Google is being sued for allegedly planting secret cookies on 5.4 million iPhone users
A campaigning group is suing Google on behalf of 5.4 million people over allegations that the company harvested personal information from iPhone users.
"Google You Owe Us", led by ex-Which?director Richard Lloyd, claims Google illegally collected personal data from 5.4 million individuals in the UK between June 2011 and February 2012.
Using the so-called "Safari Workaround," Google allegedly placed cookies that tracked iPhones' internet browsing history, which the company then used to sell ads.
The group believes those affected are eligible for compensation for violation of trust.
Lloyd told the FT he expected each claimant to receive "several hundred pounds" should the case be successful.
The lawsuit is a type of collective action called "representative action," meaning the claim is brought on by one individual on behalf of those affected, who can opt out if they want (the group's FAQ sectionincludes a link to a form for people who do not wish to be part of the claim).
"Those affected do not have to pay any legal fees, conduct any research or (at this stage) contact any lawyers," the group said in a statement. "They are already part of the claim and will be updated on the progress of the claim through the website and social media."
A court date is expected to be set for early spring 2018. It's the first representative action of this kind in the UK against a major tech company that is centred on the alleged mass misuse of personal data, according to FT.
Lloyd said:
“I believe that what Google did was quite simply against the law. Their actions have affected millions, and we’ll be asking the courts to remedy this major breach of trust.
Through this action, we will send a strong message to Google and other tech giants in Silicon Valley that we’re not afraid to fight back if our laws are broken.
In all my years speaking up for consumers, I’ve rarely seen such a massive abuse of trust where so many people have no way to seek redress on their own. That’s why I’ve taken on one of the biggest fights of my life in representing this legal action, which is the first case of its kind in the UK against a major tech company for misusing our valuable personal data.
I want to spread the word about our claim. Google owes all of those affected fairness, trust and money. By joining together, we can show Google that they can’t get away with taking our data without our consent, and that no matter how large and powerful they are, nobody is above the law.”
Google said in a statement: "This is not new — we have defended similar cases before. We don't believe it has any merit and we will contest it."
Google launches 'Datally', a smart app that saves mobile data
Google has unveiled its latest product, Datally, a smart and simple Android app that helps smartphone users understand, control and save mobile data.
Datally, which works on all smartphones running Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and higher, is available for download on the Google Play Store.
It was developed to help solve one of the biggest concerns of smartphone users around the world – data usage.
The company said: “During extensive user research around the world, we found that many smartphone users worry about running out of data, especially the new generation of internet users known as the ‘Next Billion Users’.
“Not only are they constantly thinking about data balances, but they do not understand where their data is going, nor do they feel like they can control allocating data to the apps they really care about.”
The app will empower users to manage their data more effectively on their smartphones through four key features:
Data Saver
Apps frequently use data in the background for updating content and information. Datally’s Data Saver feature lets users control data on an app-by-app basis, so that data only goes to apps they care about.
Data Saver bubble
Once Data Saver is turned on, Datally’s Data Saver bubble will appear when a user goes into an app. Whenever that app uses data, the Data Saver bubble will show the current rate of data usage, and users can easily choose to block that app’s data use if things start to get out of control. The Data Saver bubble is like a speedometer for mobile data.
Personalized alerts
Datally alerts users when apps start consuming a lot of data, and it allows them to see how much data they’ve used on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
Wi-Fi finder
There are times when users want to use more data than they have on their mobile plans, such as when they want to watch HD videos. Public Wi-Fi is an important access point for high-bandwidth connectivity. Datally’s Find Wi-Fi feature reveals the networks nearby, rated by the Datally community. Once connected, users can rate the Wi-Fi networks based on their own experience.
“For the last few years, our Next Billion Users team has been doing a lot of research on the ground in fast-growing Internet countries like Nigeria. We have found that data is a major constraint for the next billion users”, said Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, Google Nigeria Country Director.
