data collectionAll our Privacy Parent articles about or related to how companies collect your personal data online.
All our Privacy Parent articles about or related to how companies collect your personal data online.
April 7th, 2020
Editor’s note: Zoom has just released a package of security enhancements, part of an initiative the company’s calling Zoom 5.0. Read more about it here.
The antidote to self-isolation and social-distancing? Zoom. Virtually unheard of in mainstream America a month ago, Zoom, a video conference app, is suddenly everywhere, allowing coworkers to collaborate from home and kids to show off their latest paintings to amazed grandparents. But why Zoom? And, with reports of…... Continue reading >
March 3rd, 2020
In an analog world, the personal address book was gold. They were curated, edited and sprinkled with exclusive numbers that weren’t widely available. Contacts who gave you their unlisted numbers gave you, by extension, their trust. Close your address book and put it away, and no one could read it.
That was then. A digital address book doesn’t reside safely in a desk drawer. It’s in your phone, labeled “Contacts” and as vulnerable to…... Continue reading >
December 24th, 2019
Sobering words from the New York Times on tracking you: “Now, as the decade ends, tens of millions of Americans, including many children, find themselves carrying spies in their pockets during the day and leaving them beside their beds at night — even though the corporations that control their data are far less accountable than the government would be.” If that doesn’t get you thinking about opting out, it should.
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December 18th, 2019
Privacy Parent’s founder has taken to the radio recently to emphasize the importance of protecting your family’s digital privacy and security. “Information is power,” he told WKIP’s Uncle Mike. “And once you can collect information and create profiles of people, it’s easy to serve them ads, manipulate them, whatever it might be.” Click here to listen to that interview and here for a conversation with Tom Sipos, host of Hudson Valley Focus. “We’re the Guinea…... Continue reading >
December 16th, 2019
It’s time to start thinking of products like Roku as two-way devices that provide services in exchange for information. Switch on your Roku Ultra and it’s watching you and your family watch it. Understanding the privacy agreements from entertainment services like Roku can help you better understand the technology and enhance your family’s private security.
What Is Roku?
Roku makes devices and services that allow you to watch internet content…... Continue reading >
December 5th, 2019
Private companies are tracking your every online move and using that data to rate your behavior as a consumer. It’s valuable information, and it’s now available for you to see. As explained in this recent piece in the New York Times, you can request your file—the records that determine your secret consumer score—and find out just what these companies know about you. Fair warning: They know a lot. And if you want to try to shake…... Continue reading >
December 2nd, 2019
If you don’t like the notion of faceless companies gathering information about you and your children for the benefit of their advertising strategies, you can opt out of their tracking efforts. Your data is yours. It isn’t always easy to do, but if digital privacy concerns you, opting out is an important step.
As a recent report from the Washington Post put it, “data brokers are building profiles about you, using…... Continue reading >
September 24th, 2019
Facebook has suspended a vast swath of apps from its platform, citing privacy concerns, in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The tech giant has been roundly criticized for its policies relating to the collection and dissemination of personal data and was fined $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission for mishandling users’ information. Millions of apps developed for Facebook are under review.
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May 22nd, 2019
A generation ago, some of us used to worry about our private conversations being overheard. Others, often derided as paranoid, suspected the government of eavesdropping on everything we say.
The rapid technological advances of today make those concerns seem quaint. The wired world has brought the “eavesdroppers” into the home and made them part of the family. These digital assistants answer our questions, play music we like, place phone calls for us, tell us…... Continue reading >
March 24th, 2019
Modern gaming revolves around online connectivity. Without it, playing games like Animal Jam and Fortnite is impossible. Although these games claim to be “free” to play online, there’s always a price to pay for this level of access. And in the case of online gaming, that price is a wealth of personal information that’s made available to gaming companies.
Downloading a mobile game typically prompts a series of requests for “permissions.” These have become…... Continue reading >