Companies might put you on hold for longer because of that one credit card bill you missed last year.

Here's how to check your totalitarian "social credit score"

Please Hold

While the U.S. doesn't have a social credit score system like China, several shadowy companies are using private data to do something similar in the U.S.

Here’s How to Check Your Totalitarian “Social Credit Score”

These companies are secretly monitoring your every move.

If you don't use a password manager, your accounts are probably at risk

Brands We Love

Dashlane password manager makes it easy to create and track stong, unique passwords in order to keep your accounts safe from hackers.

If You Don’t Use a Password Manager, Your Accounts Are Probably at Risk

Luckily, they are simpler and more affordable than ever before.

Ever want to disappear from the internet?

If you want to protect online privacy, you need to hit the data brokers where it hurts

If you're serious about online privacy, DeleteMe is a service that removes your information from public databases to prevent data brokers from using it.

If You Want to Protect Online Privacy, You Need to Hit the Data Brokers Where It Hurts

DeleteMe removes your personal information from leading data broker sites.

"I actually had a team studying how Fortnite became so addictive."

This ebook company is trying to make reading more like videogames

Achievement Unlocked

Ebook distributor OverDrive is leveraging its vast collection of library rental data to improve the book reading experience with interactive elements.

This Ebook Company Is Trying to Make Reading More Like Videogames

Books too boring? Maybe they need badges and achievements.

The data it collects from you could be everything from how you react to workout prompts to where your eyes flit first when you open your fridge.

Expert: AR will let hackers steal "deep psychological data"

Ready Player Thoughtcrime

Thought Theft If augmented reality becomes a part of our daily lives, the data it collects about you will become valuable: an incredibly detailed psychological portrait, and one that’s prone to terrifying exploitation if it falls into the wrong hands. “You are always worried about bad actors with technology and your data,” said Paula Goldman, a VP at Omidyar […]

Expert: AR Will Let Hackers Steal “Deep Psychological Data”

"With AR, it is incredibly scary."

Walmart patents a system for listening to every sound in stores

Listen to This

Walmart has received a patent for technology that would allow the retail giant to listen to and evaluate everything occurring in it's stores.

Walmart Patents a System for Listening to Every Sound in Stores

The future of retail just got a little creepier.

Vermont and California want people to be able to opt out if companies sell their info.

Two states are trying to give people control over their online data

Future Society

Vermont and California are currently leading the push for Americans to have better control over how companies use and sell their personal information.

Two States Are Trying To Give People Control Over Their Online Data

New laws in Vermont and proposed legislation in California would require companies to be more transparent in how user data is stored and sold.

A handful of visionaries want to save the internet.

The internet is a new kind of prison, blockchain may set us free

When it comes to data, today's most valuable commodity, too much power rests in the hands of a few corporations. Decentralized internet may change that.

The Internet Is a New Kind of Prison, Blockchain May Set Us Free

It might be the next best thing since, well, regular internet. 

The system is called Taco, for tensor algebra compiler.

New code offers a 100-fold speed increase

Robots & Machines

Called Taco (for tensor algebra compiler), the new code is "one of the most exciting advances in recent times in the area of compiler optimization.”

New Code Offers a 100-Fold Speed Increase

And they named the system that accompanies it Taco.

In the future, you might get paid for the data you share online

While the benefits to the companies are obvious, consumers are often compensated with very little — if anything at all.

/ / big-data