Transportation

Many People Don't Actually Like Their Car's Infotainment Systems (theverge.com) 110

Posted by EditorDavid from the touchy-about-touchscreens dept.
"People are getting increasingly fed up with their car infotainment systems," reports the Verge: According to JD Power's Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, overall satisfaction among car owners is 845 (on a 1,000-point scale), a decrease of two points from a year ago and three points lower than in 2021. That's the first time in the 28-year history of the study that the consumer research firm registered a consecutive year-over-year decline in owner satisfaction...

Only 56 percent of owners prefer to use their vehicle's built-in system to play audio, down from 70 percent in 2020, JD Power found. Less than half of owners said they like using their car's native controls for navigation, voice recognition, or to make phone calls...

[I]t seems like most people are preferring to use smartphone-mirroring systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which have proven to be incredibly popular over the years... But it seems like people are warming up to native operating systems, as long as they're developed by Google and not the automaker. JD Power found that models that have Android Automotive with Google Automotive's operating system, AAOS, "score higher in the infotainment category than those with no AAOS whatsoever."

But here's where things get kind of weird: AAOS without Google Automotive Services (GAS) receives the lowest scores for infotainment of the three categories. Google Automotive Services refers to all the apps and services that come with the car when Google is built into the car — also known as "Google built-in." Ford, GM, and Volvo have all said they will use GAS for their current and upcoming vehicles... That's surely music to GM's ears, which recently made the controversial decision to block access to CarPlay and Android Auto in its future EV lineup in favor of a native Google infotainment system.
Chrome

ChromeOS 115 Rolling Out: Android App Streaming, PDF Signatures (9to5google.com) 4

Posted by BeauHD from the new-and-improved dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Google: Google is rolling out ChromeOS 115 as a bigger-than-usual update with a number of user-facing additions over the coming days. Amidst I/O 2023, Google announced the beta availability of Android App Streaming from your Pixel (4a+) or Xiaomi (12T, 12T Pro, 13, 13 Pro) phone running Android 13 and newer with Cross-Device Services installed. It's now entering stable with ChromeOS 115 so that you can stream apps from your mobile device to your Chromebook. This is framed as letting you "complete quick tasks like replying to a conversation, checking on the status of a rideshare or delivery, and editing your shopping list."

Android apps, which open in a phone-sized window, can be launched via the Phone Hub where you get a row of Recent apps at the bottom of the panel with the ability to browse all compatible "Apps from your phone." Applications can also open when you tap through a messaging notification. When opening PDFs in the Gallery app, ChromeOS 115 adds a signature tool. Appearing next to Draw in the top toolbar, you can add a signature, which is much easier with a touchscreen than a trackpad and save it for future use. You can place it in any document and resize the signature to ensure line fit. Lastly, Google has updated the keyboard Shortcuts app with "new navigation and taxonomy," improved search, and a "refreshed shortcut visualization" that better shows what to press.

Meanwhile, this is unmentioned in the stable release notes, but ChromeOS 115 is testing better windowing options in the beta channel. Hovering over the expand/minimize button in the top-right corner control group will show you a new layout menu. There's Split (half), Partial, Full and Float. That last option is new and makes it so that the window is always on top, just like Picture-in-Picture (PiP) for video. The other options were previously accessed by dragging a window and moving to the left/right side of the screen until an overlay appears. This approach is much more accessible and hopefully sees a wide launch soon. The announcement can be read here.
Encryption

Google Messages To Support MLS Protocol For Interoperable E2E Encrypted Messaging (9to5google.com) 21

Posted by BeauHD from the end-to-end-encryption dept.
Google today announced its support for interoperable end-to-end encrypted communication between large messaging platforms, with plans to integrate the MLS protocol into Google Messages and Android. 9to5Google reports: Google says it is "strongly supportive of regulatory efforts that require interoperability for large end-to-end messaging platforms," which is presumably in reference to the European Union's Digital Markets Act. That regulation would require iMessage to be interoperable with other messaging platforms. To achieve this, Google says this interoperability requires "open, industry-vetted standards, particularly in the area of privacy, security, and end-to-end encryption." If not, end-to-end encrypted group messaging and other advanced features would be "impossible in practice." Specifically, "group messages would have to be encrypted and delivered multiple times to cater for every different protocol." [...]

