[ DuckDuckGo Privacy Weekly ] For Feb 17, 2022

• IRS Will End Use of Facial Recognition After Widespread Privacy Concerns [theverge.com]
  The IRS has ended its use of facial recognition due to major pushback. "Privacy advocates (e.g., U.S. Senator Ron Wyden) raised concerns over the use of ID.me’s technology almost immediately after the IRS’s initial contract with them was announced," reports Corin Faife.
• Google Workspace to Strip Privacy Control From Admins, Re-Enable Tracking [arstechnica.com]
  Google Workspace user? On March 29, Google plans to split "Web & App Activity" settings, enabling some tracking features (even if you'd previously opted out). Of course they are. Ron Amadeo digs into what Google's confusing announcement means for users.
• Gay/Bi Dating App, Muslim Prayer Apps Sold Data on People's Location to a Controversial Data Broker [themarkup.org]
  Jon Keegan and Alfred Ng identified 107 apps selling location data from 140 countries to data broker X-Mode (2018 and 2019). If you're an Android user, you can help stop apps from sharing your data with third-parties with our App Tracking Protection.
• Metaverse vs. Data Privacy: A Clash of the Titans? [venturebeat.com]
  A battle is brewing: "Metaverse wants to harvest new, uncharted personal information (like noting and analyzing where eyes go on a screen and how long you gaze at products). But data privacy wants to protect consumers from this incessant cherry-picking." Chris J. Preimesberger shares his thoughts on this "clash of the titans".

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