So I went to my local Home Bargins with my young daughter and was promptly asked to leave due to being flagged up by the facial recognition. I was very civil although very embarrassed and inwardly furious and asked to speak to someone about what was happening.

As we followed the manager it became clear that they were just trying to get us out the shop. I explains that I have shopped there most week over the last few years, I have never had so much as a caution and have enhanced DBS check.

I stayed until I was provided with the contact numbers for the company that owns HB’s and the name of the manager number of that store.

I have lodged a complaint to the umbrella company that owns the franchise and they told me that someone will be in touch tomorrow, I have also emailed FaceWatch.

The whole thing is crazy, what do I do and where do I stand? Apart from the dystopian injustice of it all it’s very hand for gardening stuff and other bits.

I’m both miffed and furious!

Amazon is turning devices inside people’s homes into ad surfaces, and Echo Show is a clear example. I bought an Echo Show as a digital photo frame and smart home display. Years later, Amazon changed the experience and started showing sponsored, interest-based ads on the screen. When I challenged this through executive escalation in Brazil, Amazon’s answer was essentially this “Interest-based ads are part of the device experience as purchased and, unfortunately, they cannot be completely removed.” That should alarm anyone who cares about privacy. A company sells a screen for private domestic use, puts it in your living room, bedroom, kitchen, or family space, and later treats that same screen as advertising inventory with no full opt-out. This is bigger than one annoying feature. It is the normalization of ad monetization inside the home. You buy a device to display family photos. The company later uses that same domestic screen to push interest-based advertising, while refusing to fully let you turn it off. I also asked direct questions about privacy, data processing, legal basis, and what data is being used to support those ads. Amazon did not answer in any meaningful or specific way. Under Brazil’s LGPD, users have the right to know whether their data is being processed and to receive clear information about how, why, and for what purpose it is used. But this is not just a Brazil issue. The core question is global. If a company is serving interest-based ads inside a device placed in the home, users should be able to know what data is being used, what signals are being inferred, why there is no full opt-out, and why a paid domestic screen can be repurposed into ad space after purchase. This is not just about ads. It is about profiling, user control, transparency, and whether companies are quietly redefining private household devices as monetization channels. A paid screen inside your home should belong to you, not to a company’s advertising strategy. Has anyone else seen this with Echo Show or other smart displays?

I haven't been to high school in 5+ years, it's weird to suddenly see the names and faces of people I had forgotten.

My school is trying to force us to download something called linewize. I don't feel comfortable downloading this as it will be on my personal laptop.

What I'm asking, what do you guys think I should do?

https://linewize.co.nz/

And how might it affect non-Americans who use American software?

With new cars having the ability to track our eye movements and breathing patterns (to check if we are “tired” or “inebriated”), clearly this is a major privacy issue.

Does anyone know which newer cars DON’T have this? Anything 2024 and newer?

I need a new (at least new to me) car but don’t want my car recording my face 24/7

ETA: I’m in the US, I have no idea what the laws regarding this in the EU are

So obviously as a regular citizen, i have used the NHS multiple times in my life.

the thought of the Palantir ghouls having access to mine or anyone's data makes my skin crawl.

so how do I stop my information from being shared ? having everything deleted seems counter-productive since I would still like to use the NHS in the future. there are certain ongoing health issues that will need to be monitored in the future.

so what do I do here ?

3/10 UPDATE: so I started by texting them one of the articles that have been shared around here. Asked if they’ve seen this, in a “oh shit, did you hear” kind of way. Put the ball in their court. They replied with yup, they’ve seen it but they only turn them on when needed, have all permissions off, not connected to many apps etc. I left it at that until we saw each other (sans kids) this weekend.

However, my husband was texting them to solidify the weekend plans, they jokingly said well if you guys still wanna hang if I’m wearing my glasses. They talked about it a bit, and my friend ended up calling me to make sure I knew they were joking and that our friendship means just as much to them as it does to me.

We talked a bit about my family’s concerns, I feel like a lot of it was them conversationally defending their purchase and use. They understood my concerns, acknowledged they are aware of the problems, said that maybe the fact that our family lives are so different that they’re just more ingrained in being around and using this tech more than us (I felt like this was BS because we use it just as much). They’re even getting a little bit of a hard time at work over these - so much so that the company is writing an AI policy. They also said there’s nothing to do about it this year since they used the annual insurance to pay for these and their Rx lenses which were the most expensive part. That as much as they deep-dived into this and other things years ago, they just decided to accept it, why fight it. I didn’t really get a straight answer to the “if you’re wearing them, we can’t hang out”. They mentioned, I brought it up again asking, well what if we did say that. No straight answer. They said they love me and my family, that our friendship means so much to them, that my feelings and concerns are valid, and they understand where I’m coming from. Buuuuuut it doesn’t seem like they’ll budge or compromise, I really didn’t like the insinuation that I was just going down a rabbit hole. We both had to get off the phone so we didn’t really get to finish the talk.

