Tag Archives: privacy

Brave’s privacy

Startup Brave has begun showing ads in its web browser with privacy-focused new technology. Later this year, other software makers could start doing the same. The company plans to release a software developer kit as soon as the second half of 2019 that will let other programmers tap into its privacy-protecting ads, Chief Executive Brendan …

Read More »

Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook’s ad model: ‘We don’t sell people’s data’

Mark Zuckerberg says he didn’t set out to build a global company. But a month shy of Facebook’s 15th birthday, the CEO of the world’s biggest social network has found himself defending the behemoth he created. In an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday evening, Zuckerberg set out to explain “The Facts About Facebook” and, in particular, …

Read More »

Google appeals $57M GDPR fine, defends privacy practices

Google will appeal a fine imposed by the French government over European privacy rules, the company said Thursday. France’s privacy regulator said earlier this week that it’s fining the internet giant 50 million euros (about $57 million) for not properly disclosing to people how their data was collected and passed to advertisers. The fine was imposed under the General Data Protection …

Read More »

Google may break ad blockers with upcoming Chrome change

A Google plan to improve the Chrome web browser has triggered an explosion of concern that it’ll also cripple extensions designed to block ads, improve privacy and protect against security problems. Google’s proposed approach would torpedo ad blocker uBlock Origin, tracker blocker Ghostery, privacy and password manager Privowny, JavaScript software blocker NoScript and a malware blocker from F-Secure, according to …

Read More »

LG gets around foldable trend with second

On this podcast, we talk about: LG launching a phone with a second-screen attachment. Netflix raising membership prices yet again. Apple’s Tim Cook calling for privacy regulation. Now playing: Watch this: Netflix’s price hikes are coming quick 1:41 The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about the top stories of the day, brought to you by the CNET News …

Read More »

Sprint becomes the last major US carrier to stop selling location data

Every major carrier in the US has now decided to stop selling location data to third parties.  Sprint is the final company to put the nail in the coffin with its announcement Wednesday that it’s ending the practice. “Last year we decided to end our arrangements with data aggregators, but assessed that the negative impacts to customers for services like …

Read More »

Most users don’t know Facebook keeps a list of their interests, traits

Ignorance may be bliss for Facebook‘s users. About 74 percent of adults in the US who use Facebook didn’t know the social network keeps a list of their interests and traits for ad targeting, says a study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center. About half of Facebook users said they weren’t comfortable that the company compiled this information. The …

Read More »

Apple Maps gooses DuckDuckGo in search privacy partnership

Search engine DuckDuckGo now displays location information from Apple Maps in its search results, a new example of business partners trying to profit from people’s concerns about online privacy. DuckDuckGo now uses Apple Maps both for small maps in location-related search results and for larger, interactive search results that appear in a separate maps tab, DuckDuckGo said in a blog …

Read More »

Recommendations startup Canopy hires vets of Instagram, New York Times

Privacy-minded recommendations startup Canopy is adding to its ranks of Silicon Valley vets with two hires Tuesday: Matthew Ogle from Facebook’s Instagram and Bassey Etim from the New York Times.   The company is being built by people who’ve worked at Spotify, Instagram, Google and The New York Times, many of whom became disillusioned with how most digital personalization exploits consumers’ data. Canopy’s concept …

Read More »

Brave browser tries fixing online ads so you can have nontoxic websites

What if online ads weren’t the distracting, privacy-invading, malware-laced, battery-gobbling mess they’ve become? What if they could even fund worthy websites? That’s what startup Brave hopes to accomplish with a major new phase of its browser business. Brave began its existence three years ago by blocking all ads by default. On Tuesday, it’ll start offering anyone using the developer version …

Read More »