This Week in Privacy

EU officials’ location data is up for sale, the United States declines to join the UN Cybercrime treaty, Chrome can now autofill your passport and drivers license, Tinder is scanning user’s camera rolls with AI to get to know them better, and much more. Join us for This Week In Privacy #26!

Our top stories this week: NOYB files criminal complaint against Clearview.ai Denmark withdraws mandatory chat control proposal due to lack of support. Apple to implement ads into Apple Maps in 2026, but warns that App Tracking Transparency could be disabled in the European Union Police use Flock cameras to wrongfully accuse Denver woman of theft Signal President Meredith Whittaker claims that AWS servers are “unavoidable” https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/31/noyb-files-criminal-complaint-against-clearview-police-ai-leads-to-false-accusation-apple-plans-ads-for-maps-and-more/

Our top stories this week: OpenAI launches Atlas Browser for macOS AWS shutdown shutters Signal and smart beds alike Wisconsin lawmakers introduces VPN ban Apple removes Tea and TeaOnHer on the App Store https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/25/openai-launches-creepy-ai-browser-aws-shutters-signal-and-smart-mattresses-u-s-states-introduce-vpn-ban-bills-and-more/

Our top stories this week: GrapheneOS confirms that will support a non-Pixel flagship phone in 2026 with the Snapdragon SOC Eclypsium, an embedded security firm, reports that Framework laptops are vulnerable to a Secure Boot bug affecting around 200,000 devices Mozilla implements Google Lens and Perplexity AI into Firefox Researchers disclose a proof-of-concept attack called “Pixsnapping”, which allows hackers to steal 2FA codes without additional permissions. https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/18/official-grapheneos-phone-framework-secure-boot-flaw-perplexity-ai-in-firefox/

Our top stories this week: Microsoft blocks the ability to bypass online accounts on Windows 11 Germany confirms its opposition to Chat Control; the European Union withdraws the proposal due to insufficient support. Hackers breach Discord support tickets, leaking 70,000 age verification documents A group of American investors have acquired the NSO Group, giving a lifeline to the spyware firm after a series of crippling lawsuit decisions. https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/11/the-end-of-windows-local-accounts-eu-drops-chat-control-more/

Our top stories this week: F-Droid warns that Google’s mandatory developer registration would destroy the project. Google confirms that there will be free and paid tiers for developer registration. However, FOSS developers may need to pay after a certain number of downloads. Apple receives another technical capabilities notice by the UK to implement a backdoor into iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection Program. This time, it will only target British users. AMD and Intel CPU were discovered to be vulnerable against physical attacks. The companies refuse to implement a fix as they are “out-of-scope”. https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/04/could-this-be-the-end-of-f-droid/

https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/09/27/who-really-owns-your-tiktok-data-now/ Our top stories this week: A new report reveals that a TikTok deal has been signed. Oracle will hold a controlling stake and manage security of U.S. customer data despite concerns over their CEO’s supportive statements on mass surveillance. Firefox 143 for Android will introduce DNS-Over-HTTPS, finally matching their desktop counterparts. Microsoft cuts off Azure access to an elite Israeli military intelligence unit after an investigation reveals that it was being used for civilian mass surveillance. The UK government announced plans for mandatory digital ID for all UK residents. In response, over 500,000 petition signatures were raised opposing its implementation.

Governments are all trying to tie your accounts to your ID. Critics of Charlie Kirk are being doxxed, showing the problems with real name identification online and how it threatens free expression. Microsoft is forcing Microsoft Copilot onto every Windows PC, ChatGPT might soon require your ID, and much more. Join us for This Week In Privacy #19!

The Tor Project has officially released a new app called Tor VPN, Signal has released chat backup now in beta, Bluesky is caving to new age verification laws, and much more. Join us for This Week In Privacy #18!

Proton is rolling out Proton Meet to visionary subscribers, with a public release coming soon. Google avoids getting broken up in their anti-trust case but must share search data with competitors, Switzerland is creating their own “ethical” AI model and much more. Join us for This Week In Privacy #17!

Google is planning to require developers to verify their identity before their apps can be side-loaded. The FTC is warning tech giants not to bow to encryption backdoor pressure. A huge amount of malicious apps have been discovered on Google Play and much more. Join us for This Week In Privacy #16!