Google says MLS would make possible "practical interoperability across services and platforms, scaling to groups of thousands of multi-device users." This could "unleash a huge field of new opportunities for the users and developers of interoperable messaging services that adopt it."; It is also flexible enough to allow providers to address emerging threats to user privacy and security, such as quantum computing. Google plans to build MLS into its Messages app, which offers E2EE 1:1 and group RCS chats today, and "support its wide deployment across the industry by open sourcing our implementation in the Android codebase." How RCS factors into this remains to be seen.
Google

Google Releases Nearby Share, Its Android AirDrop Clone for Windows (pcworld.com) 20

Posted by msmash from the serenity-now dept.
You now have a new way to connect your Windows PC to an Android device to share files: Nearby Share, an app Google released Wednesday and which will be bundled with upcoming PCs. From a report: As the name suggests, Nearby Share allows you to share files back and forth between Android devices and PCs. It's similar to Apple's AirDrop, with the key difference being that Nearby Share connects devices from two different companies, rather than iPhones and Macs. Google released the beta version of Nearby Share earlier this year.

Nearby Share connects your phone to your PC, but it can also be used for you to send files and photos to nearby Android phones that you don't use, as well as to nearby PCs. That makes it handy for simply sharing a photo at a concert, or dropping a file onto a friend's PC without hassle. You'll just need to be within about 16 feet to do so, Google says. Why use Nearby Share? Google's unspoken argument is that it's simpler to do so. There are already numerous ways to view and transfer files and photos from Android phones to PCs, from the tried-and-true sneakerware to uploading and downloading from the cloud, to more modern approaches like Microsoft's Your Phone, now called Phone Link. Device makers like Samsung also have released their own specific versions for Galaxy devices. Google, though, made its mark with Gmail and search, both functions that worked more simply and effectively than other solutions.
Social Networks

Threads Usage Drops By Half From Initial Surge (similarweb.com) 167

Posted by BeauHD from the yikes dept.
Despite being the fastest-growing online platform in history, Meta's Threads is struggling to retain regular customer engagement. According to SimilarWeb, the Twitter rival saw daily active users decline from 49 million on July 7th to 23.6 million on July 14th. Furthermore, usage in the United States declined from 21 minutes per day to just over six minutes in the same time period. Here's are the key takeaways from the report: - On its best day, July 7, Threads had more than 49 million daily active users on Android, worldwide, according to SimilarWeb estimates. That's about 45% of the usage of Twitter, which had more than 109 million active Android users that day.
- By Friday, July 14, Threads was down to 23.6 million active users, or about 22% of Twitter's audience.
- Usage in the US, which saw the most activity, peaked at about 21 minutes of engagement with the app on July 7. By July 14, that was down to a little over 6 minutes.
- In the first two full days that Threads was generally available, Thursday and Friday, web traffic to twitter.com was down 5% compared with the same days of the previous week. Although traffic bounced back, for the most recent 7 days of data it's still down 11% year-over-year.
- On the days of peak interest in Threads, Twitter's Daily active users on Android, worldwide, were virtually unchanged, but time spent was down 4.3% -- perhaps because some users were off trying Threads. Even with that drop, however, the average total time spent on Twitter was about 25 minutes.

