Privacy

I had the chance to see the “privacy screen” that Samsung put on the Galaxy S26 Ultra in person at one of the brand’s stores. It has two levels of dimming, and at either level, the screen loses a lot of brightness for the person using the device (facing it; see this video), and although I wasn’t wearing glasses, I got the impression (and I wasn’t the only one) that the drop in resolution with the privacy screen enabled is noticeable (for some, even with it disabled).

For me, the significant emphasis Samsung places on a tangential feature supports a healthy trend I noticed years ago: phones became utilities, and buying one is now similar to buying a refrigerator.

Motorola and GrapheneOS announce long-term partnership

For several months, the maintainers of GrapheneOS, an alternative, security and privacy-focused version of Android, had been talking about a partnership with a major manufacturer. On Monday (2nd), at the Mobile Web Congress (MWC), we found out who the partner is: Motorola Mobility.

(more…)

This app alerts you when it detects Meta camera glasses nearby

With the success of Meta's camera glasses, there is now a risk of being recorded without consent or knowledge and ending up exposed in a crude video on TikTok or Instagram.

The manufacturers claim that a subtle light on the frame indicates when they are filming. It is not always easy to see the light, and anyway it is trivial to disable it.

(more…)

Confirming the rumors, the upcoming iOS 26.4 is expected to bring end-to-end encryption to messages exchanged between iPhone and Android using the RCS standard. There’s more: as this feature depends on a newer version of RCS, 3.0, other welcome additions are also expected to arrive: editing and deleting sent messages, reactions (tapback) without duplicating messages, and replying to specific messages.

The new version of Nova Launcher, a popular launcher for Android, brought an unwanted new feature: advertising trackers from Meta and Google. On Exodus, a non-profit app auditing platform, you can see the changes from the previous version (8.1.6) to the new one (8.2.4).

Nova Launcher was purchased by Sweden's Instabridge a few months after the launcher's creator left Branch, the company that bought the app in 2022 and promised to open its code — which never happened. Instabridge has confirmed that it is testing ads in Nova Launcher and that it will not display ads to those who have Nova Prime (paid version).

Three options to increase privacy on LinkedIn

1

LinkedIn changed its terms to share more data with Microsoft for advertising purposes. It’s routine — nothing dramatically new or alarming — but I liked that, in the explanatory document, LinkedIn included direct links to the three settings that, when turned off, stop that data sharing. Thanks…?

Just click the links while logged in and disable all of them:

While you’re at it, also disable sharing content to train generative AIs.

A less affectionate approach to technology

It’s almost impossible to escape WhatsApp and very difficult to get rid of Instagram. For many, it’s also undesirable. Friends, relatives, loved ones, and the entire presence of many businesses are only available on one or the other (or both).

In 2022, when I wrote about a “more affectionate approach” to technology (pt_BR), I had recently returned to using these and other commercial platforms. I lowered my defenses in an attempt to be more present, to participate more.

The problem with companies like Meta is that every concession on our part is exploited to the fullest.

(more…)

You’re going to use Gemini on Android whether you like it or not

1

Google sent an email to Android phone owners warning that Gemini “will soon be able to help you use Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your phone, whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.” The change is scheduled for July 7th.

The notice generated confusion even in Android-focused publications. — 9to5Google, Android Police, Android Authority. Even after clarifications, including a statement from Google itself, the whole thing remains… confusing.

From what I understand, if Gemini Apps Activity is disabled, Gemini will continue to be available and have access to the mentioned apps, including WhatsApp and Phone. The difference is that interactions with the AI won’t be recorded in the history and will be stored by Google for up to 72 hours, with the guarantee that they won’t be used to train AIs or reviewed by humans.

(In other words, leaving history enabled subjects interactions to AI training and reviews by other humans.)

Those who *really* don’t want Gemini meddling with calls, messages, WhatsApp, and system settings need to disable integrations with each app within the Gemini app itself. Which seems to be another thing, different from Gemini Apps Activity. I presume it’s this app.

The aforementioned specialized publications, after updating their stories to “clear up the confusion,” concluded that the net result of the change is positive for people’s privacy. I’m not so sure about that. Confusions of this type, which sound intentional and try to hide the “nuclear” toggles (that disable the offered feature), tend to be defeats for privacy. And I won’t even get into the merits of whether Gemini snooping through my messages is good or bad.

Or maybe I still don’t understand it properly.

Related link (I think?): the extensive Gemini Apps privacy center.

Signal has found a brilliant solution to shield its app from Recall, Microsoft’s official spyware for Windows 11: setting the app as protected by copyright (DRM), just like Netflix’s, which prevents it from appearing in screenshots — including those taken by Recall.

Recall, in case you’ve forgotten, is an “AI” feature that Microsoft announced in May 2024 for Copilot+ computers, which takes screenshots every few seconds and creates a searchable archive. Basically spyware. The launch was delayed due to public backlash, but testing resumed in April and it’s expected to arrive on eligible computers soon.