The BBC reports that Facebook, Google, and Microsoft use harmful privacy practices against users when it comes to privacy settings. They’re called dark patterns, and they are designed to nudge people away from turning on privacy settings, but give them an illusion of control at the same time.
For example, Facebook warns anyone who wishes to disable facial recognition that doing so means that the firm “won’t be able to use this technology if a stranger uses your photo to impersonate you”.
“And Google’s privacy dashboard promises to let the user easily delete data, but the dashboard turns out to be difficult to navigate, more resembling a maze than a tool for user control,” it added.
Microsoft received praise for giving equal weight to privacy-friendly and unfriendly options in its set-up process in Windows 10.
Check It Out: Facebook, Google, Microsoft Use Harmful Privacy Practices