To a large extent, Threads solves the "empty party problem" that makes it tough to start a new online community by allowing Instagram users to instantly create a Threads account, bringing their existing contacts with them. Our daily usage numbers make Meta's claim of having achieved more than 100 million total account signups in a matter of days seem reasonable. However, Threads is missing many basic features and still needs to offer a compelling reason to switch from Twitter or start a new social media habit with Threads.
Earth

How We Got Addicted To Weather Apps (theguardian.com) 51

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
As unprecedented weather leads to increasing climate anxiety, there's a raft of different apps catering for every kind of forecast. From a report: Preoccupation with weather apps is commonplace in our current unsettled atmosphere. On social media there is almost as much chat about weather apps as there is about the weather: much of it is ire about inaccurate forecasts; some of it is from users who admit checking weather apps more than seems logical. There is still palpable grief, in the wake of the closure of the short-term weather prediction app Dark Sky, late last year, after its acquisition by Apple. In April, when Apple's weather app went down, there was such outrage that the temporary glitch became an international news story.

Fifty per cent of US smartphone users regularly use weather apps; according to Statista, weather apps will make approximately $1.5bn in revenue in 2023, a leap from $530m in 2017. Jeremiah Lasquety-Reyes, a senior analyst for Statista, says this new weather app ecosystem is only going to grow, owing to the climate crisis, as well as a general trend towards "digitizing one's life and schedule." There are certainly plenty out there, catering to a variety of needs: more than 10,000 apps have the word "weather" in the title in Android and iPhone app stores.
Cellphones

It's Official: Smartphones Will Need To Have Replaceable Batteries By 2027 (androidauthority.com) 283

Posted by BeauHD from the what's-old-is-new-again dept.
In mid-June, the European Parliament voted in favor of new legislation that would, among other things, require batteries in consumer devices like smartphones to be easily removable and replaceable. This week, the European Council officially agreed to the new regulation. Now, when the European Council and Parliament sign on the dotted line, the clock will start ticking for manufacturers to ensure their devices have replaceable batteries by 2027 -- that is, if they want to sell their devices in the EU. Android Authority reports: Now, the only step left is for the European Council and Parliament to sign on the dotted line. Once they do, the clock starts ticking: any manufacturer wanting to sell phones in the EU must ensure those phones have replaceable batteries by 2027. [...] The grace period from now until 2027 is to give OEMs enough time to redesign their products. This new law states, specifically, that users should be able to replace a battery in their phone without any special expertise or tools. Being that almost all smartphones today are designed like a "glass sandwich" that relies on extensive use of adhesives, the very fundamentals of how companies design phones will need to change. It's too early to say yet how this law will change iPhones, Galaxy S phones, Pixels, etc. However, they will change in response to this law, which is huge news.

Here are some other rules this new law covers related to phones with replaceable batteries:

- Collection of waste: OEMs will need to collect 63% of portable batteries that would normally go to a landfill by the end of 2027. By the end of 2030, that number should be at 73%.
- Recovery of waste: Lithium recovery from waste batteries will need to be at 50% by 2027. By the end of 2031, it should be at 80%, meaning 80% of the lithium inside a battery can be recovered and repurposed for new batteries.
- Recycling minimums: Industrial, SLI, and EV batteries will need to be made up of certain percentages of recycled content. Initially, this will be 16% for cobalt, 85% for lead, 6% for lithium, and 6% for nickel.
- Early recycling efficiency target: Nickel-cadmium batteries should have a recycling efficiency target of 80% by the end of 2025. All other batteries should be at a 50% efficiency target by 2025.
Android

Fairphone 3 Gets Seven Years of Updates, Besting Every Other Android OEM (arstechnica.com) 34

Posted by BeauHD from the good-on-you dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: No one in the Android ecosystem can hold a candle to Apple's software support timeline for the iPhone, but there is one company that comes the closest: Fairphone. Following in the footsteps of the Fairphone 2, the Fairphone 3 is also getting an Android-industry-best seven years of OS support. Fairphone continues to run circles around giant tech companies that have a lot more resources than it does, and it's doing this even in the face of component vendors like Qualcomm dropping support for the phone's core components.

