Data brokers, at a glance What they do: collect and package personal data into profiles sold to marketers, risk teams, and others. Where data comes from: public records, apps, websites, location services, and retail purchases. Why it matters: fuels identity theft risk, discriminatory decisions, hyper-targeting, and exposure. Do this now: enable tracker blocking and a […]

Children’s data and AI FTC opens 6(b) inquiry into AI companion chatbots September 11, 2025 The Federal Trade Commission issued compulsory 6(b) orders to seven firms that run consumer AI chatbots, seeking details on testing for youth harms, guardrails for teen use, data handling, and monetization practices. Sources are listed at the end of this […]

Ready to quit Twitter, Reddit, Facebook or other social media platforms? You’re not alone – most social media users have probably considered quitting at some point. Anxiety, depression, loneliness and FOMO all have well documented, strong ties to social media usage; if you’re feeling off – it might be time to unplug. The next step […]

In today’s digital world, your online history is a permanent record that can follow you everywhere. That embarrassing tweet from 2012, the questionable photo from a college party, or a strong opinion you no longer hold, they all reside in the vast archives of social media. This “digital baggage” isn’t just a potential source of […]

All foreign nationals applying for student and educational visas must now undergo social media and online presence vetting. According to a leaked cable obtained by POLITICO, consular officers are now directed to scour the internet for signs of what they deem as “hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United […]

Apple has a track record of posturing for user privacy over government pressure, handling valid privacy concerns reasonably well, and even innovating novel privacy solutions like PQ3 encryption. On September 9, Apple announced the rollout of Memory Integrity Enforcement as part of their iPhone 17 announcement. Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) is a new system that […]

Anyone can get doxxed – and the consequences can be huge. It can impact your personal relationships, career, and future prospects. Lets understand what it is, how you can prevent it, and the actionable steps you can take today. What is doxxing? Doxxing is the intentional act of de-anonymizing someone’s online identity, personal info, or […]

First Impressions Are Made Online Before an employer invites you to interview, there is a very good chance they will check your online presence. In many cases, the first thing they will see is not your résumé, it is your public social media profiles. A single old post, questionable comment, unprofessional photo or even likes […]

Discord rolled out a set of policy updates that touch safety, identity checks, and how they use data to power sponsored content. Two changes matter most for privacy minded users: new age verification for the United Kingdom and broader data use for ad targeting and ‘Quest’ measurement. We’ve broken down both of these core updates, […]

If you wanted to design the perfect identity-theft jackpot, you would build a single file that stores names, SSNs, dates of birth, citizenship, parent names, and more. That file exists inside the Social Security Administration. It is called NUMIDENT. A whistleblower says DOGE-affiliated officials created a cloud copy of it with weaker protections than normal, […]