Avast collected data on location, health concerns, and more.

Avast, the cybersecurity software company, is facing a $16.5 million fine after it was caught storing and selling customer information without their consent. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the fine on Thursday and said that it’s banning Avast from selling user data for advertising purposes.

      • GreatDong3000@lemm.eeEnglish
        8·
        8 months ago

        Yeah I love it when people say “if you don’t pay you are the product” as if paying for youtube premium, google one, reddit premium or spotify will stop them from harvesting your data haha that’s how naive we were back when we thought data was collected only for ads.

        • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          8 months ago

          how naive we were back when we thought data was collected only for ads.

          Yeah their cozy relationship is terrifying considering Edward Snowden’s revelations. It’s such a simple workaround the constitutional right to privacy. Simply buy data from a willing company. And we wonder why they don’t make laws against private companies’ data mining… 🤔

    • Fredselfish@lemmy.worldEnglish
      30·
      8 months ago

      Free my ass! Avast charges money for that service. Hell they make you subscribe to use any service outside basic virus scan. So customers paid to have their data stolen and sold.

    • CustodialTeapot@lemmy.worldEnglish
      255·
      8 months ago

      I dislike this sentiment. Just because something is FOSS or open source, doesn’t mean it’s not harvesting your data or doing something nefarious.

      • Dudewitbow@lemmy.zipEnglish
        241·
        8 months ago

        kinda wrong sentiment to get from the statement. statement is only saying if

        if free and NOT open source > data harvest

        it doesn’t necessarily imply that

        if free and open source > doesnt data harvest

        at all. its just you have the ability to find out via code of they do or not. thats more or less in the boat of logical paradoxes you can make.

      • Contend6248@feddit.deEnglish
        12·
        8 months ago

        A good example would be Yuzu (the Switch emulator), it was open source and collected so much telemetry that Nintendo might go after their users.

        This might be fear tactic but it shows you that you aren’t safe

        • Chocrates@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          8 months ago

          I don’t know about Yuzu’s data collection but they were destroyed because they existed.

    • lemmyingly@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      So companies like Proton and BitWarden are harvesting your data with their free tiers?