Tag: privacy
WhatsApp should bring back the annual fee option
A paid tier for WhatsApp would probably make more money for Facebook than what it will get from the data it will use to send ads
Cool your jets Telegram and Signal, Zimbos are never leaving WhatsApp
Even though WhatsApp has enraged people with its privacy policy requirements, Zimbabweans are not going to move off the platform anytime soon.
TikTok accused of breaching user privacy yet again
An investigation by the Wall Street Journal recently revealed that TikTok was unlawfully collecting data from Android users for over a year. The application allegedly collected MAC addresses enabling identifying and tracking of users outside the TikTok. Google and Apple haven’t allowed applications to read the MAC address on Android & iOS devices. TikTok allegedly […]
ZimRights & MISA file urgent chamber application to stop search of Econet premises
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe together with Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) filed an urgent application with the High Court forbidding the ZRP and CID from searching Econet’s premises and obtaining a database containing all subscriber details. MISA & ZimRights argue that the warrant of search and seizure threatens citizens’ various fundamental rights, […]
Thoughts On The Cyber Security And Data Protection Bill
On the 15th of May The Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill was gazetted. The public was asked to comment on the bill in a process that ends on the 26th of June. The digital age has brought with it a unique set of concerns. Security was something that was assured by physical or geographical […]
Zoom Locks Encryption Behind Paywall Since Most Harmful Behaviour Comes From Free Users
Zoom Meetings recently announced that end-to-end encryption would be coming to their video conferencing software but there’s catch. Most popular chat applications have end-to-end encryption enabled for all users but in Zoom’s case, encryption will be reserved for paid users. The reasoning behind this decision by Zoom is not motivated by money – if you’re […]
Popular Video Calling App Zoom Sharing User Data With Facebook
With the Coronavirus continuing to spread globally, and an increase in the number of people working from home, the last thing companies turning to remote work want, is privacy concerns with one of the most popular remote working tools. That is exactly what they are getting with the Zoom Video Calling application. Zoom acquired 2.2 […]
Facebook Working On Feature To Manage Your WiFi Connection
Facebook’s Find WiFi feature is being expanded from a WiFi network locator to a tool that actually manages the WiFi connection on your device. According to Jane Manchun Wong an app researcher who’s been tracking this feature since February As with anything Facebook-related, you’ll have to be very careful about turning this on once it […]
How Much Is Your Personal Information Worth On The Dark Web?
Privacy data breaches tend to feel mundane in Zimbabwe. It seems the general consensus among most people is “I don’t have any valuable data anyway so go ahead and access my data.” I’ll tell you right now, that outlook is music to the ears of non-ethical hackers who can use your personal info/data for a […]
How Cyber-crime Affects Our Children And The Role They Play In It
A few days back, we carried out a survey on our WhatsApp contacts and this revealed that at least 6 out of 10 people have an element of their personal lives (children`s names, own name or significant other`s details) in their passwords. That is a crazy 60% of the people in the survey have their […]
Some iPhone Apps Can Record Your Screen Activity
It’s been a pretty interesting few weeks for Apple devices. The company that usually claims that they have the upper hand on their competition when it comes to protecting user privacy has had a few mishaps when it comes to user privacy. First, it was the FaceTime bug that allowed other users to listen in on […]
Here’s A List Of Apps That Are Tracking You Even When They Don’t Have Permission
If you use an Android device you’ll notice that when you install applications there’s a set of permissions that you grant these apps. These permissions need to be checked closely because they could result in data breaches and unlawful sharing of user data without user consent. Unfortunately, there are some apps that will continue sharing […]
Facebook Was Paying Teens $20/month For All Of Their Data
In a cash pressed economy such as ours, one would be tempted to shout “Take my data!!”, to Facebook if they were going to pay you, but unfortunately this is turning out to be yet another huge scandal for the social media giant which can’t seem to avoid blunders. So what exactly did they do […]
FaceTime Eavesdropping Bug Dents Apple’s Reputation As The Protector Of User Privacy
FaceTime is one of the many pride and joys of iPhone users and along with applications such as iMessage, this has been touted as one of the many reasons why you should own an Apple device over Android. Unfortunately, a recently discovered bug makes using the voice and video calling platform a privacy nightmare… The […]
Google Tracks You Even When You Turn Location Data Off On Your Smartphone
I like Android, I like Android a lot but what I don’t like is the way Google gets an easy pass for collecting waay more data than Facebook. This entire Facebook has been in the firing line due to data concerns and I guess its because there have been breaches whereas with Google nothing major […]
Google Knows So Much About You: Here’s How You Can Limit Or Delete What They Know
I think all of us use Google services in one way or another, be it Search, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps or a host of other services from the tech titan. Because of the fact that that Google is embedded in many of the services we actually use on a daily basis, there is no doubt […]
Zimbabwe is Open For Business … BUT Are We Ready For The New Data Regulation Law With 5 Days To Go
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) deadline is less than a week away. We’re committed to being compliant. Given Zimbabwe is now open for business companies need to consider how GDPR will (not might) affect them. What exactly is the GDPR? The General Data Protection Regulation is a new privacy regulation passed by the EU […]
How To Protect Your Privacy During Your Job Hours?
