Mental Health Apps Are Not As Private As You Think
Mental health apps have been in demand for a while now, but since the pandemic, their popularity grew by over 500%. I downloaded and used a few myself — mainly…
Encryption
#NoPlaceToHide…for Stupid Ideas Like Backdooring End-To-End Encryption and Undermining Privacy
Government attempts to weaken cryptography to allow general surveillance are not new: they date back at least to the 1993 Clipper chip. Similarly, claims that children will be harmed by…
Instant Messaging Apps: How Private Are They & What Alternatives Are There?
Instant secure communication is a basic expectation in the 21st century. It's a way of keeping in touch with friends, family, work colleagues, and casual drinking buddies — without the…
Tails OS: The Amnesic Operating System That Covers Your Tracks
If you've ever done something super sneaky and prayed that no one would ever find out, you're in a similar position to Edward Snowden when he leaked highly classified information…
5 Really Wrong Myths About US-Based VPNs [Digital Privacy]
VPNs based in the United States frequently get unwarranted criticism, claiming that, by nature of them being based in the US, they are somehow “less secure” or “less private” than VPNs based…
Top Security Experts Warn: Client-side Scanning “Tears at the Heart of Privacy of Individual Citizens”
A couple of months ago, this blog wrote about Apple's Expanded Protections for Children, which turned out to mean client-side scanning (CSS). That is, code on your smartphone would be…
Australian Police Can Now Spy On Citizens, Disrupt Their Computers, Take Over Their Online Accounts, and Change Their Data
Privacy News Online has just written about a troubling proposal by Apple to carry out surveillance directly on iPhones. In Australia, the situation is even worse. There, the government has…
UK Leads the Charge Against End-to-End Encryption, Calls on Tech Companies to “Nerd Harder”
As Privacy News Online has reported, for years governments around the world have kept up a constant assault on end-to-end encryption. One of the leaders of this attempt to demonize…
Apple Has Betrayed Its Privacy Legacy – and Will Undermine End-to-end Encryption Everywhere
Apple is a company that has always made much of its commitment to privacy, and has succeeded in turning it into a unique selling point of its products. That proud…
What the Pegasus Spyware Leak Means for Surveillance, Smartphones & Encryption Backdoors
A few months ago, we wrote about dual-use surveillance systems – that is, technology that can be used for both peaceful and military purposes. The post discussed some limited efforts…