Study: Many Popular Medical Apps Send User Info To 3rd Or 4th Parties

dryriver writes: A study in the British Medical Journal that looked at 24 of the 100s of Medical apps available on Google Play found that 79% pass all sorts of user info — including sensitive medical info like what your reported symptoms are and what medications you are taking in some cases — on to third and fourth parties. A German-made…

New OpenLibra Cryptocurrency: Like Libra, But Not Run By Facebook

“While Facebook’s upcoming cryptocurrency Libra struggles to keep partners on board and regulators happy, an alternative called OpenLibra is here to address some of Libra’s potential shortcomings,” reports Mashable: Announced at Ethereum Foundation’s Devcon 5 conference in Osaka, Japan, OpenLibra is described as an “open platform for financial inclusion,” with a telling tagline: “Not run by Facebook.” OpenLibra aims to be…

Smart TVs Are Data-Collecting Machines, New Study Shows

A new study from Princeton University shows internet-connected TVs, which allow people to stream Netflix and Hulu, are loaded with data-hungry trackers. “If you use a device such as Roku and Amazon Fire TV, there are numerous companies that can build up a fairly comprehensive picture of what you’re watching,” Arvind Narayanan, associate professor of computer science at Princeton, wrote in…

‘Ignorance is Not an Excuse’: California Draft Rules on Data Privacy Released

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra released a series of draft regulations this week aimed at getting businesses to comply with the state’s landmark data privacy law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. From a report: Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, signed into law in June 2018, businesses must disclose to consumers the various kinds of data they collect about them….

10 amazing places for year-round stargazing

The stars are accessible to everyone, but where can you get the most from the night sky? Here are 10 great dark-sky places – mostly in the U.S. but also in Australia, New Zealand and Chile – for skywatching and stargazing. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/10-amazing-places-for-year-round-stargazing…