In a four-part research study distributed via ArXiv, "No Privacy in the Electronics Repair Industry," University of Guelph researchers Jason Ceci, Jonah Stegman, and Hassan Khan describe how they tested the privacy policies and practices of electronics repair shops.Among these six snoopers, one technician did so in a way to avoid generating evidence, while three others took steps to conceal their activities – the device logs show offending technicians attempted to hide their tracks by deleting items in the "Quick Access" or "Recently Accessed Files" on Microsoft Windows."If we told them that we were going to be looking at the logs, and what they did after, we were worried about possible backlash to the researchers who were [dropping the rigged devices off and providing personal information]," he explained.- Russia-based Pushwoosh tricks US Army and others into running its code – for a while- Google slapped with $391.5m settlement in privacy lawsuit- Apple sued for collecting user data despite opt-outs- World Cup apps pose a data security and privacy nightmareCeci and his co-authors argue there's a dire need to assess privacy policies and practices in the repair industry, which generates $19 billion annually.They cite reports about past privacy violations – like claims that Best Buy's Geek Squad technicians served as informants for the FBI, as well as reports that Apple and Geek Squad technicians have been accused of stealing nude pictures found on devices brought in for repair."