This Week in Privacy

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Jun 2026

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A weekly live podcast from <a href="https://www.privacyguides.org">Privacy Guides</a> - We cover updates on what we’re working on, privacy news from around the industry, and anything our community wants to share. Privacy Guides is a non-profit, impartial organization that is focused on delivering the best online privacy advice and building a strong privacy community.

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59 recent

June 12, 2026Episode 571 hr 47 min

License Plate Readers Are Framing Innocent People

Automated license readers by Flock have tied a person who was miles away to a violent crime effectively framing them, the state of Massachusetts in the US has passed a privacy bill to stop the sale of precise location data and more! Join us for This Week In Privacy #57. (00:00) - Intro (00:49) - Start of podcast (01:14) - A flock license plate reader linked a San Diego man to a violent crime. He was five miles away. (19:42) - WhatsApp says it caught new spyware attacks linked to NSO Group in violation of court order (27:30) - Massachusetts votes to pass new privacy rights bill that bans sale of precise location data (42:39) - Site updates (51:50) - New apple feature automatically changes your compromised passwords (58:17) - Signal, DuckDuckGo among firms weighing Canada exit over lawful access bill (01:09:18) - Over 400 Arch Linux packages compromised to push rootkit, infostealer (01:17:29) - Forum updates (01:27:42) - Q&A (01:45:55) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★

June 6, 2026Episode 562 hr 26 min

GTA V Cheaters Just Got Exposed!

GTA V cheat service Atlas Menu just got hacked exposing thousands of gamers as cheaters, Microsoft is under fire for threatening a security researcher who disclosed vulnerabilities, hackers are using Meta's AI chatbot to seize control of Instagram accounts and more! Join us for This Week In Privacy #56.0:00 Intro0:43 Start of podcast1:47 Grand Theft Auto V cheat service gets hacked, exposing thousands of gamers18:08 Microsoft under fire for threatening security researcher with criminal investigation33:49 Site updates43:38 Hackers used Meta's AI Support Bot to Seize Instagram Accounts58:29 Meta Silenty Added Face-Recognition Code for Its Smart Glasses to Millions of Phones1:16:21 Dashlane explains how attackers managed to download encrypted password vaults1:34:45 Forum updates2:13:46 Q&A2:25:08 Outro (00:00) - Intro (00:43) - Start of podcast (01:47) - Grand Theft Auto V cheat service gets hacked, exposing thousands of gamers (18:08) - Microsoft under fire for threatening security researcher with criminal investigation (33:49) - Site updates (43:38) - Hackers used Meta's AI Support Bot to Seize Instagram Accounts (58:29) - Meta Silenty Added Face-Recognition Code for Its Smart Glasses to Millions of Phones (01:16:21) - Dashlane explains how attackers managed to download encrypted password vaults (01:34:45) - Forum updates (02:13:46) - Q&A (02:25:08) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★

May 30, 2026Episode 552 hr 30 min

GrapheneOS is Taking Accessibility Seriously!

GrapheneOS has announced the public release for it's speech synthesis service, which is open source and created in house by the GrapheneOS team, meanwhile in America, California is moving to exempt Linux from it's age verification laws, a company is putting AI cameras in school buses across the United States, and more! Join us for This Week In Privacy #55. (00:00) - Intro (00:45) - Start of podcast (01:18) - Initial release of GrapheneOS Spech Services for text-to-speech (14:23) - Identifying People Using Wi-Fi Routers (28:46) - Site updates (39:49) - California moves to exempt Linux from its upcoming age-verification law after backlash (01:03:12) - Funding F-Droid and Internet Freedom (01:15:23) - Perfect randomness realized for the first time (01:20:12) - Forum updates (01:59:05) - Q&A (02:29:25) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★

May 23, 2026Episode 542 hr 32 min

Google's Smart Glasses Are A Privacy Disaster

Google has announced Android XR it's new smart glasses platform, we'll dive into why this is such a threat to your privacy and why this announcement is so significant, Join us for This Week In Privacy #54! (00:00) - Intro (00:43) - Start of podcast (01:11) - Google smart glasses are coming this fall (27:52) - The FBI Wants to Buy Nationwide Access to License Plate Readers (41:54) - Researchers Wanted Preschool Teachers to Wear Cameras to Train AI (56:41) - Site updates (01:04:28) - Discord rolls out end-to-end encryption on voice, video calls (01:30:37) - Poland urges officials to ditch Signal for state-run messaging apps (01:52:02) - Forum updates (02:06:24) - Q&A (02:30:28) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★

May 16, 2026Episode 531 hr 49 min

Android 17 Is Looking Great for Privacy & Security

Google recently announced upcoming features for Android 17 which features new privacy & security upgrades, Signal is adding warnings to protect against phishing attacks, Windows Bitlocker has been broken by a new zero-day and more! Join us for This Week In Privacy #53 (00:00) - Intro (00:43) - Start of podcast (01:33) - What's New in Android Security and Privacy in 2026 (13:00) - Signal adds security warning for social engineering phishing attacks (18:52) - Windows BitLocker zero-day gives access to protected drives, PoC released (28:29) - Site updates (35:43) - Only approved phones can pass Google's new reCAPTCHA, locking out privacy-focused alternatives (51:07) - Stop the Surveillance State: Stop Bill C-22 (01:08:31) - Forum updates (01:35:17) - Q&A (01:46:12) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★

May 9, 2026Episode 522 hr 33 min

CalyxOS Is (Almost) Back But Is It Any Better?

