Is Google Listening to Me? Understanding Google’s Voice Features
Is Google spying on me? If you use Google Assistant or Gemini, your device may listen for a wake word, such as “Hey Google," to respond to voice commands. This…
General Privacy News
How to Disable Microsoft Keylogger (Windows 10 & 11)
Microsoft's keylogger lets the company record and process your keystrokes, so it can track anything you type on your keyboard. According to Microsoft, only specific employees have access to the…
Will the New European Media Freedom Act Mean Freedom to Spy on Journalists and Spread Disinformation?
The European Union's important new law, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), is likely to have an impact well beyond the EU’s borders. Unfortunately, that impact will be negative in…
Tired of Getting CAPTCHAs with a VPN? Here’s How to Avoid Them
It’s happened again. You log into your VPN, pick your location, open your web browser, and — CAPTCHA. But why? Isn’t downloading a VPN designed to stop these types of…
Process Mining: The Next Stage in Workplace Surveillance, and a Potential Threat to Employee Freedom
PIA blog first wrote about the normalization of workplace surveillance six years ago. A new report from Cracked Labs called Monitoring, Streamlining and Reorganizing Work with Digital Technology shows how…
Poland Opens GDPR Investigation into ChatGPT and OpenAI amid Mounting Privacy Concerns
Poland’s Personal Data Protection Office is investigating a GDPR complaint against ChatGPT and the company behind it, OpenAI. According to the Polish data protection agency: the complainant turned to the…
TikTok Hit with €345 Million GDPR Fine as Privacy Protection Becomes a Key Issue
TikTok has officially come of age: it has joined an exclusive club of companies that have been hit with major fines for infringing on the EU’s main privacy law, the…
Google Built a Surveillance System Into Its Chrome Browser to “Improve Privacy”
Google has announced that its Privacy Sandbox for the Web is now generally available to anyone using Chrome browser. It’s the latest iteration of Google’s efforts to improve online privacy…
Product Update: PIA Releases Updated Mobile Apps
We want to make sure our apps always give you the best possible online privacy and security, and we’ve been hard at work making sure they’re better than ever. We…
UK Government Halts Plans to Break End-to-End Encryption, but Privacy Risks Remain
A new law is about to be passed in the UK that will have a serious negative knock-on effect around the world. It’s part of a wider move by governments…