r/PrivacyGuides team Jan 27 '24

Blog This Week in Privacy (#6)

https://blog.privacyguides.org/2024/01/27/this-week-in-privacy-6/
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u/ShadowVen_ Jan 27 '24 edited Jan 27 '24

Individual news posts please!

In 2017, detectives working a cold case sent genetic information collected at the crime scene to Parabon NanoLabs—a company that says it can turn DNA into a face. Then, in 2020, one of the detectives did something civil liberties experts say is even more problematic: He asked to have the rendering run through facial recognition software.

Didn’t know that was possible, makes me more annoyed that we can’t do much about facial recognition

Researchers have found that many iPhone apps spy on you when they receive notifications. “If the app is closed, the iPhone operating system lets the app wake up temporarily [when it receives a push notification] to contact company servers, send you the notification, and perform any other necessary business.”

So the gist of this is that block notifications for softwares that may do this behaviour— basically every app that needs one. Whatsapp which is a need at this point outside of US and Gmail are the two that I’ve on, both of which will make use of this. I guess I can live without the later one... or use Apple Mail?

Apple announced this week that—in the EU only. However, the restrictive way that they are going about this means we're not going to see Android-style side loading or an iOS version of F-Droid anytime soon.

The Apple way! Wish it wasn’t, but unless EU object, they’re gonna make it as painful as possible for devs and users.