Tag: Privacy

Internet browsing is possible without becoming an advertising target. But AI firms use any online content available to train their systems. Now, resourceful designers in Amsterdam and Denmark are aiming to curb this practice with their new smart typeface. Machines read websites’ programming code, and in order for humans to decipher the intended content, the code is converted into...

Nosy smart home devices can be controlled. Free browsers and search engines collect huge amounts of data and create detailed profiles in order to benefit from targeted advertising. Which is why a California-based startup has developed alternatives for protecting users’ private spheres. Their software neither saves search queries nor connects them to the user account. Search results are free...

Lighting and air-conditioning can be controlled using a ring. Now, a design studio in Amsterdam has devised a piece of jewellery that enhances digital security. Still a concept, the ring is used for verifying personal contacts. Initially, an integrated infrared-light scanner captures the blood flow through users’ finger veins. This information is converted into a personal code and stored...

Manipulated media data can be detected using AI. Now, a New York-based startup is working to prevent photos and selfies uploaded onto social media from being used by AI systems for facial recognition. The team’s software alters images but changes are imperceptible to the human eye. The result? Photos posted online still look natural to users, while being unrecognisable...

Placeholders can protect personal data from AI chatbots. So-called large language models provide the basis for established AI systems. Many of these were trained using all available online data - only some respect copyright laws. Now, a Swiss-based research team is focusing on only mining data that is publicly accessible and legally usable. 15 billion data units from 1,000+...

A simple system could protect cars from unauthorised entry. Log-ins, passwords and, most recently, passkeys, do the same job for email or other online accounts. Service provider logs record access, also recognising devices and IP-addresses. But experienced hackers with knowledge of this private information can use this to mask their own details during login to falsify records. Staying undetected...

It’s important to safeguard children against improper content online. Students in Indonesia, meanwhile, have focused on how people with Down’s Syndrome or Fragile X Syndrome can learn about protecting their sphere of privacy. The team developed a simple system using three different colours of soap. Allowing parents or carers to impart crucial information on intimate areas during bathtime using...

Smart home devices needn’t reveal users’ data. A ring could perform a similar function in public. Navigation and weather apps (along with many others) store users’ location data. Now, a university team from Munich has developed a new method to prevent such data being used to infer private information. The basis for the method is a digital grid system...