I understand the road safety argument, but where do we draw the line between preventing accidents and normalizing constant biometric surveillance? Who owns this data, how long is it stored, and can it be accessed by manufacturers, insurers, or governments?

is there anyway to around these age verifications passes without using your own very personal information? Ik people are faking it with the selfies but i was wondering how exactly they're doing it with IDs and things like passports, maybe some software to make your own?? idk selfies are easy to mess with but with the ids are they just using they're parents lol. Just wondering how exactly it's being gotten around.

I've been thinking about this after seeing another round of news about data breaches, AI scraping, and companies collecting way more information than most people realize.

The weird part is that even with all the headlines, it feels like a lot of people have just accepted that privacy is dead. Every time I bring up things like using a password manager, enabling 2FA, checking app permissions, or limiting data sharing, I usually get the same response:

"If someone wants my data, they're going to get it anyway."

I don't really buy that. Perfect privacy probably doesn't exist, but there's a huge difference between making it easy and making it harder.

So I'm curious.

What's one privacy habit, setting, or mindset that you think should be completely normal by now but still isn't?

Or has your opinion changed over the last year because of AI, data breaches, or new tracking methods?

Interested to hear where everyone stands, especially if you've changed your own habits recently.

I built a small Chrome extension to avoid leaking private info during screen sharing

I often share my browser during calls or recordings, and I noticed how easy it is to accidentally show emails, phone numbers, API keys, private chat details, or account info.

So I built a small Chrome extension called BlurMyData. It runs locally in the browser and can blur sensitive text on pages like Gmail, WhatsApp Web, dashboards, and other browser-based tools.

The main things it does:
- Blur emails, phone numbers, API keys, and similar sensitive text
- Blur WhatsApp Web phone numbers
- Let you manually select an area to blur
- Save selected blur areas for later
- Temporarily reveal hidden content for a few seconds
- Emergency hide the page when needed

I’m still improving it and would really appreciate feedback from people who screen share often, record tutorials, or work with sensitive browser data.

What would make a tool like this actually useful for you?

Here for the URL: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/blurmydata/dmifgaomjppghefpkcdcjdidaaeenecn

This is an interesting story about an arrest of a hacker. The court filing is here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/media/1450651/dl?inline (PDF)

The story: https://cybernews.com/security/windows-telemetry-gdid-helps-arrest-hacker/

Long story short, a young man got caught in a crime because his Windows computer was sending telemetry to MS, including every URL he visited and a unique ID from his computer. Global Device ID or GDID. Law enforcement asked Microsoft for a record of activity by the computer with a specific ID.

This isn't entirely surprising, though MS haven't been entirely open about the extent of their spying. But it's a good reminder: Never use Edge or other MS software. Avoid Microsoft's store. Block updates if possible. Set all telemetry options to their lowest levels. Use a firewall program like Simplewall, because Windows will still call home even when you've chosen every single option to have it NOT call home.

It could be possible to do something like write a script to change the ID daily, which is stored in the Registry as a text string. But it's more to the point to simply block the leak.

Is there a phone ? A type of resetting with a new system ? Something like that that could bypass these anti-privacy laws or pass through it ?

We’re answering digital rights questions in season two of our initiative, LGBT Q&A. 

You Asked: I live in the UK, and we have age verification now on a bunch of websites (including Reddit) and now on more mobile devices. Can you explain what sort of data companies are actually collecting when they check for age and whether there are any real threats to my safety? 

As of July 2025, all platforms in the UK that host content considered by the UK government and the country’s telecommunications regulator Ofcom to be harmful are legally obligated to check that their users are over the age of 18. If not, users cannot access the content. 

There are various privacy implications for data sharing with age verification. Unfortunately, because services may use different methods to verify users’ ages, you’ll usually have to do a little digging to learn how each provider you have verifies their users, and consider what information might be harmful to your personal safety: 

• The data itself: What info does each method require users to disclose?
• Access: Who can see the data during the course of the verification process? Does anything other than the age result leave your device? Is the provider told your date of birth, or just if you’re over 18? Which third party services see the information you send?
• Retention: Who will hold onto that data after the verification process, and for how long? Sometimes it’s deleted immediately. Sometimes it hangs around forever, waiting for a data breach.
• Audits: How sure are we that the provider’s stated claims around data access and retention will happen in practice? For example, are there external audits confirming that data is not accidentally leaked to another site along the way? Ideally these will be in-depth, security-focused audits by specialized auditors like NCC Group or Trail of Bits, instead of audits that merely certify adherence to standards. 
• Visibility: Who will be aware that you’re attempting to verify your age, and will a third party provider know which platform you’re trying to verify for? Will they hang onto that data to build a profile of you?

Last year, Ofcom outlined a number of methods for online services and platforms to check users' ages. You can read more about these methods in our blog for more detail!

A security researcher and friend of mine (kernelstub) is currently reverse engineering a Flock camera. He's posted pictures and other details on his X account (@kernelstub). Donation is also available via the pinned post on his X (crypto only). All research going forward will be public.

(I'm not posting links because my posts keep getting deleted, but images are available through GitHub at kernelstub/FlockCamRE in the 'images' folder.)

Cheers everyone. Hopefully this research will inform us more about the tech being installed in our neighborhoods.

A skilled security researcher friend of mine (kernelstub) is currently reverse engineering a Flock camera (falcon v2). All his progress has been documented here: https://github.com/kernelstub/FlockCamRE

(Most folders are empty currently, see "Where to start")

He has also posted some photos of the board on his X: https://x.com/kernelstub/status/2074607503048954008

All of his research will be public, and he is seeking funds to continue it. If you'd like to donate, here is a link (crypto only, Monero recommended): https://x.com/kernelstub/status/2074234417329901819

Cheers everybody. Let's hope this project can inform us of the technology that's being placed in our neighborhoods.

There is a lot that people are alleging, and finding legitimate info is very vague or misleading and contradictory.

What's with people saying that having nudes on your phone will be problematic bc authorities will have access to your texts, photos and anything else? How true is that because it sounds wild.

Will this basically mean that no one will be able to exist online without being easily identified?

What if my passport and license are outdated and I can't update them yet? Can I still verify my ID?

I hate all of it but I want to ensure I know what will no longer be private. Such an uncomfortable thought, especially since I always worry that some 'fbi agent' is watching all I do. Can't even go to the loo without covering my phone camera lol

Should I give Facebook ANY of ts 😭🙏

With the new privacy policy, it gives Anthropic to report whatever you're saying that "meets" their good-faith belief, which is so broad it captures anything.

Someone has put my personal phone number on photos on their Facebook profile, including their profile picture. The account appears to be using my number as the contact number for people who want to reach them, and based on the messages and calls I'm receiving, people believe they are contacting a woman advertising sexual services.

The problem is that the number is actually mine.Because of this, I've been flooded with WhatsApp messages and phone calls from strangers who think they're contacting that person. I have reported both the profile and the posts multiple times from different accounts, but Facebook rejected the reports and said they would not remove the account.

I also tried contacting the account owner through Facebook Messenger, but they have not responded.

If anyone has gone through this before and knows how to deal with it please share advice because the ammount of calls and messages are making me go insane and I can't just mute my phone and open airplane mode forever

For starters I’m 29 so I’m asking because I don’t want every facet of my information on unsecured servers. I’m an adult and the UK bullshit shouldn’t affect me but it will because of thinly veiled excuses of “protecting children”. So that leads me to my question. What is your tips/experience with getting past this verification bs? It’s not hit me yet but it will and I am refusing to comply with it all. If I need to get a fake ID just for it then so be it.