Google bans another Chinese app developer for bad ad practices
Google bans another Chinese app developer for bad ad practices3CooTek’s invasive ads rendered phones ‘nearly unusable’By Sam Byford@345triangle Jul 16, 2019, 9:53pm EDTShare this storySHAREIllustration by Alex Castro / The VergeGoogle is banning a Chinese developer from the Play store for violating its advertising policies. CooTek, which is listed on the NYSE and is probably best known in the West for its TouchPal keyboard replacement, no longer has access to Google’s ad platforms and has had dozens of apps removed altogether.The news was reported by BuzzFeed following an investigation from Lookout that showed hundreds of CooTek apps using an invasive adware plugin called BeiTaAd. This plugin reportedly sent aggressive ads to users even when the phone or the app wasn’t in use, which Lookout researcher Kristina Balaam said could “render the phones nearly unusable.”CooTek said it would remove BeiTaAd, but BuzzFeed and Lookout subsequently discovered that many of the updated apps — which Google accepted into the Play Store — contained separate code that enabled the same ads.“There was not any re-engagement on the ad activity pointed out by Lookout on any of the versions which we updated,” CooTek spokesperson Mina Luo told BuzzFeed. “The findings claimed by Lookout this time are lack of evidence [sic] and the logic is not convincing.”Google, however, was convinced. “Our Google Play developer policies strictly prohibit malicious and deceptive behavior, as well as disruptive ads,” a Google spokesperson said to BuzzFeed. “When violations are found, we take action.”This isn’t the first time Google has had to take action against Chinese developers for abusing Play store app policies. Do Global was banned in April for similar violations, while the company also took action against Cheetah Mobile and Kika Tech last year.
Sahil Vyas
How to make digital copies of your VHS tapes
How to make digital copies of your VHS tapesYou’ll need a VCR, a USB converter, and a computerBy Cameron Faulkner@camfaulkner Jul 21, 2019, 11:00am EDTShare this storySHAREPhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeUpdated 3:20PM ET, July 21st: Clarified a point below as to not mislead people into accidentally recording over their home movies.There are countless ways to remind your family members that you love them. Preserving your home movies, entombed in rapidly-decaying VHS tapes, by converting them into digital files is a thoughtful (and often tear-jerking) way to do that. It’s one of those gifts that’s appropriate at any time in the year, whether you’re celebrating Father’s or Mother’s Day, a birthday, or any other occasion.If you want to digitize your home movies, you have a few options to choose from. If you don’t have time to do it yourself, or if you need a specialist who can handle brittle, decades-old reel-to-reel tapes, the easiest way is to send your precious tapes to a service that can do it for you. This isn’t the most cost-effective method, though.If you do have the time, converting home movies can be a simple, fairly inexpensive process. But you will need a few things to do it.WHAT YOU NEED TO DIGITALLY CONVERT HOME MOVIESOnce you dig out your home movies from wherever it is that they’ve been hiding, you’ll need a few tools to get things kicked off:A VCRYou will probably get decent results with just about any VCR. It needs to have video and audio composite jacks, which most models have, but make sure you know that it works before sticking in a valuable VHS tape. For the purposes of this guide, I used a small TV and VCR combo that The Verge had in the office.It’s worth noting that you don’t actually need a TV for the digitizing process; the USB digitizer will display the tape’s contents on your computer’s screen with or without a TV.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeA USB-to-composite video converterThere are countless video-converting devices for sale online, starting as low as around $29. For this guide, I used Elgato’s Video Capture, which costs around $80, not the cheapest option. I chose it because I’ve enjoyed using the company’s game capture hardware in the past, and this model has good reviews on Amazon from people who praise its easy setup, good build quality, and solid software.A computer with an available USB portKeep in mind that each digitizer has its own requirements. To use Elgato’s converter and its companion application, you’ll need a device running at least Mac OS X 10.6.8 or Windows 7. (Since you most likely own something more modern, don’t sweat it.)Several hours to spare (fewer depending on how many tapes you want to convert)PREPARE TO DIGITIZE YOUR VHS TAPESOnce you have all of those things, it’s time to start getting things connected. The first step is to make sure that you download and install the converter’s software to your computer.After that, connect your computer to your VCR using the USB video converter. Most consumer USB-based digitizers have a similar selection of plugs on one end to use with the VCR; a set of composite (red, white, yellow) cables and S-Video. If your VCR has an S-Video port, it’s a good idea to opt for that instead of the yellow composite jack for better video