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Content type: Press release
Today, following an in-depth investigation, the UK Competition and Market Authority (CMA) assessed that the competition concerns can only be addressed by Facebook selling Giphy in its entirety. This is a very significant decision. Facebook, the largest provider of social media sites and display advertising in the UK, acquired Giphy, the largest provider of GIFs. The merger would further increase Facebook’s dominance and Facebook would have benefitted from Giphy’s data collection practices and…
Content type: Guide step
El identificador de publicidad es un identificador único que ofrece el sistema operativo MacOS y que los anunciantes pueden utilizar para identificarte con precisión. Facilita que los anunciantes o las empresas que comercian con datos puedan crear un perfil que posteriormente puede ser usado para personalizar la publicidad o para otros fines.
Cómo desactivar la publicidad personalizada
Ya hemos escrito con anterioridad sobre los riesgos que los anuncios personalizados suponen para tu privacidad…
Content type: Guide step
Configuración
En internet, las solicitudes de acceso a sitios web se dirigen a direcciones IP. Dado que las direcciones IP son difíciles de recordar, solemos dirigirnos a los hosts por su nombre (por ejemplo, privacyinternational.org). Por eso, y porque las direcciones IP pueden cambiar con frecuencia, cuando tu computador quiere acceder a un servidor por el nombre del host, le pregunta a un servidor DNS cuál es la dirección IP de ese nombre del host, para poder enrutar la solicitud.…
Content type: Guide step
Introducción
Pi-hole es un bloqueador de anuncios de uso general que cubre toda la red y la protege de los anuncios y los rastreadores sin que sea necesario configurar cada uno de los dispositivos. Tiene la capacidad de bloquear anuncios en cualquier dispositivo de la red (por ejemplo, electrodomésticos inteligentes) y, a diferencia de las extensiones del navegador, Pi-hole bloquea los anuncios en cualquier tipo de software.
La configuración general funciona de la siguiente manera (Fig. 1).…
Content type: Guide step
Instalación
Al igual que para las demás extensiones, para instalar Firefox Multi-Account Containers debes visitar la página de extensiones de Mozilla Firefox y hacer clic en Agregar a Firefox (Fig. 1) y, a continuación, hacer clic en Añadir (Fig. 2).
Content type: Guide step
Cuando accedes a un sitio web, tu navegador envía una cadena llamada agente de usuario que recoge el nombre de tu navegador, el sistema operativo y otros metadatos técnicos de tu dispositivo. Desafortunadamente, los rastreadores suelen abusar de estos metadatos para crear una huella digital de tu sistema e identificarte con precisión en toda la web. Para limitar la capacidad de obtener tu huella digital, puedes instalar un conmutador de agente de usuario para cambiar periódicamente el agente de…
Content type: Guide step
Las cookies permiten que los sitios web guarden los datos de una sesión, como las credenciales de acceso o los artículos en el carrito de compras, con el propósito de que no pierdas la información al cerrar la página. Desafortunadamente, con frecuencia se abuse de las cookies para rastrear tu actividad en línea en la web. Utilizar una extensión especializada te permite limpiar las cookies con regularidad para asegurarte de que tu navegador no guarde ninguna cookie no deseada, lo que permite…
Content type: Guide step
Las redes de distribución de contenidos (CDN) son redes geográficamente distribuidas de servidores proxy que buscan ofrecer funciones como mejorar la disponibilidad y el rendimiento de los sitios web. Aunque el objetivo es loable, también implica que los proveedores de CDN reciben metadatos vinculados con los sitios web que visitas (donde están instalados). Sabiendo esto, quizá sea conveniente sacrificar estas ventajas adicionales y prescindir de los grandes proveedores de CDN (como Google y…
Content type: Guide step
uBlock Origin (que no debe confundirse con uBlock, que es un proyecto diferente) es un bloqueador de anuncios independiente y de código abierto que utiliza una lista depurada de servidores. Evita que tu navegador se conecte a estos servidores para mostrarte anuncios.
