Name: Facebook and Instagram Link Previews Would Break EU Privacy Law, Say Security Researchers
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Facebook and Instagram Link Previews Would Break EU Privacy Law, Say Security Researchers

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Tuesday February 9, 2021 4:28 am PST by A by security researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk has alleged that Facebook Messenger and Instagram are collecting and using data from link previews in a way that would breach European privacy law.In October last year, that link previews in popular messaging apps can lead to security and privacy issues on iOS and Android. It was discovered that apps could leak IP addresses, expose links sent in end-to-end encrypted chats, download large files without users' consent, and copy private data through link previews.In that report, Bakry and Mysk found that Facebook Messenger and Instagram behaved unlike other messaging apps in that they downloaded the entire contents of any link to its servers, regardless of size. When questioned about this unusual behavior, Facebook reportedly said that it considers this to be "working as intended."Copies of link preview data kept on external servers could be subject to breaches or misuse, which may be particularly concerning for users who send links to sensitive or confidential private data such as business documents, bills, contracts, or medical records.Now, Bakry and Mysk have found that Facebook has recently stopped generating link previews in Messenger and Instagram for users in Europe . The change also applies to users outside Europe if they communicate with someone in the region.Links sent in Facebook Messenger as seen in Europe and other regionsThe researchers suggest that since Europe has "some of the most robust privacy laws" and Facebook has now removed link previews seemingly to comply with the legislation, the company must have been using the data from link previews in a way that would breach the ePrivacy Directive.It is an implicit confirmation that Facebook's handling of link previews in Messenger and Instagram did not conform to privacy regulations in Europe, otherwise they wouldn't have disabled the feature... Stopping this service in Europe strongly hints that Facebook may be using this content for purposes other than generating previews.Bakry and Mysk believe that Facebook's link previews may have infringed on articles 4:1a, 4:2, and 5:3 of the ePrivacy Directive. These articles include the requirement that personal data can only be accessed by authorized personnel for legal purposes, the need to inform users of the risks of a data breach, and the need to gain user consent having been provided with "clear and comprehensive information" about how data is collected.As links may relate to personal data, the ePrivacy Directive prevents Facebook from storing, processing, or using this information without explicit consent from users in the EU. Facebook would also have to make it clear to users why it is downloading the contents of link previews prior to requesting consent.Bakry and Mysk have demonstrated that Facebook servers download and store the content of links sent through its apps, and if the same link is sent a second time, Facebook generates a link preview without downloading the contents of the link. This purportedly indicates that the content is stored or cached by Facebook and is proven by the amount of data that is uploaded from a user's device.Link previews continue to be available in Messenger and Instagram for users outside Europe. Facebook's current Terms of Service state that any content users share through any of Facebook's services will be used for various purposes such as personalizing content, ads, making suggestions, and learning about users, both on and off Facebook's products. In Europe, this use of personal data now requires explicit consent from users even if it is approved by Facebook's Terms of Service.Facebook disabled link previews for users in Europe to comply with new privacy regulations. This confirms our privacy concerns that sending links to private files in Messenger and Instagram is unsafe. While Facebook did disable link previews in Europe, users in other regions should refrain from sending links through either of these apps. The better option would be to switch to other messaging apps which respect user privacy in all parts of the world alike.Bakry and Mysk are now actively recommending that users outside Europe do not send links in Messenger or Instagram due to privacy concerns, and have even suggested that users move to other messaging apps entirely.Beyond , the researchers have previously investigated popular and apps and HTTP .Tags: , [ ]Why does this not surprise me.Score: 9 Votes ( | )What is more curious, is that day by day we have story after story of the FB group misusing data, mining data, selling personal data, building profiles of individual for nefarious means, manipulating the political sphere etc etc...And YET people still use the services every single day.Score: 8 Votes ( | )Honestly, what the heck is wrong with these companies? They are so weird and creepy. Can't they just stop stalking their users? Just quit it. People want advanced technology, not cyber-stalking freaks.Score: 6 Votes ( | )Evil, just simply evil. Scumbags extraordinaire..Score: 6 Votes ( | )Waiting for the Facebook reply "But tracking and data mining is good for you! It is privacy that violates your...ehmm...advertising potential!"Score: 6 Votes ( | )They only do that to save small businesses, guys!Score: 6 Votes ( | )Wednesday October 20, 2021 3:41 am PDT by Facebook is reportedly planning to change its name to better reflect Mark Zuckerberg's goal of creating a "metaverse," reports The Verge, claiming the change could come as soon as next week. From the report: The coming name change, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about at the company's annual Connect conference on October 28th, but could unveil sooner, is meant to signal the tech... • Sunday December 19, 2021 3:47 am PST by Facebook, otherwise known as Meta, has been crowned the worst company of the year, following a turbulent 12 months of controversies, public backlash, and an eventual entire rebrand of the social media giant, according to a survey conducted by Yahoo Finance. Yahoo Finance every year crowns the best company of the year, with Microsoft taking the top spot for 2021. This year, however, Yahoo... • Friday March 11, 2022 3:24 am PST by Telegram Messenger has updated its iPhone and iPad app with several new features, including a new download manager, redesigned attachment menu, support for live streaming with third-party apps, and more. Telegram users are able to send files of any type up to 2GB each and access them from any device, with no limit on cloud storage, which has made downloading files more popular on the... • Wednesday September 29, 2021 8:18 am PDT by Facebook today announced that it's bringing Reels, its short-form videos that were previously only available on the Instagram platform, to its main Facebook app on iOS and Android in the United States. While the two share the same name and style, Reels content on Instagram and Facebook will differ. Facebook says it is testing the