Latest news with #Privacy
Wales Online
23-05-2025
- Wales Online
Expert says one phone setting protects children better than any app
Expert says one phone setting protects children better than any app Steven Gannon says the setting on iPhone and Android phones will help keep your children safe online A parent and child discussig their phone use Parents have been urged to change one setting on their children's phones to keep them safe, as experts say it is more important than any app. An online content expert says changing the setting on a phone will help ensure your children are protected. 'Most parents I talk to are completely stressed about what their kids might access online, but they don't know where to start with all the technical settings,' said Steven Gannon, Co-Founder of FollowersPanda . Steven said there's one setting that stands above all others when it comes to protecting children online: Content & Privacy Restrictions. 'Changing this single setting does the work of three separate parental controls,' Steven said. 'It blocks explicit content across browsers, prevents dangerous app downloads, and gives parents real control without needing to be tech wizards.' How To Set Up Content & Privacy Restrictions Setting up Content & Privacy Restrictions takes just a few minutes but provides powerful protection across your child's entire device. For iPhone users, Steven said: 'Go to Settings, then Screen Time. If it's not already on, turn it on. Then tap 'Content & Privacy Restrictions' and toggle it on. From there, you can select 'Content Restrictions' to block explicit content in Safari, music, and more.' Android users follow a similar path through Digital Wellbeing settings. 'Open Settings, tap Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls, then set up parental controls. You can restrict apps and content based on ratings from the Google Play Store,' says Steven. Article continues below The power of Content & Privacy Restrictions lies in its wide-ranging impact. Unlike other controls that might only address one aspect of online safety, this setting creates multiple layers of protection. 'The beauty is that it works across the entire device,' Steven said. 'Your child can't just switch to a different browser to access blocked content. The restrictions apply system-wide.' Three Major Risks The Setting Helps Prevent 1. Exposure to Adult Content With content restrictions enabled, browsers automatically filter out websites with adult content, protecting children from stumbling across inappropriate material. 'Kids are curious by nature. Even with the best intentions, they can accidentally end up on websites with explicit content,' Steven says. 'This setting creates a buffer that significantly reduces those accidental exposures.' 2. Dangerous App Downloads The setting prevents children from downloading new apps without parental approval, stopping potentially harmful applications before they can be installed. 'There are countless apps designed to hide content from parents or that expose kids to inappropriate interactions,' warns Steven. 'By requiring your approval for downloads, you maintain control over what enters your child's digital world.' 3. In-App Purchases Content restrictions also help prevent unexpected credit card charges from in-app purchases, which can quickly add up. Steven said: 'A lot of games today are designed to tempt kids into making purchases. This setting requires authentication, preventing surprise bills that can run into hundreds or even thousands of dollars." He added: 'What makes this setting so useful is its simplicity. You don't need to be a tech expert or spend hours figuring out complicated parental control apps. With just a few taps, you've dramatically improved your child's online safety. As someone who works in tech and sees the online world's risks daily, I can tell you this setting gives you the biggest safety bang for your buck. Article continues below 'Parents get overwhelmed trying to monitor every app individually or installing complex monitoring software. But often, it's this basic built-in feature they overlook. I've seen families spend hundreds on third-party solutions that don't work nearly as well as this free, built-in option. 'Remember though, no technical solution replaces open conversations with your kids about online safety – this setting just gives you valuable peace of mind while those conversations continue.'