Nota: En el mercado hay muchos bloqueadores de anuncios y puedes ensayar alternativas. Al utilizar un bloqueador de anuncios independiente, de código abierto y gratuito, es más probable que evites usar productos con conflictos de…
Content type: Guide step
Privacy Badger es una extensión para el navegador que bloquea los anuncios y los rastreadores. Esta extensión lleva una lista actualizada de los rastreadores que detecta mediante pruebas automatizadas (realizadas través de servidores especializados y no desde tu computador) y periódicamente envía la lista actualizada a tu navegador. De este modo, cada vez que detecta un servidor de anuncios nuevo (por ejemplo, si una nueva empresa de rastreo lanza su producto o una empresa ya existente…
Content type: Guide step
Cómo cambiar la configuración en el menú de Firefox
Para cambiar la configuración básica de privacidad en Firefox, accede al menú de preferencias haciendo clic en Edición > Preferencias en la barra de menús, o escribiendo about:preferences en la barra de URL, y luego haciendo clic en Privacidad y seguridad (Fig. 1)
Content type: Guide step
Advertencia: Con macOS Big Sur, Apple amplió el soporte para las extensiones del navegador, las cuales ya están disponibles en la App Store. Aunque el ecosistema de herramientas de privacidad sigue siendo reducido, es posible que actualicemos esta guía en el futuro.
Para acceder al menú de configuración, abre la aplicación Safari y en la barra de menú haz clic en Safari > Preferencias... (Fig. 1).
Content type: Guide step
Atención: Si usas iOS 14+, los anuncios personalizados están activados por defecto.
Cómo detener el rastreo realizado a través de múltiples apps en iOS
Ya hemos escrito con anterioridad sobre los riesgos que los anuncios personalizados suponen para tu privacidad digital.
Si quieres detener el seguimiento entre múltiples aplicaciones, el primer paso es ir a Configuración > Privacidad > Rastreo. Aquí, asegúrate de desactivar Permitir que las apps soliciten rastrearte DESACTIVAR (Fig.1).…
Content type: Guide step
Blokada es un bloqueador de anuncios que actúa como una VPN para bloquear el tráfico no deseado con base en hostnames (urls). Esto evita que las aplicaciones ejecutándose en tu dispositivo carguen anuncios y datos maliciosos.
Instalación
Para instalar Blokada, visita su página en la App Store de Apple, haz clic en Obtener (Fig. 1), y confirma haciendo clic en Instalar (Fig. 2).
Content type: News & Analysis
On May 18th 2021 Google held its annual developer conference, Google I/O, where the company announces a number of innovations, products and software updates that will hit the market in the months to come. Among these announcements, the company introduced Android 12, its latest mobile Operating System (OS), that came with headline grabbing privacy features.
Possibly trying to catch up with Apple, which is positioning itself as a privacy-friendly tech company and gave the adtech industry a kick…
Content type: Case Study
Your phone is the ideal profit tool for data brokers and advertisers: it's always in your pocket and can be used both as a means of collecting information and serving you ads based on that information. But how does this data collection happen through your apps?
Most, if not all, apps on our phones use Software Development Kits (SDKs). SDKs themselves are not trackers, but they are the means through which most tracking through mobile apps occurs. These kits are provided by third parties and…
Content type: Case Study
Behind their tecchie names, AddThis and ShareThis are simple services: they allow web-developers and less tech-savvy users to integrate social networking "share" buttons on their site. While they might also offer some additional services such as analytics, these tools gained traction mostly by providing an easy and free way to integrate Facebook, Twitter and other social networks share buttons. Anyone can use any of these service and in a few clicks be provided with a plugin for their site or a…
Content type: News & Analysis
Today, the European Commission has concluded its Phase II in-depth review of the proposed acquisition of the health and fitness tracker Fitbit by Google, deciding that the merger can go through. While we welcome the commitments put forward by Google to mitigate some risks of compromising individuals' rights and competition, PI considers the effects of this merger will further strengthen Google's capacity to exploit our data.
On 15 June 2020, Google formally notified the European Commission of…
Content type: Frequently Asked Questions
On 27 October 2020, the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued a report into three credit reference agencies (CRAs) - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion - which also operate as data brokers for direct marketing purposes.
