Online Privacy

Shift’s New AI Browser Promises Privacy: What It Means for You Most people now expect their browser to know them—suggest sites, autofill passwords, even answer questions. But handing that level of insight to a search engine or browser maker often means handing over your browsing history, clicks, and location. Shift, a company best known for its productivity app that unifies email and workspaces, just launched a browser that tries to reconcile AI assistance with strong privacy protections. Here’s what it does, how it compares to the alternatives, and whether it makes sense for you. ...

Which To-Do List Apps Respect Your Privacy in 2026? A to-do list app seems harmless enough: it stores tasks, deadlines, maybe a few notes. But think about what you put into it—work projects, doctor’s appointments, personal goals, shopping lists. Over time, that data reveals your schedule, your habits, even your location or health patterns. Given how many apps now sync to the cloud, your task list might be more revealing than you realize. ...

AI Feels Creepier Than Ever? Here Are the Products Privacy Experts Actually Buy You don’t have to be paranoid to notice that AI is getting more invasive. Smart speakers listen for trigger words, websites scrape your data to train models, and facial recognition systems map public spaces. A recent VICE article asked privacy specialists what they personally buy to push back. The answers are surprisingly practical—and they don’t require ditching your smartphone. ...

Chrome Extensions: How That ‘Productivity Tool’ Could Be Spying on You Introduction Browser extensions are a staple of modern web browsing. A grammar checker here, a coupon finder there, a password manager—they all promise to save time and make life easier. But what happens when one of those tools turns against you? ...

Is That Chrome Extension Safe? 5 Red Flags You Should Never Ignore You probably have a handful of browser extensions installed right now. A grammar checker for emails, a coupon finder when you shop, a tab manager to keep things tidy. They seem harmless—just little helpers that make your browser do more. But over the past year, security researchers have documented a disturbing pattern: extensions that start out useful are being repurposed as backdoors into users’ systems, sometimes months or years after installation. ...

Don’t tell your AI chatbot these 5 things to keep your money safe AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot are now part of everyday life for millions of people. They help with writing, planning, and even financial questions. But as these tools become more popular, security researchers and consumer advocates are warning about a less obvious risk: the information you type into a chatbot can be stored, analyzed, and potentially accessed by others. ...

How to Spot a Malicious Chrome Extension Before It Steals Your Data You probably have a handful of extensions in your browser right now—a password manager, an ad blocker, maybe a grammar checker or a tab organizer. They’re convenient, and most do exactly what they promise. But a recent report from Security Boulevard highlights a growing problem: attackers are increasingly using Chrome extensions as backdoors into personal accounts, corporate systems, and sensitive data. ...

How AI Tools Are Eroding Your Privacy — and 4 Steps to Protect Yourself Every time you ask an AI assistant a question, generate an image, or use a chatbot to draft an email, you are handing over data. Not just the text you explicitly type, but often the context around it, your account information, and sometimes even patterns from how you interact. The convenience is real, but so is the data trail. ...

AI Tools Are Eroding Your Privacy: 5 Steps to Protect Your Data Now Introduction Every time you type a prompt into ChatGPT, upload a photo to an image generator, or ask a smart assistant a question, you’re handing over data that can be stored, analyzed, and sometimes reused. It’s easy to focus on the convenience and forget the trade‑off. But a growing number of reports—including a recent piece by Heather Parry on Substack—are drawing attention to how quickly our privacy is being chipped away as AI adoption surges. This article explains what’s happening, why it matters for everyday users, and what concrete steps you can take to reduce your exposure. ...

How AI Tools Are Quietly Collecting Your Data (and What to Do About It) Every time you ask a chatbot a question, dictate a note to a smart speaker, or let an AI sort your photos, you’re handing over more than just that request. These interactions are recorded, stored, and often used to train the very systems you’re relying on. As AI tools become embedded in everyday life, understanding what data they collect—and how to limit it—is no longer optional. ...