The company announced today that the Fairphone 3, which was released in 2019, has had its support extended to 2026, making for seven years of updates. The company also just released Android 13 for the Fairphone 3. Google's own 2019 phone, the Pixel 4, shut down support in October 2022. Fairphone strives to make sustainable smartphones, designing its products to be repairable and also offering replacement parts for sale online. Part of that sustainability mission is an absolutely herculean effort to keep the Android updates flowing, even when Qualcomm drops critical software support for the SoC. Fairphone says the Snapdragon 632 SoC in the Fairphone 3 was only supported up to Android 11, so continuing to support the Fairphone 3 meant doing the upgrades all by itself.
Android

Android Phone Hits 24GB of RAM, As Much As a 13-Inch MacBook Pro (arstechnica.com) 60

Posted by BeauHD from the more-the-merrier dept.
The new Nubia RedMagic 8S Pro+ features support for up to 24GB of RAM -- the same amount of RAM found in a 13-inch top-spec M2 MacBook Pro. Ars Technica reports: The base model of the RedMagic 8S Pro+ starts with 16GB of RAM, but GSMArena has pictures and details of the upgraded 24GB SKU, which is the most amount of memory ever in an Android phone. Because we're all about big numbers, it also comes with 1TB of storage. This suped-up 24GB version of the phone appears to be a China-exclusive, with the price at CNY 7,499 (about $1,034), which is a lot for a phone in China. Other specs include a new "Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2" variant, which appears to be the same higher-clocked version that Samsung gets for the S23. This runs at 3.36 GHz as opposed to the normal 3.2 GHz. There's a 6.8-inch, 120 Hz 2480x1116 OLED display and a 5000 mAh battery with a blazing-fast 165 W charging that can fully charge in 14 minutes. The display has an under-screen front camera, because selfies would just get in the way of gaming.

The design is interesting -- it's just all right angles without a single smoothed-over edge on the entire phone. The sides are flat, the back is flat, and the corners are super tall, with almost no corner radius at all. In landscape mode, there are touch-sensitive shoulder buttons along the top edge for additional gaming controls, but it does not look comfortable to have to wrap your fingers around those hard corners. Just picture the smooth curves of an SNES controller compared to this thing -- even the example image does not look very comfortable. For color options, it comes in black, silver, or a clear back panel with a faux-mechanical design under it, just like a Nothing Phone. That little rainbow circle on the back is a spinning, 20,000 RPM blower fan that pushes heat out the side, so you'll presumably be gaming with cool temps for a long time. The phone is up for pre-order today in China and ships on July 11.
Android

The User-Repairable Fairphone 4 Is Finally Coming To the US (theverge.com) 65

Posted by BeauHD from the environmentally-conscious dept.
The Fairphone 4 -- a user-repairable smartphone built using ethically sourced materials -- is finally coming to the US, almost two years after it first debuted back in September 2021. The Verge reports: Fairphone is partnering with Murena, a company best known for de-Googling Android phones, to launch the US pilot of the Murena Fairphone 4 -- a variant of the handset that runs on a privacy-oriented Android-based operating system: /e/OS. There are two configurations available: one with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $599 and another with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $679. The storage of both models can be expanded via microSD, and the phone features a modular design that can be easily disassembled using a standard Phillips #00 screwdriver to replace broken components. It also has an IP54 rating, meaning the device is protected against dust and water sprays.

The Murena Fairphone 4 will ship to US customers with 5G and dual SIM support, a removable 3905mAh battery, a 48-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide, and a 25-megapixel selfie camera. The phones will be available to order exclusively from Murena's webstore starting today. The Murena Fairphone 4 also comes with the /e/ operating system preinstalled, which is described as a privacy-focused, Google-free mobile ecosystem for folks who want to avoid handing any data over to the search giant. Instead of the usual Google apps, the Fairphone 4 will come with a range of default Murena Cloud apps for things like email, calendar, and cloud storage as well as a dedicated app store that highlights the privacy ratings of each app to help users monitor how their online activity is being tracked.

