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Content type: Explainer
Abstract
Over the past few years, smart phones have become incredibly inexpensive, connecting millions of people to the internet for the first time. While growing connectivity is undeniably positive, some device vendors have recently come under scrutiny for harvesting user data and invasive private data collection practices.
Due to the open-source nature of the Android operating system vendors can add pre-installed apps (often called “bundled apps” or "bloatware") to mobile phones.…
Content type: App Analysis
The following is the output from Pinoy of Exodus Standalone, by Exodus Privacy
{
"application": {
"name": "Pinoy",
"libraries": [],
"handle": "com.zed.pinoy",
"version_name": "4.19",
"uaid": "D850D2DCD60B3482C1012D8DCE0382CF7D66AEB6",
"permissions": [
"android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE",
"android.permission.INTERNET",
"android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE",
"android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE",
"android.permission.…
Content type: App Analysis
The following is the output from MyPhone Registration of Exodus Standalone, by Exodus Privacy
{
"trackers": [],
"apk": {
"path": "/media/transfer/AndroidAnaylsis/Library/OriginalAPKs/MyPhoneRegistration.apk",
"checksum": "584fb7efe352024b52e2584de6afd6944d5bdf038c6459200c5e4a021d3f096a"
},
"application": {
"libraries": [],
"version_code": "1",
"permissions": [
"android.permission.DISABLE_KEYGUARD",
"android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED…
Content type: App Analysis
The following is the output from Facebook Lite of Exodus Standalone, by Exodus Privacy
{
"trackers": [],
"apk": {
"checksum": "8cf800fbe1626468b7af1f3b59dae657f22f0a9fb3070b80122af6171df67689",
"path": "/media/transfer/AndroidAnaylsis/Queue/com.facebook.lite.apk"
},
"application": {
"name": "Lite",
"handle": "com.facebook.lite",
"uaid": "79CC550EE0002725D1108B4580200A40D6AFA2FD",
"version_name": "49.0.0.10.69",
"version_code": "63889098",
"…
Content type: App Analysis
The following is the output from Brown Portal of Exodus Standalone, by Exodus Privacy
{
"trackers": [],
"apk": {
"path": "/media/transfer/AndroidAnaylsis/Library/OriginalAPKs/BrownPortal.apk",
"checksum": "154622e8812f2db94bf717fc4aef29a5a24569b5940e7640915cf5958acd4ad9"
},
"application": {
"name": "Brown Portal",
"version_name": "1.1.2",
"permissions": [
"android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE",
"android.permission.INTERNET",
"android.…
Content type: Examples
Ahead of the Irish referendum to amend the Constitutions of Ireland to allow the parliament to legislative for abortion which took place in May 2018, Google decided to stop all advertising relating to the referendum on all of its advertising platforms, including AdWords and YouTube.
This followed decisions by Facebook to no longer accept advertising relating to the referendum funded by foreign organisations outside Ireland, and Twitter not allowing any advertising in relation to the…
Content type: Long Read
We found this image here.
Using Facebook, Google, and Twitter’s ad libraries, PI has tried to understand how political ads are targeted in the UK. This information – which should be very clear on political ads – is instead being squirreled away under multiple clicks and confusing headings.
Importantly, in most countries around the world, users cannot understand why they’re being targeted with political ads on these platforms at all. This is because Facebook, Google, and Twitter have taken…
Content type: News & Analysis
Photo by Jake Hills on UnsplashOur research has shown how some apps like Maya by Plackal Tech and MIA by Mobbap Development Limited were – at the time of the research – sharing your most intimate data about your sexual life and medical history with Facebook.Other apps like Mi Calendario, Ovulation Calculator by Pinkbird and Linchpin Health were letting Facebook know every time you open the app.We think companies like theses should do better and we are pleased to see some of them have already…
Content type: Long Read
In December 2018, Privacy international exposed the dubious practices of some of the most popular apps in the world.Out of the 36 apps we tested, we found that 61% automatically transfer data to Facebook the moment a user opens the app. This happens whether the user has a Facebook account or not, and whether they are logged into Facebook or not. We also found that some of those apps routinely send Facebook incredibly detailed and sometimes sensitive personal data. Again, it didn’t matter if…
Content type: Long Read
A new study by Privacy International reveals how popular websites about depression in France, Germany and the UK share user data with advertisers, data brokers and large tech companies, while some depression test websites leak answers and test results with third parties. The findings raise serious concerns about compliance with European data protection and privacy laws.
