# Examples of large organizations harvesting user data against the users' consent

Government

- [2021-04 The US government believes they have the right to search the laptop or phone of anyone crossing its borders](https://web.archive.org/web/20210426123317/https://reason.com/2021/04/26/warrantless-border-searches-draw-call-for-supreme-court-action/).
- [2021-10 California is asking Signal for user data that Signal does not have](https://web.archive.org/web/20211029194230/https://signal.org/bigbrother/cd-california-grand-jury/).
- [2021-11 The US Treasury is buying private app data for targeting and investigations](https://web.archive.org/web/20211217143202/https://theintercept.com/2021/11/04/treasury-surveillance-location-data-babel-street/).
- [2022-01 The IRS will soon require facial recognition photos for online access](https://web.archive.org/web/20220119172431/https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/01/irs-will-soon-require-selfies-for-online-access/), but [has ditched the requirement](https://web.archive.org/web/20220209011810/https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/02/irs-to-ditch-biometric-requirement-for-online-access/).
- [2022-06 Norway will track all its supermarket purchases](https://web.archive.org/web/20220614203909/https://www.lifeinnorway.net/norway-to-track-all-supermarket-purchases/).
- [2022-07 The US government regularly pays Venntel and Babel Street for tremendous amounts of aggregated cell phone location data](https://web.archive.org/web/20220718112328/https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/new-records-detail-dhs-purchase-and-use-of-vast-quantities-of-cell-phone-location-data).
- [2023-03 The FBI pays tens of thousands of dollars for internet data](https://web.archive.org/web/20230327172544/https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy3z9a/fbi-bought-netflow-data-team-cymru-contract).
- [2023-03 The US government can use the third-party doctrine to take data without a warrant from a third-party security firm](https://web.archive.org/web/20230604003941/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/07/privacy-loophole-ring-doorbell-00084979).
- [2023-05 The Python Package Index (PyPI) was subpoenaed quite at least 3 times by the US Department of Justice](https://web.archive.org/web/20230524172852/https://blog.pypi.org/posts/2023-05-24-pypi-was-subpoenaed/).
- [2023-06 The US federal government is buying tremendous amounts of user data about American citizens](https://archive.is/GB5oS).
- [2023-07 The AI on autonomous vehicles is used to track driving behaviors of individual citizens](https://archive.is/KjaQw).

Multiple

- [2022-05 Muting your microphone without unplugging it doesn't stop tech companies from listening in and tracking what you do with machine learning](https://web.archive.org/web/20220510202130/https://thenextweb.com/news/muting-your-mic-doesnt-stop-big-tech-recording-your-audio).
- [2022-06 Employers have been using Microsoft Office 365 to spy on their employees without their consent](https://web.archive.org/web/20220615103425/https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4909/wfh-watched-home-office-365-and-workplace-surveillance-creep).
- [2022-08 Employers often install "bossware" to track their employees](https://web.archive.org/web/20220821181416/https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/21/great-taylors-ghost/).
- [2023-04 Apple's iOS lets mobile carriers add Wi-Fi networks the users aren't aware of](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35447486).
- [2023-05 About 50 organizations manage and censor information collaboratively](https://web.archive.org/web/20230510171714/https://www.racket.news/p/report-on-the-censorship-industrial-74b).
- [2023-10 Mastercard sells data to *many* entities](https://web.archive.org/web/20231022121750/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/mastercard-should-stop-selling-our-data).
- [2023-11 The US government pays AT&T to search their phone records, often without a warrant](https://web.archive.org/web/20231122042549/https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/22/wyden_hemisphere_letter/).

Facebook/Meta

- Facebook has a legendary reputation for [doing whatever it can to maintain users' attention](https://web.archive.org/web/20190202164647/https://fourweekmba.com/how-does-facebook-make-money/). They make money from advertising revenue, as well as by selling relevant user data to advertisers.
- [2017-11 Facebook supported a US government bill that would make life more difficult for smaller websites](https://web.archive.org/web/20220521231748/https://www.techdirt.com/2017/11/08/will-sheryl-sandberg-facebook-help-small-websites-threatened-sesta/).
- [2021-05 Facebook's targeted advertising is creepily specific](https://web.archive.org/web/20210504180701/https://signal.org/blog/the-instagram-ads-you-will-never-see/).
- [2021-03 Facebook's default setting for third-party integrations with developers will scan all the files in any system connected to it](https://web.archive.org/web/20210321184734/https://twitter.com/Benjojo12/status/1373707799054712836).
- [2021-10 Facebook is researching augmented reality glasses that will monitor everything someone will do](https://web.archive.org/web/20211026152732/https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/14/22725894/facebook-augmented-reality-ar-glasses-ai-systems-ego4d-research).
- [2022-06 Swedish Radio made a fake pharmacy on Facebook and found out that Facebook still holds on to sensitive user data even though they say they don't](https://web.archive.org/web/20220630134617/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/swedish-radio-created-fake-pharmacy-reveals-how-facebook-stored-sensitive-information).
- [2022-08 Instagram's and Facebook's iOS app can track anything you do through their in-app browser](https://web.archive.org/web/20230602190126/https://krausefx.com//blog/ios-privacy-instagram-and-facebook-can-track-anything-you-do-on-any-website-in-their-in-app-browser).
- [2022-09 Facebook banned a film about the Holocaust for violating its race policy](https://web.archive.org/web/20220914234714/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/facebook-holocaust-film-race-policy-1234592908/).
- [2023-07 Meta has received enormous amounts of taxpayer data from three income tax prep firms](https://archive.is/20230712172216/https://apnews.com/article/irs-taxpayer-tax-preparation-meta-congress-9315cfca7a0942ab89f765d183fbf822).

