iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Yash Vekaria

UIowa Computer Science @uiowacs.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Tomorrow 3:30pm in SH140, we're hosting a Colloquium featuring 🌟Rising Stars🌟: • 𝗖𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹, Carnegie Mellon • 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗺 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿, Stony Brook • @yash-vekaria.bsky.social, UC Davis Reception at 4:30pm in MLH 3 as part of our 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙮. We'll be serving 🍨! Deets @ events.uiowa.edu/event/36919

Portraits of speakers for https://events.uiowa.edu/event/36919

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Yash Vekaria @yash-vekaria.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

What really happens after you provide your personal information when filling out online “quotes”? This week, I presented my research on data collection, brokerage, and spam in lead marketing ecosystem (w/ Nurullah Demir, @kollnig.net, @zubair-shafiq.bsky.social) to FTC in Washington DC.

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Yash Vekaria @yash-vekaria.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

The same tracking pixel on two websites can be configured completely differently to track varying user details. 🚨In our @acm-imc.bsky.social 2026 paper (w/ @zubair-shafiq.bsky.social), we perform longitudinal measurement of Meta pixel to study its tracking configurations employed by websites.

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Yash Vekaria @yash-vekaria.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Excited to share that my research (w/ @zubair-shafiq.bsky.social, @kollnig.net, Nurullah) on "Understanding Data Collection, Brokerage, and Spam in the Lead Marketing Ecosystem" has been accepted for presentation at the 3rd FTC Conference on Marketing and Public Policy 2026 in Washington D.C.

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Yash Vekaria @yash-vekaria.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

My research (w/ @zubair-shafiq.bsky.social) on Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) was cited in complaints filed today by Attorney General Ken Paxton against 5 major smart TV brands—LG, Samsung, Sony, TCL, and Hisense—alleged for spying on Texans via ACR. texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/release...

texasattorneygeneral.gov

Attorney General Paxton Sues Five Major TV Companies, Including Some with Ties to the CCP, for Spying on Texans

Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against five major television companies for spying on Texans by secretly recording what consumers watch in their own homes.

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Yash Vekaria @yash-vekaria.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Honored to have received "Distinguished Reviewer Award" at USENIX Security Symposium 2025 🎉 www.usenix.org/sites/defaul...

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Reposted by Yash Vekaria

Keith Fitzgerald @keithfitzgerald.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Worth a watch: Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.

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Reposted by Yash Vekaria

Zubair Shafiq @zubair-shafiq.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

@yash-vekaria.bsky.social's research on ACR-tracking by Smart TVs featured in @nytimes.com @nytwirecutter.bsky.social. Checkout the article: nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

nytimes.com

Yes, Your TV Is Probably Spying on You. Your Fridge, Too. Here’s What They Know.

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Reposted by Yash Vekaria

Zubair Shafiq @zubair-shafiq.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

.@yash-vekaria.bsky.social describing privacy risks of ACR-based smart TV tracking www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeq2...

youtube.com

Your TV Is Spying On You and Taking Screenshots

YouTube video by Naomi Brockwell TV

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Yash Vekaria @yash-vekaria.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

We systematize developments in web tracking and identify open problems in the field in our new work: arxiv.org/abs/2506.14057

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