This article is part of a research led by Privacy International on mental health websites and tracking. Read our…
Content type: News & Analysis
This article is part of a research led by Privacy International on mental health websites and tracking. Read our full report.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 25 percent of the European population suffers from depression or anxiety each year, yet about 50% of major depressions remain untreated. This means that everyday thousands of people are looking for information about depression online. They take tests to find out how serious their symptoms are, they try to access…
Content type: Advocacy
On 28 August 2019 PI joined International Privacy Network partner Asociación por los Derechos Civiles and others in writing to the Directors of Public Policy for Latin America at Facebook, Google, and Twitter. The letters outline what steps are needed to make the social media giants' ad archives effective. Earlier this year organisations across Europe, led by the Mozilla, wrote to the companies with similar guidelines - the letters sent today say that equivalent steps should be taken for ad…
Content type: Examples
After four years of negotiation, in 2017 Google began paying Mastercard millions of dollars for access to the latter's piles of transaction data as part of its "Stores Sales Measurement" service. Google, which claimed to have access to 70% of US credit and debit cards through partners, said that double-blind encryption prevents both partners from seeing the other's users' personally identifiable information. Mastercard said the company shares transaction trends with merchants and their service…
Content type: Explainer
Recently the role of social media and search platforms in political campaigning and elections has come under scrutiny. Concerns range from the spread of disinformation, to profiling of users without their knowledge, to micro-targeting of users with tailored messages, to interference by foreign entities, and more. Significant attention has been paid to the transparency of political ads - what are companies doing to provide their users globally with meaningful transparency into how they…
Content type: Examples
French website IVG.net, first Google result when typing IVG (Interuption Volontaire de Grossesse or abortion in french), has been exposed as being anti-abortion website spreading misinformation. Offering an official looking "Numero vert" (free to call phone number number), IVG.net attempts to convince pregnant women calling the service that abortion is a high risk operation which will have terrible impact on their health and personal life, pressuring women to not undertake such operation. The…
Content type: Long Read
Photo by David Werbrouck on Unsplash
This is an ongoing series about the ways in which those searching for abortion information and procedures are being traced and tracked online. This work is part of a broader programme of work aimed at safeguarding the dignity of people by challenging current power dynamics, and redefining our relationship with governments, companies, and within our own communities. As an enabling right, privacy plays an important role in supporting the exercise of…
Content type: Long Read
By Valentina Pavel, PI Mozilla-Ford Fellow, 2018-2019
Our digital environment is changing, fast. Nobody knows exactly what it’ll look like in five to ten years’ time, but we know that how we produce and share our data will change where we end up. We have to decide how to protect, enhance, and preserve our rights in a world where technology is everywhere and data is generated by every action. Key battles will be fought over who can access our data and how they may use it. It’s time to take…
Content type: Examples
Absher, an online platform and mobile phone app created by the Saudi Arabian government, can allow men to restrict women’s ability to travel, live in Saudi Arabia, or access government services. This app, which is available in the Google and Apple app stores, supports and enables the discriminatory male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia and violations of womens’ rights, including the right to leave and return to one’s own country. Because women in Saudi Arabia are required to have a male…
Content type: Long Read
Everyday objects and devices that can connect to the Internet -- known as the Internet of Things (IoT) or connected devices -- play an increasing role in crime scenes and are a target for law enforcement. Exploiting new technologies that are in our homes and on our bodies as part of criminal investigations and for use as evidence, raises new challenges and risks that have not been sufficiently explored.