quality in the conversion process.Elgato’s software was simple to use. Its interface walked me through naming the file, and ensuring that the video and audio feeds were coming through correctly before I started the converting process.START THE PROCESSUp until this point, the instructions have been specific to Elgato’s converter. The rest of the process should be the same no matter what converter you use.Rewind the VHS tape to where you’d like to start the conversion, press play on your VCR, then hit record on your computer. The conversion process runs in real-time, so you can leave and do something else while you wait for the tape to reach its end. Personally, I’d recommend watching it to make sure that the tracking and audio don’t mess up during converting. If you don’t remember what tracking is, or weren’t alive during the VHS heyday, some VCRs allow you to adjust the tracking (in other words, the calibration) of a tape during playback to fix a wobbly, unclear picture.You can, and probably should, trim your video file once it converts.It might be tempting, once the conversion is finished, to leave the file as it is. But it might be better to do a bit of trimming. (For example, giving someone a tape of their actual birth could be, well, uncomfortable.) Elgato’s converter software lets you trim the video to your liking. When you’re finished, it automatically exports an .MP4 video file to your movie folder. It also allows you to upload it directly to YouTube, or export it to the QuickTime Player or iTunes.After that, you’re all done. You have the peace of mind knowing that your family videos are now safely stored on your computer. It’s worth noting that you should make a backup of these converted files — either to an external drive or to a cloud service —so that they don’t get deleted by accident, or disappear in an unfortunate hard drive crash.
Wear OS performance seems to get better when you turn off auto-brightness
Wear OS performance seems to get better when you turn off auto-brightnessBen Schoon- Jul. 11th 2019 12:39 pm PT@NexusBenHere’s a strange one. If you turn off auto-brightness on a Wear OS smartwatch, the overall performance of the system seems to improve, in some cases quite dramatically.The cause of this is unclear, but dozens of Wear OS users have noted on Reddit over the past couple of days that, regardless of hardware, performance sees to be a bit snappier when auto-brightness is turned off on Wear OS. Hardware mentioned in the main thread of r/WearOS includes the TicWatch Pro, Fossil 4th Gen watches, ASUS ZenWatch 3, Moto 360 v2, Fossil Sport, and others.Personally, I gave this a shot on my Fossil Sport, and it does seem to reduce lag and dropped frames, but only to a small extent. The difference is nowhere near as significant as what I’ve seen using the TicWatch Pro 4G with its extra RAM, but everything does feel just a little bit smoother when the feature is disabled.However, there’s no clear reason for why this is happening. It could be that having one less thing to do is freeing up valuable resources for the CPU, or it could be a software bug in Wear OS itself that’s caused by having auto-brightness toggled on.How to turn off auto-brightness on Wear OSTo some extent, this feels similar to the Digital Wellbeing placebo that Pixel owners noticed a couple of months ago. Google later confirmed that turning off that feature did nothing for performance. Google told Android Police that it was investigating the matter, so until they give us that answer, there’s no proof that this is actually happening.This new Qualcomm chip can’t come soon enough.
Parrot confirms NOT exiting consumer drones. Focus on next-generation ANAFI platform
Parrot confirms NOT exiting consumer drones. Focus on next-generation ANAFI platformHaye Kesteloo- Jul. 20th 2019 4:21 pm ETFEATUREFrench drone maker, Parrot reached out to DroneDJ to stress that they are NOT exiting the consumer drone business. Their message comes in reaction to our story from yesterday.Parrot is, however, retiring their older product lines including mini drones in favor of the next-generation ANAFI platform. See below for all the details.Parrot NOT exiting consumer dronesParrot is not exiting the consumer drone business. Please correct your story as soon as possible.Older product lines including mini drones, have been retired in favor of the next-generation ANAFI platform. Our focus on future production and development of consumer products with the ANAFI platform has been well documented through our recent financial/strategic communications.Parrot’s flagship ANAFI is the newest and most advanced drone platform from Parrot and represents the future for the company. Introduced to the market just one year ago, ANAFI continues to be a platform for Parrot’s newest drones with new features and software updates introduced regularly. The ANAFI lineup incorporates multiple configurations for both consumers as well as professionals. Parrot also offers other specialty hardware, software and services in its growing ecosystem for the commercial drone space, with innovative solutions for agriculture; 3D mapping, surveying and inspection; and defense and security.See below for some of the new improvements to the popular Parrot ANAFI drone