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Federal judge blocks Trump's firing of two Democratic members of privacy oversight board
A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump's firing of two Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board . The ruling Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ends the lawsuit brought by two of the three fired board members in February. The five-member board is an independent watchdog agency housed within the executive branch. Congress created the agency after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and tasked the board members with making sure the federal government's counterterrorism policies are balanced against privacy and civil liberties.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
New Orleans Police Secretly Used Prohibited Facial Recognition Surveillance for Years
The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) secretly received real-time, AI-generated alerts from 200 facial recognition cameras throughout the city for two years, despite a city ordinance barring generalized surveillance of the public. "Police increasingly use facial recognition software to identify unknown culprits from still images, usually taken by surveillance cameras at or near the scene of a crime," an exposé by The Washington Post explains. However, "New Orleans police took this technology a step further," automatically alerting officers with real-time updates of names and locations of possible matches of wanted suspects from a private network of cameras through a mobile app. "This is the facial recognition technology nightmare scenario that we have been worried about," Nathan Freed Wessler, a deputy director for the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology project, told the Post. "This is the government giving itself the power to track anyone—for that matter, everyone—as we go about our lives walking around in public." According to Wessler, New Orleans is the first known instance in which a major American city has used artificial intelligence to identify people through live footage for the purpose of making arrests. The use of these automatic alerts may have violated a city ordinance meant to protect the public's privacy from a generalized surveillance tool and prevent wrongful arrests due to software errors. Passed in 2022 in response to New Orleans' post-pandemic crime wave, the Surveillance Technology and Data Protection Ordinance removed a previous prohibition on surveillance technology in criminal investigations to increase public safety. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at the time that the NOPD needed "every tool available at their disposal" to keep the city's "residents, businesses and visitors safe." However, the ordinance stopped short of allowing the NOPD to utilize a "face surveillance system"—defined as "any computer software or application that performs face surveillance"—while limiting data collection to "only the minimum amount of personal information needed to fulfill a narrow well-defined purpose." While violent crime in New Orleans has declined since 2022, so have the crime rates in most major American cities that do not use real-time facial recognition surveillance systems. Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of the NOPD since September 2023, paused the automatic alerts in April after learning about potential legal problems with using the system. Records obtained by the Post reveal that Kirkpatrick sent an email to Project NOLA, the nonprofit that provides the NOPD with facial recognition services, on April 8 stating "that the automated alerts must be turned off until she is 'sure that the use of the app meets all the requirements of the law and policies.'" The network of cameras remains in place. While automatic pings of potential suspect matches to NOPD officers are paused, Kirkpatrick maintains that facial recognition technology is essential to law enforcement. On May 16, 10 inmates escaped from the New Orleans jail, prompting a manhunt (five inmates remain at large). Facial recognition is credited with the capture of two of the escaped inmates. Kirkpatrick told WVUE, the local Fox affiliate, that such a situation is "the exact reason facial recognition technology is so critical and well within our boundaries of the ordinance here." Bryan Lagarde, Project NOLA's executive director, confirmed that NOPD is not currently using real-time, AI-generated alerts but is still utilizing facial recognition technology and footage from 5,000 cameras across New Orleans to track and apprehend the escapees. Lagarde described to WVUE an instance in which officers narrowly missed an inmate by a matter of minutes, insinuating that automated alerts might be necessary to protect public safety, despite the cost to privacy. Currently, Project NOLA staff continue to receive the AI-generated alerts provided by the camera network. The location of wanted suspects is then conveyed to police via phone calls, texts, and emails. According to Lagarde, the system is still sending alerts to the Louisiana State Police and federal authorities. The government's increased use of AI tools raises new challenges that impact Americans' civil liberties and privacy. Many questions around accountability, due process, and audits concerning the information AI tools collect still remain as the technology is deployed in the name of public safety. The post New Orleans Police Secretly Used Prohibited Facial Recognition Surveillance for Years appeared first on
Indian Express
04-05-2025
- Indian Express
5 privacy features you should enable on WhatsApp
