Privacy

How to log out of all active Facebook sessions from your iPhone

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated March 24, 2020

If you have a Facebook account, then chances are you access it on more than one device. You might forget from time to time to sign out of sessions on other machines you don't intend to use again, such as those in schools or at the workplace, potentially handing over access to your Facebook account to the next person(s) who uses the machine.

Facebook fortunately comes with a feature that lets you sign out of all active sessions on your account with just a few taps. We'll show you how you can do this in this tutorial.

Read More

How to use the on-demand VPN feature on your iPhone or iPad

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated June 15, 2018

Depending on the VPN you’re using, your iPhone or iPad might be able to take advantage of a feature called VPN on demand (VPoD).

Essentially what this does is it connects you to your VPN automatically when it’s needed so you don’t have to toggle it on manually before accessing the internet from your device. As a result, you can have peace of mind because your information is protected once you begin using the internet.

Read More

Upcoming Instagram update will let you turn off comments on a per-post basis & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 8, 2017

In its never-ending fight to curb abuse on its service, Instagram today said an upcoming new tool will let you completely turn off comments on individual posts.

As reported by The New York Times this morning and confirmed by Instagram itself, in addition to being able to turn off comments on individual posts users will be also permitted to remove followers on private accounts and like other people's comments as well.

Back in September, Instagram launched keyword-based comment moderation as another measure to fight spammers and abusers who have been harassing honest users with unwanted comments and marketing messages.

Read More

New Lock screen bug bypasses iPhone/iPad passcode, lets you see photos/contacts

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 17, 2016

Apple likes to pride itself with strong security in iOS, but for all the platitudes the fact remains that the iPhone's Lock screen is one of iOS's weakest links. And now, YouTuber iDeviceHelp has discovered a new Lock screen vulnerability that lets anyone in possession of your iPhone bypass the passcode and get to your contacts and photos. The bug has been reported to Apple and should be fixed in a future update.

Read More

iOS 10 found to store call logs for up to 4 months, Apple explains

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 17, 2016

iOS 10's been found to upload missed call logs from apps like WhatsApp and Skype to servers, as well as near-real time FaceTime call logs—even if iCloud backup has been turned off, according to a Russian company called Elcomsoft which makes iPhone forensic tools aimed at law enforcement agencies.

Elcomsoft CEO Vladimir Katalov suspects in an interview with Forbes that this is most likely a result of iOS 10's expanded scope of call logging due to the new CallKit framework which was designed to make VoIP calls from apps like Viber, WhatsApp and Skype behave like cellular calls and integrate with Phone's Recents and Favorites.

According to Apple itself, call log syncing through iCloud is a convenient feature that elevates user experience by allowing customers to easily return calls from VoIP apps.

Read More

Backdoor in some Android devices sold in the US found to send data to China

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Security firm Kryptowire recently discovered that some Android smartphones have a backdoor that secretly sends data to China, reports the NY Times. Maybe even more concerning, American phone maker BLU Products said that 120,000 of its phones were found to have the backdoor installed in its software, which has since been updated to remove all track of that secret backdoor.

Read More

Twitter unveils expanded Mute filter and a more direct way to report hateful conduct

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Twitter today announced it's starting to roll out an expanded Mute filter and a brand new reporting method in another effort to help users shield themselves from abusive or offensive tweets as the company steps up anti-abuse features of the service.

All of Twitter's support teams have been retrained on the new policies, including special sessions on cultural and historical contextualization of hateful conduct.

Read More

WhatsApp rolls out end-to-end encrypted video calling

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 15, 2016

Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced yesterday that it had begun rolling out video calling to the more than one billion users it claims across iOS, Android and Windows Phone platforms around the world.

According to TechCrunch, video calls on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted just like with FaceTime in order to prevent rogue parties from eavesdropping on your communications.

WhatsApp previously rolled out end-to-end encryption for chats. “We obviously try to be in tune with what our users want,” WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum told Reuters. “We're obsessed with making sure that voice and video work well even on low-end phones.”

Read More

Facebook halts WhatsApp data collection in UK following privacy probe

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

As of late-August 2016, WhatsApp has been sharing account data with Facebook in what the firm framed as an effort to improve targeted advertising on the social network. Although users can easily opt out of the WhatsApp → Facebook data sharing with just a few taps, most novice users are unaware that their WhatsApp usage data is being shared with Facebook.

In the United Kingdom, the Information Commissioner Office head Elizabeth Denham said her office had launched a probe into WhatsApp's updated Terms of Service a few weeks ago.

The new terms previously drew ire from European privacy watchdogs who expressed “serious concerns” over the policy change. As a result of the UK government probe, WhatsApp has now suspended account data collection and sharing with Facebook.

Read More