since its introduction.New photo and video features have been introduced over the last year. For example, like the best cameras, the FreeFlight 6 application displays the histogram and zebras to adjust the exposure of a shot. You can then access advanced contrast, style and sharpness settings. Also, each shot can be directly recorded in JPEG rectangle or DNG wide format to benefit from raw files, without deformation and to be able to rework them as you wish.ANAFI has also added new visual effects such as Panorama 360 °, Little Planet and Tunnel. With one click, the drone performs a fully automated shot. The FreeFlight 6 application provides automatic processing and assembly of files for an impressive rendering.Follow Me mode has been optimized to be more precise and powerful. In addition to tracking a pilot or a target subject at a predefined distance, it is now possible to modify the framing and the movements of the drone during the follow-up. The drone can then move around the moving subject, taking a shot from a new angle.To guarantee perfect flight safety and assist users during the landing phase, ANAFI is equipped with a new ultra-precise Smart Return Home function. During take-off, ANAFI records its GPS coordinates with one of its sensors, positioned under the fuselage, and takes a snapshot of the area. Once the Return to Home mode is activated, ANAFI uses the GPS data recorded and the image captured during take-off in order to position itself accurately on the area and finalize the landing procedure.To simplify the viewing of videos captured by the ANAFI 4K HDR camera, it is possible to access files directly from the FreeFlight application – all the files recorded on the SD card of the drone without need to download on a smartphone or computer.
Android Q Developer Preview 3 now available for OnePlus 6, 6T, 7, and 7 Pro
Android Q Developer Preview 3 now available for OnePlus 6, 6T, 7, and 7 ProDamien Wilde- Jul. 19th 2019 5:10 am PT@iamdamienwildeWe often praise the update schedule that OnePlus keeps for their devices, and that continues with the release of the third Android Q beta for the OnePlus 6, 6T, 7, and 7 Pro.Announced for the OnePlus 6/6T and 7/7 Pro via the official OnePlus forums, the developer preview offers a glimpse of what we can expect from OxygenOS when added to Android Q. Having spent some time with the previous developer preview two, I will say that the experience is very stripped back compared to what we normally expect from OxygenOS on OnePlus phones.The update will have plenty of bugs, so in all honesty, it isn’t recommended unless you simply must have Android Q beta on your OnePlus phone. After installing on my OnePlus 6T, I personally had my device brick itself when I let the battery reach 0% on the previous beta. That left me no choice but to restore and head back to Android Pie. So there are risks even if you don’t realize it.That said, the update does bring some new features including Game Space, further customization settings, enhanced ambient display features, and an improved screen recorder. If you want to try out some of the upcoming features, this is arguably the best way to do that.If you are running the previous beta, then you will need to wipe before installing developer preview 3. Beyond that, you will need at least 30% battery and at least 3 GB of storage free to flash the update.We’re not sure which version of the official Android Q beta phase OnePlus has adapted for this latest developer preview. They have explicitly stated that this build “is still in an early stage of development.”Even so, considering we will see the first stable release of Android Q reasonably soon, we expect OnePlus to get their build of Q out of the door not too long afterwards if these beta builds are anything to go by.If you want to download the Q developer preview on your OnePlus 6/6T or OnePlus 7/7 Pro, then head to the links below:OnePlus 6/6T – Android Q Developer Preview 3OnePlus 7/7 Pro – Android Q Developer Preview 3
Tesla Model 3 is the best road trip car: 10 hours of driving on Autopilot and 0 hours waiting for charging
Tesla Model 3 is the best road trip car: 10 hours of driving on Autopilot and 0 hours waiting for chargingFred Lambert- Jul. 9th 2019 1:44 pm ET@FredericLambertFEATURELast weekend, I set out on my longest Tesla road trip yet, and I came to the conclusion that Model 3 is the best road trip vehicle out there for several reasons — but the main ones are Supercharging and Autopilot.Like many people often do in Los Angeles during the fourth of July weekend, my girlfriend and I decided to go to Las Vegas.There are a lot of cheap flights between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but I thought it would be fun to drive through the desert in a Tesla vehicle. With the recent Supercharger upgrade enabling up to 150 kW of charging on V2 Supercharger stations, I figured it would be a great opportunity to experience the impact of the upgraded charging capacity on a long-distance trip.I rented a Model 3 Long-Range RWD on Turo. It was my first experience with Turo, and I was pleasantly surprised by how seamless and easy it was from start to finish.We rented the car from a Tesla owner named James who has two Model 3s, and he lists them both on Turo, which helps pay for the monthly payments, and he can drive one of them when it’s not being rented out.We picked up one of James’s Model 3s in Santa Monica at 10 a.m. on Friday and left for Vegas.Now, to be fair, the Los Angeles to Las Vegas route is one of the best-covered routes by Tesla’s Supercharger network, with six stations along the way.The Model 3 Long-Range RWD has an EPA-rated range of 310 miles, but it wasn’t fully charged when we picked it up.It had about 235 miles of range, but it was plenty for us, even though it’s almost a 300-mile trip:We planned to drive to Tesla’s Supercharger station in Baker and stop to charge and eat before continuing on to Las Vegas.However, it turned out that we needed to stop to use the restroom at around Barstow, and that ended up being perfect to optimize our charging time.We stopped at the Yermo Supercharger station just outside of Bartow, and we plugged in for about 15 minutes while we went inside to use the restroom and buy some iced tea.The Model 3 quickly hit a 143 kW charge rate:By the time we returned to the car, it had already added over 100 miles of range, which would have been enough to get to Las Vegas, but we planned to stop in Baker anyway to get something to eat.But we had to stop in Baker regardless, because we ended up hitting an exploded tire at 65 mph just before the exit.I was driving on Autopilot in the right lane in full traffic when I saw a vehicle two cars ahead do a weird move.Before I fully realized what was happening, the car ahead of us ran over a large truck tire that exploded, and with all the traffic around us, I didn’t feel like I could safely avoid it as the car ahead did.We ran over it. The hit was pretty strong on the front end, and we felt the Model 3 lift when the tire went under us.Due to the strong impact, I feared that the damage to the bumper would be bad, but we pulled over and it only had a few scratches on the front lip:Those are pretty deep scratches, but I honestly thought it would be a lot worse than this.When the tire went under the car, it also banged on the underbody panels and made a few plastic screws fall out, resulting in the panels hanging low:We were able to push the main underbody panel back in place underneath the front lip without too much issue.As for the felt-like panel behind the main panel, it wasn’t as big of a deal as the main one for safety and efficiency, but we still managed to fix it up with tape (by “we,” I mean mostly my girlfriend, who is small enough to get under the car — thanks Frances!) in order to help with the airflow underneath the Model 3.The tape fell off a few times under the heat and driving, but it didn’t affect the driving experience much.Overall, I was impressed by how the Model 3 fared in the accident. I expected much worse damage when I got out of the car.As for the charging, Tesla’s Baker Supercharger is great. It’s one of the largest, and it is covered by solar panels, which is a great source of power and shade in the 100F desert heat.We ended up charging for about a half hour while eating and fixing the car’s underbody, and the battery pack was 90% full, which is overkill for the less than 100 miles left to get to Las Vegas.On the last leg of the trip, we got a good reminder that despite media headlines, not only electric cars catch on fire:Also, you get to see a lot of renewable energy when driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.Several solar farms are visible from the highway, including a beautiful molten salt thermal solar power plant, the largest in the world:We made it to Las Vegas. We were staying at the Bellagio where they have several charging stations, including a Tesla destination charging station.It guaranteed that we would have 100% charge when leaving, which we did on Sunday… at the same time as tens of thousands of other people, which created an incredible amount of traffic.We could have easily made it back to Los Angeles without charging, but we had to stop anyway because the traffic increased the drive time to six hours.Instead of sitting in traffic all day, we decided to take a longer, more scenic route that resulted in a similar drive time:On the way back, we ended up stopping at Tesla’s Barstow Supercharger station.With the amount of traffic, I was expecting the Supercharger to be busy, and that we might even have to wait to get a spot.It was full when we arrived, but a few people were starting to leave so we didn’t have to wait. However, we were sharing the 150 kW power with another Model 3 since the station was full.The Model 3 system showed 40 minutes for a 90% charge, but after three and a half hours of driving, we needed to stop to eat anyway.We were in and out of Chili’s in about 30 minutes, and by the time we made it back to the car, several Tesla owners had left the station, including the person we were sharing a Supercharger with, which resulted in our Model 3 already being charged to 90%, so we left right away.Another three hours later, we were back to Los Angeles with over 100 miles left.Overall, we drove on Autopilot for about 10 hours with fewer than a dozen driver interventions, and we waited for charging for a total of zero minutes.Electrek’s TakeThis was an awesome and eventful trip.
