tracking

Facebook made an update to Privacy options this week that allows users to stop tracking with "off-Facebook activity." If you get to the "Off-Facebook activity" section of your Privacy Settings, you'll see the option to stop "Future off-Facebook activity." That option can be switched OFF, at which point you'll be warned by Facebook that "Your experience may be less personalized and the ads that you see may be less relevant to you."

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In 2019, the LynQ team raised a sizable amount of cash via crowdfunding and sold 20,000 LynQ people compasses. That's LynQ, the "people compass" that works with the ability to "keep groups together without need for phones or connectivity." They shipped thousands of units to early backers, now they've got the device available for commercial shipping for the first time.

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Apple has recently positioned itself as a champion of privacy and has, in a way, marketed that as both a feature and a service. It has consistently added new features or made changes that, at least on the surface, work to protect users especially from tracking. One of the most pervasive forms of tracking has always been location tracking in apps. But while iOS 13 exposed those activities to the user, the persistent warnings it displays may be souring both developers and users to the idea of protecting privacy.

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A new report reveals something that we probably already know, perhaps in jest. Corporations are out to get us and our privacy is pretty much a commodity already. It does, however, demonstrate the implications of that massive covert surveillance and the social and legal structures that empower or at least permit such activities. While it is admittedly difficult to escape that sad reality without shunning technology altogether, there are still a few things you can do to minimize the data that others can gather about you.

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Tile's tracker range is getting a full refresh for 2019, with new Tile Sticker and Tile Slim designs joining revamped Tile Pro and Tile Mate models. The Bluetooth beacon line-up has come a long way from its early days, now with more choice in form-factor, how you can fix it to things you really don't want to lose, and how Tile's crowd-powered locator network will help you track those items down.

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There's a new Snapchat sort of app available starting this week made by the Facebook-owned developers of Instagram. It's the latest attempt by Facebook - via Instagram - to capture the Snapchat-using youth. The kids don't want to share things publicly, so they share to friends on Snapchat. Threads just seems to want to have them share to friends on Instagram instead.

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At its iPhone event last week, there was one particular rumor that Apple didn't bring to life. The company was believed to be working on a product that will rival the popular Tile tracker but that was nowhere to be seen. It might, however, still be on the table and might just be a matter of time before it gets launched. Because according to a new screenshot and text from Apple's Find My app, all the pieces are already in place for its debut.

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So we'd heard rumors of this watch, then on the day the Active2 smartwatch was revealed, there was no info about an Under Armour edition. It didn't seem like that much of a stretch to assume that, maybe at one point there'd been a watch like this in the works but it didn't end up being made - or maybe the original rumor was simply untrue. As it turns out, there IS an Under Armour Edition of the Galaxy Watch Active2 and it is... well...

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Several companies are coming together to great a smartphone, and it's going to be a big deal. It'll be a big deal, that is to say, if they actually get to the point where the machine is produced. One other prerequisite for this phone's success: It'll have to be a lot more well-executed than what we've seen from companies like this in the past. Take, for example, the HTC Facebook phone.

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Both Strava and Relive have made statements on their recent breakup, suggesting that the other was the one that was at fault. According to Relive, they worked with Strava and followed Strava's recent takedown request - but were blocked from the API nonetheless. Strava said Relive was simply abusing its API.

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The Verizon Smart Locator was revealed today as a tiny piece of hardware that contains its own very simple processor. And that's it. This device has a pre-installed SIM card to connect to mobile data with Verizon, a Li-Ion battery that's 400mAh large, and can be recharged using a USB cord. It's a tracker - one that, unlike most trackers, is not limited to Bluetooth range.

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Fame has its price, as many high-profile personalities can attest to. In addition to dealing with both love and hatred, there's also the matter of potential threats to their safety. That's true for both a single person and a large company, especially one that's both famous and infamous like Facebook. But while most other companies have to take a reactive stance, Facebook tries to be one step ahead of danger by putting its own users in a "Be On Lookout" or BOLO list of people whom it perceives as a potential threat to the safety of its employees and offices.

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