By building privacy into your products from the beginning and giving your users the information and tools to protect and control their own personal information, you not only help avoid consequences ranging from scathing media coverage to class action lawsuits, you also make users feel truly invested in your product and build invaluable trust and loyalty.

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The key to developing outstanding privacy practices is to proactively identify and address potential privacy risks before they happen.
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MAKE YOUR PRIVACY PRACTICES STAND OUT

Facebook Criticized for Poor Internal Security

Users were outraged and the company’s reputation was tarnished in 2007 when it came to light that the company had very poor internal security measures. Users demanded change when it was widely reported that the company was not properly safeguarding...Read more >

Uber’s "God View" Causes Users to Lose Faith

Uber was hammered with negative press, a #DeleteUber movement, and Congressional inquiries after stories emerged that some Uber employees had "God View,” allowing them to access ride history and other information about any Uber user. Public outrage...Read more >

Blippy's Credit Card Number "Nightmare Scenario”

In April 2010, Blippy users shared more than they bargained for when a Blippy security flaw turned into a “nightmare scenario” by revealing some users’ credit card numbers in search engine results . News of the breach traveled like wildfire and the...Read more >

Hookup Apps Grindr and Blendr Slammed for Security Issues

Location-based dating apps Grindr and Blendr were slammed for failing to protect private accounts with software that was “poorly designed” with “no real security.” The apps allow users to seek out like-minded people for dating or socializing,...Read more >

Apple Lauded for Encrypting Data by Default

Apple garnered high marks from its customers and the press when it bucked government opposition and announced that its mobile operating system would automatically encrypt all data stored on the iPhone or iPad . Apple also made encryption easy to use...Read more >

Companies Secure Success with HTTPS by Default

Since 2010, tech giants including Google , Yahoo , Twitter , Reddit , Microsoft , and Facebook have received applause for encrypting user connections by default via HTTPS. By moving to HTTPS-by-default, the sites help protect users from monitoring...Read more >

Netflix Sued After Sending Not-So-Anonymous User Data to Researchers

In 2009, Netflix faced a flood of criticism, a class action lawsuit, and the loss of user confidence when it released a huge set of improperly anonymized data . While the company took some steps to remove personal identifiers, researchers were able...Read more >

Google Heavily Criticized for Racially-Biased Results

Google received a barrage of negative press after an academic study demonstrated that search results for traditionally-black names disproportionately included ads suggestive of a criminal record . The research showed that these names were 25 percent...Read more >

Sonic.net Lauded for Reducing Data Retention to Protect Customers

Sonic.net has been widely lauded for cutting its retention period for user logs down to two weeks. Faced with “ a string of legal requests for its users’ data, ” the CEO asked engineers to evaluate the company’s actual storage needs to see if...Read more >

Apple Grilled for Secretly Mapping Customers’ Location

Apple was widely criticized , grilled by the Senate and federal agencies , and sued by customers after researchers discovered that iPhones and iPads were collecting and storing a year’s worth of unencrypted data about user whereabouts. The company...Read more >