| | | | | | What’s Creepy & What’s Not So Far in 2022? Happy New Year from Your *Privacy Not Included Team!
Hi there,
Fun fact We are currently in the middle of Data Privacy Week. A whole week dedicated to better privacy in our everyday lives. Cool! Let’s get the conversation started.
Three Things You Can Do Today It’s January. It’s Data Privacy Week. Here are three simple things you can do today to help protect your privacy online. Take a minute to check the privacy settings on your phone.
Chances are they have changed since the last time you looked at them. Or you have. You might want to tighten those controls for 2022. Just go to Settings > Privacy on both your Android or iPhones to get started. Set up two-factor authentication on at least one device or account.
Two-factor authentication helps protect your devices and accounts in a huge way. Yes, it can feel a bit of a hassle sometimes, but we promise it’s less of a hassle than getting hacked and losing money or time trying to recover. Make a promise to support companies that do better at privacy.
This is really the best way we consumers can force change in the world — with our money. For example, Signal is a wonderful end-to-end encrypted app made by an independent non-profit. It’s better than an app like WhatsApp owned by a company like Facebook (now Meta) with a terrible track record of protecting users’ privacy. The Big Privacy Issue in 2022 Children’s privacy and safety online will be a huge issue in 2022. One we’re following closely.
Remember last year when Facebook (now Meta) came under fire when their own internal research repeatedly found Instagram was harmful to teens? Facebook then seemed to have done nothing substantial with this research to protect teens and instead planned to create Instagram for Kids.
And Apple raised eyebrows after they announced a photo-scanning plan to scan users’ iCloud, iPhone, and iPad photos using a potentially questionable algorithm to look for child porn? Privacy experts raised many legitimate concerns and Apple delayed the program.
More recently, Rolling Stone revealed how the UK government spent big money to hire a PR agency to create a campaign to undermine the strong protections end-to-end encryption gives consumers. They were doing this under the guise of protecting children online. Again, privacy experts have raised alarm bells.
Some good has happened recently too. Last September, the UK’s new children’s privacy protection law went into effect. Designed to help protect children’s privacy online, the Children’s Code has 15 standards businesses must follow to make sure they only process data in a way that is in the best interest of the child. We’ll be keeping an eye on this to see how it goes this year.
We’re certain 2022 will see many issues facing consumers when it comes to their privacy and safety — data breaches, ransomware attacks, companies finding ways to collect even more personal information. The privacy and safety of children online is at the forefront of our concerns. We would love to hear more about your concerns when it comes to the privacy of you, your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews, and the other children you know. Drop us your thoughts to help us know what you would find useful in 2022 when it comes to protecting children online. One last thing… Valentine’s Day is coming up fast. Last year we reviewed the privacy and security of dating apps and connected sex toys in our *Privacy Not Included guide. Take a look at what we found before you hop online looking for love in all the wrong (or right) places.
Thank you,
Jen Caltrider & Misha Rykov
Your *Privacy Not Included Team
Mozilla
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