It’s time for Google Gemini to step aside. Meta recently introduced its chatbot app, Meta AI, which is the new data king. According to a study by cybersecurity company Surfshark, Meta AI collects user data like no one before. It stands out among all analyzed chatbots by collecting 32 out of 35 data types, which is more than twice the average.
Meta AI collects the most user data among the analyzed apps, gathering 32 out of 35 possible data types — over 90% of the total. It is also stands out from all the others because it is the only one chatbot app that collects data across categories such as financial information, health and fitness, and even sensitive information, which includes racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, pregnancy or childbirth information, disability, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinion, genetic information, or biometric data.
Additionally, only Meta AI and Copilot collect data linked to user identity for purposes such as displaying third-party ads in the app or sharing data with third parties that display third-party ads. While Copilot lists two data types, such as Device ID and Advertising Data, used for this purpose, Meta AI may use up to 24 different data types.
“Meta is an ecosystem that collects user data across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network for displaying third-party ads, and now it’s doing the same through Meta AI. This chatbot learns from public posts, photos, and texts, as well as new data shared by users, which is an example of gross misconduct and mishandling of user data. Generative AI should not be trained on user data, and this highlights why regulations for AI are an urgent necessity,” says Karolis Kaciulis, Leading System Engineer at Surfshark.
Chatbots collect and learn from diverse data, which can have flaws
The average number of collected types of data is 13 out of a possible 35 for the analyzed AI chatbot apps. 45% of the apps collect users’ locations. Additionally, nearly 30% of these apps track user data. Tracking refers to linking user or device data collected from the app with third-party data for targeted advertising or advertising measurement purposes or sharing it with a data broker.
AI chatbots learn from diverse sources of information, with Meta AI having the additional factor of learning from Facebook and Instagram posts and images. As they gather massive amounts of data, including public posts and user-provided content, the results we receive can vary and often be incorrect due to inaccuracies in their training data. The latest example of how X’s Grok responded to unrelated prompts and discussed white nationalist themes with X users highlights the challenge we have with current generative AI standards.
“People should keep in mind that even though these chatbots may provide you with a quick answer, the results they get are mediocre. Why is that? AI chatbots are being fed with all kinds of information and the majority of it can be inaccurate. Every person is responsible for the results they provide at their job, but generative AI is not; it is unaccountable and is not legally subject to the same scrutiny as a human,” K. Kaciulis comments.
Be careful when sharing information with chatbots
Google Gemini collects 22 unique data types. This includes precise location data, which only Gemini, Meta AI, Copilot, and Perplexity collect. Gemini also collects a significant amount of data across various other categories, such as contact info (name, email address, phone number, etc.), user content, contacts (such as a list of contacts in the user’s phone), search history, browsing history, and several other types of data.
ChatGPT collects 10 types of data, such as contact information, user content, identifiers, usage data, and diagnostics, while avoiding tracking data or using third-party advertising within the app. While ChatGPT collects chat history, it is possible to use temporary chats, which auto-delete all data after 30 days, or to request the removal of personal data from training sets.
Copilot, Poe, and Jasper are the three apps that collect data used to track you. This data could be sold to data brokers or used to display targeted advertisements in your app. While Copilot and Poe only collect device IDs, Jasper collects device IDs, product interaction data, advertising data, and other usage data, which refers to “any other data about user activity in the app”.
According to K. Kaciulis, when using chatbots, users pay not only in money for subscriptions but also in personal data. “As a human being, especially in Europe, where GDPR protects user rights, personal data belongs to you, not to corporations or AI systems. Sharing it with generative AI can lead to it being stored, analyzed, and used without your full control, risking targeted manipulation, identity theft, or misuse. Also, people should be aware that things AI learns from your personal data can not be unlearned. It’s important to protect your privacy and online integrity in an age where personal data is increasingly treated as a commodity.”
METHODOLOGY
We identified the 10 most popular AI chatbots, with Meta AI added as an additional app on May 20, 2025, and analyzed their privacy details on the Apple App Store. The comparison was based on how many types of data each app collects, whether it collects any data linked to you, and whether the app includes third-party advertisers. We also checked the privacy policies of DeepSeek and ChatGPT to better understand what kind of data is kept on servers and for how long.