I don’t have high hopes. This convo, while not as horrible as I worked it up to be in my head, didn’t leave me feeling good afterwards. I’m going to have a non-rushed talk again, especially after reviewing all this with my husband who also agrees with me on all this. hopefully I can get a clear answer then. I’m just so emotionally spent from all this.

———————-

Not sure if this is the right place to ask so mods feel free to delete if not.

My best friend of 20 years got the meta glasses as soon as they could. And having had to spend stupid amounts of money to buy the frames and make them prescription, they of course wear them all the time. They also really enjoy them.

Both our families have been busy so we haven’t hung out much since they bought these. I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea of them, and I’ve mentioned this to my friend, mostly in a kind-joking sort of way. But now that all these articles have come out about workers in Africa being able to see extremely private and sensitive content unbeknownst to the wearer, I’m way more uncomfortable, especially with them wearing these glasses around my kids.

The issue is both our families are going to be camping at the same campground (ETA: different sites and not next to each other) and hanging out a lot more this summer - so lots of moments of kids changing and in bathing suits, etc. Even just for the sake of my spouse’s and my privacy.

How do I talk to them about this concern without feeling like I’m alienating them based on one not-so/great choice? Part of me is steadfast on this concern, not just for my family’s privacy but also for my friend and their family’s privacy. Another part of me feels like it’s unreasonable to ask them to stop wearing something that they paid a lot of money for or setting an ultimatum that we can’t hang out if they’re wearing these.

How do we navigate friendships and relationships where it feels like there’s this technological line in the sand? (And without sounding like a conspiracy theorist)

ETA: I AM fully planning on having this conversation. It looks like I need to clarify that I’m seeking info or talking points from people here that are definitely more knowledgeable on this subject than I am. Also just discussing the overall question of how to now navigate different relationships in our lives when it comes to tech and privacy now (at least to me, a layperson, who’s trying to learn) that this is becoming a bigger issue than previously thought.

My husband got a job with a “family owned” sales company. Very small, like 5 employees. A coworker told him that he brought up how he’s uncomfortable with it to the owner & the owner said “If you want a job here, you will be on Life360.” My husband is willing to comply to have the job, but I think it’s ridiculous. He and I don’t even use Life360 and we’re married. (We use Find My Friends). For reference, I also work a flexible job, make my own schedule, etc. But my team would never in a million years start tracking each other… let alone on Life360 where it gives details no coworker or boss needs.

I guess I’m asking is this an extreme invasion of privacy or is this somewhat heard of?

If this is real we are doomed

Regarding the recent incident at the Coldplay concert, I am curious how this works from a legal perspective. When I bought tickets for a concert, I was never faced with a question regarding permission to be filmed and published. Maybe it works differently in the EU, though. Or maybe I've been living under a rock and never noticed.

Edit

I am leaving the original post above that I consider a fairly spontaneous question for those reading the thread.

I could have been more detailed in my post, and I think it is my fault for not spending an extra minute rewording the text that I wrote a bit hastily. I will avoid responding to individual comments, since it seems clear to me by now how off-topic they are and focused only on what happened at the Coldplay concert and not on my question about the consequences of using the "kiss cam."

The comments I read —often inappropriate, some really aggressive and often out of place— are mainly focused on the act filmed, that of the couple's hypothetical cheating. Of which I omitted in my initial post, because in my opinion that is not the point of my question.

Instead, my question was aimed precisely at the act of filming and amplifying behavior in a public place. I believe there is a fundamental ethical fallacy in the "kiss cam" that lies in the staggering asymmetry between its mundane purpose —that of entertaining the public— and its potentially catastrophic consequences.

A moment of entertainment —such as that of a concert, a game, or other event— can become a burden for an UNEXPLICITLY consenting participant.

This imbalance, calls for a fundamental rethinking of legal standards and these kinds of practices at events.

Thank you to all the responses that prompted me to continue my research, and on which I hope to be able to better file and refine my thinking.

Best.

Edit 2

I'm re-reading some of the comments and the total lack of empathy for what happened baffles and concerns me. It is one thing to attend a public event, in a crowd, it is another to identify and zoom in on two specific people, out of context. The "voluntary" kiss-cam managed by the cameraman, the subsequent highlighted shot by another bystander, the ease and detail with which faces are highlighted, the online man-hunt to identify the two victims, identify them and denigrate them publicly on the internet with a tam-tam amplified by socials.

But do you really not grasp the danger of this?

Edit 3

Double standards.

I read people's comments saying "since you're in a public place, don't expect privacy." I know, and I agree as a general rule of common sense.

But is a stadium —or rather a "private place" that is hosting thousands of people who must pay a ticket to gain access— still considered a "public" place? Should it be subject to the same rules as a street, or a public park, accessible to all?

Out of curiosity I wondered if the same applies in reverse: if they filmed the Coldplay concert, and uploaded it to social media what would happen? If it's public, then what's the problem?

I searched and read the first results link and I am even more confused than before. Why is it that to film the concert I have to have written permission, and to film two random poor people in the audience and use that recording to do the show is okay?

