{"id":64603,"date":"2021-02-11T22:26:37","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T06:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/foxtail\/?p=64603"},"modified":"2021-07-12T11:41:11","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T18:41:11","slug":"jen-caltrider-privacy-not-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/privacy-security\/jen-caltrider-privacy-not-included\/","title":{"rendered":"Rapid Fire: Jen Caltrider is here to help you shop safe for connected devices and apps because privacy kinda rocks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From her remote mountaintop home in the Colorado wilderness, Jen Caltrider has an ideal vantage point to ponder privacy, which she basically does full time. Caltrider leads the Mozilla Foundation\u2019s *Privacy Not Included guide<\/a>, an online consumer resource that reveals how privacy-respecting some products are \u2014 and are not. She and a researcher pick through product claims, fine print and miles of privacy policies to figure out how much we should trust various connected toys, gadgets, services and smart home products. The guide has grown in scale from its launch in 2017, now covering nearly 200 products in seven categories. The latest \u201cValentine\u2019s Edition\u201d launched in early February, rating dating apps and sex toys, many of which, you may not realize, are now part of the internet of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

— — —<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re mostly at home these days, but if you were out meeting people, how would you describe your job?
<\/strong>Oh, I try to make the internet suck less, mainly by telling people how to shop for better connected devices and apps because so many of them are terrible with privacy and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you do that through the *Privacy Not Included guide.
<\/strong>Yes. Back in 2017, we wanted to do a guide, but we didn\u2019t think we had the resources to actually review products. But I was determined. You can\u2019t do a buyer\u2019s guide without actually reviewing products. I stumbled across Janice Tsai, who had been researching connected products at Mozilla, and we decided to team up. The *Privacy Not Included Guide is now in its fourth edition, and we just did our second Valentine\u2019s Day edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has the response been?
<\/strong>When we started, we just wanted to see if anybody would be interested. As it turns out, people were, so we’ve evolved over the last four years. We added in a Creep-o-Meter, so people could add their own input. Last year we added in the *Privacy Not Included warning label. The goal isn’t just for us to tell people information, it’s also to get feedback on how creepy they think something is because companies pay attention to the guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What are some things you\u2019ve heard from companies about the guide?
<\/strong>We have gotten complaints over the years from some makers of the products we’ve reviewed. I remember one tense moment when we noted that a little toy had a small microphone inside, and the manufacturer didn’t like us pointing that out. But some companies are willing to work with us, which is great. The goal is to get companies to do better, not just bash them in public, so it\u2019s cool when we get them to change behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our review of video call apps last year, one platform didn\u2019t require a strong password. When we were going to go out with that information, they were immediately like oh crap<\/em>. They fixed it within a day or two of us putting out the guide, and changed their login requirements to require a strong password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you heard from individual consumers, too?
<\/strong>Oh, I get some fascinating stuff from people. I did get a few angry emails recently because we took our video call apps section down. It just wasn\u2019t accurate any more, and we haven\u2019t had the time to refresh. One guy was so upset because his HOA was going to make a decision on what platform to use. I wish I could have helped him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A middle school teacher reached out right before the holiday gift guide<\/a> [which featured Games + Toys<\/a> and Smart Home<\/a> products] launched last November. We had a fun exchange where students reviewed some of the products and shared what they found creepy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you conduct the research?
<\/strong>Everything is either publicly available in privacy policies or through searching, or we reach out and ask companies directly. We have a lot of fun customer service chats on websites with things like I don\u2019t know if we use encryption, can I get back to you on that?<\/em> Technically any consumer could do this research before buying these products, but no one really has the time to do it. So we\u2019re doing it for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Valentine\u2019s edition includes a spicier section that gets into dating and sex, territory that people might naturally find more private. What\u2019s the take-away?
<\/strong>Our overall research at Mozilla shows how terrible Facebook is about collecting data, protecting data and then being honest about what they do with data. But here I am reviewing dating apps for this edition, and dating apps are as bad or worse than Facebook<\/a>! They’re just terrible. They collect so incredibly much personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They can collect things like HIV status, drug use, are your parents married, how many pets do you have, what kind of car do you drive, and who are you attracted to. They collect all this stuff, and then they either turn around and use it to make a bunch of money off you through marketing and advertising, or they don’t protect that data very well. Almost all the major dating apps at some point in the past 10 years have had these huge data breaches or data leaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s just kind of bonkers. but people are okay with this, in part, I think, because what’s the alternative, especially now during the pandemic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Roses are red
Violets are blue
How much does your dating app
Know about you?

We reviewed the privacy and security of the most popular dating apps so you can swipe left on the ones with #PrivacyNotIncluded<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/3OQdkLoNI8<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Cpkb5oGfpe<\/a><\/p>— Mozilla (@mozilla) February 9, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>