Tag: consumer privacy

Health and wellness websites and apps collect a lot of personal and sensitive health information about their users. And they might make promises about how they’ll use and protect that data. If companies don’t honor those promises, it can lead to a serious breach of trust — and a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission.

Software provider Avast sold products to people that were supposed to protect their privacy online. But in a recently settled lawsuit, the FTC says Avast’s business practices actually compromised consumers’ privacy and broke the law.

Websites and online services that are directed to, or know they’re collecting information from, children under 13 are required by law to notify the parents directly and get their permission before they collect that child’s information. The FTC says Microsoft’s Xbox Live failed to do so.

Before the days of internet-connected devices, the worst that could come from a ring of your doorbell was often an unexpected sales pitch, or neighborhood pranksters ringing and running. But as video doorbells become ubiquitous, a different kind of trouble could come knocking: people spying on you or hacking into your private videos.

If you’re trying to become pregnant, you might be looking for an easy way to track your fertility and ovulation. But you probably aren’t looking for that information to get shared without your permission. Unfortunately, that’s what happened to users of pregnancy app Premom Ovulation Tracker.

Nowadays, there are health-related apps and websites everywhere that let you track things like your physical activity, health conditions, caloric intake, prescriptions, and even ovulation. They ask you for details about yourself and your health, but what if they use and share your information in ways they’re not supposed to?

Your online accounts, computer, and phone hold a lot of your personal, financial, and health information. Information that’s valuable to you — and to scammers who try to steal it. Here are five things to do to keep hackers out of your accounts and your personal business.

When you’re online, some companies try to trick you into buying things you don’t want. Or into giving them permission to use your personal information. The use of these deceptive designs, known as dark patterns, is on the rise, according to a new report from the FTC. So, what do these dark patterns look like — and how do they take your money and your data?