I’ve been having one of those moments lately where you stumble across something that makes your blood boil just a bit. You know the feeling – when you discover that a company has been pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, and suddenly you’re questioning everything you thought you knew about digital privacy.

The trigger this time was learning about Viber’s data collection practices. Here’s an app owned by Rakuten that markets itself as privacy-focused, complete with all the right buzzwords about end-to-end encryption and respecting user privacy. Yet when someone actually bothered to check the App Store privacy labels, the reality was starkly different. We’re talking about location data, browsing history, contacts, sensitive information – basically everything they can get their hands on – all linked directly to your identity and used to track you across other apps and websites.

Remember when tech companies used to ask for permission before accessing our personal data? Those days seem increasingly distant, especially with Apple’s latest move to automatically opt everyone into AI-powered photo analysis.

The tech giant has quietly introduced a feature called “Enhanced Visual Search” that analyzes users’ photos using AI technology - and they’ve made it opt-out rather than opt-in. While they claim the system uses homomorphic encryption to protect privacy, the concerning part isn’t just about the technology itself - it’s about the principle of consent.