I feel this needs to be repeated 🍪

The annoyance of cookie banners
doesn't come from the regulations, but from the malicious compliance of the corporations who want to exploit your personal data.

No data-harvesting cookies = No banner.
Simple.

My websites have no cookie banners,
because they don't use any non-essential cookies and don't track visitors.

Yours shouldn't either.

#Privacy #Cookies #PrivacyLaw

This is beyond horrifying: taking public pictures of women, including yearbook photos and then inserting them without consent into hard-core pornographic AI videos.
https://www.404media.co/ai-porn-secret-desires-chatbot-face-swap/

#ai #privacy #cybercrime #pornography

A surprising amount can be read from the data, and for some users, it can be life-threatening.

The entire WhatsApp profile database (including correlatable phone numbers and face photos) leaked.

https://www.heise.de/en/news/3-5-Billion-Accounts-Complete-WhatsApp-Directory-Retrieved-and-Evaluated-11083244.html

#Privacy #WhatsApp #Databreach

The erosion of privacy rights we are seeing worldwide is directly linked to the rise of authoritarianism we are seeing worldwide.

#Privacy #Democracy #HumanRights #ChatControl #AgeVerification

Wow, Vienna scientists received the complete WhatsApp member directory, containing 3.5 billion user entries. Yes, it’s just the directory, no messages, but the whole directory was available online - totally unprotected.

Any more reasons for not using WhatsApp required

#whatsapp #dataleak #privacy

https://www.heise.de/en/news/3-5-Billion-Accounts-Complete-WhatsApp-Directory-Retrieved-and-Evaluated-11083244.html

"Imagine the person you disagree with most in politics...

"Imagine what they could do with this type of [Digital ID] system if you didn't have the right safeguards in place."

"This is what worries me about introducing this in a country like the UK as we don't have a written constitution that has privacy protections."

🗣️ ORG's @JamesBaker

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/digital-id-cannot-saved-mps-36266596

#DigitalID #NoToDigitalID #surveillance #privacy #ukpolitics #ukpol

Just discovered that in app web browsing gets its own #location service on #iphone! Hugely shocking #privacy fail. This is in Settings > Privacy & Security > location > system services

Quad9 welcomes global governance and digital infrastructure leader Sylvie LaPerrière to our governing board.

https://quad9.net/news/press/sylvie-laperri%C3%A8re-appointed-to-quad9-foundation-council/

#DNS #privacy #integrity

Unfortunately, we were not able to raise the necessary funds and thus will have to shut down Acter and its matrix sever (for now): https://acter.global/news/we-are-shutting-down-acter-app-and-service-by-february-2026/

*Fortunately* for you that means I am available for some freelance #rust engineering work again, part-time for now as things still require my attention at times. #fedihire

I can help from building SDKs to entire Apps in Rust (currently playing with #gpui ), architect, debug, profile, educate, teach and lead. Most of my 18+ years I've spent with #decentralization #privacy #encryption and #offlineFirst . If any of that is of interest to your, hit me up. Either here or via any of the contacts on my website (which also has a CV and project overview): https://GNUnicorn.org

Retoots appreciated ❤️ !

"Vienna researchers retrieved all #WhatsApp numbers. The 3.5 billion profiles represent the largest data leak in history"

"...downloaded all 77 million profile pictures visible to everyone—a proud 3.8 terabytes in total. In a random sample of half a million images drawn from this, a facial recognition routine found a human face in two-thirds of cases."

https://www.heise.de/en/news/3-5-Billion-Accounts-Complete-WhatsApp-Directory-Retrieved-and-Evaluated-11083244.html

Paper: https://github.com/sbaresearch/whatsapp-census

#privacy