Amazon

- [2021-06 Amazon gave users 1 week to opt out before they made *all* Amazon Echo speakers and Ring security cameras part of a connected network](https://web.archive.org/web/20210601150621/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/01/amazon-us-customers-given-one-week-to-opt-out-of-mass-wireless-sharing).
- [2021-07 Even after a factory reset, Amazon Echo Dot never deletes user data](https://web.archive.org/web/20210715225424/https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-privacy/is-it-possible-to-make-iot-devices-private-amazon-echo-dot-does-not-wipe-personal-content-after-factory-reset/).
- [2021-09 Amazon's Astro robot tracks everything](https://web.archive.org/web/20210928211850/https://www.vice.com/en/article/93ypp8/leaked-documents-amazon-astro-surveillance-robot-tracking).
- [2023-03 Amazon made $40 billion on "advertising" income in 2022](https://web.archive.org/web/20230306152219/https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2023/3/6/ways-to-think-about-amazon-advertising).

Apple

- [2021-08 Apple requires their employees to merge their personal and work accounts](https://web.archive.org/web/20210820002742/https://twitter.com/oilyraincloud/status/1428497203253833731).
- [2021-09 Even when you power it off, Apple devices move into a low-power mode with certain elements of networking enabled](https://web.archive.org/web/20210930210253/https://naehrdine.blogspot.com/2021/09/always-on-processor-magic-how-find-my.html).
- [2021-04 Apple made an exception for their apps in their ecosystem](https://web.archive.org/web/20210408114133/https://twitter.com/patrickwardle/status/1327726496203476992).
- [2021-03 While Apple collects less data overall, it collects more *types* of data from each individual user](https://web.archive.org/web/20210330173711/https://www.tomsguide.com/news/android-ios-data-collection).
- [2020-01 Apple logs every app a user runs over an unencrypted connection](https://web.archive.org/web/20201114203815/https://blog.jacopo.io/en/post/apple-ocsp/).

