DoNotPay launches tools to lock security down, sue after hacks

Joshua
Browder
Joshua
Browder

• Automated legal tool DoNotPay is trying to help people
  lock down their online privacy settings and sue companies that
  get hacked.
• Created by 21-year-old entrepreneur Joshua Browder,
  DoNotPay started out by helping users challenge parking
  tickets.
• It has since expanded into more than a thousand new
  areas, from getting flight discounts to assisting with landlord
  disputes.

First Joshua Browder went after parking tickets, building a bot
that helped hundreds of thousands of users challenge their fines.

Then, the 21-year-old student broadened his focus, expanding into
everything from landlord disputes to chasing compensation for
lost luggage on flights.

In 2018, Browder  took aim at Equifax after a data breach
exposed the personal data the firm held on tens of millions of
Americans, and his app DoNotPay was used to help file 25,000
lawsuits against the company.

The British entrepreneur is now expanding into privacy and data
security. On Wednesday, he announced that DoNotPay will now help
users easily lock the privacy settings on their social media
accounts — and help sue those companies that expose users’ data
through hacks and breaches.

“My data was hacked and sold by Cambridge Analytica,” he told
Business Insider in an email, referring to this year’s Facebook
security scandal. “At the time, it seemed like data breaches were
uncommon. However, in the past year, it has become the most
requested feature to add to DoNotPay.

“The mistakes companies like Equifax are making, such as not
encrypting data, are mistakes a high school Computer Science
student would avoid. I want to punish these companies for their
incompetence and protect people from having their data sold.”

So how does DoNotPay work?

DoNotPay is a tool that provides automated, free legal
assistance. The user writes in what they need help with, and
they’re then asked relevant questions before being given
appropriate documentation or guidance on how to tackle their
problem — from flight refunds to maternity leave requests —
sidestepping the need for traditional (and costly) legal
guidance.

There’s two strands to Wednesday’s update. The first is focused
on privacy, and helps users lock down their accounts from prying
eyes. It automatically makes a series of what Browder calls “no
brainer” changes to users’ settings on Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter — like disabling personalized Twitter ads, deleting your
call and text history from Facebook, and stopping other accounts
seeing when you’re online on Instagram.

Google will also be added soon “in light of the recent issues,”
Browder said, referring to
this week’s disclosure of a security lapse in the Google+ social
network.

The second part is all about hitting back at services that have
been hacked, exposing users’ data. Using HaveIBeenPwned, a
service that lets users know if apps and platforms they use have
been hacked, DoNotPay will tell users if they’ve been compromised
— then help the affected user sue the company in question, if
they desire.

“By providing these services, anyone who can follow simple
instructions can now get justice and protect their data,” Browder
said. “It seems like the only people who are benefitting from
data breaches are a handful of lawyers. I hope to replace them
all and bankrupt any company that is careless with user
data.”

Originally from the UK, Browder was a student at Stanford
University in California and now works full-time on DoNotPay. His
startup has
raised $1.1 million in funding from venture
capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz.

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1
(650) 636-6268 using a non-work phone, email at
[email protected], WeChat at robaeprice,
or 
Twitter DM
at @robaeprice. (PR pitches by
email only, please.) Y
ou can
also contact
Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Now read: