Privacy

Privacy Groups Warn HUD’s AI Tool Would Put Your Sensitive Data at Risk The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering an artificial-intelligence tool that would analyze sensitive personal data—including income, rental history, and benefit records—to detect fraud and determine program eligibility. Two leading digital-rights organizations, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), have jointly urged HUD to abandon the project, warning that it lacks basic transparency and accountability measures. If you receive housing assistance or rent in federally subsidized housing, this matters to you. ...

Your Productivity Tools Might Be Spying on You: How to Spot Rogue Chrome Extensions The appeal of a browser extension that promises to save time is easy to understand. A one-click grammar checker, a password manager that fills in forms automatically, or a coupon finder that works while you shop. These tools feel harmless and often deliver real convenience. But a growing number of attackers have learned that the same permissions that make extensions useful also make them dangerous. Recent reports, including an investigation by the FBI into a sophisticated hacking campaign linked to compromised surveillance systems, have renewed attention on how malicious Chrome extensions disguised as productivity tools are being used to steal credentials, inject advertising, and monitor user activity. ...

Is That Chrome Extension Spying on You? How Productivity Tools Become Backdoors If you use a browser extension every day at work, you probably trust it without a second thought. That trust can be exploited. In March 2026, a widely used note-taking extension was found to have been quietly updated with code that exfiltrated user data. The update came from the extension’s legitimate developer account, which had been compromised. Users who had granted the extension broad permissions—such as “read and change all data on websites”—had no way to know their browsing activity, credentials, and even internal corporate documents were being siphoned off. ...

How to Pick a To-Do List App That Won’t Leak Your Data (2026 Guide) Your to-do list app likely holds more sensitive information than you realize: work deadlines, personal goals, medical appointments, passwords stored in notes, and even bank account numbers for bill reminders. When that data leaks—whether through a breach, a lax privacy policy, or third-party tracking—the consequences can range from embarrassing to financially damaging. ...

The Best To-Do List Apps of 2026: Which Ones Protect Your Privacy? If you’ve glanced at productivity recommendations this year, you’ve likely seen Wirecutter’s top three to-do list apps for 2026: Todoist, Things, and Microsoft To Do. Each is well regarded for getting tasks done across devices. But there’s a second layer to these recommendations that often goes unexamined—how your task data is handled on the backend. As data breaches and privacy lawsuits become more common, choosing an app based only on its features may leave your personal schedule, grocery lists, and work obligations exposed in ways you didn’t expect. ...

The Best To-Do List Apps of 2026: Which One Keeps Your Data Safe? Every year, Wirecutter spends dozens of hours testing to-do list apps to find the three that work best for most people. Their 2026 picks are out, and as usual, they focus heavily on features, design, and reliability. But there’s a question their reviews rarely answer in depth: how well do these apps protect your privacy? ...

The Best To-Do List Apps That Respect Your Privacy in 2026 Keeping a to-do list is a simple habit, but the app you choose can say a lot about how much of your daily routine ends up in someone else’s hands. Over the past few years, several popular task managers have come under scrutiny for how they handle—or sell—user data. If you’re trying to stay organized without handing over your schedule, your location, or your personal notes to third parties, you need an app that takes privacy seriously. ...

The Best To-Do List Apps for 2026: What You Should Know About Their Privacy If you rely on a to-do list app to keep track of your daily tasks, you are not alone. Millions of people use these tools to organize work and personal life. But as we store more sensitive information in them—from project deadlines to grocery lists, and sometimes even passwords or notes—the question of privacy becomes harder to ignore. ...

Which To-Do List App Keeps Your Tasks (and Data) Safe? A Practical Guide If you use a to-do list app regularly, you’ve probably given it a fair amount of personal information: work projects, grocery lists, perhaps even passwords or health reminders. Productivity apps have become indispensable, but they also store data that, if mishandled, could expose your habits, plans, or contact details. A few high-profile breaches in the productivity space over the past two years have made it clear that features alone aren’t enough—you need to consider where your data lives and who can access it. ...

The 3 Best To-Do List Apps of 2026 (And How They Protect Your Privacy) A few months ago, Wirecutter published its annual roundup of the best to-do list apps for 2026. The article is a solid resource for anyone trying to stay organized. But if you care about where your data ends up—and these days almost everyone should—the usual feature comparisons aren’t enough. ...