhost", received the Internet Defense Prize 2026 at #USENIX Security Symposium and was also selected as a Distinguished Paper.
Their research revealed how Meta and Yandex used localhost communication on Android to link web browsing data to app identities, bypassing privacy protections designed to separate web and app contexts.
#Privacy #MobileSecurity

Your phone number is basically an ID card. 2FA logins tie it straight to your carrier identity — hand it out once and it's a public lookup back to you.

Rob Braxman breaks it into 3 privacy levels: 1) virtual number + forwarding, 2) full SIP app for a second line, 3) full isolation — no traditional number, data-only SIM.

Note: the principle applies with any VoIP provider or data-only SIM, not just the one he demos.

https://odysee.com/@RobBraxmanTech:6/hidden-phone-no-x:5

#Privacy #2FA #VoIP

TechSpot: A cybersecurity researcher covered a Toyota in an AI-generated pattern to confuse Flock cameras. “The pattern does not stop a camera from recording. Instead, it is designed to prevent the software connected to the camera from recognizing what it sees. A person or car wearing the pattern would still appear in the footage, but the detection system may not flag it as a person or […]

How your house spies on you

https://proton.me/blog/smart-home-privacy

#privacy #IoT

#Wesco confirms security incident after #ExfilSquad claims data theft

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/wesco-confirms-security-incident-after-exfilsquad-claims-data-theft/

#cybersecurity #privacy #DataBreach

Lack of transparency and national guidelines mark the expansion of #FacialRecognition in Brazilian #education

https://internetlab.org.br/en/pesquisa-en/lack-of-transparency-and-national-guidelines-mark-the-expansion-of-facial-recognition-in-brazilian-education/

#Brazil #FRT #privacy

After Monday's warning that period apps may share your health data, here's the opposite: Euki.

It's a free reproductive-health app from the nonprofit Women Help Women. It collects nothing, everything stays on your phone, no account, no cloud. Mozilla's Privacy Not Included gave it a "Best Of" and flagged it "not creepy."

Extras: a decoy screen if you type 0000, a hideable dashboard, a PIN lock, and auto data deletion. Free, EN/ES, iOS and Android.

#Euki #periodapps #privacy #indigoprivacy

#Addy: Introducing Duo and Family plans

https://addy.io/blog/introducing-duo-and-family-plans/

#privacy #FOSS #AddyIO #email #EmailAlias #EmailAliasing

Well worth a listen/read! : https://darknetdiaries.com/transcript/146/

"People sometimes say to me when we’re talking about government surveillance that they’ve got nothing to hide and they aren’t worried about it. Well, what those people are really saying is that they’re always going to comply with the government no matter what. They’re never going to have dissenting views or protest.."

And they're not only aligning with the current government, but with all future governments.

#privacy #surveillance

#IVPN: A security incident on our #Bitcoin payment server

https://www.ivpn.net/blog/security-incident-bitcoin-payment-server/

#VPN #BTCPay #privacy #cybersecurity #Lightning #BitcoinLightning #BTC

Looking for a more privacy-friendly alternative to ChatGPT? 🔐🤖

We compared Duck.ai, Proton Lumo and Brave Leo on privacy, accuracy and features.

Each takes a different approach to private AI.

Read our full comparison:
https://novacustom.com/knowledge-base/privacy-friendly-alternative-for-chatgpt/

#Privacy #AI #DigitalPrivacy #DigitalFreedom

Threema is having an outage today, second day running. Their main service went down and messages stopped flowing.

No shade, outages happen to everyone. But it’s a clean illustration of one thing: when delivery depends on a company’s servers, their downtime is your silence.

A serverless design has no central service to go down. There’s no status page because there’s nothing to fail in the middle.

zerion.chat

#privacy #threema #foss #tor

This Tool Unmasks the Shadowy World of #Ads that Track Your #Location

The #advertising industry is simultaneously everywhere and incredibly difficult to investigate. Ads can power all sorts of surveillance, from the relatively mundane like inferring someone’s age or gender, right up to harvesting their precise location data and selling this to the government. But researching that omnipresent #surveillance is, ironically, an uphill struggle because the relevant data is spread across the web, nestled in obscure files that most people never look at or even know to look for, and can’t be searched all at once.

A new #research tool called #DecryptAds hopes to change that by bringing together a massive corpus of data. It can show what advertising brokers are operating on a particular website, and, more importantly, many other places those same brokers are operating.
#privacy

https://www.404media.co/this-tool-unmasks-the-shadowy-world-of-ads-that-track-your-location/

#ICE to Pay #LexisNexis Millions for Data to Feed to #Palantir

https://www.404media.co/ice-to-pay-lexisnexis-millions-for-data-to-feed-to-palantir/

#surveillance #privacy #politics

Jury selection is on Wednesday, with opening statements slated to begin August 18. #Meta founder and CEO #MarkZuckerberg is expected to testify, as is #Instagram head #AdamMosseri.

In terms of potential damages & implications for Meta, the trial is the biggest test yet of youth #socialmedia litigation & comes amid a broader reckoning across the globe over social media's effects on young users.

#law #privacy #infosec #tech #engagement #addiction #MentalHealth #business

The trial in Oakland, expected to last seven weeks, will test Colorado, Kentucky, California & New Jersey's allegations that #Meta designed its platforms to keep young users hooked & ‌misled consumers about their safety. It will also address claims by 29 states that the company illegally collected & used #children's #data in violation of federal law.

#law #privacy #infosec #tech #socialmedia #engagement #addiction #MentalHealth #business

The Register: Signal adds an extra layer of security to make sure you’re actually chatting with the right person. “Signal has introduced a new layer of security to help make sure no one has secretly interfered with your encrypted chats. The chat app is favored by diplomats, activists, and journalists for its security. It uses end-to-end message encryption and ‘safety numbers’ – cryptographic […]

https://www.wired.com/story/mcdonalds-built-a-515-page-dossier-on-me-it-says-ill-never-leave/

McDonald's built a 515-page dossier on ONE person. A WIRED journalist requested their data and got half a thousand pages tracking purchases, habits & behavioral predictions.

Loyalty programs = surveillance tools. Even "innocuous" data creates creepy profiles when aggregated

#Privacy #DataSurveillance #ConsumerRights

You cannot buy your way to privacy with one app or one setting. It is a handful of habits you repeat. Check permissions. Share less by default. Ask why an app wants what it wants. Do it for a month and it stops feeling like work and starts feeling like common sense.

#privacy #digitalprivacy #indigoprivacy

Your 401(k) administrator sees your whole financial picture. Firms like Fidelity and Empower now mine it to target you with affiliated annuities and loans, turning a workplace benefit into a marketing feed you can't opt out of.

#privacy #fintech #databrokers #indigoprivacy

Signal introduces Automatic Key Verification 🔑

It provides an easier solution for confirming end-to-end encryption between you and your contact

👉 https://aboutsignal.com/news/signal-introduces-automatic-key-verification/

#signal #signalapp #signalmessenger #aboutsignal #security #privacy #tech #news

Ever wonder what "encrypted" really means for your personal data? Our new blog post dives deep into real end-to-end encryption, cutting through the marketing jargon. We even break down Health Partner's own journal encryption! Check it out: https://url.shrynshjn.com/XoCndmc #Privacy #Encryption #DataSecurity