WhatsApp offers several built-in privacy features to help users protect their personal information and conversations. If you are concerned about unauthorised access to your profile, unwanted group invites, or message visibility on WhatsApp, all you need to do is enable the right settings. Here are five key privacy features, including some advanced options, that every privacy-conscious WhatsApp user should enable to keep their chats secure and their account protected. Advanced chat privacy Advanced Chat Privacy in WhatsApp refers to features that go beyond basic privacy settings like hiding your last seen or profile photo, and provide robust protection for specific conversations and user interactions. These are particularly useful if you're concerned about sensitive chats being seen or accessed. Once enabled on an individual or a group chat, this feature prevents users from exporting the chats and also downloading the media to the device gallery. To enable Advanced Chat Privacy on WhatsApp, tap the chat name, then select ' Advanced Chat Privacy '. End-to-end encrypted backups End-to-end encrypted backup in WhatsApp is a feature that secures your chat history and media stored in cloud backups (Google Drive on Android or iCloud on iPhone) with end-to-end encryption. This means only you can access the backup, and not even WhatsApp, Google, or Apple can read its contents. The encryption uses a unique password or a 64-digit encryption key. This added layer of security protects your chat content from unauthorised access, even in the event that your cloud storage is compromised. To enable end-to-end encrypted backup in WhatsApp, open the app and go to Settings & gt; Chats > Chat Backup. Tap on End-to-end Encrypted Backup, then select Turn On. You will be prompted to either set a password or use a 64-digit encryption key to secure the backup. Once you've chosen your preferred method and confirmed it, WhatsApp will begin encrypting and uploading your backup to the cloud. Control who can add you to groups This feature lets you decide who is allowed to add you to group chats. By default, anyone with your phone number can add you to a group, but this setting gives you more control and helps prevent spam or unwanted group additions. You can choose from three options: 'Everyone,' 'My Contacts,' or 'My Contacts Except,' which lets you exclude specific people. If someone who isn't allowed to add you tries to do so, they'll be prompted to send you an invitation instead, which you can accept or ignore. To enable this feature, go to Settings > Privacy > Groups in WhatsApp and select your preferred option. Silence unknown callers A privacy feature that automatically mutes calls from phone numbers not saved in your contacts. While the calls still appear in your call log and notifications, your phone won't ring or vibrate when such calls come in. This feature helps reduce spam, scams, and unwanted disturbances without blocking the caller entirely. You can still see missed calls from unknown numbers and call them back if needed. To enable it, go to Settings > Privacy > Calls and toggle on Silence Unknown Callers. View once for photos and videos This WhatsApp feature allows you to send photos or videos that can only be viewed once by the recipient. After the media is viewed, it disappears from the chat and cannot be replayed, saved, or forwarded. This feature adds an extra layer of privacy, ensuring that sensitive content isn't stored or shared beyond the intended recipient. To use it, simply send a photo or video in a chat, then tap the '1' icon before sending. The recipient will only be able to view the media once, after which it will no longer be available.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Time of India
WhatsApp introduced Advanced Chat Privacy: It is adding an extra layer of privacy to your single and group chat
WhatsApp introduced Advanced Chat Privacy: WhatsApp is constantly striving to improve user safety and security on its platform. The well-known messaging app is launching a new feature that allows you even more control over your chats as part of its most recent attempt to safeguard private communications. This update will provide you with additional options for protecting the privacy and security of your communications. You will want to share this wonderful new development with your friends, family, and coworkers. Read on to discover what's new, how it works, and what it means for you. We'll go over every aspect with you to help you keep ahead of the curve. What is WhatsApp's Advanced Chat Privacy? A new feature to improve platform security for both individual and group chats has been unveiled by WhatsApp. This feature, known as "Advanced Chat Privacy," gives conversations an additional degree of privacy by prohibiting users from exporting conversations and having their phones automatically download material. Additionally, thanks to this new feature, users won't be able to mention Meta AI in messages or ask Meta AI queries in chat. WhatsApp claims that this action aims to reassure all participants in a group chat that nothing shared or stated outside of the session can be taken. Everyone using the most recent version of WhatsApp can access this new setting in conversations and groups. How does it work? In a blog post published on Wednesday, the Meta-owned instant messaging service formally announced the release of the Advanced Chat Privacy feature. According to WhatsApp, the new feature, which can be used in individual and group chats, helps prevent content sharing outside of the messaging app, adding an additional degree of anonymity. The Advanced Chat Privacy feature allows you to prevent other people from exporting chats while it is enabled. Additionally, it stops media from automatically downloading to other users' devices. Additionally, the feature limits how communications are used for AI features (Meta AI). According to WhatsApp, this feature helps increase the confidence of all chat participants that the conversation will not be disclosed outside of the chat. According to WhatsApp, this feature benefits group discussions when people may not know one another well but discuss delicate subjects. How to enable Advanced Chat Privacy on WhatsApp? By touching the Chat name and selecting Advanced Chat Privacy, users can activate the Advanced Chat Privacy feature. According to the business, this new feature is being made available to all users who have updated to the most recent version of WhatsApp. Additionally, WhatsApp has acknowledged that this is the function's initial iteration and aims to enhance Advanced Chat Privacy with additional safeguards. WhatsApp provides security features like conversation locks, end-to-end encryption, and vanishing messages for customers with more stringent privacy and security needs. For the latest and more interesting tech news, keep reading Indiatimes Tech.
