June 10, 2012

Protecting Your Privacy Online

A recent blog post by Nithan Sannappa on OnGuardOnline.gov caught my attention: Lessons from a Controversial App.

http://www.onguardonline.gov This post examined the fallout from a controversial mobile app which aggregated data from social networks and presented it in a location-aware context. According to Sannappa, "Users of the app were able to scan their surrounding area to view the profiles of men and women who were nearby, even though many of those men and women never signed-up to be a part of the service." As the blog post notes, the app was shut down by its developer. But the privacy and identity-theft prevention tips Sannappa shares are well worth reading and applying to your own social profiles.

Do you have questions about online privacy? See our Privacy and Identity Theft legal topic pages for links to  Wisconsin and Federal guides, law review articles, agencies, and more.