If you’re a WhatsApp user – like 2 billion others on the planet – your online status can be queried by third parties. This happens without you noticing anything. All that it takes is your phone number. Your online status is a source of information An investigation by Traced shows how online tools can be […]
Tag Archives: Privacy
A Five-Minute Guide to Clubhouse
Not many know about Clubhouse, which is an invitation-only audio-based chat app. The app is an iOS app based on voice and allows people worldwide to chat and meet new people. You can join in on different conversations on varying topics. You can choose to listen or participate in the discussion, just like in a […]
The two sides of the Clubhouse coin: does exclusivity equal elitism?
In the era of social media, it naturally invokes a lot of excitement when a new platform takes off and starts shaping our common online space. Clubhouse has given it another spin with limiting access to the party, which gave way to a lot of controversy. Neticle had to investigate… Clubhouse, the invite-only, audio-based social […]
How Location Pings are used to identify People storming the US Capitol
It was shocking when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. In the aftermath of this event, data (mostly pictures and videos) from the social network Parler was used to create timelines for the activities of individuals and ultimately to identify them. But now another data set has emerged from a different source […]
Why to keep your contacts safe from Apps
Apps that ask for accessing your contacts should be viewed with a very critical eye. To illustrate this, let me tell you a story. Sue and Joe are good friends since their days at college. However, Joe recently got into conspiracy theories and even joined a network of conspiracy theorists. They use an app to […]
What is the best Messenger Alternative for Media-Companies?
The announced change of WhatsApp’s privacy terms has lead to an exodus of users to alternative messengers. It’s no surprise that this happened, since WhatsApp’s mother company Facebook is interested in data and will find ways to monetize it. They have done this in the past when they forced companies to use their WhatsApp Business […]
iOS 14 Changes Aren’t Bad for Small Businesses After All
Facebook’s full-page ad campaign claims that Apple’s new policy, which will ask users to opt-in for tracking, will hurt small businesses. While it cannot be denied that small businesses depend on advertising, Facebook’s monopoly on social media and it’s popularity means that many small businesses depend on Facebook. For example, take a look at the […]
Daring Fireball: Online Privacy Should Be Modeled on Real-World Privacy
John Gruber from Daring Fireball gives a very good description of how online ad tracking would work in the physical world: Imagine if you were out shopping, went into a drug store, examined a few bottles of sunscreen, but left the store without purchasing anything. And then immediately a stranger approached you with an offer […]
Is Apple Killing A Billion-Dollar Ad Industry With A Popup?
The focus on Apple’s WWDC 2020 Keynote was on the next iterations of iOS, mac OS Big Sur and of course Apple Silicon. From the perspective of advertisement agencies, there was a specific feature that made them – let’s say – uneasy. It’s a new iOS 14 privacy-feature that requires active opting-in from users. Starting […]
Uncovered: 1,000 phrases that incorrectly trigger Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant | Ars Technica
If you are a user of Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant you’re familiar with “false alarms”. You just utter a completely innocent phrase and suddenly one of these voice assistants springs into action. This can be funny sometimes, but has become quite a privacy issue. Researches managed to produce a list of more than 1.000 […]