Techmeme
January 30, 2019, 5:45 PM

Top News

The Verge:
Apple shuts down Facebook's ability to distribute internal iOS apps, blocking staff transportation app and early releases of Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger  —  Facebook's internal iOS apps simply don't launch anymore  —  Apple has shut down Facebook's ability to distribute internal iOS apps …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Apple says it revoked Facebook's Enterprise Certificate yesterday used to distribute the Research app outside of App Store, before Facebook could shut it down  —  In the wake of TechCrunch's investigation yesterday, Apple blocked Facebook's Research VPN app before the social network could voluntarily shut it down.
Rob Price / Business Insider:
Memo: Facebook confirms Apple disabled access to internal iOS apps and says it's “working closely” to reinstate “our most critical internal apps immediately”  —  - Facebook employees are furious after Apple temporarily crippled the company by revoking its developer certificate.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Investigation finds that Facebook has been paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN to gather data on phone use habits on Android and iOS  —  Desperate for data on its competitors, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple tests USB-C iPhones and iOS dark mode for 2019, plans updated 10" iPad this spring, laser-based 3D cameras to aid AR on iPhones as soon as 2020  —  - Company is testing a triple camera system for 2019 phones  — New low-end iPads and an updated iPhone XR also in the works
Microsoft:
Microsoft Q2: revenue of $32.5B, up 12% YoY; Productivity and Business Processes revenue of $10.1B, up 13% YoY; Intelligent Cloud revenue of $9.4B, up 20% YoY  —  Microsoft Cloud Strength Fuels Second Quarter Results  —  REDMOND, Wash. — January 30, 2019 — Microsoft Corp. today announced …
Reuters:
Sources: UAE hacked iPhones of activists, diplomats, and rival foreign leaders using a spying tool called Karma, which exploited an iMessage vulnerability  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A team of former U.S. government intelligence operatives working for the United Arab Emirates hacked …
Facebook:
Facebook reports Q4 net income of $6.9B, up 61% YoY, revenue of $16.9B, up 30% YoY, DAUs of 1.52B, up 9% YoY, and headcount of 35,587, up 42% YoY; stock up 4%+  —  Facebook, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) today reported financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2018.
TechCrunch:
Google disables its Screenwise Meter app on iOS, which coaxed users into sharing info in a manner similar to Facebook's Research app but with better disclosure  —  It looks like Facebook is not the only one abusing Apple's system for distributing employee-only apps to sidestep the App Store and collect extensive data on users.
Michael Bott / NBC Bay Area:
Unsealed court documents: FBI arrests second Chinese Apple employee for allegedly trying to steal trade secrets related to Apple's autonomous vehicles  —  For the second time in six months, an Apple engineer is accused of stealing intellectual property in order to benefit a China-based competitor
Apple:
Apple Music subscribers can stream music without paying for Wi-Fi on domestic American Airlines flights in the US starting February 1  —  Apple Music Subscribers can Stream Over 50 Million Songs, Playlists and Music Videos on US Flights  —  Starting Friday, Apple Music subscribers can enjoy …
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
An attempt to work out how many fake accounts are on Facebook, as the company ramps up efforts to remove them and provides confusing estimates  —  The social network has disclosed an estimate for years, but a closer look raises lots of questions.  —  Facebook sells advertisers on its access …
Business Wire:
Alibaba Q3: revenue up 41% YoY, its weakest pace in three years, to ~$17B, driven by cloud computing revenue, up 84% YoY at $962M; net income up 33% to $4.5B  —  HANGZHOU, China—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.
Reuters:
Foxconn is reconsidering plans for its $10B Wisconsin plant, says it plans to hire engineers and researchers instead of manufacturing workforce promised earlier  —  (Reuters) - Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10 billion Wisconsin campus …

Sponsor Posts

Airtable:
Meet Airtable ProductCentral  —  The unified solution for managing your entire product development process in the AI era.
Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter  —  Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact.  We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Zoho:
Zoho Forms for successful Black Friday sales  —  Black Friday is a retail frenzy that can significantly impact your bottom line.  To make the most of this shopping bonanza, you need a strategy that not only attracts customers …
Hamming:
Make AI Voice Agents trustworthy  —  Hamming AI automatically tests AI voice agents and continuously monitors them in production.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Tue 11/05 - Apple: Maybe Smartglasses Are The Way To Go
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:45 PM ET, January 30, 2019.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

The Intercept:

Earlier Picks

Nicole Perlroth / New York Times: