Downloads of encrypted messaging apps Signal and QQ reportedly spiked following President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting Tencent’s WeChat.

WeChat, while not particularly widely used in the United States, is an essential app in China. Many people who use it in the United States do so to keep in touch with friends and family in China, where WhatsApp has been banned since 2017.

Epic Games launched the Fortnite Mega Drop on Thursday. This offers up to 20% discounts on in-app purchases made on iPhone, iPad or Android, as long as these are direct payments — not ones that go through the App Store or Google Play.

And V-Bucks or real-money purchases made on Mac, PC and other platforms are also discounted by up to 20%.

Update: Apple responded by expelling Fortnite from the App Store.

Standing up to Steve Jobs wasn’t easy. Alternately a charmer and a tyrant, he was accustomed to winning arguments on just about everything.

But when photographer Doug Menuez found himself on the receiving end of a Jobs tirade, he stood his ground. And the result was not only the best-selling cover of Fortune magazine that year, but a newfound level of respect from Apple’s famous co-founder.

Push a button in Safari and you’re in Private Browsing Mode. Suddenly, you’re completely safe from all tracking, and no one can tell what you did online, right? Wrong.

This mode really can help protect your privacy when you’re surfing the web, but you need to know its limitations.

The plan for implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting TikTok reportedly would take a two-pronged approach that could cripple the wildly popular app in the United States.

The executive order could ban TikTok from Apple’s and Google’s app stores, effectively stopping the video-sharing app’s wildfire growth. (The app has “reportedly been downloaded over 175 million times in the United States and over one billion times globally,” according to Trump’s executive order.) The move also could financially strangle the Chinese-owned app by forbidding U.S. companies from buying advertising on it.

These details emerged in a White House document outlining the plan that was seen by Reuters.

Best Buy is offering certified refurbished AirPods Pro units for just $194.99 today only. That’s $55 off the regular selling price, with free shipping and a 90-day Best Buy warranty.

Get yours before they’re all gone!

iOS 14 finally brings the ability to change your CarPlay wallpaper so that you don’t have to look at a blank background. Here’s how you can change yours in a few simple steps.

This standup setup is definitely ready for its close-up. Artfully outfitted by Fujifilm North America salesman Brandon Remler, it sports a pair of laptops. But the real focus falls on Remler’s array of cameras, both film and digital.

“I do primarily use digital,” Remler told Cult of Mac in an email. “I did film for 20 years and it has a great feel and experience.  Now moved on to Fujifilm GFX system. Gfx100 or Gfx50 — as well as our other Fujifilm x series (have one of everything so it’s not fair ;-).”

You can use a stylus with your iPad, or a mouse. Or you could try the newly unveiled Adonit Note-M, which is both.

One end of this accessory acts as a stylus on the iPad display. Flip it around, and a motion sensor on the other end lets the Note-M function as a mouse on almost any surface.

Apple’s newest MacBook Pro is a worthy upgrade for anyone who wants rid of the problematic butterfly keyboard. It’s also more powerful than ever before. Bag yours today and get $200 off the usual price!