MacVoices #26116: Live! - Location Data For Sale, Copilot's Unnecessary Features

What this episode covers

Digital privacy and the uneasy tradeoffs behind commercially available location data take center stage, sparked by reports that the FBI is buying Americans’ data again. Chuck Joiner, Guy Serle, David Ginsburg, Jim Rea, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby examine legal versus ethical lines, data brokers, and whether public movement should equal public information. The discussion shifts to Microsoft’s rollback of unwanted Copilot features, highlighting growing frustration with forced AI tools in workplace and education settings. This edition of MacVoices is brought to you by the MacVoices Dispatch, our weekly newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on any and all MacVoices-related information. Subscribe today and don’t miss a thing. Show Notes: Chapters: 0:10 Introduction to location data concerns 0:11 FBI purchase of Americans’ location data 5:12 Ethics of data privacy and data brokers 6:43 Legal arguments over public versus private data 10:50 Where the privacy lines may be drawn 12:23 Microsoft removes unnecessary Copilot features 14:30 Enterprise and education concerns over approved AI tools 17:53 Closing thoughts and farewells Links: FBI started buying Americans’ location data again, Kash Patel confirms https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/fbi-started-buying-americans-location-data-again-kash-patel-confirms/ Microsoft Is Removing ‘Unnecessary’ Copilot Features in Windows https://lifehacker.com/tech/microsoft-removing-unnecessary-ai-copilot-features Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at [email protected], on Mastodon at @[email protected], on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @[email protected]. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @[email protected] on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @[email protected]. Marty Jencius, Ph.D.,is a counselor educator and technology pioneer who has spent 30 years bringing emerging tech into his field — from founding one of the first professional listservs (CESNET-L) to podcasting, virtual reality, and now AI and AR. He is the founder of ThePodTalk.net, where he produces Vision ProFiles, The Old Mac Gang, A.I. Productivity Workflow, The Tech Savvy Professor, 15 Minute Bytes, The Neo Notebook, and Fade to Chat: Golden Age Cinema. He is also a regular panelist on MacVoices Live!, In Touch with iOS, and The Mac Show. Find him on Bluesky and Mastodon. Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE’s ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He’s been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @[email protected] on Mastodon. Guy Serle, best known for being one of the co-hosts of the MyMac Podcast, sincerely apologizes for anything he has done or caused to have happened while in possession of dangerous podcasting equipment. He should know better but being a blonde from Florida means he’s probably incapable of understanding the damage he has wrought. Guy is also the author of the novel, The Maltese Cube. You can follow his exploits on Twitter, catch him on Mac to the Future on Facebook, at @[email protected], and find everything at VertShark.com. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon http://patreon.com/macvoices Enjoy this episode? 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