privacy - Android Community

Tagged: privacy

EFF report slams Verizon and AT&T over user data protection

By Cory Gunther
on 2 May, 2013

A popular Digital Rights Advocacy group called the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is back this year and have released their annual report card. It's called "Who has your back" regarding companies who protect their users - and their data - from the prying eyes of the government. Surprisingly, Verizon scores dead last and didn't receive a single star, while AT&T only had 1 out of 5 themselves. It's not looking good for wireless carriers.

Facebook Home privacy concerns are addressed in Q&A

By Brittany Hillen
on 5 Apr, 2013

Excited about Facebook Home but wondering what the privacy aspect of it is looking like? Facebook has published a Q&A-format response to the most common questions that have been asked so far, addressing things like what information Home will gather and what it can see. We've got a full run-down of the privacy information, which you can check out after the jump.

Google Glass ban attracts attention for one Seattle bar

By Robert Nelson
on 11 Mar, 2013

Google Glass has already been discussed in terms of privacy, and the potential lack thereof for the person that would be in presence of someone wearing the glasses. Of course, many could argue that the same could be said for many other things such as smartphones and even security cameras. But on that note, at least one Seattle business has taken a proactive approach and banned the glasses.

WhatsApp hit with allegations of privacy law violations

By Eric Abent
on 29 Jan, 2013

It isn't a good day for the makers of the highly popular WhatsApp, as the Canadian and Dutch governments have accused the app of violating privacy laws. WhatsApp allows users to send text messages to others for free over the Internet, and with that kind of functionality on offer, it's become of the most popular apps in the world. Therefore, these alleged violations may just put a lot of users on alert.

Google to Facebook: unlock your user data

By Michael Crider
on 22 May, 2012

Google gets in hot water over user privacy on a pretty regular basis, but it's nothing to the kind of scrutiny that Facebook gets over its 900 million users. To their credit, Google has been fairly straightforward, even allowing those who are dissatisfied to pack up and leave after downloading all the relevant files. Facebook... doesn't. In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, Google CEO Larry Page expressed the sentiment that Facebook could be doing more to be open about how is uses the data it collects.

Google Wallet updated with privacy and UI improvements

By Cory Gunther
on 13 Apr, 2012

The venerable folks at Google have just issued another update to Google Wallet. Hopefully this time it won't cause issues for all of us rooted users either. While Google Wallet is still in its infancy and waiting to really take off, they've added tons of enhancements and improvements with today's update. Read on below for the full changelog and don't forget to use that $5 Wallet gave us last month.

Security concept app steals Android info with no permissions

By Michael Crider
on 12 Apr, 2012

Android security nuts, get your tin foil hats ready. A security researcher at Leviathan Security Group has posted a proof of concept application that can steal massive amounts of personal data when installed on an Android phone or tablet. No big deal, right? We've known about this sort of thing for ages. Except that Paul Brodeur's app can grab a shocking amount of data with zero Android system permissions, something that isn't supposed to be possible. The security loopholes exist in both Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich, and can be presumed for other versions of Android as well.

Google granted creepy eavesdropping patent for keyword-based ads

By Michael Crider
on 23 Mar, 2012

Google is watching you. So is everyone else, of course, and it's not like Google is trying to hide the fact - their controversial new privacy policy was plastered over every single web service for the better part of a month. But the USPTO has just granted them a patent on a piece of technology that actually listens to you - and I don't mean in the helpful Voice Actions sort of way. United States Patent 8,138,930 lays the groundwork for a system that actually listens for keywords in phone conversations and stores the triggers in a database, to serve contextual advertisements later.

European Commission VP eyes Android for privacy violations

By Michael Crider
on 5 Mar, 2012

Data privacy has been in the headlines a lot lately, and thanks to the latest bit of news concerning its photo system, Android is right there with it. The increased attention has brought a flurry of media coverage, and even political types (who, for better or worse, are usually a step or two behind) are getting in on the action. The Vice President of the European Commission recently told Channel 4 News that Android's potentially harmful privacy policies are concerning... and may actually be illegal, at least by European Union common law.

HTC promises fix for WiFi security flaw, some phones already updated

By Michael Crider
on 2 Feb, 2012

Earlier this morning we reported that serious security issues had been found in a number of HTC phone running its Sense UI skin, which allow third-party applications to view the passwords of saved WiFi SSDs. The flaw was discovered by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team and reported on the Homeland Security website. HTC has responded to the issue on their support website, stating that some of the phones are already fixed through regular security updates. However, some of the phones will need a additional update to be made secure. The manufacturer did not elaborate on which phones are currently safe and which are not.