This week’s top stories: iOS 13 changes, iPhone 11 dummy units, new emoji, and moreChance Miller
This week’s top stories: iOS 13 changes, iPhone 11 dummy units, new emoji, and moreChance Miller- Jul. 21st 2019 6:11 am PT@ChanceHMiller1 Comment FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedInRedditIn this week’s top stories: iPhone 11 dummy units, iOS 13 developer beta 4 and public beta 3, MacBook Air SSD speeds, and more. Read on for all of this week’s biggest stories.Apple last week gave the Retina MacBook Air an update, adding True Tone and dropping the price by $100. This week, new details have emerged suggesting that the new MacBook Air also has a slower SSD compared to the 2018 model. Testing shows that the2019 MacBook Air can attain read speeds of 1.3 GB/s read and 1 GB/s write performance. The equivalent 256 GB SSD 2018 MacBook Air could top 2 GB/s read and around 0.9 GB/s write speeds9to5Mac’s Jeff Benjamin went hands-on with iPhone 11 dummy units this week, offering our clearest look yet at the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max, and iPhone 11R. The video offered a close up look at the new camera bump, but some details still remain a mystery, such as the rumored “frosted glass” design. Watch the video here.Apple this week released the third public beta of iOS 13 as well as the fourth developer beta. These updates include tweaks to the Home screen design, interface changes to Photos and the Share Sheet, and more. Read our full roundup of all of the changes here.In celebration of World Emoji Day, Apple has teased all of the new emoji coming to iOS this year. There are 59 new emoji coming to iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch this fall, including new disability-themed options, a major update to the “Holding Hands” emoji, and more.These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.
Google Assistant tests sending texts directly from the Android lockscreen
Google Assistant tests sending texts directly from the Android lockscreenAbner Li- Jul. 21st 2019 9:04 pm PT@technacityAPPS & UPDATESWhile voice is an important interaction method, Google has to balance convenience and functionality with security. One current tradeoff is being unable to send a text with Assistant voice commands from Android’s lockscreen, though that may change.A server-side A/B test this week — which looks to coincide with the latest Google app beta (version 10.28) — sees Assistant’s “send a text” command work directly from the lockscreen. Specifying the recipient and message actually sends the text, with Google Assistant providing a visual and verbal confirmation.As seen in the first set of screen captures below, the icon at the top of the screen signifies that the device is still locked during the entire voice interaction.Google Assistant lockscreen textingThe existing behavior — even with “Lock screen personal results” enabled in Assistant phone settings — immediately throws up an “Unlock to continue…” response and prompts you to enter your passcode.As this is an A/B test, the functionality is not widely rolled out. On our Pixel 3 running Android 9 Pie, Google Assistant lockscreen texting is fully operational. However, that is not the case on another Pixel 3 running Android Q and a Pixel 2 XL we checked. One tip to us also revealed how the feature worked briefly before disappearing.It’s unclear whether this will widely roll out or is even intentional, but it would be a welcome capability that actually makes Google Assistant hands-free on phones. As Assistant is part of the Google app, lockscreen texting should not be specific to the Pixel and work on other Android devices.