Google/Alphabet

- [2020-08 Google may be trying to corner the market on machine learning](https://web.archive.org/web/20200811124735/https://www.technologyreview.com/2014/01/29/174403/is-google-cornering-the-market-on-deep-learning/).
- [2020-12 Google has asymmetric data control regarding web crawling](https://web.archive.org/web/20201214104225/https://knuckleheads.club/).
- [2021-03 Google collects 20 times more data remotely from Android OS than Apple from iOS](https://web.archive.org/web/20210331131921/https://therecord.media/google-collects-20-times-more-telemetry-from-android-devices-than-apple-from-ios/).
- [2021-05 Google has made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private](https://web.archive.org/web/20210529041608/https://www.businessinsider.com/unredacted-google-lawsuit-docs-detail-efforts-to-collect-user-location-2021-5).
- As of 2021, Google's Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) is an alternative to the third-party cookie, and [it's a major cybersecurity concern](https://web.archive.org/web/20210303231348/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/03/googles-floc-terrible-idea) because the Chrome *browser* compiles your data into a behavioral profile (with several thousand others) for targeted advertising. Many, many other tech organizations [have been blocking it](https://web.archive.org/web/20210303231348/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/03/googles-floc-terrible-idea) because it's an unstoppable feature of Google Chrome, and [even web developers without Chrome have to be wary of it](https://web.archive.org/web/20210415192439/https://paramdeo.com/blog/opting-your-website-out-of-googles-floc-network). However, [Google has now abandoned it in lieu of an API](https://web.archive.org/web/20220126123416/https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/25/22900567/google-floc-abandon-topics-api-cookies-tracking).
- [2021-02 Google's search results are geared toward advertising-based interests](https://web.archive.org/web/20210225143942/https://casparwre.de/blog/stop-using-google-analytics/).
- [2021-03 2/3 of Google searches ended without a click in 2020](https://web.archive.org/web/20210323004129/https://sparktoro.com/blog/in-2020-two-thirds-of-google-searches-ended-without-a-click/).
- [2021-04 Google promised their COVID contact tracing app data was private, but it isn't](https://web.archive.org/web/20210427123411/https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/04/27/google-promised-its-contact-tracing-app-was-completely-private-but-it-wasnt).
- [2021-08 A glitch shows that Google is scraping and caching Gmail emails without user intervention](https://web.archive.org/web/20210820071302/https://support.google.com/mail/thread/16878288/gmail-is-opening-and-caching-urls-within-emails-without-user-intervention-how-and-why?hl=en), and [this is a continuing issue](https://web.archive.org/web/20210923165449/https://mastodon.social/@gerowen/106978308085702358).
- [2021-09 Google has removed cookie and site data controls, critically important settings for browser privacy](https://web.archive.org/web/20210903154021/https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/chrome-cookie.html).
- [2021-10 Android OS is sending significant amounts of user data](https://web.archive.org/web/20211011081914/https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/Android_privacy_report.pdf).
- [2021-12 GoogleSyndication.com is likely malware that accesses the camera and microphone through the web browser](https://web.archive.org/web/20211219153511/https://techsparx.com/software-development/security/csp-camera-microphone.html).
- [2022-03 Google Soli Radar can see your body's orientation and the physical actions you're performing at that moment](https://web.archive.org/web/20230523194700/https://www.techradar.com/news/google-soli-radar-sees-your-intentions-and-its-less-creepy-and-more-helpful-than-you-think).
- [2022-06 Google no longer lists the required privacy settings for Google Play Store apps anymore](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31698148).

Academia

- [2021-05 60% of school apps are sharing user data to unknown recipients](https://web.archive.org/web/20210504122807/https://me2ba.org/me2ba-product-testing-spotlight-report-published-data-sharing-in-primary-secondary-school-mobile-apps-2/).
- [2021-02 Eproctoring is highly invasive and biased](https://web.archive.org/web/20210210023554/https://www.baneproctoring.com/), and online exam software like [ProctorU](https://web.archive.org/web/20211109123611/https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2021/11/proctoru-is-dystopian-spyware/) and [Respondus](https://web.archive.org/web/20210908204840/https://privacymatters.today/) are highly invasive [spyware](computers-cysec-malware.md).

ByteDance

- [2022-02 TikTok is sharing more data than any other social media company, and the public doesn't know where it goes](https://web.archive.org/web/20220210141336/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/tiktok-shares-your-data-more-than-any-other-social-media-app-study.html).
- [2022-03 Tracking pixels show up in other non-TikTok websites, such as UberEats](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30579320).
- [2022-09 Even if you don't use the app, TikTok still tracks you across the internet](https://web.archive.org/web/20221001142031/https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics-computers/privacy/tiktok-tracks-you-across-the-web-even-if-you-dont-use-app-a4383537813/).
- [2022-12 ByteDance confirms TikTok employees spied on journalists to track their movements](https://web.archive.org/web/20230610113755/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/22/tiktok-bytedance-workers-fired-data-access-journalists).

Microsoft

- [2022-06 Windows maintains persistent connections to *many* Microsoft hosts](https://web.archive.org/web/20220609193457/https://helgeklein.com/blog/windows-os-services-apps-network-connection-target-hosts/).
- [2022-10 Microsoft receives information directly from PowerPoint slides](https://web.archive.org/web/20221027202855/https://rogermexico.bearblog.dev/microsoft-is-phoning-home-the-content-of-your-powerpoint-slides/).
- [2023-02 Windows 11 tracks tremendous amounts of user data as soon as it boots](https://web.archive.org/web/20230208165240/https://www.techspot.com/news/97535-windows-11-spyware-machine-out-users-control.html).
- [2023-04 Microsoft leaks Edge browser data to Bing search](https://web.archive.org/web/20230425164326/https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/25/23697532/microsoft-edge-browser-url-leak-bing-privacy).
- [2023-06 Microsoft Edge sends photos to Microsoft automatically for AI-enhanced "super resolution"](https://web.archive.org/web/20230612105910/https://www.neowin.net/news/edge-sends-images-you-view-online-to-microsoft-here-is-how-to-disable-that/).

