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Privacy-focused news from TechCrunch • Updated every 3 hours
Last generated: 11/17/2025, 4:17:19 AM
Apple updates its App Store rules to restrict apps from sharing personal data with third-party AI without disclosure and explicit permission.
A group of Democratic lawmakers asked governors in California, Colorado, and other states to block ICE from accessing their residents’ driver’s license data without their knowledge.
Government surveillance vendors want us to believe their spyware products are only used in limited and targeted operations against terrorists and serious criminals. That claim is increasingly difficult to justify, given the broad range of victims — journalists, activists, and now political consultants — that have come forward.
WhatsApp notified the consultant, who works for left-wing politicians, that his phone was targeted with spyware made by Paragon.
Security researchers found a government hacking campaign that relies on Windows spyware developed by surveillance tech maker Memento Labs. When reached by TechCrunch, the spyware maker's chief executive blamed a government customer for getting caught.
Google now lets you recover your accounts using your phone number or trusted contacts.
NSO Group confirmed to TechCrunch that an unnamed group of American investors has taken “controlling ownership” of the surveillance tech maker.
From phone spyware and facial recognition to phone unlocking technology and databases and more, this tech powers Trump's deportation machine.
The federal contract shows ICE spent $825,000 on vans equipped with “cell-site simulators” which allow the real-world location tracking of nearby phones and their owners.
Hundreds of Eufy customers have donated hundreds of thousands of videos to train the company’s AI systems.
The U.K. Home Office is seeking access to Apple users’ encrypted iCloud backups for a second time, after an earlier attempt failed earlier this year.
Age-verification laws are a privacy and security nightmare. This startup performs age checks on-device, without users having to upload their IDs to the internet.
A new call recording app is gaining traction for offering to pay users for voice data from calls, which is sold to AI companies.
X's new encrypted messaging feature, XChat, has some red flags.
There have been more border device searches than ever before, per new data, despite the constitutionality of whether these searches are legal.
After developing a facial-recognition app for Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses and doxing random people, two former Harvard students are now launching a startup that makes smart glasses with an always-on microphone.
Google has agreed to pay $30M to settle a lawsuit over children's data collection, though the company denies wrongdoing.
Tulsi Gabbard said that President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance also participated in the negotiations with the U.K. government over its once-secret demand to Apple.
Security researcher Eaton Zveare told TechCrunch that the flaws he discovered in the carmaker's centralized dealer portal exposed vast access to customer and vehicle data. With this access, Zveare said he could remotely take over a customer's account and unlock their cars, and more.
The newly launched app, now trending on Apple's App Store, contains at least one major security flaw that exposes the private information of its users, including their uploaded selfies and government-issued IDs.