Note on data used to track the user: “Tracking refers to the act of linking user or device data collected from your app with user or device data collected from other companies’ apps, websites, or offline properties for targeted advertising or advertising measurement purposes. Tracking also refers to sharing user or device data with data brokers.”
Guest Post: Tips and strategies for network failover for business from Ericsson
Posted in Commentary with tags Ericsson on May 23, 2025 by itnerdAs some Canadian businesses have recently experienced, unforeseen challenges including weather-related issues, carrier/service provider issues and networking configuration errors can cause network downtime. For organizations that rely on technology — including network and application access — for their day-to-day business, outages are costly and debilitating.
According to last year’s 2024 State of Connectivity report from Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions (formerly Cradlepoint), shared downtime continued to impact Canadian businesses. More than half (53 per cent) of respondents experienced one to two hours of connectivity downtime per week on average over the previous 12 months, resulting from fixed line/fibre network failure. Additionally, 28 per cent of Canadian businesses experienced three to four hours of downtime per week. Those connectivity issues resulted in higher operational costs (45 per cent), operational inefficiencies (41 per cent), and loss of talent (36 per cent), affecting productivity and the ability for organizations to be competitive.
Tips – Failover strategies for businesses
There are, however, ways for business to protect themselves. Failover strategies enable network data to be rerouted on a secondary or back up network if the primary network link fails, enablingorganizations to continue to operate as usual.
Below are three recommended failover strategies from Jason Falovo, Vice President and General Manager, Canada at Ericsson EWS, to enable businesses to stay connected.
Add link/connection diversity: In many cases, an organization’s internet connection relies upon a single wire running to their chosen internet service provider (ISP), which could not only be affected by a provider’s outage, but also by weather or other forces of nature. While adding a second Wide Area Network (WAN) connection can be a simple and fast way to reduce the risk of losing connectivity, that second wire is just as susceptible to risks as the first. Instead, consider adding a satellite or cellular wireless link which offers not only backup, but also diversity to the network. If the wired connection goes down, rapid failover can seamlessly switch to the second connection, minimizing network and service disruption. Another option is to add a wireless connection to an existing router using a 5G or LTE adapter, then relying on its SD-WAN and failover functionality.
Ensure dual-carrier connectivity: It’s no longer practical to rely on just one telecom carrier or internet provider. Relying on a single service provider is another risk point for branch continuity. Network congestion, routing and DNS issues, and core network outages are just some of the potential incidents that can disrupt business operations.
You can reduce the risk of carrier disruptions by using two links with two different wireless carriers. The separate infrastructure adds network diversity, making it highly unlikely that both would be unavailable at the same time. You can set the two connections as a primary and a backup, or use both connections in tandem to increase bandwidth. Wireless WANs also bring greater agility and make easier to open new locations or move existing ones, which can be especially useful for short-term or temporary locations. The simplest way to employ two wireless carriers is to use a 5G or LTE router that supports two modems, providing advanced network awareness and routing capabilities. With routers that have this capability, deployment is easy as adding a second modem and SIM card to the device. A dual modem router has two active radio connections, allowing SIM cards from different carriers to be active at the same time without the downtime of switching between the two.
Add hardware redundancy: Routers can go offline for many reasons, and can often require a site visit to fix, leaving the location isolated until tech support arrives. Redundant or mirrored routers are an effective protection against router downtime. These routers monitor each other, with the backup automatically taking over if the primary router or WAN connection fails, switching back when the primary is restored.
With a primary and backup router IT can safely stage updates, configuration changes, and other periodic maintenance without risking business-critical communications.
Adding different WAN connections or carriers to each router provides additional protection from common business continuity risks. If the backup router has a lower bandwidth connection, traffic policies ensure that essential traffic is prioritized.
In today’s business environment, where organizations and their employees rely heavily on applications housed in the cloud or data centre, down time is not an option. A network failover strategy is critical to ensuring the redundancy needed to keep your business running, even when networks go down.
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