Galaxy Note 10: Everything we know about Samsung’s new superphone
Ahead of the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, we have quite a bit of information and plenty of rumors to delve into.Always the biggest of the Galaxy line, the Note 10 looks set to slightly buck the trend of “all-out Galaxy” due to some core removals. Some of these omissions might annoy some of the more hardcore Samsung and Note fans out there. We just hope that the introductions are enough to keep people happy — although we’re genuinely not too sure about that.In the past, the Galaxy Note line has always felt more like a “revision” of the Galaxy S line, by adding more productivity features and enhancements that take advantage of the — normally — larger display and S-Pen support.In recent years, though, the Galaxy S seems to have encroached a little too close on the Note. This year looks set to be the first time in a while that we’re seeing the return of true differentiation — in the design, at the very least.This is every rumor, tidbit, and snippet of information we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.We know that the Note 10 Unpacked 2019 event is set for August 7 in New York City. As for availability, reports suggest that the lineup will go on sale in South Korea on August 23, closely followed by other markets globally.We are expecting two devices to be shown at the keynote, although there are rumors of a 5G-powered Note 10 that could be announced, too. This would definitely fit in line with the Galaxy S10 5G we saw announced earlier this year. Of course, this is still speculation, so take it with a massive pinch of salt as conflicting reports suggest that one of the two guaranteed devices could offer 5G support.SpecificationsAs the Samsung flagship line of 2019, the Note 10 and Note 10+ will go all out as you would expect. That means a Snapdragon 855 chipset — although unfortunately, we won’t see the overclocked 855 Plus — at least 8 GB of RAM, and up to 1 TB of internal storage. Europe will get the new 7nm Exynos 9825 chipset rather than the Snapdragon equivalent.The superb OnePlus 7 Pro has superfast eUFS 3.0 storage, and while we aren’t 100% sure, we do believe rumors that the Note 10 and Note 10+ will come with the faster storage. That should make the device blazingly fast in the same way that the OnePlus 7 Pro is.As for battery capacities, notorious smartphone industry leaker @IceUniverse stated earlier this year that the Note 10 Pro (now known as the Note 10+) will come with a massive 4,500 mAh battery. The slightly smaller (but still large) Note 10 is expected to come with at least a 4,100 mAh battery to match the Galaxy S10+.Ice universe@UniverseIceThe Chinese version of Note10 is divided into two types:1.Note10 4G, minimum specification: 8GB RAM + 256GB ROM2.Note10+ 5G, minimum specification: 12GB RAM + 512GB ROM2,3872:46 PM - Jul 18, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy331 people are talking about thisAny potential Note 10 5G variant could go larger still, if it is indeed a separate model like we saw with the S10 5G. Could we see the first Samsung flagship with a mammoth 5,000 mAh battery? We don’t have too much longer to wait to see if that will be the case.There are some odd differences between the two known models, though. The charge speed of the Note 10 standard will be capped at 25 W, whereas the Note 10+ is expected to come with 45 W charging capabilities. The downside is that Samsung could ship with a 25 W charge brick in the box — meaning the disappointing added cost if you want 45 W charging. Wireless charging is rumored to be supported up to 20 W, though.
FaceApp is back and so are privacy concerns
FaceApp, a Russia-based app that applies filters to photos, is having another moment in the spotlight this week. The app first went viral in 2017, but this time it’s catching on because of a filter that makes users look older or younger. As with the last viral moment, however, users have been surprised to learn that the app’s creators are harvesting metadata from their photos.Tom Warren✔@tomwarrenChrist, I don’t wanna get oldClose research suggests FaceApp isn’t doing anything particularly unusual in either its code or its network traffic, so if you’re worried about FaceApp, there are probably a bunch of other apps on your phone doing the same thing. Still, the conversation does bring attention to standard tech practices that might be more invasive than users realize.To use the app, iOS users select specific photos they want to put filters on, and there’s no evidence of the app downloading a user’s entire photo roll. The company then uploads the specific images to its servers to apply the filter. FaceApp never spells out that it’s downloading the filtered photo, but it’s not unusual, as iOS researcher and CEO of Guardian Firewall Will Strafach noted on Twitter.Will Strafach✔@chronic · Jul 17, 2019using a network traffic analyzer, I tried to replicate the thing people are talking about with FaceApp allegedly uploading your full camera roll to remote servers, but I did not see the reported activity occur.here is marlo stanfiekd with a beard thoughWill Strafach✔@chronicHOWEVER: they do appear to upload single images in order to apply the filters server-side. while not as egregious, this is non-obvious and I am sure many folks are not cool with that.Theoretically, FaceApp could process these photos on the device itself, but Yaroslav Goncharov, an ex-Yandex exec and CEO of the Russian company that created the app, previously told The Verge that photos uploaded to the app are stored on the company’s servers to save bandwidth if several filters are applied, and that they get deleted not long after. In a statement to TechCrunch, FaceApp said it accepts requests from users to remove their data from its servers. The team is currently “overloaded,” but users can send the request through Setting>Support>Report a bug with the word “privacy” in the subject line.Of course, we don’t know if FaceApp actually deletes the photo data, but it’s worth remembering that we upload photos of our faces to companies’ servers