If you have ever felt like big brother is watching you at work, it probably is. It is all happening due to the advent of technological tools and employee monitoring apps that let organizations monitor their employees like never before. With increased surveillance come increased concerns regarding privacy. Companies call it one of the ways […]
Whatsapp Updates Minimum Age Requirement In Europe
Whatsapp is making changes to some of their user policies in order to meet regulations in Europe. The GDPR (General Data Production Regulation) is being released and it requires many companies operating via the internet to change their approach to collection of user data. Companies that do collect user data are now required to have […]
Facebook Now Lets You Know Of The Photos You Appear In, Even Without Being Tagged
If at some point in your Facebook life have for some reason discovered an ugly photo of yours which was uploaded by a friend (because they looked okay in it) way too late i.e. after it had done enough rounds to be seen by everyone that matters, then this is for you… Facebook has unveiled […]
WhatsApp Warned Against Sharing Data With Facebook
Just read an article on Bloomberg Technology talking about how WhatsApp and Facebook are in ‘data trouble’. Reports say that France’s data protection authority CNIL served WhatsApp with a formal notice stating that they (WhatsApp) only have a month to get their house in order and stop sharing data with Facebook. Last year, WhatsApp announced to […]
Google has been collecting location data from Android users without their consent
It was quite interesting to read about how Google has admitted to having been collecting users’ location data without their consent. Android users were most affected by this. Turns outs phones and tablets running Android software gather data on people’s locations even when the user is offline or even without a SIM card. After collecting the […]
Zimbabwe’s largest e-commerce company, HnT, accidentally exposes user database
Hammer n Tongues, arguably Zimbabwe’s largest e-Commerce company, yesterday morning accidentally sent out private contact details of over 5,000 customers in an email to their customer base. The details included name, email address, phone number and the city of the customers. The details also included a customer buyer ID that the company uses on their ecommerce platform. The information, which was in […]
Africa be wary of this; paid & free are just the same
When it comes to tech, whether something is paid for or free, it always has a cost to it. Facebook, Google and Twitter offer us these free services, but we sacrifice our privacy to get them. Why aren’t we as Africans voicing our concerns about this?
Never mind foreign spy agencies, there is a monster right under your bed
The latest Snowden revelations about a hack by the NSA and the GCHQ into Gemalto’s computer network reportedly to steal sim-card encryption keys have understandably caused a bit of a global panic. Local mobile telecoms service providers such as NetOne, who are clients of Gemalto, have also likely been affected, and a concern persists whether […]
2014’s celeb leak that bears a lesson on security
There are a lot of topics with regard to security, attempting to paint a picture that everyone is entitled to it. And everyone is. When security is breached, it takes a whole new meaning depending on what has been mined. On 1 September, an account on the website 4Chan posted hundreds of A-list celebrity photos. […]
Legalising Information – Should Zimbabweans have the “right to be forgotten”?
Back in May, the European Union’s Court of Justice ended a legal spat that binds Google to pay attention and where possible, comply with an individuals’ request to erase information from its search engine. Search engines in their entirety were tied to this ruling all of Europe, allowing people to censor data when searched on […]
Privacy is heading for its demise
A considerable number of people are a lot less informed over what could happen if their privacy is compromised online. They don’t even perform any action to beef up their security. As technology rapidly changes this perception is bound to change because wearable technology is setting a whole new precedent. A recent report claims that […]
The Facebook emotion manipulation experiment: Why the internet is outraged
So all this time people have been (or at least seem to be) mad at revelations that governments, the US government in particular, analyse everything you do and say online. Turns out there’s worse stuff to be worried about. There’s outrage right now about Facebook conducting tests on its users without their knowledge. You’d at first (like […]