tracking

The latest update for iPhones has switched on sensitive tracking, even for users who've actively switched it off. It appears to be a bug rather than conspiracy but users may want to check their settings. The change comes with iOS17, the latest ... version of the operating system, which started rolling out last week. It should eventually come to most models of iPhone released in the past five years. The problem is with two settings on the iPhone, namely iPhone Analytics and Significant Locations. A small minority of users have spotted the settings switched back on after the update, even though ... (view more)

The developers behind a "privacy focused" search engine are working on their own desktop web browser. DuckDuckGo is already available in mobile form with a reported 150 million downloads. The DuckDuckGo search engine is based around user privacy, ... with minimal data collected. It's funded through ads that relate solely to the search term a user looks for, rather than any data about their browsing history. The reduced reliance on personal data does arguably mean the search results aren't as relevant as with other search tools, though the developers claim this is better because users don't get a ... (view more)

Firefox has added a new feature letting users remove all traces of visiting a website, including cookies. It builds on the browser's existing technology that makes it harder for a single site to track users across the web. Both features aim to ... tackle the problem that tracking and other records of online activity come from a variety of sources. Visiting a particular site creates several pieces of data on a computer, while cookies are made more complicated because the site that places them on a computer isn't always the same as the site that access and uses the cookie. Total Cookie Protection ... (view more)

Internal Google documents suggest the company intentionally made it harder for users to stop it accessing their location data. The documents have become public through a lawsuit that claims Google broke data consent rules. The state of Arizona is ... suing over the way Google handles location tracking. Officials say that even when users switched off location tracking for specific apps, Google continued tracking in the background. It only stopped when users switched off a tracking setting for the entire Android system. That's led to the lawsuit, based on the logic that Google made profits from ... (view more)

Just one in eight iPhone and iPad users have agreed to let an app track them online. They've been able to make the decision since Apple changed its rules, to the dismay of advertisers. The change is to the way iOS handles a tag known as Identifier ... for Advertisers (IDFA). It identifies an individual device and allows advertisers to piece together information from multiple sources and activities. While advertisers argue this allows for better targeted and thus more relevant (and less annoying) ads, users and privacy groups have objected to what they see as surveillance and snooping. The change ... (view more)

Moves by Apple to restrict ad tracking have prompted a war of words with Facebook and a legal battle with advertisers. They both object to changes that require express permission for some tracking. The arguments are over the "identifier for ... advertisers" or IDFA. That's a specific code for each iPhone or iPad which can be used by advertisers to track activity by device users. Until now its been possible to use IDFA with express user consent and then combine it with other data to build up a picture of the individual for targeted advertising. The iOS 14.5 update to the iPhone and iPad operating ... (view more)

Facebook is to tell Apple users that it needs to track them to benefit businesses. It's a response to new Apple rules that mean users must opt-in to some forms of tracking. The messages, currently being tested, will pop up when users access Facebook ... on an iPhone or iPad. According to copies seen by CNBC, it reads as follows: Allow Facebook to use your app and website activity? Get ads that are more personalized Support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers To provide a better ads experience, we need permission to use future activity that other apps and websites send us from this ... (view more)

Fitness tracking company Strava is to share four billion pieces of user data. Unlike previous glitches, it's a deliberate action designed to help urban planners. The news came to light as Strava sent an email to customers to remind them that its ... user agreement gives it the right to share and sell user data as long as it is in completely anonymized form. Users can opt out, but their data is collected by default. The company is bundling the data, which includes details of walks and cycle rides, as a commercial product called Metro. The idea is that buyers such as urban planners and cycling ... (view more)

Google faces a class action lawsuit over claims it "misled users of Chrome's private browsing mode." But suggestions users are in for a $5,000 windfall are premature, to say the least. That's the minimum amount the lawsuit seeks per affected user, ... though for starters that assumes not only that the plaintiffs win the case, but that the court agrees to that amount. It also assumes the amount isn't reduced by lawyer fees and that anyone eligible is able to sign up to the case and provide any necessary proof. The crux of the case, brought in the United States District Court for the ... (view more)

Google has temporarily reversed a change intended to increase security and privacy in the Chrome browser. It says it can't risk disrupting websites when so many people are more reliant on the Internet than normal. The change was to the way Chrome ... handles third-party cookies . These are small text files placed on a computer when it visits a website. Unlike standard cookies, they aren't accessed by the site in question, but rather a third-party and are often associated with unpopular behavior such tracking a user's activity across the web to build up a profile of their interests to target ... (view more)