Neowin News Feed for: Data

GitHub Copilot will soon use your data to train its model and share it with others

Usama Jawad — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:58:01 +0000

Your GitHub Copilot usage could soon feed Microsoft's AI training, and if you miss the opt-out deadline, you're automatically opted in. Read more...

Microsoft reminds customers that they have complete control over their data

Usama Jawad — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 19:20:01 +0000

Microsoft has emphasized to customers that they have complete control over their data, just days after a report confirmed that the company had handed over some BitLocker encryption keys to the FBI. Read more...

Chess.com confirms data breach

Usama Jawad — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 10:46:01 +0000

Popular chess platform, Chess.com, has confirmed a data breach that affects many of its customers. Those affected have been offered some free services. Read more...

Google slapped with $425 million fine for violating user privacy

Usama Jawad — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:24:01 +0000

Google has been fined $425 million for stealing user data without their consent. Google claims that its customers gave up their data willingly. Read more...

Microsoft employees leak details about their salaries

Usama Jawad — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 21:28:01 +0000

Following the end of Microsoft's fiscal year, hundreds of employees have shared details about their compensation packages, including granular details related to salary figures. Read more...

This is the data Windows collects about you

Usama Jawad — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 16:04:02 +0000

From crashes to clicks, here's what Windows knows about you, and how much control you really have over this data harvesting. Read more...

Save half off aloSIM Mobile Data Traveler eSim: Pay $25 and get $50 Credit

Neowin Deals — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 17:00:01 +0000

Stay connected in 120+ countries with an eSim! Add data whenever you want and avoid roaming charges forever! This deal of $50 for $25 also never expires, so you can use it whenever you travel. Read more...

Elon Musk is silently training his Grok AI on your X data, but you can stop him

Martin Hodás — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 09:46:01 +0000

X started training its AI chatbot Grok on the content published by users. The platform didn't inform the users and even surprised authorities in the EU where it might violate European laws. Read more...

Microsoft, Meta, and others release free global map data for developers

Pradeep Viswanathan — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:56:01 +0000

The Overture Maps Foundation, a collaboration between Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and TomTom, has released the general availability of its global open map datasets. Developers can access it for free. Read more...

Nearly all AT&T cellular customers affected by massive data theft. Here is what you can do

Martin Hodás — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 16:02:01 +0000

The company cooperates with the authorities to investigate the massive security breach. Data was stolen from a third-party cloud platform, and at least one person was already apprehended. Read more...

Here's how AT&T Turbo can help you get enhanced data connectivity in a busy area

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Thu, 02 May 2024 04:14:01 +0000

AT&T has launched a new privileged plan, which a customer can purchase for some extra bucks to get a data boost to run high-performance apps such as games, video calling apps, etc. on the go. Read more...

T-Mobile could be profiling your personal data, here's how you can opt out of it

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 06:16:02 +0000

T-Mobile has silently introduced a new profiling toggle which is spotted to be turned on by default. It allows the carrier to collect personal data to better predict user behavior. Read more...

Google reportedly let OpenAI transcribe a million hours of YouTube videos to train GPT-4

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 06:16:01 +0000

After AI companies hit the wall to gather high-quality data to train their AI models, companies like OpenAI are alleged to have transcribed a million hours of YouTube videos to train GPT-4. Read more...

Meta kills data tool that helped researchers uncover shady stuff on Facebook, Instagram

Martin Hodás — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 14:30:01 +0000

Widely-used social media data tool CrowdTangle will officially shut down just weeks before U.S. Presidential election. Meta claims it created an even more powerful successor, but can we believe it? Read more...

Google Chrome's incognito warning changes after $5 billion lawsuit

Paul Hill — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 06:52:01 +0000

Google has updated Chrome Canary's Incognito mode to help users identify which data is protected through that browser mode. It comes after Google faced a huge lawsuit to do with data collection. Read more...

No X-Men games for Xbox players until at least 2036, huge data leak suggests

Martin Hodás — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 14:16:02 +0000

Following the massive leak of Insomniac Games internal files, X-Men fans are disappointed to learn they won't be able to play as a Wolverine on their Xbox consoles for over a decade. Read more...

Meta to finally allow users to turn off cross-site tracking

Steve Bennett — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 18:58:01 +0000

Meta has announced that it will be introducing a new feature, called the accounts center, which will give users the ability to stop the company from tracking activity across its various apps. Read more...

Twitter has sent a letter to Microsoft claiming it used data without paying for it

Paul Hill — Thu, 18 May 2023 23:30:14 +0000

Twitter has written a letter to Microsoft to review its use of Twitter data and to complain that the company hasn't paid for access. It wants a report back from the company by next month. Read more...

Ireland data regulator: We should not blindly ban AI-powered chatbots

Usama Jawad — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 07:20:01 +0000

Although some European countries are rushing to ban ChatGPT and related technologies, Ireland is taking a more measured approach where it wants to fully understand the benefits and risks of AI. Read more...

You can now sign up for your share of Facebook's $725 million privacy settlement

John Callaham — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 19:02:01 +0000

You have until August 25 to file a claim for the big data privacy settlement from Facebook that was approved in December 2022, if you were a Facebook member between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022. Read more...