all the time. The only difference in this case is that unlike Facebook or Google, FaceApp is Russia-based, and thereby inherits ill will because of Americans’ perception of the country. FaceApp says no user data is transferred to Russia. Researcher Jane Wong also publicized her findings around FaceApp and noted that she wished users could delete their own data, although it now seems they can issue a request.Jane Manchun Wong@wongmjaneI am not seeing much fishy in FaceAppPhotos are uploaded to FaceApp's servers on AWS w/ authorization. Not much info is being sent to FaceApp's servers other than user metrics (e.g. ui interactions)I just wish there's an option for users to delete their photos from the serverAnother potential privacy issue people have taken note of is that the company’s privacy policy incorporates broad language that allows it to use people’s usernames, names, and likeness for commercial purposes. Lawyer Elizabeth Potts Weinstein also says the policy isn’t GDPR-compliant. Still, while this isn’t great, users often agree to wide-ranging policies that specifically use abstract language (a great way to avoid a lawsuit!). And they have no say in the matter; either they use the service or they don’t. FaceApp says it doesn’t sell user data to third parties.Elizabeth Potts Weinstein@ElizabethPW · Jul 17, 2019Replying to @ElizabethPWTheir address per their Terms is: Wireless Lab OOO16 Avtovskaya 401Saint-Petersburg, 198096, RussiaElizabeth Potts Weinstein@ElizabethPWTheir Privacy Policy is not remotely GDPR compliant. It says that your data can be transferred to any location where they have a facility ... which means Russia.FaceApp might not be a major privacy concern, but as with any app, there are always trade-offs. If you want to see what you could look like at 80 years old, you have to forfeit your photo, which includes your face. As some have pointed out, simply basing the app in Russia could expose your photos to the country’s security services. Similar claims could be made for apps based in China or even the US, but it doesn’t make the exposure any less troubling. Still, the FaceApp conversation is a worthy one to have; people should think about how their data is being used before sharing it with an unknown app.
YouTube cracks down on stream-ripping sites that pirate music
YouTube has caught the attention of a high-level congressional office interested in its copyright-protection practices, an inquiry that comes as the massive video site cracks down on stream ripping, a type of music piracy. Stream ripping swipes audio tracks off YouTube videos and spits them out as MP3 downloads. The office of the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, reached out to Google late last week about YouTube's actions on stream ripping because of his longstanding interest in quashing piracy, according to a person familiar with the matter. A second industry source said content protection organizations outside the US have been working to verify whether YouTube has been putting new measures in place to block stream ripping.YouTube declined to comment on whether it had been contacted by Nadler's office but confirmed it has elevated its blocking of stream-ripping sites, which violate its terms of service. YouTube is the world's biggest online video source, with 2 billion logged-in visitors every month. "As part of our ongoing efforts to enforce YouTube's terms of service, we're constantly making improvements and one of the recent changes resulted in the blocking of some MP3 stream ripping sites," YouTube said in a statement. "It's our desire to be good partners to our content licensors as our interests are aligned on thwarting violative downloads and downloader sites."Nadler's office didn't offer a comment.The music industry has long griped about suffering collateral damage from YouTube's massive scale and influence. Stream-ripping piracy -- which circumvents YouTube encryption to morph music from a streamed video into a download you can listen to offline for free -- has worried the music industry as it has grown. It's one of several complaints that recording companies, artists and others have about the Google-owned video giant. Though stream ripping isn't limited to YouTube, Google's service is the biggest single source of music online. YouTube provides more music listening than Spotify, Apple Music and every other paid streaming service combined. But to the music industry's longstanding irritation, YouTube generates a fraction of the revenue that those subscription services do. Last year in the US, paid subscription services brought the recording industry $4.66 billion in revenue. Ad-supported streaming, where the streaming occurs primarily on YouTube, was only $760 million.The US recording industry's trade group is cheering YouTube's latest moves. "While we do not yet know how effective these new measures are, we applaud YouTube for taking affirmative steps towards shutting down the fastest growing form of music piracy," Mitch Glazier, the head of the Recording Industry Association of America, said in a statement. "Illegal stream-ripping is a threat to creative artists, licensed music services, and fans, and shutting it down at its source is one of the most effective tools to protect legitimate streaming services. It's vital that everyone in tech and music work together to stop it."YouTube ratcheted up the blocking last week. YouTube's new measures against stream ripping were earlier reported by piracy publication Torrent Freak.The latest enforcement measures come as regulatory scrutiny of both Google and YouTube hit new intensity. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating claims that YouTube broke laws protecting children's privacy, and the Department of Justice reportedly is building an antitrust case against Google. Congress has embarked on a parade of hearings and inquiries about anticompetitive concerns at Google, YouTube and their peers.Nadler's outreach to YouTube came days before the House Judiciary Committeegrilled Google about whether it's a monopoly. Apple, Facebook and Amazon faced the same treatment.