The Default Tech Settings You Should Turn Off Right Away
The New York Times – “These controls, which are buried inside products from Apple, Google, Meta and others, make us share more data than we need to…Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft generally want us to leave some default settings on, purportedly to train their algorithms and catch bugs, which then make their products easier for us to use. But unnecessary data sharing isn’t always in our best interest. Consider how several whistle-blowers confessed in 2018 that they had listened in on Apple’s Siri recordings and Amazon’s Alexa activations that inadvertently recorded couples having sex. The recent reversal of Roe v. Wade also underscored the many ways that women can be tracked through their personal tech when seeking options to terminate pregnancies. So with every tech product we use, it’s important to take time to peruse the many menus, buttons and switches to pare down the data we share. Here’s a streamlined guide to many of the default settings that I and other tech writers always change…”
Rolling Stone – A new report says the leak, which conservatives insist was the work of a rogue liberal, actually helped get Roe overturned: “Immediately after the draft Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was released, conservatives began bleating about how the leak was the work of a nefarious liberal clerk who wanted to put the opinion out to pressure the court’s conservatives to change their minds. It’s possible (repeat possible) that that’s what happened, but if so, publicizing the draft had precisely the opposite effect, according to a new report from CNN. Per the report, the leak of the draft Dobbs v. Jackson decision foiled Chief Justice John Roberts’ attempts to persuade Justice Brett Kavanaugh to act as Roe’s saving vote.
Sources told CNN that Roberts continued to try and sway the junior justice even after the leak of the draft opinion, despite public and private pressure from conservatives for the court to solidify its decision. “Roberts’ overtures this spring, particularly to Kavanaugh, raised fears among conservatives and hope among liberals that the chief could change the outcome in the most closely watched case in decades.”…