The Fairphone comes unlocked, but the press release mentions that T-Mobile and other operators based on T-Mobile's network are the only US carriers recommended to be used with the device. Fairphone is also providing an extended five-year warranty for the hardware, and /e/OS is similarly committed to fixing bugs and supporting security and feature updates for five years. The Murena version is the only Fairphone 4 model being introduced to the US, and there's no mention of the standard Android OS model joining it anytime soon.
Social Networks

Meta Launches New Social Media App 'Threads' To Rival Twitter (theverge.com) 45

Posted by BeauHD from the good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal dept.
Instagram's new Twitter competitor called Threads launched today on the web, providing an early look at what to expect from the app that will launch on iOS and Android tomorrow. You can view the web interface here. The Verge reports: Meta briefly made Threads available on the web before pulling profiles offline a few hours later. The Verge was able to access Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's first thread (is that what we call them?!) using the web app, and many other brands and creators including Netflix, Gary Vee, and Instagram.

The web interface is fairly basic right now for viewing threads, with options to like, comment, repost, and share -- all prompting you to download the mobile app for the time being. If you're in an unsupported country, like markets in the EU, then you'll only be able to view threads right now. Much like Twitter, you can view an account's main posts in one section and the full reply history in another.

Fediverse integration won't be available immediately at the launch of Threads, but it's clear Instagram is looking to add this soon. Profiles include an Instagram username and link, with a threads.net label that includes the following description: "Soon, you'll be able to follow and interact with people on other fediverse platforms, like Mastodon. They can also find people on Threads using full usernames, like @zuck@threads.net."
Firefox

Firefox 115 Released (mozilla.org) 61

Posted by msmash from the moving-forward dept.
williamyf writes: Today, Mozilla released Firefox 115. Changes most visible to users include:

* Hardware video decoding is now enabled for Intel GPUs on Linux..

* Migrating from another browser? Now you can bring over payment methods you've saved in Chrome-based browsers to Firefox.

* The Tab Manager dropdown now features close buttons, so you can close tabs more quickly.

* The Firefox for Android address bar's new search button allows you to easily switch between search engines and search your bookmarks and browsing history.

* We've refreshed and streamlined the user interface for importing data in from other browsers.

* Users without platform support for H264 video decoding can now fallback to Cisco's OpenH264 plugin for playback.

But the most important feature is that this release is the new ESR. Why this is important? y'all ask, well:

* Many a "downstream" project depends on Firefox ESR, for example the famous email client Thunderbird, or KaiOS (a mobile OS very popular in India, SE Asia, Africa and LatAm), so, for better or worse, whatever made it to (or is lacking from) this version of the browser, those projects have to use for the next year.

* Firefox ESR is the default browser of many distros, like Debian and Kali Linux, so, whatever made it to this version will be there for next year, ditto to whatever is lacking.

* If you are on old -- unsupported OSs, like Windows 7, 8-8.1 or MacOS 10.14 (Mojave, the last MacOS with support for 32 Bit Apps), 10.13 or 10.12 you will automatically be migrated to Firefox ESR, so this will be your browser until Sept. 2024.
Robotics

Robot Takes Podium as Orchestra Conductor in South Korea (cnn.com) 31

Posted by msmash from the conducting-circuitry dept.
An android robot, EveR 6, took the conductor's podium in Seoul on Friday evening to lead a performance by South Korea's national orchestra, marking the first such attempt in the country. From a report: The two-armed robot, designed by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, made its debut at the National Theater of Korea, leading musicians in the country's national orchestra. The robot, with a humanoid face, first bowed to the audience and started waving its arms to control the tempo of the live show. "Movements by a conductor are very detailed," Choi Soo-yeoul, who led Friday's performance alongside the robot, said. "The robot was able to present such detailed moves much better than I had imagined."
Facebook

Meta Is Planning To Let People In the EU Download Apps Through Facebook (theverge.com) 28

