WhatsApp will start sharing your data with Facebook
WhatsApp announced a major change that we suspected was coming today by adding terms that allow it to share user data with its parent company Facebook.
Back in January, code showed up suggesting a closer sharing of data between the two companies, and now it’s arrived whether you wanted it or not. Privacy advocates will clearly be concerned about the sharing of data between two of the worlds’ most popular social services, and the two largest messengers.
WhatsApp, on the other hand, says it needs to share data to test out new features in the next couple of months, like “ways for you to communicate with businesses that matter to you” and “hearing from your bank about a potentially fraudulent transaction, or getting notified by an airline about a delayed flight.”
It’s worth noting the details included in the agreement: your phone number, profile name and photo, online status and status message, last seen status, and receipts. That means read receipts and sent receipts, if the option is switched on. It doesn’t include the content of your messages.
If it all makes you a bit uneasy, try not to worry, it’s just the biggest social company in the world working out better ways to target its ads — and there is a way to opt out, but it could be easier.
Via: The New York Times
Source: WhatsApp
Google links Project Fi-approved WiFi hotspots to Nexus phones
The WiFi Assistant feature from Google’s Project Fi wireless network turned out to be one of Nicole’s favorite parts of the service, and now more people will have access to it. Google announced today that it’s bringing the ability to “automatically and securely connect” to over a million hotspots to Nexus owners in the US, Canada, Mexico and Nordic countries. WiFi Assistant identifies open, unprotected hotspots with good connections, and if you don’t want your network on the list then you may want to take a look at these instructions (or, just make sure it has any password protection at all).
Since it’s operating on open wireless networks by nature, WiFi Assistant uses a Google VPN to try and secure the connection. Ideally, it just makes sure you have an internet connection that you can trust, wherever you are, without the need to do anything manually. The FAQ should do a lot to explain exactly how the feature works and give you some time to get used to it as the feature rolls out “over the next few weeks.”
Source: Nexus (Google+), WiFi Assistant FAQ
Italian earthquake victims asked to disable WiFi passwords
Early Wednesday a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck central Italy, killing at least 120 people and trapping countless others under debris. To help ease communications for search and recovery, multiple disaster relief institutions are urging locals to temporarily remove their WiFi passwords.
In the aftermath of such a national disaster, people are anxious to contact their loved ones and friends to make sure they’re fine. But, with so many trying to get through, phone lines are often clogged and those in need of immediate aid struggle to reach people for help. Passwordless WiFi connections allow organizations, like the Lazio Region and Italian Red Cross, to quickly facilitate mobile communication by contacting people through WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Skype.
The downside to having an open WiFi is that you can potentially expose your personal data to third parties, so it’s best to avoid going through your online bank accounts while the passwords are removed. But, by taking this temporary security risk, locals will help save countless innocent lives.
Source: Red Cross
Honor’s latest dual-camera smartphone comes to Europe
After Asia, Europe is typically the next destination for new devices from Huawei’s Honor brand. Though the new Honor 8 was recently announced for the US market (read our full hands-on here), the smartphone is actually launching first in Europe, where it’s available today for €399, or £370 if you hail from the UK. The handset may look significantly different to Huawei’s flagship P9, but there are more than a few similarities on the spec sheet. A 5.2-inch, 1080p display, for example, as well as a dual 12-megapixel camera arrangement (one RGB sensor, one monochrome) and 8MP front-facer.
The dual camera setup might not be endorsed by Leica this time around, but it affords many of the same features. These include being able to play around with focal point and background blur in post-processing, as well as take native black and white shots. Like the P9, the Honor 8 also runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Huawei’s Emotion UI on top, and hosts a fingerprint sensor on its back.
The Honor 8 is another play for those who have high expectations and mid-range budgets. Clad primarily in glass with an aluminum rim holding everything together, it features a Huawei-made, octa-core Kirin 950 chip (four 2.3GHz cores plus four 1.8GHz cores), paired with 4GB of RAM and 32 gigs of expandable storage (microSD cards of up to 128GB supported). The 3,000mAh battery supports fast-charging through the Honor 8’s USB-C port, too, reportedly taking you from 0 to 50 percent in half an hour.
Available in blue, black and white, the handset can now be purchased through Honor’s vMall online store. In the UK specifically, it’ll also land at Amazon and other retailers including Clove, Ebuyer and Expansys in due course. Exclusive UK carrier partner Three will also begin offering the Honor 8 on contracts in the coming weeks.
Source: Honor
New York’s Bryant Park is tracking visitor behavior
Like any other potential advertising space, New York City’s Bryant Park needs information about its visitors in order to attract potential sponsors. To gather that information, the private Bryant Park Corporation, which runs the city-owned park, has announced a new partnership with data analytics firm PlaceIQ allowing the BPC to glean anonymized data from visitors’ mobile phones that can be used to create a generalized picture of the parkgoers and their movement or buying habits.
While visitor numbers are a useful metric for planning park events and estimating foot traffic, PlaceIQ’s platform tracks more than just the size of the crowds. According to PlaceIQ’s handy Bryant Park infographic, the company has already determined that only 19 percent of visitors live in Manhattan, but the average visitor is 50 percent more likely to visit Macy’s and twice as likely to shop at PetSmart or do their banking with Bank of America. Which is all useful data the Bryant Park Corporation can leverage while courting potential sponsors for events like film nights in the park (sponsored by HBO), morning yoga on the lawn (sponsored by Athleta) or the seasonal “Winter Village” (sponsored by Bank of America).
