privacy

If we care about protecting our personal information and feel uncomfortable giving it away, why do we keep doing it?

National

Privacy Paradox: What You Can Do About Your Data Right Now

1:17pm January 30, 2017

How can you stay digitally connected without feeling intruded upon? WNYC's five-day plan hopes to take the mystery out of digital privacy and improve lives both online and off.

Privacy groups have filed a complaint about My Friend Cayla dolls to the Federal Trade Commission, arguing that they spy on children.

National

This Doll May Be Recording What Children Say, Privacy Groups Charge

4:12pm December 20, 2016

by Brian Naylor

Privacy advocates have filed a complaint with U.S. regulators about the Internet-connected doll called My Friend Cayla. They say the toy can record and transmit everything children say to it.

Queue Listen Now

Children's photos that parents have posted online have ended up in advertisements and on pornography sites.

Do Parents Invade Children's Privacy When They Post Photos Online?

10:34am October 28, 2016

by Tara Haelle

The kids look so darned cute in that photo, it's hard not to post it online for all to see. But there are privacy risks to sharing children's images, and children often don't want the exposure.

New technology helps trackers follow consumers' digital imprints — including across devices — through browser settings, battery levels and other details.

Online Trackers Follow Our Digital Shadow By 'Fingerprinting' Browsers, Devices

12:42pm September 27, 2016

by NPR Staff

Online tracking is no longer about "cookies." New technology helps trackers link online breadcrumbs — including across devices — through browser settings, battery levels and other details.

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A screenshot of Google Street View shows a cow with its face blurred.

World News

A Cow With No Name: Google Blurs Bovine Face For Privacy

4:32pm September 16, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

"We thought you were pulling the udder one when we herd the moos," Google said. But it's true — automatic identity protection kept this passing animal incowgnito.

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WhatsApp and Facebook icons are shown on a phone screen.

WhatsApp Will Start Sharing Data, Including Phone Numbers, With Facebook

9:55pm August 25, 2016

by Alina Selyukh

It will also test new ways for businesses to communicate with users on the app. The privacy policy changes mark the long-expected move by Facebook to begin making money from the free app.

How Your Health Data Lead A Not-So-Secret Life Online

5:00am July 30, 2016

by Angus Chen

Apps can make managing health care a lot easier, but most don't have the privacy protections required of doctors and hospitals. And a simple Web search can clue in advertisers to health concerns.

Data brokers collect information on how you use the Internet, from personal data you share on Facebook to online shopping.

National

Firms Are Buying, Sharing Your Online Info. What Can You Do About It?

6:38pm July 11, 2016

by Brian Naylor

Every time you visit a website, companies you've never heard of are collecting data about you and selling or sharing it with other companies. You can opt out, but few consumers are aware of that.

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News
Science

Duke Researchers Develop New Video Privacy Software

3:11pm July 05, 2016

by Eddie Garcia

Computer scientists at Duke University are developing new camera software aimed at giving people more privacy controls.

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Dartmouth College researcher Timothy Pierson holds a prototype of Wanda, which is designed to establish secure wireless connections between devices that generate data.

Health & Safety

Researchers Hope This Invention Could Wave Away Medical Data Hacks

7:48pm May 10, 2016

by Jordan Gass-Pooré

As health care increasingly moves from hospitals and doctors' offices to the home, patient medical data become more vulnerable to hackers. Dartmouth College researchers hope their product will help.