EXPOSED! is a weekly series that decentralize.today runs that looks to unveil the dirty dealings of corporations, individuals and governments, often in collusion with each other. This week, we report how Samsung has now revised it's privacy policy to further it's protection from the 'authorities' but not of you and the inevitable backlash.

For starters, here is a link to the said new policy, issued in line with the recent launch of the Galaxy S22.

And here is a detailed breakdown of the main points as provided by a contributor on Reddit:

Samsung's US privacy policy is crazy

Says that they may collect and store your text messages, payment info, all your identifying info (name, date of birth, gender, IP address, etc), location, and info about nearby cell towers, and that they may collect, store, and share photos you store, website activities(browsing history and search history), and apps, services, and features you use, download, or purchase.

Samsung may use your information for the following:

• protect against, identify, and prevent fraud and other criminal activity, claims and other liabilities; and

• comply with and enforce applicable legal requirements, relevant industry standards, and our policies, including this Privacy Policy and the applicable Terms of Use for a Service.

Information Sharing

We may share your personal information with our subsidiaries and affiliates and with service providers who perform services for us.

We do not authorize our service providers to use or disclose the information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements.

In addition, we may share your personal information with our business partners, such as wireless carriers, as well as third parties who operate apps and services that connect with certain Service

We may share personal information we collect through the Services if you ask us to do so or otherwise with your consent.

We also may disclose information about you in other circumstances, including:

• to law enforcement authorities, government or public agencies or officials, regulators, and/or any other person or entity with appropriate legal authority or justification for receipt of such information, if required or permitted to do so by law or legal process;
• when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent or illegal activity; or
• in the event we may or do sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets (including in the event of a merger, acquisition, joint venture, reorganization, divestiture, dissolution, or liquidation).

We may collect the following categories of personal information about you:

• Biometric Information
• Online Activity: Internet and other electronic network activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding your interaction with websites, applications, or advertisements
• Geolocation Data
• Sensory Information: audio, electronic, visual, and similar information
• Inferences: inferences drawn from any of the information identified above to create a profile about you reflecting your preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.
• detecting security incidents, protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity;

Sharing of personal information

We may have shared your personal information with certain categories of vendors, including:
• our affiliates and subsidiaries;
• vendors who provide services on our behalf;
• professional services organizations, such as auditors and law firms;
• our joint marketing partners;
• our business partners;
• advertising networks;
• internet service providers;
• data analytics providers;
• government entities;
• operating systems and platforms;
• social networks; and
• consumer data resellers.

Sale of Personal Information

We may allow certain third parties (such as advertising partners) to collect your personal information.

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So that's guts of it but the subsequent comments on the Reddit feed raise several pertinent points on the execution of privacy measures:

How does this differ from previous policies?

How many people actually read all terms & conditions and, by extension, all privacy policies?

Do people understand how to decline or de-install services and apps and thereby avoid the need for the policy but at what cost in terms of lost utility or access?

And, of course, the bigger issues such as:

Why do corporations need to collect this data and what do they actually do with it?

What is the governmental intent with regard to data collection and who monitors/controls that?

See the following link for the full Reddit comments thread:

And see the link here for access to the decentralize.today companion site, privacy.do, for information on how to manage data collection and tracking on all your devices:

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