The Tech They Don't Want You to See (S5) S36

Tech They Don't Want You to See :  Weekly Roundup, Aug 24–30, 2026 Every week, tech companies make decisions and hope nobody notices. This week, we're noticing. Acura quietly killed three features from their car app right after eating a $632,000 fine from California over driving data, and there's still an active investigation into whether that data got sold to your insurance company. Meanwhile, Uber got hit with a $966 million fine in the Netherlands for letting algorithms suspend drivers with no human in the loop, raising the bigger question: should AI ever have the final word over your paycheck? We're also digging into Tesla's recall of roughly 3 million vehicles in China over door handle and driver monitoring issues, proof that even the most basic car functions are now software problems. Visa researchers found a way to potentially revive expired credit cards, and Meta just filed a patent for a hardware level privacy switch on smart glasses, a real kill switch software can't override. Then there's the trust question hitting your nightstand: Oura is facing a lawsuit over whether its sleep tracking numbers are even accurate. And Flock Safety's license plate cameras are sparking a nationwide debate over where public safety ends and mass surveillance begins. Plus, bonus stories on Windows 11 gaming issues tied to RGB lighting, Harvard's AI avatar instructors, Amazon's push for drone delivery in 500 cities, Google's new $29 tracker gunning for AirTag, what your printer actually logs about you, whether "incognito" browsing really hides anything, and how your phone number can be stolen without anyone touching your phone. Companies hope you scroll past. We're not letting you.