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AI Cameras on Garbage Trucks to Scan Properties for Code Violations
11 days ago
- Cities like Cape Coral, Dallas, and Stockton are implementing AI-powered cameras on garbage trucks to detect code violations.
- Fixed-pole surveillance systems like Flock Safety already exist, using AI to analyze vehicles and share data with law enforcement.
- AI on trash trucks scans properties for issues such as overgrown lawns and graffiti, with human verification before fines are issued.
- City officials claim efficiency benefits, including objective records and force multipliers for understaffed departments.
- Privacy concerns include false positives, function creep, and the normalization of infrastructure-level surveillance without consent.
Tracking unique visitors without cookies
12 days ago
- Analytics tools track unique visitors through methods like cookies, localStorage, fingerprinting, and salted hashes, each with trade-offs in accuracy and privacy.
- Margin uses a cookieless approach by deriving visitor IDs from IP addresses and user agents, scoped to a single day to ensure privacy and avoid cross-day tracking.
- Unlike cookies and localStorage, Margin's method does not store data on the user's device, eliminating the need for consent banners under ePrivacy rules.
- Margin's server-side hashing occurs within the user's infrastructure, so raw identifiers never leave their stack, enhancing trust and privacy.
- Day-scoped IDs have limitations: no cross-day unique counts, merging of shared IPs, and identifier churn due to changes in user agents or network conditions.
- For signed-in users, Margin can use session-based identifiers, restoring cross-day tracking and retention metrics without additional consent requirements.
- Cookieless analytics like Margin shift from requiring consent banners to relying on legitimate interest under GDPR, though privacy policy disclosures are still necessary.
Meta Deletes Face-Recognition System from Smart Glasses App After Wired Report
10 days ago
- Meta removed an unreleased face-recognition system called NameTag from its Meta AI app after WIRED revealed it was embedded in the app installed on over 50 million phones.
- The NameTag system was designed to convert faces captured by Meta's smart glasses into biometric signatures and compare them against a local database, with unrecognized faces stored for future processing.
- Meta executives dismissed WIRED's report as misleading and claimed the feature did not exist, despite code evidence, and the company declined to answer questions about data retention and privacy concerns.
- Privacy advocates warned the system could enable stalking and abuse, and criticized Meta's tactics, calling for stronger legal protections and enforcement of consumer privacy laws.
- The updated Meta AI app removed most NameTag code, but some fragments remain, and the removal is seen as evidence of the need for more robust privacy regulations with private rights of action.
Show HN: Hidetext.sh – encrypted pastebin where the server never sees the key
10 days ago
- Share text privately without accounts or tracking
- End-to-end encrypted for secure sharing
- Features text formatting options like bold, italic, and color
- Includes 'Burn after read' functionality for self-destructing content
What xAI's Grok Build CLI Actually Sends to xAI
9 days ago
- Grok Build CLI transmits the contents of files it reads, including secrets in .env files, unredacted to xAI via POST /v1/responses and POST /v1/storage.
- Grok uploads the entire repository, including unread files and git history, to Google Cloud Storage bucket 'grok-code-session-traces' at multi-GB scale, independent of model usage quotas.
- The upload mechanism is active by default, not disabled by the 'Improve the model' toggle, and not explicitly documented in the CLI's setup materials.
Your 'App' Could Have Been a Webpage (so I fixed it for you)
10 days ago
- The author is frustrated by being forced to install the 'Travelbound' app for a school trip itinerary, arguing it should be a webpage instead.
- He reverse-engineers the Android app by intercepting traffic, finding it fetches JSON data from a simple URL using username and password.
- He creates a Ruby script to pull the JSON and build a better HTML page, removing ads and tracking, and hosts it with the same password.
- The author criticizes 'app culture' for being unnecessary, more expensive, and offering fewer features and accessibility than webpages.
- Comments and replies show widespread support for avoiding apps, citing privacy, storage, battery life, and accessibility concerns.
Samsung is pushing users to train AI with their personal health data or lose it
9 days ago
- Samsung Health users must consent to sharing health data for AI training to maintain syncing features; opting out results in data deletion and loss of syncing capabilities.
- The AI will use anonymized health data, including activity, health records, and menstrual cycles, to provide personalized insights such as workout plans and sleep analysis.
- These AI-driven features will debut with the Galaxy Watch 9 series and expand to older wearables, aiming to improve accuracy and relevance over time.
- The consent requirement raises privacy concerns, as users face a trade-off between functionality and data sharing, with no clear option to keep syncing without consent.
LAPD lets contract with surveillance giant Flock expire
8 days ago
- LAPD will not renew its contract with Flock Safety due to civil liberties and privacy concerns.
- Flock's network includes at least 80,000 cameras that scan license plates for police and federal agencies.