Posted by BeauHD from the what-to-expect dept.
Meta is planning to allow users in the EU to directly download apps through Facebook ads, aiming to compete with Google and Apple's app stores. The Verge's Alex Heath writes: The new type of ad is set to start as a pilot with a handful of Android app developers as soon as later this year, I've learned. Meta sees an opening to try this thanks to new regulation in the EU called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that is expected to go into effect next spring. It deems Apple and Google as "gatekeepers" and requires that they open up their mobile platforms to alternative methods of downloading apps. Android technically allows sideloading already, though Google makes it difficult by coupling its in-app billing and licensing with the Play Store, along with the scary warnings it shows when someone tries to download an Android app from another source. Even still, Meta clearly thinks it's safer to try its test first on Android rather than Apple's iOS.

Meta's pitch to developers participating in the pilot is that, by hosting their Android apps and letting Facebook users download them directly without being kicked out to the Play Store, they'll see higher conversion rates for their app install ads. At least initially, Meta doesn't plan to take a cut of in-app revenue from participating apps, so developers in the pilot could still use whatever billing systems they want.
Google

Google Kills Its 'Project Iris' Augmented Reality Glasses (theverge.com) 34

Posted by BeauHD from the another-one-bites-the-dust dept.
Google is pulling the plug on its "Project Iris" augmented-reality glasses, according to Insider. The Verge reports: According to the publication, Google is now focused on software instead of hardware. It's building a "micro XR" platform it could license to other headset manufacturers, much like how Google provides Android to a broad ecosystem of phones. However, Insider suggests the ski goggle-like headset we originally mentioned may actually still be in the cards -- as Google is no longer creating them all by itself. In February, Google, Samsung, and Qualcomm made an incredibly vague announcement about how the three companies were partnering together on a new mixed reality platform, and while we've heard nothing meaningful about it since, Insider's sources say that Google's goggles "were actually the foundations" of the upcoming Samsung headset.

Insider reports that that Project Iris was plagued by layoffs and shifting strategies during development, and Google's head of VR/AR Clay Bavor notably left the company four months ago. Kurt Akeley, a distinguished engineer who we reported was attached to the project, is now listed as "retired" on his LinkedIn page. Two others are still listed as being involved with AR, including Mark Lucovsky, the company's senior director of operating systems for AR.
Youtube

YouTube Could Be Testing a Three-Strikes Policy For Ad Blocking (androidauthority.com) 205

Posted by BeauHD from the taking-a-tougher-stance dept.
Some YouTube users with ad blockers are seeing a new three-strikes popup menu while watching videos. "The popup menu in the screenshot suggests users will be barred from YouTube viewing after watching three videos with an ad blocker enabled," reports Android Authority. From the report: "It looks like you may be using an ad blocker. Video playback will be blocked unless YouTube is allowlisted or the ad blocker is disabled," reads an excerpt of the screenshot. The service presents users with two buttons, prompting them to either allow ads in their ad blocker or letting them buy YouTube Premium. YouTube confirmed to The Verge that it's currently running "a small experiment globally that urges viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium."
AI

ChatGPT App Can Now Search the Web Via Bing (techcrunch.com) 20

Posted by BeauHD from the stay-up-to-date dept.
If you're a ChatGPT Plus subscriber, you can now use a new feature on the ChatGPT app called Browsing to have ChatGPT search Bing for answers to questions. TechCrunch reports: Browsing can be enabled by heading to the New Features section of the app settings, selecting "GPT-4" in the model switcher and choosing "Browse with Bing" from the drop-down list. Browsing is available on both the iOS and Android ChatGPT apps. OpenAI says that Browsing is particularly useful for queries relating to current events and other information that "extend[s] beyond [ChatGPT's] original training data." When Browsing is disabled, ChatGPT's knowledge cuts off in 2021.
Software

WhatsApp Kills Off the Electron-Based Desktop App (androidpolice.com) 37

Posted by BeauHD from the time-to-switch dept.
WhatsApp has announced it is retiring its Electron-based desktop app, forcing users to switch to the native app for their OS to continue using WhatsApp. Android Police reports: Back when WhatsApp was in the early stages of development, the developers created an app for desktop, based on the Electron JavaScript framework. This allowed them to share a code base between WhatsApp Web and the new, platform-agnostic desktop app that worked on both Windows and macOS. Around four weeks ago, a countdown timer showed up on the main screen of this desktop app, announcing its shutdown.

