Fight for your Privacy
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Is Online Privacy Possible?

Privacy has become a valuable and elusive commodity. On the one hand, our private information is made available by others whether we like it or not. On the other hand, it's our own fault as we overshare online. People seem to assume privacy…
Venmo as social media
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How to check and set Venmo Privacy Settings

In 2015, I noticed the Venmo financial activity of a friend posting on Facebook but he had no idea this was happening. After 10 minutes of searching in 2021, reporters located President Biden’s Venmo account. They observed that President Biden…
Amazon Privacuy
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How to achieve Amazon privacy

By creating an Amazon account, searching, researching, and then shopping on Amazon, we voluntarily hand Amazon abundant data about ourselves. This data gives Amazon an intimate knowledge of us and also gives them the tools to keep us going back…
FaceAppFears
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Why you should avoid FaceApp, the viral aging app

There is a lot of buzz and panic regarding privacy with the photo morphing FaceApp. In an instant the app can change gender, eye color, skin tone, expression, age or hairstyle to name a few of its features. There are both fun and useful applications…
Pokemon Go and Privacy issues
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What’s the fuss about Pokémon Go?

Thursday night I laughed as I watched my grown son crawl on the floor and roam through my house with his eyes glued to his iPhone. He was in search of Pokémon but apparently they weren’t hanging out at our house so he headed to Pink Berry…
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Beware of Snapcash and Venmo – a teen’s perspective

Snapchat is a popular app that allows users to send and receive photos, messages and videos that disappear right after they are opened. Now, a new feature has been added that can make your own cash disappear right out of your bank account.…
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Anthem Breach: 7 Tips to Protect Yourself Amidst Attacks

Whether directly impacted or not, there are things we must all learn from the Anthem breach. The sensitive information that was accessed has provided criminals with the ability to create new lines of credit and to steal the identities of…
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“Waze” free navigation app comes at high cost

On a rainy day with multiple accidents and horrible traffic, my friend activated Waze on her iPhone and we navigated flawlessly to the end of our 29 mile journey without traffic and in great time. I was very impressed with Waze, a free, community-based…
Apps and Privacy
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What’s the privacy tradeoff for playing Words With Friends?

An ongoing game or two of Words with Friends, an app on my Android phone, has been a simple and guilty pleasure that I've enjoyed regularly. After an annoying upgrade option kept popping up on my screen, I read the privacy policy to learn exactly…
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Private Lives

Tammy Minn's article below is printed in the October 2014 print issue of Inland Empire Magazine. I am honored and proud to share the article/interview here and hope that you will get a good tip or two out of it yourself!           Until…
Privacy Settings
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Facebook’s New Privacy Checkup – Thumbs Up!

When an alligator cartoon offering a Facebook Privacy Checkup popped up while I was using Facebook, I assumed it was fraudulent. Facebook hadn’t seemed concerned about making their privacy settings transparent before and with the unfamiliar…
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A teen’s take on virtual popularity

I can’t help but analyze the sometimes-dysfunctional way that people in my age group act online and on social media. Take a commonly used photo-sharing app like Instagram where one can follow a person and “like” their pictures. Just…