Tag Archives: Facebook

How is Internet privacy upheld in the ‘digital afterlife’?

How do you account for someone’s digital presence after they’re no longer with us in the physical world?

The ‘digital afterlife’ is a concept that has been receiving increased attention from tech giants like Facebook and Google. Their aim is to make the passing of a loved one or relative easier, while also playing a role in celebrating people’s lives after they have passed away.

Internet Privacy

The issue of Internet privacy is, of course, a touchy one and this is magnified immensely in the difficult period after someone has passed away.

Whereas it used to be less clearly defined, Facebook recently felt the need to clarify the process that it adheres to after a user has passed away. If the social media giant is made aware of a user’s passing, there are two options; the account is memorialized or deleted. The account cannot remain active.

There’s an important reason for this, and that is the curious cyber security risks that come with leaving the page of a social media page unaccounted for after a user has passed away.

Unfortunately, the growing digital graveyard left by people’s data footprints as they lived their lives is not treated with the same reverence as its equivalent is in the physical world.

Cyber Security risks for a social media account

There are tangible cyber security risks for a social media account that isn’t being used, with reported incidents of deceased users’ accounts being hacked and taken over by spambots. These accounts are often used for advertising, with some users having reported seeing their deceased relative or friend’s account starting to like pages on the social media website months, or even years after that person has passed away.

People’s social media pages have also even been hacked after their deaths and distasteful messages left on their page as status updates.

These risks are the main reason that Facebook has recently clarified its policy on changes to a user’s account once they have passed away. In a recent statement, the tech company said, “if Facebook is made aware that a person has passed away, it’s our policy to memorialize the account.

Facebook though, has had issues with processing memorialization requests; there have been reported cases of it taking up to 6 months for a request from a family member to be processed, and others of people receiving no response at all.

With over a billion users, and some estimates claiming that more than 8,000 Facebook users die every day, it’s no easy task dealing with so many accounts and companies like Facebook and Google usually outsource such extensive undertakings.

Whilst the policy is strict on what happens to deceased users’ accounts, the social media giants don’t want this to take away from the freedom of deceased users’ loved ones in having a say in their relative’s digital afterlife.

Facebook have released a statement saying “there is more we can do to support those who are grieving and those who want a say in what happens to their account after death.” Google, meanwhile, have highlighted the importance of allowing people to “plan [their] digital afterlife.” Both companies allow users to designate a contact who will have access to their memorialized account after they have passed away.

Facebook ‘legacy contacts’ and Google+ ‘trusted contacts’ are able to curate their loved one’s social media pages after they have passed, by posting pictures and leaving updates whilst those who are already friends can leave parting messages.

Allowing this form of contact decreases the risk of cyber security being an issue in the digital afterlife.

The post How is Internet privacy upheld in the ‘digital afterlife’? appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.

Facebook Bug Declares Millions of Users Dead, Including Zuckerberg!

Last night, Facebook declared everyone dead, including the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a massive memorial ‘remembering’ profile glitch.

Well, that’s awkward.

Despite being very much alive, Facebook users, when logged on to their accounts on Friday afternoon, found their accounts turned to a “memorialized account,” strongly suggesting that they are dead to everyone who visits their

Facebook agrees to Stop using UK Users' WhatsApp Data for Targeted Ads

In August, Facebook introduced a hugely controversial data sharing plan to start harvesting data from its WhatsApp messaging app from September 25 for delivering more relevant ads on the social network.

Many users were not happy with the move, because there was no real way of opting out from the data sharing – WhatsApp users could only do so within a short period – and even if users did opt

Facebook banned to stop collecting users data on WhatsApp

Facebook banned to stop collecting users data on WhatsApp

Facebook banned from gathering Whatsapp users data in Germany

To help better serve users of the WhatsApp messaging app, Facebook recently implemented a number of changes to the terms and conditions associated with the service. The new policy addresses information sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook – anyone who continues to use the app agrees to having some of their personal data sent back to Facebook for analysis and marketing purposes.

Concerned about potential abuses of this new sharing agreement, a German regulator has stepped in, forcing Facebook to put their plans on hold. Facebook has been ordered to stop sharing the information of their German users. They have also been forced to delete any data that has already been transferred from WhatsApp.

According to the data commissioner for Hamburg who issued the stop order, the 30 million German people currently using WhatsApp should have the option of whether or not they want to connect their account to Facebook. By forcing every WhatsApp user to make the link, users are deprived of the choice.

Which is apparently illegal under German data protection laws.

What is Facebook doing?

According to the new user agreement, Facebook is collecting a few specific details from WhatsApp – the names and numbers of people contained in your address book, who you call, and how long you speak for. They claim that this information can then be used to put WhatsApp users in touch with “relevant” businesses, and to help improve suggested friend recommendations on the Facebook social network.

Facebook has assured users that they will not be selling these details to advertisers, or sharing personal data publicly.

Don’t panic yet

WhatsApp and Facebook have stated that their data collection and sharing programmes are entirely legal – both at EU and local government levels. But following the German announcement, information commissioners in the UK and the US have also voiced concerns about the deal. Neither has yet confirmed whether there will be any further investigations or sanctions however.

For WhatsApp users, this all sounds pretty scary. Facebook’s disclosure seems fairly straightforward – but government reactions reveal the complexities of managing and controlling personal data in the social media age.

It is extremely important to note that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook have access to your calls or messages sent using the app however. Every communication is encrypted between you and the recipient so no one, including Facebook, can listen in.

Which means that even if Facebook changes their data sharing policies again in future, your most sensitive conversations will not be used in any way.

Time to tighten control of your personal data

The WhatsApp data sharing row is a timely reminder that your personal data is valuable, and it is being shared between providers. If you haven’t read every word of the terms and conditions for every app installed on your smartphone, you probably don’t know which are doing it though.
You can regain some of that control using Panda Mobile Security. This Android anti-virus app not only detects malware, but it also allows you to control the data access permissions for every app you have installed. You can control who can access your data, reducing the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft – or the target of determined advertisers and sales people!

The post Facebook banned to stop collecting users data on WhatsApp appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Share Data with Location-based Social Media Surveillance Startup

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, VK, Google’s Picasa and Youtube were handing over user data access to a Chicago-based Startup — the developer of a social media monitoring tool — which then sold this data to law enforcement agencies for surveillance purposes, the ACLU disclosed Tuesday.

Government records obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) revealed that the big technology

How to Start Secret Conversations on Facebook Messenger

If you are looking for ways to start a secret conversation on Facebook Messenger with your friends, then you are at the right place.

In this article, I am going to tell you about Facebook Messenger’s new end-to-end encrypted chat feature, dubbed “Secret Conversations,” but before that, know why do you need your chats to be end-to-end encrypted?

Your online privacy is under threat not only