privacy rights

Here’s how the simple hack works

Open up Google Chrome

Go to the Instagram photo you would like to ‘rip’ the URL from

Right click anywhere in the browser

Click “INSPECT”

A side bar will open. Click on “NETWORK” at the top tool bar of the sidebar.

Click IMG

Photo Credit: Google Chrome, Nicole Flasco

Below this tool bar a list of several small thumbnails with apear. You can right click the IMG and copy the web address. I tried it and this is a valid fact.

According to BuzzFeed News, this is possible for public feeds, “private feeds and stories” and “can be viewed, downloaded, and shared publicly…”

Is this the same as taking screen shots of photos?

A Facebook spokesperson says yes.

“The behavior described here is the same as taking a screenshot of a friend’s photo on Facebook and Instagram and sharing it with other people. It doesn’t give people access to a person’s private account.”

The report says no.

“There is a difference between being able to screenshot a private image from a webpage and being able to easily publicly share the URL of that private image with un-authenticated users. These public URLs contain some basic info about the photo or video they link to, including details about how it was uploaded and photo dimensions. They also prove authenticity; you can’t fake one. Beyond this, deleted photos and videos are being stored and accessed on Facebook’s content delivery network after a person took an action to remove them from their profile.”

Photo Credit: Pixabay

The other issue with ripping the URL is traceability. All of your IG and Facebook data is hosted by the social media company’s content delivery network. Currently, Instagram tracks who sees your content. However, if someone grabs the URL, traceability is lost. Now your photos can be used without your permission, and you’d never even know they were floating around the internet.

We’ve all heard the news about Zuckerburg and the privacy issues Facebook has gone through in the past. He promised users that Facebook would shift to being a privacy focused network. So far, I’m not sure things have gotten better.

It this a flaw in Facebook’s security? Or is it unavoidable given internet browser permissions to view HTML? Let us know what you think!

Are you the type of person who believes in conspiracy theories and doesn’t trust 90% of what the government says? Then you may not want to read about this conversation between airline passenger MacKenzie Fegan and Jet Blue Airlines.

She went to the airport and was in line to board her flight, ready with her boarding pass in hand. But it turned out she didn’t need it – all she had to do was look into camera. No one asked her for her pass. No one asked her if she wanted to opt out or in to whatever was going on, and MacKenzie went along, because that’s what we do when we’ve been trained to keep the line moving and people are waiting.

She started to think about it later, though, and sent the company a tweet.

I just boarded an international @JetBlue flight. Instead of scanning my boarding pass or handing over my passport, I looked into a camera before being allowed down the jet bridge. Did facial recognition replace boarding passes, unbeknownst to me? Did I consent to this?

— MacKenzie Fegan (@mackenzief) April 17, 2019

The ensuing thread should make each and every one of us wonder what’s ours, what can the government claim without asking, and how will things like our images be used without our consent.

You're able to opt out of this procedure, MacKenzie. Sorry if this made you feel uncomfortable.

— JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) April 17, 2019

Follow up question. Presumably these facial recognition scanners are matching my image to something in order to verify my identity. How does @JetBlue know what I look like?

— MacKenzie Fegan (@mackenzief) April 17, 2019

The information is provided by the United States Department of Homeland Security from existing holdings.

— JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) April 17, 2019

So to be clear, the government provided my biometric data to a privately held company? Did I consent to this? How long is my data held by @JetBlue? And even if I opt out at the scanners…you already have my information, correct?

— MacKenzie Fegan (@mackenzief) April 17, 2019

We should clarify, these photos aren't provided to us, but are securely transmitted to the Customs and Border Protection database. JetBlue does not have direct access to the photos and doesn’t store them.

— JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) April 17, 2019

Would love more info about how my image was matched to a name on the flight manifest. I looked at the camera & a few seconds later the gate opened. Was my image, in the space of those seconds, sent to CBP, run through a database, matched to a name, and then sent back to @JetBlue?

— MacKenzie Fegan (@mackenzief) April 17, 2019

You can learn more about the process here: https://t.co/wDZYiNNhoY.

— JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) April 17, 2019

“There is no pre-registration required.” I’ll say! This press release really doesn’t tell me anything about how it works. @EFF, can you shed some light on this? How concerned should I be?

— MacKenzie Fegan (@mackenzief) April 17, 2019

“It took her photo, comparing her picture to a preloaded photo database of all the passengers with tickets on this flight.” It sounds like opting out isn’t really an option. I can not go through the scanner, but my data will have already been accessed and loaded into a database.

— MacKenzie Fegan (@mackenzief) April 18, 2019

Not that there’s anything we can do about it, apparently, but…the more you know?

The post This Passenger’s Conversation with Jet Blue Airline Is Absolutely Terrifying appeared first on UberFacts.