France is calling on Apple to loosen its Bluetooth restrictions on iPhone that are said to be holding back a government contact-tracing app designed to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
Apple currently prevents iOS apps from using Bluetooth connectivity in the background under certain circumstances. Its policy blocks France from moving forward with its app, a Tuesday report reveals.
The American Civil Liberties Union said Friday it is cautiously encouraged by a commitment to privacy by Apple and Google as they develop Bluetooth-based contact-tracing technology to track the spread of COVID-19.
But the civil liberties group says the two tech giants must resolve “certain important privacy-related questions” key to winning trust from a public growing wary about who sees their data.
The European Union might adopt Apple and Google’s contact-tracing API to help stop the spread of COVID-19, a Reuters report published Wednesday suggests.
The article cites Chris Boos of the Pan-European Privacy Preserving Proximity Tracing initiative. Paraphrasing Boos, it notes that adopting the Apple/Google tech “will make it quicker to get systems for tracing coronavirus infections up and running.”
Google has confirmed in an email to Nest customers on Tuesday that it is throttling camera quality to “conserve internet resources.”
The temporary measure, which will roll out to every Nest user over the coming days, is one of many Google and other tech giants have made in an effort to reduce network strain during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Google will take a play out of Apple’s playbook as it reportedly ramps up development of its own processors for use in Chromebooks and Pixel smartphones.
Under the code-name Whitechapel, Samsung is collaborating with Google on the design of the chip. Samsung also supplies chips to Apple.
Apple and Google have given further details on their plans for a joint contact tracing technology to combat coronavirus, saying the program will focus on privacy, will be voluntary, and that data will only be shared with public health organizations.
The world was starting to develop a healthy skepticism for tech companies and their claims of making data privacy a priority. The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal seemed to get our attention and we began to understand how easy it is for groups to track our digital lives.
Then COVID-19 spread with bullet speed across the world and now surveillance of our movements to track the virus is sounding to many like a good idea.
Apple has registered its first COVID-19-related domain name as the total number of global confirmed cases inches towards 2 million this week. The iPhone-maker scooped up the domain name AppleCoronavirus.com but the site isn’t being put to use yet.
Apple and Google revealed Friday that they’re teaming up to take on one of the most colossal tasks in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19: contact tracing.
If you’re like me, you probably hadn’t heard about contact tracing until the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it’s proven to be an important tool in countries that have seen a drop in their reported cases of the coronavirus.
With a little background, here are the basics of contact tracing and what you need to know.
In a rare moment of collaboration, Apple and Google said Friday they have teamed up to create a contact-tracing program that uses smartphones to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The privacy-focused solution created by the companies will use anonymous Bluetooth “chirps” from phones as a way to tell where an infected person has been and who they’ve come in contact with.
TikTok is chipping into the global fight against COVID-19 with one of the largest financial contributions we’ve seen yet from a major tech company. The video-sharing platform has been one of the biggest bright spots of joy and inspiration during this quarantine age, and now it’s ready to pay it back.
On Thursday, the company revealed it is pledging $375 million in relief that will be distributed in various ways to individuals, hospitals, companies and other organizations.
Apple and other big tech companies are scrambling to update their summer intern roles in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
Google, Microsoft, Twitter and IBM all revealed to Axios that they will be moving all of their internships to online-only positions for the summer. One of the only major companies that plan to have on-site roles is Apple, but many of them will be online too.
A growing number of third-generation Apple TV owners are experiencing errors when attempting to watch YouTube content.
It seems the problems occur when watching certain videos, while others play just fine. One user who contacted Apple was told that the problem is on Google’s end — not with Apple TV.
Apple’s Information Systems & Technology division (IS&T) has come under scrutiny in a new book that analyzes the business practices and cultures of America’s biggest tech companies.
Scoring a coding job at Apple is a dream gig for most developers, but an excerpt from Alex Kantrowitz’s book, Always Day One, reveals that if you accept a job on the IS&T team, you better be ready for “a Game of Thrones nightmare.”
TikTok, the popular video-sharing app that is especially popular among young people, is going to get some fresh competition from Google later this year.
Google is reportedly planning to create its own version of TikTok with a new Youtube feature called “Shorts” that will live inside the platform’s apps on Android and iOS.
Google in recent days began rolling out a brand-new look for its Podcasts app on iOS for mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. The overhaul integrates a number of new features into a cleaner user interface that’s split into just three tabs.
The changes are designed to make using Google Podcasts easier and more enjoyable — and to bring it up to speed with rivals.
YouTube and Amazon Prime Video confirmed Friday they will will start throttling video quality in Europe in an effort to reduce the strain on network infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The temporary measure will see all YouTube videos displayed in standard definition by default, though, it is still be possible for viewers to select a higher resolution.
Google Stadia just got a nice little update that gives it an edge over rival streaming services like Nvidia GeForce Now. It can now stream games to your Mac in glorious 4K (or Ultra HD).
Upgrading your video quality requires a simple settings change. You will also need a 4K display, and an internet connection that’s fast enough to handle 4K video.
You no longer need to fire up Chrome just to explore our planet inside Google Earth. The service today rolled out support for three new browsers, while the ability to use Google Earth in Safari is coming … eventually.
Security researchers discovered a critical flaw in Wi-Fi chips made by Broadcom and Cypress Semiconductor that were used in Apple devices.
The discovery was presented at the RSA security conference in San Francisco this morning, revealing that billions of devices could have been affected. Attackers could use the vulnerability to decrypt private data sent over the air. Most manufacturers have already released a patch to fix the issue, but it’s unclear how many of the devices have been updated.
The following Apple devices were affected:
This fantastic shortcut makes searching the web with your iPhone faster than ever. It places an icon on your Home screen, and you just tap it, type a search into the box that pops up, and hit enter. Your search will then open in Safari.
This customizable search shortcut proves speedier than pretty much any other method, including iOS’ built-in Spotlight search.
Gmail is finally adding the ability to add attachments to emails straight from the Files app for iOS, giving users another crucial productivity tool.
Until now, the only way to send stuff from your Files app via Gmail was by using the sharing tool inside the Files app and creating a new email with it. Now users can reply to emails inside of Gmail for iOS and add attachments from Files without having to jump between apps. We’ll give you a quick rundown on how to use the nifty feature that’s starting to roll out to users globally.
Big Tech employees are feeling the Bern as the U.S. presidential primary season shifts into full gear. New fundraising data disclosed this week reveals that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has raised more money from the country’s top tech companies than any other presidential candidate.
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter employees donated nearly $270,000 to Sanders’ bid to take the White House, with nearly half of that money coming from Google. Check out the full breakdown by company:
Nvidia GeForce Now is ready to stream the latest PC games to your Mac. It sells us a dream that sounds too good to be true, a future that macOS fans gave up wishing for a long time ago. And most importantly, it actually delivers it.
I’ve been playing games on GeForce Now for several days (I love my job!) so that I can tell you whether it’s worth your hard-earned cash. And although I’ve run into a few teething troubles that I can’t ignore, I’ve been blown away by what it can do.
Everyone’s favorite mapping service turns 15 on Thursday, and there are gifts in store to celebrate. The latest Google Maps update for iOS brings a revamped icon and brand-new features.
Users can look forward to a fresh new interface that makes exploring and commuting a little bit easier.