Techmeme
January 15, 2020, 9:05 AM

Top News

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
In a tweet, Trump criticizes Apple for refusing to unlock phones of violent criminals, says his administration helps Apple “all of the time” on trade  —  - In a tweet, president Donald Trump addressed the conflict between the FBI and Apple over locked iPhones used by the suspected Pensacola shooter.
New York Times:
Sources: Apple is preparing for a legal fight with the DOJ, similar to San Bernardino, which was not legally resolved before FBI dropped the case  —  The Silicon Valley giant is preparing for a legal fight over encryption, even as it works to reduce tensions with the Justice Department.
Scott Lucas / BuzzFeed:
Stephen Shankland / CNET:
Google says it will phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome within two years  —  Google's Chrome team, advancing its web privacy effort, later this year will begin testing the “privacy sandbox” proposals it unveiled in 2019.  The Chrome tests, which Google announced Tuesday …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google Smart Lock on iOS now leverages Secure Enclave to enable the iPhone's use as a physical 2FA key to sign in to Google apps via Chrome on nearby devices  —  Last year, Google announced that all Android 7+ devices can be used as two-factor authentication when signing into Gmail, Drive, and other first-party services.
Thomas Germain / Consumer Reports:
New study shows how popular apps including Grindr, OkCupid, Tinder, and the period-tracking apps Clue and MyDays share intimate user data with data brokers  —  A new study shows how information about your sexuality, religion, and location is sent straight from phones to data brokers
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Google acquires no-code app development platform AppSheet, which had raised ~$19M to date, with plans to migrate AppSheet services to Google Cloud  —  Google is on something of a buying spree.  On the heels of its acquisition of retail inventory management startup Pointy …
Max Weinbach / XDA Developers:
Source: hands-on with a leaked Samsung Galaxy S20+ shows it has a 120Hz 3200 x 1440 display, ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner, and no headphone jack  —  The Samsung Galaxy S20 series is Samsung's next mainstream flagship series, and all eyes are set on the top Android OEM for its biggest guns yet.
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
Hotel and flight search service Hipmunk says it's shutting down on January 23, 3+ years after SAP Concur acquired it  —  If you're still using Hipmunk for trip planning, it's time to find another site.  Sooner than later, really.  —  The Hipmunk team announced this afternoon that it'll be shutting down in just one week's time.
Jeff Stone / CyberScoop:
Equifax to pay $380.5M to members of a class action suit whose data was compromised in 2017 breach, after a federal judge approved the final settlement Monday  —  Equifax has agreed to pay $380.5 million to resolve allegations related to the 2017 data breach in which hackers stole information belonging …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Google acquires Dublin-based Pointy, a startup helping brick-and-mortar retailers track which products they have in stock, a source says for $163M  —  Google has been on a long-term mission to build inroads into the world of e-commerce by working more closely with brick-and-mortar retailers …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Instagram says it is testing letting some users access DMs from its website  —  As Facebook increases its focus on messaging  —  Instagram is finally bringing direct messages to the web.  Starting today, a “small percentage” of the platform's global users will be able to access their DMs …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Zinier, which provides workplace automation tools, raises $90M Series C led by ICONIQ Capital, bringing its total raised to $100M+  —  It's anticipated that workplace automation tools will see an uptick in adoption in the next few years.  One company leading the charge is San Francisco-based Zinier …
More: TechCrunch
Nicholas Thompson / Wired:
Interview with US CTO Michael Kratsios on the government's recent regulatory framework for AI, the potential for an AI cold war with China, and more  —  In a WIRED Q&A, the US chief technology officer warns against overregulating tech, underestimating the Chinese, and losing America's lead in quantum computing.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Visa's Plaid acquisition will pay off if Visa can leverage Plaid's fintech network and make it worthwhile for banks to build out the APIs Plaid needs  —  Before the network, there is the job.  —  In the case of Visa, or, to be more exact, the Bank Americard that would eventually be spun …
Blake Hester / Polygon:
Former Microsoft employees and third-party developers reflect on the rise and fall of Microsoft Kinect, which was once billed as the future of Xbox  —  For a moment a decade ago, the game industry looked like a very different place  —  Illustrations by Cobysoft Joe for Polygon
Michael Thomsen / Daily Mail:
Toyota launches Kinto in Europe, a package of four separate mobility programs including car sharing, car pooling, and subscription-based leasing  —  Toyota Kinto is a package of four separate services that will be available in Europe in 2020.  The four programs are:

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