WhatsApp sues NSO Group after investigating an attack from last year that sent malware to 1,400 devices and targeted 100+ human rights defenders and journalists
Will Cathcart is head of WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook. — In May, WhatsApp announced that we had detected and blocked …
Facebook outlines actions taken against “inauthentic behavior” originating in Russia and targeting African countries, including Sudan, Libya, and Madagascar
Facebook said it removed three Russian-backed influence networks aimed at African countries.
HBO Max to launch in May and cost $15 a month, same as the existing HBO; AT&T plans to bundle free subscriptions for some customers of its other services
HBOMax, WarnerMedia's new streaming service, will feature all of HBO's shows, like Game of Thrones, plus new programing. HBO
Report: Apple will use Qualcomm's X55 5G modem in all three 2020 iPhones
Apple's 2020 iPhones will all use Qualcomm's newest and fastest 5G-capable modem chip, claims a new report out of Asia today. — Apple is expected to launch three iPhones next year in 5.4-inch, 6.1-i...
Facebook agrees to pay a £500K fine to the UK for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal but makes no admission of liability
Facebook has agreed to pay a £500,000 fine imposed by the UK's data protection watchdog for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Spotify launches a dedicated Spotify Kids app available in a beta test period in Ireland for its Spotify Premium Family plan subscribers
Spotify is trying to sell more multi-account family-plan subscriptions — by setting up a special “playground of sound” just for kids.
Student subscribers to Apple Music, which costs $4.99 per month, will get Apple TV+ at no extra charge
In a surprise announcement, Apple has announced its first bundle deal for Apple TV+. For subscribers to Apple Music on the student plan, $4.99 per month, Apple will giveaway Apple TV+ at no additiona...
Sony says it will shut down its PlayStation Vue live TV subscription service on January 30
After much reports about trying to find a buyer, it seems that PlayStation Vue has decided to shut down the service instead. The service, which launched in 2015, was one of the first Live TV Streamin...
CoinList, which helps startups raise money through token sales, raises $10M led by Polychain Capital with participation from Jack Dorsey
The company raised $10 million in a new funding round, with the Twitter CEO investing for the first time — Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Jack Dorsey …
Xiaomi's first high end smartwatch looks a lot like the Apple Watch, with a button and twisting control knob on the right side
Xiaomi's November 5 event is shaping up to be a pretty big one. — On Monday we wrote about the company's upcoming 108-megapixel phone, but now the company …
Sony says Q2 operating profit jumped 16% to $2.56B, as the PlayStation 4 has sold 102.8M units in total, surpassing the original PlayStation
Sony's PlayStation 4 has become the second best-selling console of all time, surpassing the original PlayStation, which sold 102.5 million units.
Uber refuses to provide LA with real-time location data on its scooters, sues the city, requests restraining order in case LA decides to suspend Uber's license
The ride-hailing company doesn't want to share everything with the city's government. — Los Angeles wants a peek …
Facebook says it won't remove Pages promoting Daily Wire content because they're “run by real people”, but at least two are owned by Daily Wire's parent company
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Tweets: @juddlegum , @slpng_giants , @juddlegum , @mathew...
School apps track students from the classroom to the bathroom, collect data about intelligence, disciplinary issues, and personalities, raising privacy concerns
A digital hall-pass app that tracks bathroom trips is the latest school software to raise privacy concerns Tweets: @heatherkelly , @heatherkelly , @heatherkelly , and @il_fps Tweets: Heather Kelly / @...
Duality, which uses homomorphic encryption to provide privacy-preserving data analysis tools, raises $16M led by Intel Capital
The ubiquity of APIs and cloud solutions have opened up a world of interesting ways for businesses to create a service without having to build every part of it themselves.
The current state of Apple's developer documentation, in which many parts of the ecosystem are entirely undocumented, is shocking
If you want developers to love your platform, then you need to take this seriously. If it isn't documented, it isn't done. Tweets: @chiefsucker , @grady_booch , @damienpetrilli , @upfrontezine , @mig...
Slack rival Quill, which promises more focused team messaging, raised $2M seed led by Sam Altman and $12.5M Series A led by Index Ventures partner Sarah Cannon
Slack created a new solution for workplace communication, one copied by many, even Microsoft.
MX Player, a streaming and offline video app popular in India, raises ~$111M Series A led by Tencent; source: MX Player has a post-money valuation of $500M
MX Player, a popular video app that offers both local playback and streaming services, said on Wednesday that it has raised $110.8 million …
A profile of the defunct cybersecurity company Tiversa, whose CEO is facing federal charges for falsifying evidence about data breaches to extort clients
Tiversa dominated an emerging online market—before it was accused of fraud, extortion, and manipulating the federal government. — I. THE FOOTBALL Tweets: @htemmal , @raffiwriter , @newyorker , and @...
LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen review: awesome for multitasking and has good battery life, but its software is half-baked and it's unremarkable as a regular phone
Are two flat screens better than one foldable? — The G8X is both the most boring phone LG has ever released and one of its most experimental at the same time.
Activist registers as a candidate in California's 2022 gubernatorial election merely to run false Facebook ads, in a challenge to its controversial policy
someone WOULD register as a politician to run ads with misinformation. Zuckerberg said there was intent behind the policy, and FB would “evolve” if necessary. Now it's happened, and Facebook is evolvi...
Apple releases watchOS 6.1 with support for AirPods Pro, and Watch Series 1 and Series 2, which were excluded from initial release of watchOS 6
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac :
Indian e-commerce startup ElasticRun, which runs a logistics network using hundreds of thousands of small stores, raises $40M Series C led by Prosus Ventures
A score of e-commerce companies, offline retail chains, and fintech startups are now racing to work with these mom and pop stores …
Faire, a wholesale marketplace for independent local retailers and makers, raises $150M Series D, co-led by Lightspeed and Founders Fund, at a $1B valuation
Another day, another unicorn. — Faire, which operates a wholesale marketplace for independent local retailers and makers …
Common Sense Media: screen time for Americans aged 8 to 12 has remained flat since 2015, but time spent watching videos has doubled to an hour per day
Rachel Siegel / Washington Post :
After CA passed AB5, a driver group launches a ballot measure to keep gig workers classified as contractors; Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash pledged $90M to defeat AB5
Megan Rose Dickey / TechCrunch :
EA partners with Valve to bring its EA Access subscription service to Steam next spring and launch games on Steam starting with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Brendan Sinclair / GamesIndustry.biz :
Apple releases macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update with new emoji, Siri privacy settings, and support for AirPods Pro and more HomeKit devices
vs. AirPods 2, PowerBeats Pro Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac : AirPods Pro replacement and repair costs rise to $89 per earbud, same for case Killian Bell / Cult of Mac : Fans line up for AirPods Pro at App...
Kenya-based Twiga Foods, an online B2B marketplace for agricultural and packaged foods, raises $30M Series B led by Goldman Sachs, 11 months after a $10M raise
Jake Bright / TechCrunch :
Home fitness startup Mirror, which makes a $1,500 interactive workout mirror, raises $34M led by Point72, with participation from Lululemon and Karlie Kloss
Mary Hanbury / Business Insider :
Twistle, which provides a platform to automate healthcare provider and patient communication, raises $16M Series A led by Health Enterprise Partners
James Thorne / GeekWire :
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sues Google for allegedly misleading customers over location data settings and collection on Android devices
it is the 1930s or the 1900s. It is Standard Oil or JPMorgan.” https://www.ft.com/...
A look at Sen. Josh Hawley's war against Big Tech, which could portend the GOP's future approach to Silicon Valley as he draws bipartisan support on some issues
Emily Stewart / Vox : Tweets: @voxdotcom , @sivavaid , @recode , @recode , @freedaaron , and @voxdotcom Tweets: @voxdotcom : Facebook's biggest problem in Washington might not be Elizabeth Warren: It...
Analysis: Nintendo's new Mario Kart Tour game had 123.9M downloads in its launch month across iOS and Android, the second best ever behind Pokemon GO's 163M
Katie Williams / Sensor Tower Blog :
AMD reports Q3 revenues of $1.8B, up 9% YoY and net income of $120M, compared to $102M a year ago, meeting analyst expectations
Revenue was $1.80 billion, up 9 percent year … Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE : Chipmaker AMD posts highest quarterly revenue since 2005 Shaun Nichols / The Register : AMD isn't playing around: Bad cons...
Lyft unveils Lyft Pink, a membership plan for $19.99 per month with a 15% discount on all car rides, ditches earlier $299-per-month All-Access Plan
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge :
Samsung says SmartThings has over 45M monthly active users and works with more than 5,000 devices, as it announces new developer and partner programs
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Razer announces $100 Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds, which it claims can offer low audio latency of 60ms on iOS and Android when enabled via its app
Cameron Faulkner / The Verge :
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Zoho CRM Plus in 2025: A year of thoughtful CX improvements
2025 marked 11 years of building a customer experience platform designed to support organizations as customer expectations, channels …
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data
Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.