ability for Instagram Reels content creators to share their... • Thursday August 19, 2021 4:29 pm PDT by The United States Federal Trade Commission today reinforced its antitrust case against Facebook by providing more detail on how the company either crushed or bought out its rivals in an attempt to get rid of competition. The updated filing is longer than the original complaint and it offers additional evidence in favor of the FTC's argument that Facebook is a monopolist, plus it again asks... • Thursday March 17, 2022 10:38 am PDT by The European Union is set to introduce new legislation as soon as this month that would significantly affect how the App Store operates in Europe, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Digital Markets Act has been in development for some time and the finalized version that could be completed as soon as this month will allow for sideloading and alternate app store options. Apple will be... • Wednesday April 7, 2021 7:08 am PDT by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's own personal information was among the details of 533 million Facebook users that leaked in a data breach, it has emerged. Facebook has now confirmed that the leaked data was obtained not by a hack, but by scraping the platform prior to September 2019. The company now says that an exploit was found in its contact importer, but the "specific issue that allowed... • Monday February 28, 2022 1:45 am PST by The head of Instagram has commented on Twitter about the lack of an iPad app for Instagram, saying that while the social media platform is asked about an iPad app a lot, there is still not enough demand to warrant one. In a Twitter exchange with YouTuber Marques Brownlee, Adam Mosseri, who runs Instagram, said his company gets asked about an iPad app a lot, but it's "still just not a big... • Friday September 9, 2022 9:20 am PDT by Garmin has reacted to Apple's new rugged Apple Watch Ultra, saying in a tweet following the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch event that it measures battery life in "months" and "not hours," promoting its latest Enduro 2 watch for athletes. While the Apple Watch Ultra has the longest battery life of any Apple Watch to date, with Apple promising up to 36 hours of normal use and up to 60 hours with... • Sunday September 11, 2022 7:53 am PDT by Apple is set to release iOS 16 this Monday, September 12, as a free update for the iPhone 8 and newer. iOS 16 includes plenty of new features, ranging from a customizable Lock Screen to the ability to temporarily edit or unsend iMessages. To install iOS 16 when the update is released, open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap General → Software Update. After you update your iPhone to... • Friday September 9, 2022 1:37 pm PDT by With pre-orders for the iPhone 14 lineup now open, many iPhone customers will be weighing up whether or not now is the time to upgrade their device. The iPhone 14 models offer some substantial upgrades with Emergency SOS via satellite, Crash Detection, camera improvements, and more, but some customers will now be casting their mind forward to next year, when it may be a more appropriate time ... • Monday September 12, 2022 4:27 am PDT by The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have seen "bad" pre-order results, indicating that Apple's positioning of the two new standard models may have failed, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In his -14-first-weekend-online-pre-order-survey-110411040b5d"&gt;latest post on Medium, Kuo explained that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have seen "neutral" and "good" pre-order results... • Sunday September 11, 2022 2:00 am PDT by There are usually multiple features that Apple is not able to finish before the first official release of a major new version of iOS, and this year looks to be no different, with a total of nine iOS 16 features now confirmed to not be present in the first public version of the new OS. Last year, SharePlay, Digital IDs in the Wallet app, and Universal Control were among a large number of... • Sunday September 11, 2022 3:58 pm PDT by Apple does not advertise battery capacities for its new iPhone 14 lineup, but MacRumors has obtained this information from a Chinese regulatory database. Three out of four iPhone 14 models feature larger battery capacities compared to the iPhone 13 lineup, with the exception being the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is equipped with a slightly smaller battery compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max.... • Sunday September 11, 2022 1:20 pm PDT by Following its September event focused on new iPhone and Apple Watch models, Apple often holds another event in October focused on new iPad and Mac models, and this year will likely be no exception. October is still three weeks away, but we already have a good idea of the products that would likely be announced at an event next month. For the October event, rumors suggest that Apple plans to... • Saturday September 10, 2022 2:31 pm PDT by As was the case with iPhone 13 Pro models released last year, 4K ProRes video recording on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max still requires a model with at least 256GB of storage, according to Apple's tech specs for the devices. ProRes video recording is limited to 1080p at 30 frames per second on iPhone 14 Pro models with a 128GB storage capacity. To record ProRes video in 4K at 30... • When will iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 be released? Here's everything we know. Apple on July 20 released iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6, bringing improvements to the live sports experience in the TV app and several bug fixes. How big of an upgrade are Apple's cheapest mainstream flagship phones? Apple's latest Pro phones replace the notch with an innovative "Dynamic Island," but what else is new compared to last year's models?• • • • • September 16Apple's new high-end iPhone models with Dynamic Island camera cutout, A16 chip, 48MP main camera, and more. Pre-orders available now. September 16Apple's latest mainstream iPhone models in two sizes with A15 chip, car crash detection, satellite connectivity, and more. Pre-order now ahead of iPhone 14 launch on September 16, iPhone 14 Plus on October 7. September 16New body temperature sensors, car crash detection, and more. Pre-order now. Mid–Late 2022?Updated AirPods Pro could see some design changes like elimination of the stem.• • • • • {other_blurb}

Tuesday February 9, 2021 4:28 am PST by A by security researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk has alleged that Facebook Messenger and Instagram are collecting and using data from link previews in a way that would breach European privacy law.In October last year, that link previews in popular messaging apps can lead to security and privacy issues on iOS and Android. It was discovered that apps could leak IP addresses, expose links sent in end-to-end encrypted chats, download large files without users' consent, and copy private data through link previews.In that report, Bakry and Mysk...

Facebook and Instagram Link Previews Would Break EU Privacy Law, Say Security Researchers

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