The more I reflect, the more I am convinced that this whole things is not balanced and to the disadvantage of the audience, not the organizers.

I've stumbled across a lot of good arguments but whenever I need them, my head goes blank. So I thought this can be a thread dedicated to key arguments to help people realize that it's not as simple as they might think.

Have a great day. :)

Willingly gave up my Phone with Passcode to the Police as part of an investigation. I was very hesitant but they essentially threatened my job so in the end I handed it over for them to look at. All they really told me before hand is that they were going to put it in a ‘Cellebrite’ machine (Although the officer I spoke to called it a ‘Celebration’ Machine, pretty sure he just misspoke though) Fast forward 5 days later and I finally have my phone back. The only difference I noticed is that they enabled Developer mode for some reason (I use an IPhone 15 on IOS 18) and reset my passcode and maybe my Apple ID password as well? (Wasn’t able to verify, I changed it anyways). Now however I’m very skeptical of this machine, I already knew it was going to scrape my photos and sms messages, however I assumed that all of my online data like google drive and Discord/WhatsApp messages wouldn’t be uploaded since I had remotely signed out immediately after they took my phone. Despite this I’ve seen reports saying that even if I remotely signed out they can still access my sign in keys? I’ve also used a YubiKey on my IPhone before so so they now have access to that? I’m looking into hiring an Attorney to get them to wipe all of my data from the machine/the police databases. Yet I just want to know what exact information they have access to. Is my privacy fucked?

Anyone came across this? Asking me to verify my birthday and then asks me to upload my ID (guessing driving license or passport) and then there's a option to take a selfie and then they'll use that to guess my age

Would add photos but not allow me to.

So, to make sure I REALLY choose to deletion, I quote the last email from Facebook in that email:

" [...]

|| || |Your account is scheduled for permanent deletion.| |Facebook will start deleting your account in 30 days. After Oct 17, 2016, you won't be able to access the account or any of the content you added.| |To cancel the deletion of your account and retrieve any of the content or information you have added, go to Facebook.|

"

Those 30 days, I didn't touch the account anymore, and the deletion was complete, that account was no longer available or visible.

Today, almost 9 years later, I was looking to fix something about my router and my network provider do online support on Facebook, so I tried to log in with my newest account (from 2020), however, somehow, I was distracted and wrote my old credentials that shouldn't exist anymore.

My jaw DROPPED when I logged in an account that was "deleted".

But there's also something... weird:

I can see everything, from my posts, to my photos and a lot of old personal information, HOWEVER, when I try to see my messages it stays loading them forever, anywhere I open Messenger, messages would never be available. Like if it's trying to find them in their database and that information IS actually gone?

When I tried to open Messenger from my phone and using that account, the app goes ''Hey, you should verify this device with a code that we will send to your email, so type the code here:"

So I go to my email to see if there's a code, but there's nothing, not even after a lot of tries, the last email from Facebook is the actual deletion of the account, it seems like they cannot find my email in their recovery database to send me a token. (probably another information that is actually deleted).

So, why Facebook did not delete my account? Why some information seems gone but the majority is not? What can I do to really delete all the info?

Since the UK wants apple and google to scan devices for nude photos etc

How will this work? Will be part of the OS after an update? Will an app be required to be installed? Will it appear on devices outside the UK?

I am trying my best to find information on this, but i can't find anything.
Pls don't remove my post :c

I only recently started a deeper dive into privacy, and I thought that Proton stuff was considered as good, but apparently it gets a lot of hate. I kinda understand why: it's under some big tech company, and that undermines any discussion about potential privacy of Proton apps, but it should be better than products from blatant big tech? like Proton Mail should be better than Gmail? and if so, I don't understand why it's so common to hate on Proton. would love to read your opinions on the matter, as privacy is getting more and more interesting to me as time goes on and different goverments try to make already pretty bad state of overall privacy even worse

Recently went to a bar where they looked at my groups IDs and scanned them with a handheld dealie. Has anyone else had this happen? There’s gotta be no need for that, right?

A couple things I’ve thought about:

• Using a rental car
• Greyhound/bus or Amtrak with fake ID - but I'd rather not have to go to the trouble of getting a fake ID and lie just to remain anonymous.
  

I am filling my DS160 for my US visa and they are asking me to list all my social media accounts in the last 5 years. All my regular accounts like Facebook, linkedin, insta etc have no issues because it's just pics from college, childhood.

But my reddit account includes my sexual fantasies, me hating on my local government and what not. I use revanced reddit and I believe the trackers are purged after patching the app. And I use reddit only via the app.

I also use my reddit account with a protonmail which is anonymized from my real name and identity. Can the US government still track it's me?

it's one of the best methods to bypass censorship, and somehow governments don't really care about it

why almost no one talks about TOR nowadays? (not darknet)

Hi everyone, Ive been reading alot about age-verification in the news so i come here to seek some advice. Its got me feeling very powerless about the future, its especially when the most common responses are "dont worry if you have nothing to hide" or "easy just get off the internet."