Doomsday is now here and WABetaInfo reports anyone visiting the Electron-based app just sees a screen saying "App expired." The deprecated app helpfully links to the native WhatsApp Desktop app available on the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store. The new native app has been stable for around a year now, but is still relatively new. Some users may lament the transition period was too short, or the native app still doesn't have all the functionality for business users, like catalog management and quick replies, and they would be right.
Privacy

LetMeSpy, a Phone Tracking App Spying On Thousands, Says It Was Hacked (techcrunch.com) 18

Posted by BeauHD from the fate-loves-irony dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: A hacker has stolen the messages, call logs and locations intercepted by a widely used phone monitoring app called LetMeSpy, according to the company that makes the spyware. The phone monitoring app, which is used to spy on thousands of people using Android phones around the world, said in a notice on its login page that on June 21, "a security incident occurred involving obtaining unauthorized access to the data of website users." "As a result of the attack, the criminals gained access to e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and the content of messages collected on accounts," the notice read.

LetMeSpy is a type of phone monitoring app that is marketed for parental control or employee monitoring. The app is also specifically designed to stay hidden on a phone's home screen, making it difficult to detect and remove. Also known as stalkerware or spouseware, these kinds of phone monitoring apps are often planted by someone -- such as spouses or domestic partners -- with physical access to a person's phone, without their consent or knowledge. Once planted, LetMeSpy silently uploads the phone's text messages, call logs, and precise location data to its servers, allowing the person who planted the app to track the person in real-time.

Polish security research blog Niebezpiecznik first reported the breach. When Niebezpiecznik contacted the spyware maker for comment, the hacker reportedly responded instead, claiming to have seized wide access to the spyware maker's domain. It's not clear who is behind the LetMeSpy hack or their motives. The hacker intimated that they deleted LetMeSpy's databases stored on the server. A copy of the hacked database also appeared online later the same day. TechCrunch reviewed the leaked data, which included years of victims' call logs and text messages dating back to 2013. The database we reviewed contained current records on at least 13,000 compromised devices, though some of the devices shared little to no data with LetMeSpy. (LetMeSpy claims to delete data after two months of account inactivity.)
Wireless Networking

NFC Payments Are About To Become Faster, Easier, and Truly Contactless (androidauthority.com) 25

Posted by BeauHD from the new-and-improved dept.
The NFC Forum has revealed a roadmap for NFC technology that extends from now to 2028. The roadmap outlines five key initiatives for the direction of the technology over the next two to five years, including increasing the range of NFC connections, increasing wireless charging over NFC, enabling multiple-purpose taps, giving NFC-enabled smartphones Point-of-Sale functionality, and the ability to share how products should be recycled. Android Authority reports: Currently, NFC connections only work at a distance of 5mm. However, the NFC Forum wants to extend this distance by four to six times. Not only would this allow contactless payments to become truly contactless, but it would also make transactions faster and easier. Even a modest change is said to be enough to reduce the precision needed to align the antenna. Improving the range was far from the only matter the collective was looking into. The group shared that it wanted to increase wireless charging over NFC from 1W to 3W. Doing so would allow for wireless power and charging in smaller devices. It could even allow the creation of new applications previously left unexplored.

Another initiative is to enable multiple-purpose taps. This would reportedly make supporting several actions with a single tap possible. Additionally, the group mentioned giving NFC-enabled smartphones Point-of-Sale functionality and the ability to share how products should be recycled.

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