We are regularly told to block or ‘clear our cookies’, or use a private browsing mode, if we don’t want to be tracked as we visit websites. Website operators and marketing, advertising, and other tracking companies, however, have developed other ways of tracking us, called ‘fingerprinting’, which work even if you clear or block your cookies. How prevalent is this kind of cookieless tracking? How accurate is it? And what are the implications for our ability to control our personal information and protect our privacy interests?
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The way we interact with our digital devices has evolved over time: from specific commands in command line interfaces, to graphical user interfaces (GUIs), to touch-based interfaces. Virtual assistants (VAs) are the next step in this evolution, and they present new privacy challenges. These assistants, such as Siri (Apple), Alexa (Amazon), Cortana (Microsoft), or simply ‘Google’, are designed to respond to your spoken or written commands and take some action. Such commands let you place phone calls, order a car service, book a calendar appointment, play music or buy goods.
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It was once the domain of doctors with bona fide concerns about their patients’ genetic predisposition for illness. Today, advances in technology have brought genetic testing to the fingertips of anybody with a few hundred dollars to spare.
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Canadians’ mobile devices are filled with applications that collect personal information, including identifiers that are engrained into different parts of the devices. But what exactly are these identifiers, and how are they used?
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Children are more connected than ever and often miles ahead of their parents when it comes to navigating the Internet and mobile applications (apps).
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“Privacy is about much more than just solving technical issues of access control. That is not how people live and experience privacy. Privacy is in many ways about controlling the social situation.” – danah boyd
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This week is Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) – a global effort, coordinated by members of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA), to raise awareness about the value of privacy and the importance of protecting it.
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Waiting for his bus, a man watches as two people smash a glass window in an attempt to break into a building. He takes his phone out of his jacket pocket, points it towards the couple across the street, and snaps a photo. He posts it to Twitter. “Incredible,” he writes. “At the corner of Wellington and Fifth.”
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The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) will be hosting its first annual Pathways to Privacy Research Symposium on May 2, 2012, in Ottawa!
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Many people would tend to think of Internet content as being free.
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