Other companies

- Avast (the [antivirus](computers-cysec-malware.md) company) is [tracking users' entire web history as of 2020](https://web.archive.org/web/20200501123622/https://palant.info/2019/10/28/avast-online-security-and-avast-secure-browser-are-spying-on-you/).
- [2020-02 Wacom drawing tablets send application data to Google for the entire laptop they're connected to](https://web.archive.org/web/20211220082137/https://robertheaton.com/2020/02/05/wacom-drawing-tablets-track-name-of-every-application-you-open/).
- [2020-10 Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled](https://web.archive.org/web/20230427083033/https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Integrations/Why-So-Much-Telemetry/td-p/455961/page/3).
- [2021-02 Disqus is a comment system that injects third-party trackers and sells visitors' data](https://web.archive.org/web/20210205042131/https://supunkavinda.blog/disqus).
- [2021-08 Twitter has started requiring a login to view tweets](https://web.archive.org/web/20210823185917/https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/pa6dra/twitter_starts_to_require_login_to_view_tweets/).
- [2021-08 Zoom gathers information about *all* the processes on users' computers](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28213292) and [sometimes uses the microphone when not in a meeting](https://web.archive.org/web/https://community.zoom.com/t5/Meetings/Why-is-the-Zoom-app-listening-on-my-microphone-when-not-in-a/td-p/29019).
- [2021-11 Vizio makes more money on user data from TV owners than the TVs themselves](https://web.archive.org/web/20211210163059/https://pluralistic.net/2021/11/14/still-the-product/).
- [2022-02 Grammarly tracks everything you type](https://web.archive.org/web/20220228152053/https://www.kolide.com/blog/is-grammarly-a-keylogger-what-can-you-do-about-it).
- [2022-02 Samsung doesn't hide at all that they track your data](https://web.archive.org/web/20220222141639/https://www.samsung.com/us/business/samsungads/resources/tv-ad-retargeting/).
- [2022-06 Tim Hortons collected 'vast amounts' of sensitive location data](https://web.archive.org/web/20220615100219/https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-news/news-and-announcements/2022/nr-c_220601/).
- [2022-07 TeamViewer installs a suspicious font that's only useful for web fingerprinting](https://web.archive.org/web/20220720094807/https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/teamviewer-font-privacy.html).
- [2022-07 Unity has acquired a company that created a malware installer](https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063250/https://www.pcgamer.com/unity-is-merging-with-a-company-who-made-a-malware-installer/).
- [2023-04 Tesla workers shared images from car cameras, including "scenes of intimacy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20230407013830/https://www.reuters.com/technology/tesla-workers-shared-sensitive-images-recorded-by-customer-cars-2023-04-06/).
- [2023-05 Some Bluetooth enabled battery monitors collect GPS data for absolutely no explainable reason](https://web.archive.org/web/20230601025820/https://doubleagent.net/2023/05/21/a-car-battery-monitor-tracking-your-location).
- [2023-09 Every major automotive brand's new internet-connected models have failed on Mozilla's privacy and security tests](https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/).
- [2023-09 Many mobile apps illegally share user data without the users' consent](https://web.archive.org/web/20230922080538/https://noyb.eu/en/how-mobile-apps-illegally-share-your-personal-data).
- [2023-09 Philips Hue will soon force users to login into an account to control their lighting](https://web.archive.org/web/20230922001304/https://defcon.social/@mysk/111097362983335713).
- [2023-10 GSK will pay $20 million to access DNA data from 23andMe](https://web.archive.org/web/20231031033724/https://science.slashdot.org/story/23/10/30/2259251/drugmakers-are-set-to-pay-23andme-millions-to-access-consumer-dna).

Synergistic relationships

- [2022-05 Apoteket, a Swedish government-run pharmacy, sends private user data to Facebook](https://web.archive.org/web/20220525022049/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/pharmacy-passed-information-about-online-customers-to-facebook).
- [2022-06 Kry, a Swedish healthcare company, sends private doctor and patient data to Facebook](https://web.archive.org/web/20220628194605/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/health-service-marketed-as-secure-leaked-patient-information-to-facebook).
- [2022-07 Google Let Sberbank-Owned RuTarget Harvest User Data for Months](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702041119/https://www.propublica.org/article/google-russia-rutarget-sberbank-sanctions-ukraine).
- [2022-07 Police can Google Nest data without a warrant](https://web.archive.org/web/20220727105630/https://petapixel.com/2022/07/27/googles-nest-will-provide-data-to-police-without-a-warrant/).
- [2022-07 Police can access Amazon Ring data without a warrant](https://web.archive.org/web/20220726201328/https://reason.com/2022/07/26/police-can-access-your-ring-camera-footage-without-a-warrant/), [which Amazon openly admits](https://web.archive.org/web/20220713111607/https://theintercept.com/2022/07/13/amazon-ring-camera-footage-police-ed-markey/) and [has been a prevalent issue for at least months](https://web.archive.org/web/20230307120742/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/07/privacy-loophole-ring-doorbell-00084979).