Digital Privacy

How to Protect Your Privacy as AI Invades Every App and Device If you’ve noticed that your phone, thermostat, or photo app seems to be getting “smarter,” you’re not imagining it. Artificial intelligence is now baked into the software we use every day — often in ways that aren’t obvious. A recent Wall Street Journal article, “How to Maintain Our Privacy in the AI Age” (published June 23, 2026), along with related pieces like “What AI Can’t—or Shouldn’t—Do for You” and “Biometrics Sounds Cool—and Safe. Maybe, but Read This First,” highlight a growing concern: the convenience of AI comes with real tradeoffs for personal data. ...

Your Browser Knows More Than You Think – Five Privacy Settings to Adjust Every time you open a browser, you leave a trail of data. Which sites you visit, how long you stay, what you search for, even where you are physically located – all of it can be collected, stored, and sold. A recent PCWorld article titled “Your browser is too nosy. Change these 5 settings now” highlighted exactly how invasive modern browsers have become and what users can do about it. ...

Flock AI Security Cameras Could Be Watching You: What You Need to Know About Privacy Risks Recent news out of Gainesville, Florida, has put a spotlight on a growing privacy concern: AI-powered surveillance cameras from a company called Flock. Residents and privacy advocates are questioning how these cameras work, who has access to the data, and whether the trade-off between security and privacy is worth it. ...

Flock AI Cameras and Your Privacy: What You Need to Know If you live in a neighborhood or city that uses automated license plate recognition cameras, you may have heard about Flock AI. These solar-powered cameras, often mounted on poles at intersections, capture images of every passing vehicle and use artificial intelligence to read license plates, identify vehicle makes and colors, and sometimes recognize drivers. The systems are marketed as a crime-fighting tool, but recent events have raised real questions about how the data is used and who has access to it. ...

AI Security Cameras Are Watching You: What to Know About Flock and Your Privacy Flock safety cameras have been appearing in more neighborhoods and city intersections over the past few years. These are not ordinary security cameras. They are equipped with automated license plate readers (ALPR) and artificial intelligence that can identify vehicles by make, model, color, and plates in real time. Law enforcement agencies across the country have partnered with Flock to access this data, often without a warrant or public discussion. ...

Your Neighborhood AI Cameras: What You Need to Know About Privacy Risks A recent news report from Gainesville, Florida, has brought renewed attention to a growing trend in community surveillance: AI-powered security cameras made by a company called Flock. Residents there have raised concerns about how these cameras collect and share data, and whether local officials have put enough safeguards in place. As more towns and homeowners’ associations adopt similar technology, it’s worth understanding what these cameras do, what the real privacy risks are, and what you can do about them. ...

What the Gainesville Flock AI Backlash Means for Your Privacy (and How to Fight Back) Residents of Gainesville recently raised alarms about a network of AI-powered security cameras installed by Flock Safety. The system, which uses automated license plate recognition and optional facial recognition, has been deployed in neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and even linked to local law enforcement. What started as a crime-prevention tool quickly turned into a privacy flashpoint. ...

Signal’s President Warns: AI Chatbots Are a Privacy Risk – Here’s What to Do If you’ve typed a personal question into ChatGPT, Gemini, or any other large language model, you might have assumed that conversation stays between you and the software. Signal’s president, Meredith Whittaker, has a different message: treat those chats like a public square. ...

Is Your Therapist Using AI to Track Sessions? What You Can Do About It A recent investigation by the Los Angeles Times has shed light on a practice many patients may not be aware of: mental health providers using AI tools to analyze therapy sessions, often without explicit patient consent. The report, published June 22, 2026, describes AI systems that can process spoken language, detect emotions, summarize session notes, and even assign risk scores—all while the patient assumes their words are heard only by the therapist. ...

Signal President Warns: AI Chatbots Could Be a Privacy Nightmare — Here’s What to Do Every time you type a question into ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or another AI chatbot, you are handing over more than just a query. You may be sharing personal thoughts, work documents, or even financial details. And according to a recent warning from the president of Signal, the encrypted messaging app, most users have little idea how those conversations are stored, shared, or used. ...