Microsoft Azure CLX programme adds Data and AI skills courses with certificates

Paul Hill — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 19:18:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced three new Azure CLX programme tracks that are focused on Data and AI skills. You'll earn certificates and a 50 per cent discount off the Microsoft Azure Certification Exam. Read more...

Don't be an April Fool, backup your files on World Backup Day

Steven Parker — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 10:00:01 +0000

People lose data on a daily basis, whether it's from a stolen device, accidental deletion of a file, or a hard drive crash. Today's the day we remind everyone that backups are really important. Read more...

Ofcom to unlock mmWave bands for new mobile technologies and 5G services

Paul Hill — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 14:26:01 +0000

Ofcom is planning to unlock more mmWave bands to help improve mobile data speeds in congested areas. It will also help networks handle upcoming, data-heavy technologies such as virtual reality. Read more...

Telehealth company Cerebral shared patient data with advertisers

Justin Luna — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 05:22:01 +0000

Healthcare startup Cerebral announced this week that it shared the sensitive data of more than 3.1 million users in the U.S. with advertisers and social media companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok. Read more...

UK charity group files complaint against YouTube for illegally collecting data on children

Usama Jawad — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 13:22:01 +0000

An official complaint has been filed against YouTube in the UK for collecting locations, viewing habits, and preferences of up to 5 million children, in violation of the UK Children's Code. Read more...

Google engineer says workers cried at meetings as the company laid off 12,000 employees

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 17:36:01 +0000

Two engineers at Google revealed insights on the after-effects of the lay-offs on the existing staff at the company. They shared that losing 12,000 employees has been overwhelming for many. Read more...

Bvckup 2 Release 82.5

Razvan Serea — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 17:56:01 +0000

Bvckup is software for making backup copies of files and directories. It is light and simple. It is also incredibly fast. Read more...

Meta agrees to settle Cambridge Analytica class-action lawsuit for $725 million

Usama Jawad — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 10:28:01 +0000

Meta has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a long-running lawsuit concerning the data harvesting Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018. However, it has not admitted to any wrongdoing. Read more...

Digital IDs of 600,000 Indians were being sold for around $6 each on bot markets

Fiza Ali — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 15:38:01 +0000

NordVPN's study shows millions of people globally were hit by data theft in the past four years. Data stolen and then sold on bot markets included user logins, cookies, digital fingerprints, and more. Read more...

LastPass confirms another security breach, customer data accessed this time

Usama Jawad — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 03:48:01 +0000

Password management company LastPass has confirmed another cybersecurity incident following the August hack. However, unlike the previous instance, customer data has been accessed this time. Read more...

Phone numbers of nearly 500 million WhatsApp users around the globe up for sale

Karthik Mudaliar — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 16:34:01 +0000

Half a billion phone numbers of WhatsApp users is reportedly up for sale on a well-known hacking community. The dataset contains user data from 84 countries, with over 32 million numbers from the US. Read more...

TikTok plans to sign lease for a 11 story office near its London HQ to expand in the UK

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 18:38:01 +0000

TikTok is currently in talks to lease a new office near its HQ in the Farringdon district of London. The office has an area of 134,000 square foot and is bigger than the company's UK HQ. Read more...

Samsung's Maintenance Mode protects the personal data on your phone while it's under repair

Justin Luna — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 06:12:02 +0000

Samsung has introduced a new feature in its smartphones called Maintenance Mode. This feature will protect a user's personal data when they send their device in for repair to the service center. Read more...

Microsoft calls out security firm for exaggerating impact of BlueBleed misconfiguration

Usama Jawad — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 04:46:01 +0000

Microsoft has published an advisory about a misconfiguration that led to its own, customer, and partner data being exposed. It has also called out security researchers for mishandling the disclosure. Read more...

Google and Meta fined in South Korea for displaying targeted adverts without user consent

Usama Jawad — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 09:56:02 +0000

Meta and Google have collectively been fined $72 million in South Korea for not clearly informing users prior to collecting their data to analyze their interests and behaviors to display custom ads. Read more...

Google slapped with $60 million fine for misleading customers about data collection

Usama Jawad — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 11:06:01 +0000

Responding to a ruling issued last year, Google has agreed to pay a $60 million fine in Australia for misleading customers about its data collection practices when it comes to your location history. Read more...

Microsoft discontinues Windows Information Protection in favor of Purview

Usama Jawad — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 07:08:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced that it is sunsetting its Windows Information Protection (WIP) solution in favor of Purview, which it says is a more advanced implementation that meets current customer needs. Read more...

The UK signs data adequacy agreement with South Korea

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 08:06:01 +0000

The UK and Republic of Korea have signed a data adequacy agreement that will allow the two countries to transfer data between each other. The countries also agreed for the protection of this data. Read more...

India delays controversial regulations that require VPN providers to store customer data

Usama Jawad — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 09:08:01 +0000

India has delayed its new regulations which require VPN and cloud service providers to store customer information and provide it to the government. The delay allows firms to adapt or exit the country. Read more...

The 2022 Global Mobile Threat Report — Free Report

Sponsored — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 13:12:01 +0000

After analyzing the full breadth of the 2021 data and surveying security executives anonymously, Zimperium gleaned unique insights on the state of mobile security in this Global Mobile Threat Report. Read more...