Techmeme
January 30, 2019, 1:40 PM

Top News

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” …
The Verge:
Source: Apple has shut down Facebook's ability to distribute internal iOS apps, blocking 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 banned Facebook's Research app yesterday, before Facebook could voluntarily shut it down, and condemns “clear breach of their agreement”  —  In the wake of TechCrunch's investigation yesterday, Apple blocked Facebook's Research VPN app before the social network could voluntarily shut it down.
Reuters:
Sources detail UAE's Project Raven, a group of 12+ ex-US intel operatives that help surveil governments, militants, and critics, sometimes using NSA tactics  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two weeks after leaving her position as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. National Security Agency in 2014 …
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 …
Apple:
Apple Q1: revenue from iPhone declined 15% YoY, but total revenue from all other products and services grew 19%; services revenue hit an all-time high of $10.9B  —  Services, Mac and Wearables Set New All-Time Revenue Records EPS Reaches All-Time High at $4.18 Cupertino, California …
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
WhatsApp hires EFF counsel Nate Cardozo and Facebook hires Open Technology Institute counsel Robyn Green, both as privacy policy managers  —  In an effort to bolster its public credibility in the wake of a very rough year, Facebook is bringing a fierce former critic into the fold.
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 …
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 …
Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss / Reuters:
CipherTrace: the amount of cryptocurrencies stolen from exchanges and scammed from investors surged 400%+ in 2018 to $1.7B  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cryptocurrencies stolen from exchanges and scammed from investors surged more than 400 percent in 2018 to around $1.7 billion …
Nicole Perlroth / New York Times:
A mother reported FaceTime bug to Apple over a week ago after her 14-year-old son discovered the flaw; Apple asked her to send report via developer account  —  SAN FRANCISCO — On Jan. 19, Grant Thompson, a 14-year-old in Arizona, made an unexpected discovery: Using FaceTime …

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