As AdAge reports, PlaceIQ and several other similar companies gather their information from mobile app location data (which most users allow access to when they download free mobile apps) or from geo-targeted mobile ads. Although the data is anonymized and not tied a specific user’s phone, it still creates a surprisingly complete picture of the visitors to the park.
While the prospect might seem alarming to privacy advocates, it seems location tracking is an inevitable part of the future of public green spaces. In 2015, London came under fire after a Guardian report revealed the city’s massive 350-acre Hyde Park spent 12 months collecting similarly aggregated and anonymized data. In both cases, the administrative bodies have claimed the information will give them better insights into who uses the parks, allowing them to better manage the sites.
“A lot of those [advertiser] brands really help us keep the park active,” Bryant Park Corporation brand manager Matt Castellan told AdAge. “An active space is a safe space.”
Via: Ad Age
Source: PR News Wire
The bottom line: Our quick verdict on the BlackBerry DTEK50
With a review headline that reads “cheap, secure and better than expected,” you might expect the device in question to have earned a high score. As it turns out, this is a BlackBerry we’re talking about, which is to say, “better than expected” doesn’t necessary mean you should actually buy one. The good news is that the new DTEK50 offers solid build quality at a reasonable price: just $299. For the money, you also get improved security over typical mid-range Android phones — a potential selling point for prospective business customers. While this is indeed a decent choice for IT departments, individual users can get more for their money at a similar or slightly higher price (read: faster performance, longer battery life and superior image quality). Basically, then, while the DTEK50 surpassed our admittedly modest expectations, you can still do better.
Moto Z’s Hasselblad camera add-on surfaces in fresh photos
When Motorola and Lenovo unveiled the Moto Z, they unveiled a host of MotoMods… except for one. Where was that camera add-on we’d seen in leaks? Apparently, it’s still coming — and it might be more than you were expecting. Moto G3 has come across community photos showing that the camera module is not only Hasselblad-branded as anticipated, but packs a 10X optical zoom lens. There aren’t any clues as to the sensor, alas, but we suspect that this is more likely to be a point-and-shoot quality (maybe mirrorless) sensor given the size, rather than Hasselblad’s signature medium format. You’ll be taking better photos than you would with the stock camera, then, but we wouldn’t count on magazine-quality Instagram shots.
If leaks are accurate, you won’t have to wait long for more details. The Hasselblad MotoMod may be announced at Germany’s IFA show, which officially starts on September 2nd. There aren’t any clues as to the price, but we can’t imagine that Hasselblad camera hardware will come cheap. We’d expect something in the ballpark of a previous photography add-on like Sony’s QX10, which cost about $230 when new.
Via: TechnoBuffalo, PetaPixel
Source: Moto G3
Microsoft’s Word Flow keyboard gets a Bing search upgrade
Microsoft’s Word Flow keyboard for iPhone just got a significant upgrade this week, adding a search engine for emoji, GIFs, and more from Bing.
The new search feature will copy GIFs to your clipboard so you can paste them into messages and can even choose GIFs from what you type for contextual searches. If you type something like “yaaaas!” or something inane like that, you can search for matching GIFs of that nature.
Microsoft is planning on adding in additional themes, support for iOS text replacement and cursor placement using 3D Touch.
The new built-in search is obviously meant to compete with Google, after Google previously released the Gboard keyboard for iPhone with built-in search.
There are several different keyboards available for iPhone to choose from, but now that giants like Microsoft and Google have made their own options available, the vanilla iPhone keyboard seems like an afterthought, especially considering Microsoft previously acquired SwiftKey.
It’ll all come down to personal preference, but Microsoft just shot ahead to Google’s level with its addition of these new features.
Via: The Verge
Google Drive for Android now creates file and folder shortcuts
Google’s latest Drive update makes it easy to access your favorite files on Android. It adds the ability to add file and folder shortcuts to your homescreen, so you don’t need to launch the app every time there’s something in there you want to open. You can do that by going to your device’s Shortcuts menu and choosing Drive shortcuts, which could be next to the Drive scan and toolbar options. That might sound minor, but it could help you become more productive if you use the app as your primary cloud storage.
Besides the ability to add shortcuts, the latest version also adds an “Upgrade storage” option in its menu drawer. It shows your current plan and makes it a cinch to upgrade if you need more space. While the update comes a couple of small but useful features, it also serves as the bearer of bad news if you’re stuck on Android Ice Cream Sandwich. This is the last ICS-supported update, which means you won’t be getting any more new features after these.
Via: 9to5google
Source: Google Drive
Amazon now offers unlimited cloud storage for £55 per year
One of the benefits of being an Amazon Prime member is unlimited cloud storage for photos, as well as 5GB of space for other file types. If you own any of the retailer’s Fire devices, too, you get unlimited storage for photos taken with that product, as well as 5 gigs for whatever else. Amazon’s latest offer is altogether more simple: For £55 per year, you can get unlimited cloud storage, full stop.
Amazon Drive’s unlimited plan first launched in the US last year, not long before iOS and Android apps arrived to make the service a serious competitor to the likes of Dropbox, Google Drive, Box and others. It’s also accessible through browsers and dedicated Mac/PC programs. There’s no Prime favouritism here — anyone with an Amazon account can sign up for the £55 yearly unlimited plan, and most will be able take advantage of a three-month free trial to get themselves settled in.
Source: Amazon
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