License plate readers can now track your phone too, thanks to new surveillance tech
SignalTrace says it doesn't identify people, but experts say that claim doesn't hold up
A cybersecurity researcher covered a Toyota in an AI-generated pattern to confuse Flock cameras
The demonstration tested whether adversarial design can defeat computer-vision algorithms
What just happened? Bill Swearingen's noRecognition project is testing whether computer-generated patterns can interfere with software used to identify people, vehicles, and other objects on surveillance cameras. The project received its first public test Friday at the Def Con cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. Swearingen worked with Donut Media to cover a 2009 Toyota Yaris with one of his patterns and drive it past a Flock camera. "We proved it was effective," Swearingen, a cybersecurity professional and founder of SIXCYBER, told TechCrunch.
Flock's biggest investor also backs a company that can rewrite camera footage
Andreessen Horowitz backs both Flock Safety and camera-hacking firm Toka
Google's AI somehow knew a game secret that existed only in a private Google Doc
Google says it doesn't train AI on private docs, but this developer still can't explain what happened
AI slop, privacy fears, and endless scrolling are making people fall out of love with the internet
A new survey reveals growing frustration with tracking, deepfakes, and time-wasting algorithms
A hot potato: Remember the days when the internet was a fun place full of memes and funny videos, and you couldn't use AI to fulfill the request, "photos or it didn't happen"? Today, many people's view of the net is becoming negative, with 50% of users expecting their data to be exposed, AI making everything hard to believe, and the web stealing too much of their time.
Apple's iCloud Private Relay feature is leaking users' real IP addresses
The flaws also affect proxy-based privacy browsers including Onion Browser
DuckDuckGo made sunglasses that do absolutely nothing, and they sold out
The "Normal F***ing sunglasses" are a jab at Meta's AI-powered smart glasses
SEC bought access to over a billion airline records to track travelers, no warrant required
Records included passenger names, itineraries, and credit card numbers
Police departments are told to call license plate readers "county resources" instead of naming them
Roughly 50 communities have dropped the cameras since early last year amid mounting backlash
Dozens of police officers accused of using license plate cameras to track women
Allegations of personal surveillance and stalking have been made against at least 50 officers
One California town found Flock's license plate cameras were wrong 71% of the time
Flock's AI cameras aren't just a privacy problem, they're often just wrong
Europe is preparing to hit Roblox and ChatGPT with its strictest platform rules
The EU wants more transparency, stronger child protections, and fewer excuses from two of the internet's biggest platforms
GrapheneOS says its data-wiping "duress" password is perfectly legal, after user faces federal charges
Get Off My Phone: The recently unveiled case brought by the US Department of Justice against a GrapheneOS user is rekindling debate around privacy and effective operational security on mobile devices. The GrapheneOS Foundation has joined that debate, reaffirming some key points about the operating system's security features and whether previously deleted data can ever be recovered.
Hundreds of shared Claude chats, including resumes and health details, showed up in Google search
The same issue previously affected shared conversations from ChatGPT and Grok
Apple's smart glasses are delayed as company wrestles with privacy concerns
Apple is reportedly exploring camera restrictions and on-device processing to prevent its wearable from becoming a privacy nightmare
Through the looking glass: Apple is facing a dilemma: how can a company that has long prided itself on respecting users' privacy release a product notorious for spying on people – smart glasses? It's something that Cupertino is worried about, which is why its take on the device is reportedly being delayed until late 2027.
US prosecutors charge Atlanta man after GrapheneOS phone wipes itself during airport search
Prosecutors say the OS erased evidence, but advocates warn the case could criminalize security tools
A hot potato: A federal case in Atlanta is raising questions about a privacy-focused mobile operating system, with prosecutors arguing that its features were used to erase evidence. The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute Atlanta resident Sam Tunick under a federal statute that makes it a crime to destroy property in an effort to prevent it from being seized.
First-responder drones are spreading rapidly across the US, and privacy groups are worried
The FAA issued more waivers in ten months than it had during the previous seven years combined
Woman discovers a hidden AI camera in her rental car recording her and warning about unsafe driving
Recording drivers' every move is legal in most states but raises privacy concerns
LibreWolf is a Firefox-based browser focused on privacy and security
LibreWolf browser removes Mozilla telemetry and enables stricter privacy and security settings by default. It remains compatible with most Firefox extensions and is typically updated shortly after new Firefox releases.
New York hospital replaces 12 nurses with AI, prompting warnings over patient care dangers
The layoffs come only months after nurses went on strike and won protections against AI
The EU just revived a law that lets Meta and Google scan your messages – critics call it mass surveillance
Encrypted messaging services are currently exempt, but a proposed stricter version could change that
New York becomes the first state to ban smart glasses in courtrooms
The blanket ban goes into effect July 20
Meta's new AI tool can generate images of you using your Instagram photos, and you're opted in by default
And here's how to opt out of Meta Muse...
Through the looking glass: Meta launched a new AI image-generation model called Muse Image this week, letting users create, edit, and blend photos using natural language prompts inside Meta AI, with the tool already live on Instagram and WhatsApp and expected on Facebook and Messenger soon. However, the new feature is already raising privacy concerns, as it allows anyone to generate AI images using other people's Instagram photos.
Meta will disable your smart glasses' camera if you tamper with the recording light
People paid up to $100 in the "black market" to disable Meta glasses' recording light
A hot potato: The ability of smart glasses to record and photograph people without their knowledge or consent has long been one of the devices' most controversial aspects. Meta's glasses come with an LED light to show when they're recording, but some individuals have found ways to stop this indicator. Now, the social media giant says it will disable the onboard camera if someone tampers with the light.
Apple's Hide My Email feature may be exposing users' real addresses anyway
The bug reportedly remained exploitable more than a year after Apple was told about it