Snapchat settles to avoid social media addiction trial
Snapchat on Wednesday confirmed it made a deal to avoid a US civil trial accusing it, along with Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, of addicting young people to social media.
Jan 21, 2026
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Internet
Page 4: Research news on Digital privacy risks
Digital privacy risks encompass the technical, behavioral, and economic mechanisms through which personal data are collected, monetized, and exploited across smartphones, social media, IoT devices, and online services. Work in this area examines surveillance-based business models, opaque data practices in apps and platforms, and the growing use of AI to scale and personalize scams, fraud, and manipulation. It also investigates human factors such as multitasking, device dependence, and demographic vulnerabilities, alongside interventions for fraud prevention, privacy protection, and safer technology use.
Internet
WhatsApp data reveal people often deceive themselves
How quickly we reply, how active we really are in chats—many people misjudge their own behavior. Researchers at Bielefeld University have, for the first time, used anonymized WhatsApp metadata to make such misperceptions ...
Jan 13, 2026
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Software
'Are You Dead?': Chinese app for solo dwellers goes viral
"Are You Dead?", an app that sounds the alarm if a user doesn't check in every 48 hours, was one of China's top-selling paid apps on Tuesday as the country's growing class of solo dwellers flocked to download it.
Jan 13, 2026
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Consumer & Gadgets
Focus apps claim to improve your productivity. Do they actually work?
It's hardly a revelation that we're living in an era of distraction and smartphone addiction. Our phones interrupt us, hijack our attention, and tempt us into scrolling. Even when we aren't interacting with them, their mere ...
Jan 3, 2026
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Business
Apple's ATT leads to significant revenue losses for SMEs
Apple's data protection measure "App Tracking Transparency" (ATT) strengthens user privacy, but causes significant revenue losses in e-commerce, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The reason for this ...
Dec 17, 2025
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Consumer & Gadgets
The spoofing problem: Why tech platforms' age verification may not protect minors
As platforms rush to verify users' ages, experts warn consumer-grade cameras lack the technology to reliably authenticate minors.
Dec 17, 2025
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Computer Sciences
Resolving to spend less time on your smartphone? Understanding your travel habits can help, say researchers
If you open a banking app, play a mobile game or scroll through a news feed every day while riding the bus, your commuting routine is probably bolstering your smartphone habit, according to new research that shows phone tendencies ...
Dec 16, 2025
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Consumer & Gadgets
Tech savvy users have most digital concerns, study finds
Digital concerns around privacy, online misinformation, and work-life boundaries are highest among highly educated, Western European millennials, finds a new study from researchers at UCL and the University of British Columbia.
Dec 14, 2025
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Internet
If social media for kids is so bad, should we be allowed to post kids' photos online?
As Australia's ban on under-16-year-olds having certain social media accounts kicks in this week, debate on whether it's a good idea or even legal rages on—both at home and overseas.
Dec 11, 2025
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Security
Everything from air fryers to TVs suck up our personal data. Here's how to give gadgets that respect privacy this Xmas
Smart gadgets collect vast amounts of our personal data through their apps. It's usually unclear why the manufacturers need this information or what they do with it. And I don't just mean smartphones. All kinds of devices ...
Dec 9, 2025
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