Is your password manager auto-fill extension leaking your secrets? Chat Control is back, and the EU council is set to vote on the proposal in two months. Encrypted messaging between Android and iOS devices is almost a reality, and much more. Join us for This Week In Privacy #15!

YouTube is using AI to identify if you are underage to request age verification, GitHub just got less independent from Microsoft, Wikipedia might end up requiring age verification, and much more, join us for This Week In Privacy #14!

CalyxOS has announced they will be pausing their releases, Google is cracking open android after they were found to have an illegal monopoly, Firefox extensions are being used for phishing attacks and much more, join us for This Week In Privacy #13!

Tea, a dating and women’s safety app had a huge breach of it’s users ID documents, highlighting how risky adding ID verification can be when it comes to user privacy. The UK is cracking down on VPNs after their usage has skyrocketed due to age verification, the Australian government is threatening Signal, and much more, join us for This Week In Privacy #12!

Proton released a new privacy product called Lumo, the UK is backing down on it’s ban on Apple’s ADP, Mastodon just got a neat feature to increase it’s sustainability and much more, join us for This Week In Privacy #11!

ChromeOS & Android are merging, Chrome extensions are being used as infostealers, Linux reaches 5% marketshare and much more. Welcome back to This Week In Privacy #10!

Search engines may start requiring ID verification in Australia. The sustainable smartphone, the Fairphone 6, has finally landed in the US. Law enforcement in a certain country is targeting GrapheneOS users, and much more. Welcome back to This Week In Privacy #9!

Welcome to This Week in Privacy Episode 8. This show is hosted by Privacy Guides team member Jonah Aragon and published by Privacy Guides, a non-profit which researches and shares privacy-related information, and facilitates a community on our forum and Matrix where people can ask questions and get advice about staying private online and preserving their digital rights. Privacy Guides Updates Unfortunately, Skiff Mail was removed from Privacy Guides’s email provider recommendations earlier today, following their announcement that they are being acquired by Notion and shutting down their platform in 6 months. If you currently use Skiff Mail for your email mailbox or aliasing service, you should switch to another provider such as Proton or Mailbox.org as soon as possible. Obviously, this was not the expectation for Skiff Mail when we added them to the website last year. Further reading: https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-skiff/16228/52 https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/avoiding-the-next-skiff-criteria-to-ban-vc-backed-projects/16722?u=jonah This Week’s Stories https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/mozilla-releases-mozilla-monitor-plus/16665 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/protests-face-mask-coverings-flares-law-b2492373.html https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-web-app-eu/ https://www.wired.com/story/london-underground-ai-surveillance-documents/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/06/us-immigration-bill-mexico-border-surveillance-privacy https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/canada-to-ban-the-flipper-zero-to-stop-surge-in-car-thefts/ https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fake-lastpass-password-manager-spotted-on-apples-app-store/ https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/02/critical-vulnerability-affecting-most-linux-distros-allows-for-bootkits/ https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/no-3-million-electric-toothbrushes-were-not-used-in-a-ddos-attack/ https://fedoramagazine.org/introducing-fedora-atomic-desktops/ https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/mitchell-baker-steps-down-as-ceo-of-mozilla-corporation/16749?u=jonah

Welcome to This Week in Privacy Episode 7. This show is hosted by Privacy Guides team member Jonah Aragon and published by Privacy Guides, a non-profit which researches and shares privacy-related information, and facilitates a community on our forum and Matrix where people can ask questions and get advice about staying private online and preserving their digital rights. This Week’s Stories https://github.com/privacyguides/privacyguides.org/releases/tag/v3.20 https://www.theverge.com/24054329/microsoft-edge-automatic-chrome-import-data-feature https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68128177 https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/issues/983#issuecomment-1913362376 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68128396 https://www.fastcompany.com/91018129/body-cameras-healthcare-retail-workers https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/porn-site-age-verification-proposed-bill-1.7060841 https://twitter.com/10NewsFirstSyd/status/1754034431654858878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1754034431654858878%7Ctwgr%5Ed2be6f082d6c9813e31d31683a5324d24b7b27c9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.privacyguides.org%2F2024%2F02%2F04%2Fthis-week-in-privacy-7%2F https://blog.cloudflare.com/thanksgiving-2023-security-incident/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1affp2z/the_proton_mail_desktop_apps_for_windows_and/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPynqBY1Fe8