News
Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location
A hack of location data company Gravy Analytics has revealed which apps are—knowingly or not—being used to collect your information behind the scenes.
Podcast
Podcast: Meta Goes Mask Off
We're back after the holiday with a ton of stories. Meta, Pornhub, and FBI's witnesses are all in this episode.
News
Hackers Claim Massive Breach of Location Data Giant, Threaten to Leak Data
Gravy Analytics has been one of the most important companies in the location data industry for years, collating smartphone location data from around the world selling some to the U.S. government. Hackers say they stole a mountain of data.
News
Telegram Hands U.S. Authorities Data on Thousands of Users
The number of data requests fulfilled by Telegram skyrocketed, with the company providing data to U.S. authorities on 2,253 users last year.
News
Violent Hackers Are Using U-Haul To Dox Targets
Members of an underground criminal community are targeting U-Haul because of the wealth of non-public information it can hold on targets.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Magic Links and Building Shelves
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we talk more about magic links and building shelves offline. A light Behind the Blog today but we're back from the holiday on Monday.
Podcast
Podcast: The 404 Media Year in Review
We talk about the last year when it comes to AI, journalism, and more.
News
We Don’t Want Your Password
Some people don't love our magic link logins. But the best way for us to protect your password is to never ask for it.
News
Secret Service Admits It Didn’t Check if People Really Consented to Being Tracked
Emails viewed by 404 Media show that the Secret Service did not verify that location data it was tracking people with was actually collected with consent, despite saying so.
Podcast
Podcast: Why We Cover AI the Way We Do
Here's a holiday gift: an episode that was previously only available to paying subscribers. Make sure to sign up for tons more bonus content like this.
News
Government to Name ‘Key Witness’ Who Provided FBI With Backdoored Encrypted Chat App Anom
A lawyer has pushed to learn the identity of the person who first created Anom, which the FBI used to read tens of millions of messages sent by organized criminals. The confidential human source may testify in court, too.
Podcast
Podcast: The New Jersey Drone Panic
What is probably happening with all those drone sightings; Cellebrite used as a doorway to malware; and an art project and a cease and desist.