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Will Indie Phone be the first really private smartphone?
Each user will have their own Private server!

In today’s free market, there are only two companies making money making mobile phones. According to analysts, Apple and Samsung swept up more than 100% of mobile phone earnings in the third quarter last year, subtracting losses from other vendors. That’s some funny math. It’s also revealing: While Steve Jobs‘ legacy has been labeled iconoclastic, his vision has also become the dominant new norm.
Indie Phone, a mobile phone with new hardware, an original operating system, and an individual server for each user, could provide an alternative. The goal, says Indie Phone creator Aral Balkan, is twofold: To make a beautiful user experience and empower users to own their data.
Read more: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026474/can-this-alternative-smartphone-deliver-real-privacy-to-the-masses
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Schools should be Privacy zones!
Kids shouldn’t have to worry about receiving targeted ads based on an essay they wrote.

Kids today use the Internet to do everything from comment on lessons with other students to get homework from their teachers. But what is to stop companies from using students’ information to sell them candy and action figures?

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education addressed the issue by announcing the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), a “one-stop” privacy resource for Internet companies and school administrators to “learn about data privacy, confidentiality, and security practices.”
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/data-privacy-laws-lag-behind-tech-kids-learn-online-n39116

Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Is sharing your passwords with your partner a good idea?
Read this before deciding!

Matthew Breuer has shared the passwords to his computer, email and social media accounts with every girlfriend he’s ever had. It’s a matter of convenience — she can check his email when he can’t access it or get into his phone to change the song playing on the speakers. But it’s also symbolic.
Read more: Sharing Passwords with a Partner: Is It Ever a Good Idea? | TIME.com http://healthland.time.com/2014/02/24/the-complicated-politics-of-sharing-passwords-with-a-partner/#ixzz2uSAbrXUe
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Is your data irresistible to your telephone company?
Read below to find out!

Last year’s revelations over the US tapping of phone and internet data gave telecoms firms pause for thought over whether they should sell their “big data” for gain, but the commercial potential could prove irresistible.
Although figures are scarce, analysts think selling data on mobile users’ locations, movements, and web browsing habits may grow into a multi billion-dollar market for the business.
Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/02/23/us-mobile-world-bigdata-idUKBREA1M09F20140223#ixzz2uGi9pAYL
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

German WhatsApp users are switching to Threema to escape Facebook’s tentacles!
People will pay for their Privacy. Threema is double the price of WhatsApp!

Swiss startup Threema probably didn’t expect this. In 24 hours, the startup has doubled its user base, according to Süddeutsche. It is now sitting at the top of the paid App Store chart in Germany. Interestingly, Threema’s key feature is its true end-to-end encryption — German users probably don’t want to use a Facebook-owned app anymore.
Read more: http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/21/bye-bye-whatsapp-germans-switch-to-threema-for-privacy-reasons/?utm_campaign=fb&ncid=fb
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Would you be willing to give up your Privacy for $10 per year?

Everyone wants to track our data: Google, advertisers, businesses, the NSA. But what do we get out of it? A personalized search experience? Targeted ads? The creepy feeling that we’re always being watched? There’s a reason your personal online data is so coveted: it’s valuable. Here’s a good look at how your personal online data is being tracked and sold right now.  A Seattle startup, Placed, also wants your data, but it’s not ignoring the fact that your data is being used for profit. Quite the opposite, it’s compensating you for the right to track your mobile data, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Read more: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/a-startup-that-pays-to-invade-your-mobile-privacy/
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

This article can help you decide which browser is best at protecting your Privacy.


Dear Lifehacker,
With Firefox getting ads and Chrome extensions spying on me, is there really one browser that’s better than the others when it comes to privacy? Does it matter if I use something like Opera or Safari instead? Is my browser watching what I’m doing and reporting back?
Read more: http://lifehacker.com/which-browser-is-better-for-privacy-1525895782
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

The creepy side of social media!

Prankster Jack Vale recently freaked strangers out at the beach by walking up to them and talking about personal information he gathered from their social media updates. Jack has tried this social media experiment out in the past, but this time he goes for more of a stalker vibe.
Read more: http://laughingsquid.com/jack-vale-freaks-strangers-out-by-talking-about-personal-information-that-they-posted-on-social-media/
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Forced to work for FREE because she logged on to Facebook for 10 minutes during work hours.  This is crazy!

I was unjustly asked to work for free after my employer caught me briefly logging in on Facebook. Our laws aren’t particularly helpful when it comes to employer surveillance.
A couple of years ago, I found myself doing unpaid work, giving up my Saturday night with television and pad thai to stuff envelopes and check in guests instead.
I wasn’t doing volunteer work, or one of those bizarre internships where you run free errands for a billion-dollar shoe company in the hopes of climbing the corporate ladder. I was asked to work for free because I got caught accessing Facebook on the company computer during work hours. On my day off, my boss had accessed my internet browser history and printed out the evidence of my cardinal sin. She threatened to sue me for “stealing” company time unless I worked the following week, unpaid.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/17/when-your-boss-turns-into-big-brother-surveillance-has-grave-consequences
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Another data breach.
This time it’s Kickstarter and personal information including addresses and passwords were stolen!

Kickstarter, the fundraising platform used by millions of people to raise capital for creative projects and businesses, said on Saturday that hackers had gained access to some of its customers’ data earlier this week but that the breach had been repaired.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/kickstarter-crowdfunding-site-hacked-personal-information-obtained-1.2539208?cmp=rss
Posted by Dont Mine on Me