Apps, Check Them, If Privacy Matters in Your Life
In an effort to provide better privacy, recently I received a notice upon sign in from one of the scheduling apps I use that you would no longer be able to sign in using Facebook or Twitter. Hummm… I wondered why, but complied by setting up an individual sign in and password.
The reason became clear this morning as I read the local newspaper and made note of Apple’s new tagline. “If privacy matters in your life, it should matter to the phone your life is on.” Apple has a mobile update planned for fall 2019 that would offer users the option to remain anonymous when signing into certain apps in the App Store. What difference will this make you ask? Well, it will better protect users’ privacy and threatens to choke off data to companies including Facebook and Google that use the information to track users and sell ads based on their habits.
Relationships between app developers and third parties have thrived for years on the convenience of letting users sign in through their respective social-media accounts. Yep, I’m guilty of this, all though, less recently than ever before. App developers receive either names and email address from direct sign-ups or related info such as gender from Google, Facebook, 
Linkedin, or other accounts.Now you know how all those unsolicited emails wind up in your inbox. As we all know, certain tech companies have had highly publicized scandals with millions of user’s personal data exposed. Not good.
Just this week, Apple, who has pioneered authentication factors like FaceID and touted file encryption and other safety devices on its iOS devices, added yet another safeguard. As Apple users we can already opt out of continuous location tracking. But now we can use the new feature to share our location with an app only once to perform a specific task, in addition makes it easy to see which apps are still tracking your location when the apps are not in use. Cyber stalking. Creepy.
The bottom line these companies are going to need to find and collect data more directly from us consumers rather than using third-party services like Google and Facebook to do the work for them. As always when signing up new apps, think about just how much info you want these apps to have.
Next week, we’ll dive into whether ultra-powerful and still experimental technology entitled quantum computers will be friend of foe?
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged Apple, Apps, Email, Facebook, google, iOS by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Technology – What It Can Do For You & To You!
What will 5G, the next generation of wireless technology mean to you?
First lets figure out how exactly 5G technology will be used. It won’t replace todays 4G networks, but will supplement them. Bandwidth, capacity and mobile broadband will be radically improved much more than previous generational shifts.
Now how are they going to do that you ask. Well… in part by packing thousands of small antennae onto cell towers, utility poles and buildings. Mobile speeds will be pushed from 100 Mbps to upward of 10 Gbps. WOW! That’s a thousand-fold increase, making next-generation wireless competitive with the fastest fiber-optic wired networks.
Looking forward to the next several years, billions more things will go online. Using 5G networks to send and receive huge amounts of new data at lightning speed. That information will go from personal to global, connecting you, your home and community. Think connecting smart clothing, prosthetic devices and perhaps ingestible health monitors. Okay, now that is weird.
Science fiction meets reality with fully integrated living spaces (smart homes) that adjust to the needs of all family members. 5G will optimize home security, power and water usage, and personalize entertainment. Also 5G networks will help seniors at home by monitoring their meds, connecting them to telehealth services and tracking everything from sleep to insulin levels.
Exciting huh?
Switching gears from technology to social media, let’s take a quick peek at what TWITTER is chirping about. Twitter hopes to attract a bigger, broader audience with one of its most comprehensive product updates in years, that will personalize news for users and send them notification of events you need or want to know. Like the volcanic activity in Hawaii. Twitter could alert people with the most relevant live video, photos, tweets of the action. No more searching though mounds of data for what you’re interested in. Cool huh?
FACEBOOK Tattles: Ever wonder who can see all your facebook friends and the weird pages you may follow? The answer, ANYONE. Yep, that’s right from employers, stalkers, identity thieves and even your mother. Oh my.
To limit this go to your phones facebook app. Tap on the three lines, next scroll to Setting and Privacy, then tap Privacy Settings. Switch Who can see your friends list from Public to Friends – even better Only Me. Do the same on the same page with a separate setting for Who can see the people, pages and lists you follow. By taking this action others can’t post on your behalf, or at least until you approve each post.
Did you know that Facebook scans all the photos and video you share to create digital face IDs? Want to tell them hands off?
In the Facebook app under Setting & Privacy, tap Settings, then Face Recognition switch to No under do you want Facebook to be able to recognize you in photos and videos? Down side of this action, Facebook won’t recommend tagging you in photos, and won’t give you a heads up when someone else posts a photo of you.
Now lets talk a little about Facebook Advertisers. Each member in North America was worth approximately $82 in advertising to Facebook in 2017. Advertisers can use very personal data to target you. That gives me the creeps. How about you?
To avoid this, in the Facebook App’s Settings & Privacy menu, tap Settings, then Ad Preferences. Then tap open the section called Your information. Switch Off adds based on your relationship status, employer, job title and education. While you’re in Ad Preferences, go to Ad setting and switch to Not allowed for Ads based on data from partners and Ads based on your activity on Facebook Company Products that you see elsewhere. The down side is you give up more relevant ads, which is more of a problem for advertisers than you.
Did you know that by liking a page, you give Facebook advertisers permission to use your name in ads they show your friends – this happens without compensation to you. Not cool. To stop this, on your phone under Setting & Privacy, click Settings, then Ad Preferences. Tap open Ads Settings and switch to No One the setting for Ads that include your social actions. The down side if there is one – You stop the use of your name by a company you might not want to be associated with.
I’ve captivated your attention long enough. Next time we’ll tackle security and privacy in Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple in Technology and Social Media cyber space. See you then!
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged 5G, Facebook, Privacy, Security, Technology by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