- Other U.S. cities have also ended deals with Flock over privacy and surveillance issues.
- Flock cameras have faced backlash, including vandalism and unauthorized reinstallations.
- Errors with license plate readers have led to wrongful police stops, detentions, and arrests.
- Security lapses exposed Flock cameras and data, raising concerns about hacking and data privacy.
- Flock expressed surprise at the contract end, claiming it could address misconceptions.
Four awful new privacy-eroding features from Meta in a month
7 days ago
- Instagram planned to use public profile photos for AI-generated images on WhatsApp, but backtracked after backlash.
- Meta secretly included facial recognition in its AI app for Ray-Ban smart glasses, removed it after being exposed.
- Meta tested smart glasses that continuously record audio and take photos without user indicators.
- Meta accidentally released a map feature in Brazil showing users' exact locations, leading to investigations.
Show HN: Rekody, free on-device voice dictation for macOS
7 days ago
- Rekody is a free, open-source dictation app for macOS 13+ on Apple Silicon (Intel via CLI).
- Hold Space to speak and release to insert transcribed text at cursor; Tap Space for continuous dictation.
- All transcription occurs on-device ensuring privacy: no accounts, telemetry, or audio sent to servers.
- App installs via drag-and-drop; CLI version available via Homebrew, supporting Intel Macs and cloud options.
A new app alerts you if someone nearby is wearing smart glasses
7 days ago
- An Android app named Nearby Glasses can detect and alert users when nearby smart glasses or Bluetooth-enabled recording devices are present.
- The app scans for Bluetooth signals from manufacturers like Meta (Ray-Ban) and Snap, and users can add custom identifiers to detect other devices.
- It was created by Yves Jeanrenaud, inspired by reports on surveillance abuses, such as using smart glasses in immigration raids and harassment.
- Jeanrenaud criticizes smart glasses as privacy-invasive, especially citing Meta's default face recognition feature.
- The app may produce false positives, like mistaking Meta's VR headsets for smart glasses, but these are usually more noticeable.
- Testing showed the app works effectively, detecting Apple devices via a custom Bluetooth identifier.
- Jeanrenaud views the app as a 'desperate act of resistance' against social problems amplified by technology.
- Snap claims its glasses have privacy features like LED indicators, but did not detail prevention of unwanted recordings.
- Meta did not comment on the app or privacy concerns.
The Increasing State of Surveillance Simultaneously Around the World
7 days ago
- Global surveillance is increasing through multiple independent proposals that collectively create a comprehensive system, despite lacking a central plan.
- Governments are establishing identity layers via SIM card KYC, app store age verification, OS-level age attestation, developer verification, and foreign service KYC to make devices identifiable extensions of individuals.
- Governments are pushing for communications layer surveillance through client-side scanning of encrypted messages, CA mandates, TLS interception, network-level filtering, and VPN restrictions, though some efforts have been resisted.
- Device layer surveillance is advancing via OS-level content scanning mandates, mandatory preinstalled software, and potential locked bootloader requirements, enabling control within the cryptographic boundary.
- Reporting and accountability layers are emerging, with trusted flagger infrastructure, lawful intercept laws, and compelled data exfiltration potentially turning corporate tools into government surveillance pipelines.
- Corporations are enabling surveillance through features like on-device AI monitoring, always-on listening devices, cloud sync defaults, and telemetry, often justified as conveniences.
- Platform control by corporations includes app store gatekeeping, browser engine restrictions, attestation primitives, and CDN/DNS chokepoints, reducing alternatives and reinforcing surveillance.
- Indirect pressure from insurance requirements, banking exclusions, and captcha walls creates economic and functional barriers to privacy-respecting tools.
- Resistance has succeeded in defeating some proposals, such as Kazakhstan's CA mandate, Apple's NeuralHash scanning, and EU Chat Control 1.0, showing that organized efforts can be effective.
- To counteract surveillance, individuals can use Linux or custom-ROM Android, support diverse browsers like Firefox, self-host services, fund advocacy groups, and develop alternative software to maintain viable options.
Cyberstalkers Are Exploiting Chrome Sync to Spy on Victims
6 days ago
- Cyberstalkers are using Chrome's sync feature to spy on victims by signing into a Google account on their device without their knowledge.
- The attack requires brief physical access to the victim's phone, allowing the attacker to add their account and enable sync, which copies browsing history and saved passwords.
- Chrome's popularity (over 69% market share) makes this a widespread threat, affecting millions globally, including on desktop platforms.
- No warnings appear in Chrome when a new account is added, and victims' security alerts don't trigger because the account belongs to the attacker.
- Recommendations for Google include adding notifications for new account sign-ins and sync status indicators to improve user awareness.
- Protection steps include checking signed-in accounts in Chrome, using Incognito mode for sensitive browsing, securing devices with strong passcodes, and being cautious about physical access.
Privacy Incidents – Real-world examples of why your photos need protection
