All over the country, local law enforcement is reminding parents not to post personal information and to disable location tags when uploading back-to-school photos online.
šļø The chalkboard trend with ages and grades was fun for a time, but now we know that scammers and online predators abuse those images and information. Remove personal information and donāt make the post public. Read Shark-Infested Digital Waters.
Meta just announced the ability to share your ālast active locationā with the Instagram map. The feature is off by default. Meta says, āIf you use location sharing, your location is updated whenever you open the app or return to the app if itās been running in the background.ā
šļø Though Instagram has consistently borrowed from competitorsā features, their location sharing is slightly different from Snapchat. The latter offers real-time sharing while Instagram updates only when using the app. Think twice before sharing your location.
Last week the FTC reported an increase in scams targeting the life savings of retired adults. They noted three common lies: āSomeone is using your accounts, your information is being used to commit crimes, and thereās a security problem on your computer.ā
šļø The number of reports filed by older adults losing $10,000 or more rose from 1,790 in 2020 to 8,268 in 2024. We recommend never answering an unknown number. The FTC also recommends never transferring money to āprotect itā and blocking unwanted calls. Spread the word to inform friends and family.
Yesterday YouTube started rolling out AI age verification to a āsmall setā of users in the United States. It interprets certain āsignalsā that āinclude the types of videos a user is searching for, the categories of videos they have watched, or the longevity of the account.ā A credit card or government ID would be required if the system mistakes an adult user as a minor.
šļø While some platforms hold out hope for device or app store level age verification, X and YouTube arenāt waiting around. Since the UKās Online Safety Act went into effect on July 25th, expect more companies to follow suit.
And donāt miss Jillās article last week on the communicative magic of food. Check out It's Hard to Yell When You're Eating a Donut.
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