We believe that a discussion on the exploitation of IoT by law enforcement would…
Content type: Long Read
When you go abroad, you expect to show your passport right? But what if immigration authorities wanted access to your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts before they let you enter a country? What if they wanted to vet you based on your updates, photos, likes, retweets and even your DMs?We think social media companies, who make literally billions of dollars out of you, and wield massive power and influence, should challenge governments on YOUR behalf. They should be protecting their users…
Content type: Case Study
In this next leap to year 2030, Amtis lives the life of a data labourer, being paid wages for data inputs. Here’s how Amtis begins the story:
I am in my green pyjamas, but I can’t say for sure if it’s morning or evening. My eyes are red from staring at screens. I am discouraged and very tired. Of course, all these emotions and reactions are registered by my Playbour – my pocket-sized smart console that has basically become my entire life. It’s my connection to family, friends and the world; my…
Content type: Case Study
In 2030 Amtis finds a future where property rights for data were adopted. Here’s how this future plays out:
My data, my turf. This was the first graffiti I saw as I was walking down the street and I said to myself, “Yeah, big corp, we’re going to get you good!”. I am fed up with companies making insane amounts of money from my data. If this is the game we’re playing, I want my fair share.
I was not the only one thinking like this. A few years back there was a strong push towards adopting…
Content type: Advocacy
Privacy International has today sent letters to leading social media platforms to ask what they're doing to protect their users' from dangerous surveillance by government immigration authorities.
The letter comes following the implementation of plans by US authorities to require nearly all visa applicants to hand over identifiers of all social media accounts they have used in the previous five years, or face “serious immigration consequences”.
The move not only represents…
Content type: News & Analysis
Privacy International has joined a global coalition of privacy campaigners, tech companies, and technology experts to respond to proposals by British intelligence chiefs aimed at allowing them access to encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Signal.
If implemented, the proposals would allow government authorities to force messaging platforms to silently add a law enforcement participant to a group chat or call.
Such a capability poses serious threats to…
Content type: Examples
GDPR complaints about Real-Time Bidding (RTB) in the online advertising industry were filed today with Data Protection Authorities in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The complaints detail the vast scale of personal data leakage by Google and other major companies in the “Ad Tech” industry. This week marks one year since the introduction of the GDPR.
The new complaints have been filed by Gemma Galdon Clavell (Eticas Foundation) and Diego Fanjul (Finch), David Korteweg (…
Content type: Examples
In an effort to improve political advertising transparency, Canada drafted a Bill that requires companies to develop ad libraries, to which ads are added immediately in order for researchers, journalists, and other people to be able to search and understand how political actors are targeting ads. In response, Google announced that it would blanket-ban all political ads in Canada, saying the company was unable to comply with the new law. Google’s decision shows both that the current state of…
Content type: Examples
The two leading Presidential candidates in Ukraine's 2019 elections have expressed frustration at major social media platform's seemingly lack of assistance combatting disinformation and bots. Bots flood social media networks and can promote content or flood platforms with pull requests to have a piece of content taken down. Campaigns are unable to directly contact Google, YouTube, and Facebook for assistance directly and waste resources constantly fighting against bot armies.
https://www.…
Content type: Examples
Simultaneous complaints have been filed with European data protection authorities against Google and other ad tech firms. The complainants are being made by Dr Johnny Ryan of Brave, the private web browser, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group, and Michael Veale of University College London. The complaint notifies European regulators of a massive and ongoing data breach that affects virtually every user on the web.
Content type: Examples
Panoptykon Foundation, the Warsaw based digital rights organization, has joined in the complaints filed in the UK and Ireland in September by Jim Killock of the Open Rights Group, Michael Veale of University College London, and Dr Johnny Ryan of Brave, by filing a new complaint in Poland. Together, the complainants in Ireland, Poland, and the UK, have also filed new evidence today with the national data protection authorities of Ireland, Poland, and the United Kingdom, that reveals how ad…