After an extended break - CalyxOS has come back and released test builds of Android 16 for their supported devices, Disneyland is using facial recognition software in their parks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security compelled Google to share data about Canadians because of social media posts and much more! Join us for this Week In Privacy #52! (00:00) - Intro (00:37) - Start of podcast (01:23) - CalyxOS progress report - our test build with Android 16 is here (25:31) - Canvas login portals hacked in mass Shiny Hunters extortion campaign (40:36) - Site updates (50:08) - Google Chrome been silently pushing 4GB AI model to your device asking (01:13:29) - Microsoft Edge keeps all saved passwords unencrypted (01:22:12) - Forum updates (01:56:55) - Q&A (02:31:19) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★

May 2, 2026Episode 512 hr 18 min

Is Ubuntu Becoming the New Windows?

Canonical has laid out it's plans to integrate "AI" features into Ubuntu Linux, Signal is working on a standalone desktop version, that doesn't require a smartphone, Greece is banning anonymity on social media and more! Join us for This Week In Privacy #51 (00:00) - Intro (00:35) - Start of podcast (01:13) - Ubuntu's AI Plans have Linux users looking for a 'kill switch' (24:22) - Turkey to Ban Anonymous VPNs (28:17) - Greece to ban anonymity on social media (38:13) - CopyFail Most Linux Distros Affected by Local Privilege Escalation (01:08:41) - Site updates (01:17:14) - Women's Talkspace therapy app sessions exposed in court (01:32:39) - RightsCon Canceled After Zambia Requires 'Full Alignment' with 'National Values' (01:45:23) - Forum updates (01:52:38) - Q&A (02:16:40) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★

April 25, 2026Episode 501 hr 51 min

Would You Pay $60 For A Browser? (ft. Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons)

This week we are joined by Carey Parker from Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons, Brave has announced a paid $60 version of Brave with bloatware and features stripped out, in the US - Nevada police are tracking phones locations without a warrant, and more! Join us for This Week In Privacy #50. (00:00) - Intro (00:36) - Start of podcast (01:16) - Brave Origin strips web browser down to its core and asks you to pay for less (20:28) - Maryland becomes first state to pass bill banning 'surveillance pricing' (31:03) - Site updates (37:31) - Mozilla Used Anthropic's Mythos to Find and Fix 271 Bugs in Firefox (51:17) - Unauthorized group has gained access to Anthropic's exclusive cyber tool Mythos, report claims (57:05) - Exclusive: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training data (01:12:35) - Forum updates (01:22:10) - Q&A (01:50:09) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★

April 19, 20263 min

Predictive AI w/ Carissa Véliz, Author of 'Privacy is Power' & 'Prophecy'

We recently interviewed Carissa Véliz, author of Privacy is Power and University of Oxford associate professor, to talk about how predictive AI will make a ‘meritocracy’ impossible, how lifelike chat bots are designed to deceive you, and the importance of privacy in the digital age. Her new book, ‘Prophecy,’ comes out on April 21st.View on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00mNfH75qMListen in your favorite podcast app: https://privacyinterviews.transistor.fm/episodes/predictive-ai-w-carissa-veliz-university-of-oxford-professorThe RSS feed for our audio interviews is separate from This Week in Privacy, you can find it at https://privacyinterviews.transistor.fm/subscribe ★ Support this podcast ★

April 18, 2026Episode 492 hr 15 min

Are Privacy Opt-Outs Useless?

An independant privacy audit of Microsoft, Google and Meta has found that privacy opt outs didn’t have an effect, Cal.com has moved from open-source to closed-source, Netgear has been exempt from the FCC’s non-US made router ban, and more! Join us for This Week In Privacy #49. (00:00) - Intro (00:45) - Start of podcast (01:19) - Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out, According to an Independent Audit (18:05) - Sovereign Tech Agency funding (Mastodon) (32:45) - Cal.com is going closed source. Here's why. (39:26) - Discourse is Not Going Closed Source (52:21) - Site updates (58:16) - Republican Mutiny Sinks Trump's Push to Extend Warrantless Surveillance (01:13:50) - 'No more excuses': Von Der Leyen says EU age checking app is ready (01:26:40) - Gottheimer Announces Bipartisan "Parents Decide Act" to Protect Kids Online (01:40:50) - Forum updates (01:57:53) - Q&A (02:14:13) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★