Digital Privacy

1 in 3 Americans Has Experienced an Online Shopping Scam: How to Stay Safe If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or paid for an item through a payment app only to realize the seller was fake, you’re far from alone. New data from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, shows that about a third of American adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That figure is a stark reminder that scam attempts are now a routine part of buying things on the internet. ...

Chrome Quietly Removes Privacy Promise for On-Device AI: What You Need to Know If you’ve been relying on Chrome’s on-device AI features because Google promised your data would never leave your computer, you may want to double check that assumption. In early May 2026, the company deleted its own written assurance that those AI tools would process everything locally. The change went entirely unannounced. ...

Chrome Quietly Drops Its Privacy Promise for On-Device AI – What You Need to Know Google recently updated Chrome’s privacy policy, removing a commitment that on-device AI processing would stay entirely local. The change, first reported by Decrypt on May 7, 2026, and later picked up by Yahoo Tech, raises questions about how much data Chrome’s built-in AI features might now send to Google’s servers. If you use features like Smart Reply or automatic tab organization, here is what the update means and how to check your settings. ...

Chrome Is Silently Installing a 4GB AI Model on Your Computer – and It Keeps Coming Back If you use Chrome, you may have recently noticed your browser using more disk space than usual. According to multiple reports, Google has started automatically downloading a large on-device AI model (roughly 4 GB) onto users’ computers without asking for permission. And if you try to delete it, it often returns. ...

Chrome Removes Privacy Promise for On-Device AI: What You Need to Know If you use Google Chrome, a significant privacy-related change has flown under the radar. Multiple reports indicate that Google has deleted a long-standing privacy commitment stating that on-device AI features would process data entirely locally. At the same time, Chrome is silently installing a 4 GB AI model on many users’ computers—and it may come back even after you delete it. ...

Chrome Is Secretly Installing a 4GB AI Model—Here’s How to Stop It If you use Google Chrome, there’s a good chance your browser has quietly downloaded a 4GB AI model onto your computer. And if you try to delete it, reports indicate it can come back on its own. ...

The Best To-Do List Apps of 2026: Which One Is Right for You? Every year, Wirecutter (The New York Times’ product recommendation team) updates its carefully tested guide to to-do list apps. Their 2026 roundup is no exception: after testing across iPhones, Android devices, Windows, Mac, and the web, they’ve settled on three apps that earn their top spots. But picking the right one for your own life takes a bit more than just reading a list. Your workflow, your device ecosystem, and your tolerance for subscription fees all play a role. ...

Secure Your Tasks: The Best To-Do List Apps for Privacy in 2026 Most to-do list apps are designed to make your life easier—but they also collect a surprising amount of data about your habits, routines, and even your location. A typical task manager knows when you wake up, what you prioritize, and how long you spend on each activity. With data breaches becoming more common and app privacy policies often buried in legalese, it’s worth asking: which apps protect your information, and which ones treat it as a product? ...

Wirecutter’s Top To-Do List Apps for 2026: How Privacy-Friendly Are They? Wirecutter, the product review arm of The New York Times, recently published its updated roundup of the best to-do list apps for 2026. Their team tested dozens of apps to find the ones that balance features, ease of use, and reliability. But for anyone who values digital privacy, the question goes beyond which app looks good on a screen: what happens to your task data once you’ve typed it in? ...

How to Stop Meta From Using Your Keystrokes for AI Training A recent report from TechTarget (May 6, 2026) has raised questions about Meta’s use of keystroke data for training its artificial intelligence models. For millions of people who use Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and other Meta services, this news can feel unsettling. This guide explains what’s happening, why it matters, and what steps you can take to limit this kind of data collection. ...