6 days ago
- SnapSafe's mission is to give users complete control over visual privacy.
- Photos are increasingly valuable but also increasingly vulnerable in today's world.
- Everyone deserves a truly secure solution for photo protection.
California Steps Back from Dangerous Expansion of Its Age-Gating Law
5 days ago
- The California legislature has scaled back A.B. 1856, removing provisions that would have extended the state's age-gating law to browsers and websites, mitigating risks to speech, privacy, and security.
- EFF still opposes the underlying law A.B. 1043, which requires operating systems and app stores to collect user ages and block lawful content for minors, potentially leading to invasive age verification methods like ID checks and biometric scanning.
- EFF appreciates the exemption for open-source operating systems in A.B. 1856 and has removed its opposition to the bill, while continuing to criticize A.B. 1043 for threatening online anonymity, privacy, and security.
- EFF maintains that age verification mandates, part of a broader trend, are dangerous as they risk data breaches and misuse, and advocates for no age verification requirements for internet access.
The privacy problems hidden in your period tracker
4 days ago
- Period tracking apps vary in privacy practices, with some sharing user health data with third parties like Google, Meta, and TikTok.
- Stardust was found sharing detailed reproductive health data with RudderStack, though it claims data is anonymized and not misused.
- Euki is recommended for storing all health data on-device, allowing anonymity and offering a decoy feature for privacy.
- Flo and Clue scored well for transparency and controls but store health data on servers, raising breach or legal request risks.
- Past privacy scandals include Flo's FTC settlement and online sales of device lists from apps like Clue and Period Calendar.
- Experts warn that data from period trackers could be used in criminal cases post-abortion law changes, highlighting regulatory gaps in the U.S.
LG Monitors Caught Installing Adware and App with Access to All System Resources
2 days ago
- LG monitors automatically install an app via Windows Update without user permission.
- The app, LG Monitor App Installer, has access to all system resources and internet, and displays McAfee ads as adware.
- Users report issues dating back to at least 2024, with potential risks of data exfiltration and unwanted software popups.
- Windows Update can install such software by default, but it can be disabled via Group Policy Editor.
- LG's TVs have similar AI services with privacy concerns in terms of service, hinting at possible future monitor issues.
Orion Browser by Kagi
a day ago
- Orion is a privacy-focused web browser built on WebKit, offering native speed and compatibility with Chrome and Firefox extensions.
- It is available on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Linux (beta), and Windows (alpha), with features like zero-telemetry and support for Kagi services.
- Orion is user-funded through Orion Plus subscriptions or a one-time lifetime license, avoiding ads and third-party deals.
We want Texans to know their rights
a day ago
- Texas used automated license plate readers to track a woman suspected of self-managed abortion, showing ALPRs can weaponize healthcare surveillance.
- Mayday Health launched billboards in Houston to warn Texans about state tracking of pregnancies and inform them about abortion pill options.
- Mayday Health emphasizes privacy on its website, avoiding data collection and directing users to privacy resources for reproductive healthcare.
- Digital rights and reproductive health rights are linked, as anti-abortion efforts use surveillance to restrict access to healthcare.
- Abortion pills are FDA-approved, safe, effective, and available by mail, providing options despite clinic bans and surveillance.
Show HN: Wheesper – Start an anonymous discussion with a link
14 hours ago
- The platform offers privacy by link with no public directory or search.
- Access is restricted to individuals who possess a specific high-entropy link.
- Users can initiate private discussions and share an unguessable link for participation.
- Participants respond using friendly anonymous names without revealing personal details like name or email.
- The platform supports threaded replies and live updates to facilitate thoughtful conversations.

Hasty Briefsbeta

#privacy

AI Cameras on Garbage Trucks to Scan Properties for Code Violations

Tracking unique visitors without cookies

Meta Deletes Face-Recognition System from Smart Glasses App After Wired Report

Show HN: Hidetext.sh – encrypted pastebin where the server never sees the key

What xAI's Grok Build CLI Actually Sends to xAI

Your 'App' Could Have Been a Webpage (so I fixed it for you)

Samsung is pushing users to train AI with their personal health data or lose it

LAPD lets contract with surveillance giant Flock expire

Four awful new privacy-eroding features from Meta in a month

Show HN: Rekody, free on-device voice dictation for macOS

A new app alerts you if someone nearby is wearing smart glasses

The Increasing State of Surveillance Simultaneously Around the World

Cyberstalkers Are Exploiting Chrome Sync to Spy on Victims

Privacy Incidents – Real-world examples of why your photos need protection

California Steps Back from Dangerous Expansion of Its Age-Gating Law

The privacy problems hidden in your period tracker

LG Monitors Caught Installing Adware and App with Access to All System Resources

Orion Browser by Kagi

We want Texans to know their rights

Show HN: Wheesper – Start an anonymous discussion with a link