Google today began rolling out a host of new features for various apps centered around security and privacy. One of the biggest launches is undoubtedly that of Incognito Mode in Google Maps. Incognito Mode for Google Maps was first revealed back in May, so users have been waiting on this particular feature for several months at this point.
When it comes to security and privacy, one of WhatsApp's main draws is its use of end-to-end encryption. It may not be long before WhatsApp is offering another feature to pull in the privacy-first crowd: self-destructing messages. As it turns out, the company is currently testing "disappearing messages" functionality that essentially allows users to put a timer on their messages with others.
With the most recent update to Windows 10, Microsoft's made a little switch that's annoyed a number of Windows users. They've appeared to have made the "use offline account" option more difficult to find. If you're connected to the internet when the latest Windows 10 update is installing, the cloud-based account option will be the only option available. At least, that's how it'll appear to the common user.
There is a lot of buzz going on around smartphone displays and cameras in the past few months but, for all the advancements in mobile technology, there is one issue that the market has not yet fully resolved. Perhaps except for Apple, user privacy is often just an afterthought among the major manufacturers and platform developers in the consumer tech market. That's why its up to smaller players like Purism, whose Librem 5 Linux phone has started shipping to backers, to make privacy the number one bullet point on its feature list.
Facebook's history of attempts to acquire and/or overcome Snapchat have reportedly appeared in a file created by Snap called "Project Voldemort." Neither of the companies have made this document official, and all sources have remained anonymous in their efforts to make this document known. The files paint Facebook as the enemy of the modern world courtesy of a character from J.K. Rowling's global blockbuster book series: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Facebook released a statement this morning about a privacy investigation of Facebook app developers. This is what Facebook calls their "ongoing App Developer Investigation" in which they've begun taking a closer look at apps with access to "large amounts of information." This is part of the overarching privacy disaster going on at Facebook since March of 2018. Today Facebook said this investigation is "part of our response to the episode involving Cambridge Analytica."
Google revealed many things at I/O 2019 last May but, as typical, not all of them have materialized just yet. Of course, those may still happen in due time, and it seems that Google is indeed taking its sweet time for others. It was still back in May when Google announced a privacy feature for Maps but it seems that it will still be quite a while before Google Maps' incognito mode rolls out to all.
The Capitol's war on tech companies is heating up. The U.S.' biggest corporations - Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple - were all told to hand in information as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation. They're calling for greater transparency in their data collection practices – and to investigate the possibility of corrupt practices to cripple competition.
Facebook was always about friends. But now it’s also about love. The social media giants have launched Facebook Dating in the U.S., their answer to Tinder, Coffee Meets Bagel, Bumble and other dating apps. The new feature brings together Facebook’s networking infrastructure and data to help find matches that suit you.
![Librem 5 privacy Linux phone starts shipping this month, batches revealed [UPDATE]](https://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/lollypop-l5-headphones-1280x720.jpg)
Few phones can claim to be running a "full" version of Linux. Even fewer could boast of having reached the consumer market at all. That extremely short list includes the OpenMoko and the Nokia N900 and N9. By the end of the month, they will be joined by Purism's Librem 5 whose origins and development, not to mention the drama behind them, could fill pages. The journey isn't over yet, however, as the process to get those privacy-respecting phones into users' hands is going to be a story in itself, spread out across batches all the way to the second quarter of 2020.
iOS isn't Google's preferred mobile platform but, in order to keep users from going outside of its ecosystem, it naturally has to play ball. That doesn't mean, however, that all its mobile apps are created equal and, ironically, sometimes Android apps lag behind their iOS counterparts. Gmail for iOS, however, is different and it has, for years, lacked one important functionality. Fortunately, it has finally caught up and Gmail on your iPhone will no longer automatically load external images unless you say it's OK.
Mozilla previously put third-party and cross-site tracking on notice and now it is finally flipping the switch. Starting with today's release, Firefox will have its Enhanced Tracking Protection turned on by default. Additionally, it will also be blocking cryptominers by default so that hackers won't be able to make money off your CPU cycles and battery life. Ironically, it won't yet do the same for sites that try to track your computer based on certain "fingerprints".