After our initial reaction, below we answer some of the main questions regarding this report.
Content type: News & Analysis
Back in June, we published our investigation into Facebook brands, highlighting how Facebook failed to provide its users with a fair and meaningful understanding of how targeted advertising operated on its platform, and a number of issues preventing users from exercising their rights to the fullest possible extent. In face of the serious gaps encountered, we published an open letter to Facebook drawing attention to four main issues as well as our recommended actions to tackle them. This letter…
Content type: News & Analysis
Banning TikTok? It's time to fix the out-of-control data exploitation industry - not a symptom of it
Chinese apps and tech companies have been at the forefront of the news recently. Following India's ban of 59 chinese apps in July, President Trump announced his desire to ban TikTok, shortly followed by his backing of Microsoft's intention to buy the US branch of its parent company ByteDance. Other than others lip syncing his public declaration, what does President Trump fear from this app, run by a firm, based in China?
It's all about that data
One clear answer emerges: the exploitation of…
Content type: Call to Action
You might have read our investigation into advertisers who upload your data on Facebook and found out some companies doing the same to you. Well, you can join us and hold them accountable by sending your own Data Subject Access Request (DSAR)!
Before you get started we suggest you read our FAQ and take a look at our 7+1 tips to make the most out of your DSAR before and after.
To do so you simply need to copy the message bellow and send it to the companies that uploaded your data…
Content type: Explainer
Hello friend,
You may have found your way here because you are thinking about, or have just submitted, a Data Subject Access Request, maybe to your Facebook advertisers like we did. Or maybe you are curious to see if Policing, Inc. has your personal data.
The right to access your personal data (or access right) is just one of a number of data rights that may be found in data protection law, including the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, better known as "GDPR", which took…
Content type: Report
Back in October 2019, PI started investigating advertisers who uploaded personal data to Facebook for targeted advertising purposes. We decided to take a look at "Advertisers Who Uploaded a Contact List With Your Information", a set of information that Facebook provides to users about advertisers who upload files containing their personal data (including unique identifier such as phone numbers, emails etc...). Looking at the limited and often inaccurate information provided by Facebook through…
Content type: News & Analysis
GDPR was hard won. PI, together with other civil society actors, fought from the beginning for a version of the law that offers the strongest rights and protections in the face of intense industry lobbying.
Holding the hidden data ecosystem to account
Two years ago, we committed to using GDPR to seek to hold to account the hidden data ecosystem - those companies that amass and exploit large amounts of our data for profit.
Here’s some of the action we’ve taken:
In Nov 2018,…
Content type: Guide step
Google dominates online search. The company also owns YouTube and Android, with the latter reportedly making up nearly 75% of the global smart phone market share. PI has written about the numerous problems that come from corporate concentration and the use of data by monopolistic companies, and there are numerous examples of Google's failure to protect its users.
Below is a set of steps you can take if you wish to minimise ad targeting when using Google.
1. Go to…
Content type: News & Analysis
Political campaigns around the world have turned into sophisticated data operations. They rely on data- your data- to facilitate a number of decisions: where to hold rallies, which States or constituencies to focus resources on, which campaign messages to focus on in which area, and how to target supporters, undecided voters, and non-supporters.
While data driven political campaigns are not new, the granularity of data available and the potential power to sway or suppress voters through that…
Content type: News & Analysis
Almost a year and a half ago we complained about seven companies to three data protection authorities in Europe. These companies, ranging from AdTech to data brokers and credit rating agencies, thrive on the collection, exploitation and processing of personal data. They profile and categorise people - without our knowledge and infringing multiple legal requirements.
Now, the French Data Protection Authority CNIL has informed us that they are following the same route and …
Content type: Long Read
In 2018, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook announced the “Download Your Information” feature allowing users to download all the information that the company have on them since the creation of the account. All of it? It doesn’t seem so. Concerns were quickly raised when Facebook released the feature, that the information was inaccurate and incomplete.
Privacy International recently tested the feature to download all ‘Ads and Business’ related information (You can accessed it…