“Introducing Datally into the Nigerian smartphone market will help users understand how to control their mobile data better.
“Google tested Datally in the Philippines for most of 2017, and the insights from the product test there shaped the final app. The user research showed that people testing the app saved up to 30% of their mobile data, depending on the way they used Datally.”
Apple Accidentally Made Your Mac Hilariously Easy To Hack By Anyone
Computer updates are supposed to shore up your system's defences and make your most important files and documents (videos of cats failing to jump off things) impenetrable to would-be hackers and criminals.
But nobody told Apple. In the company's latest version of OS High Sierra, the tech giants have accidentally included a massive security flaw that makes hacking your system hilariously simple.
You see, if you've downloaded the update then anyone can log into your Mac by just typing 'root' into the username field.
Apple are working on a fix, but have said in a statement: "We are working on a software update to address this issue. In the meantime, setting a root password prevents unauthorized access to your Mac. To enable the Root User and set a password, please follow the instructions here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204012. If a Root User is already enabled, to ensure a blank password is not set, please follow the instructions from the 'Change the root password' section."
The only good to come of this is that we can all pretend to be early-noughties hackers on our friends' computers. Just remember to mention the word "mainframe" a lot and clack pointlessly at the keyboard for a few minutes before you login.
Now you can play YouTube videos right inside WhatsApp
What's This?
With WhatsApp, you can finally watch videos with your friends.
The messaging platform has rolled out a new update to its iOS app that will allow users to play YouTube videos within the app itself, Hindustan Times reports.
Now, when you receive a YouTube link and click on it, the video will play in WhatsApp. Before, the video would open in the YouTube app or a browser.
You can also keep playing the video while you navigate to another chat, with a feature that WhatsApp refers to as "picture-in-picture."
The feature is not yet enabled, but WhatsApp news website WABetaInfobelieves it will begin working tonight (though it's unclear where it got the timeframe info).
Though this update is small, it has the potential to fix an all-too-common annoyance for many users. You can now watch videos alongside your friends, rather than having to pause your conversation, possibly getting pulled down a YouTube autoplay hole as more videos get cued up.
WhatsApp is also testing a feature that will allow you to mute videos in chats, in case your friends start pranking you with Rebecca Black videos.
This type of integration with third-party apps is new for the traditionally bare-bones user experience of WhatsApp. Will the Facebook-owned service heading down the same path as its cousin, Facebook Messenger, and become a more immersive, integrated user experience? This could be the first step.
Google confirms tracking android users even with location services turned off
Google says it has been tracking the location of android users with the addresses of local phone masts, even when location services were turned off and the sim cards removed.
According to a recent Quartz investigation, Google has maintained this since the beginning of 2017.
“Since the beginning of 2017, Android phones have been collecting the addresses of nearby cellular towers—even when location services are disabled—and sending that data back to Google,” the report read.
“The result is that Google, the unit of Alphabet behind Android, has access to data about individuals’ locations and their movements that go far beyond a reasonable consumer expectation of privacy.”
When contacted, a Google spokesperson confirmed the development saying the information was not stored.
“In January of this year, we began looking into using Cell ID codes as an additional signal to further improve the speed and performance of message delivery.
“However, we never incorporated Cell ID into our network sync system, so that data was immediately discarded, and we updated it to no longer request Cell ID.”
The spokesperson also promised that android phones would no longer send cellular tower location data to Google by the end of November.
Although the section of Google’s privacy policy that covers location sharing says the company will collect location information from devices that use its services, it does not explain whether it will collect such information from Android devices when location services are off.
“When you use Google services, we may collect and process information about your actual location. We use various technologies to determine location, including IP address, GPS, and other sensors that may, for example, provide Google with information on nearby devices, Wi-Fi access points and cell tower,” a part of the policy reads.
Location services are used for apps like Google Maps and checking-in location information on apps like Facebook and Instagram.
After the launch of f Apple's iPhone X, Samsung seems to come out with something similar in name. The South Korean company "mistakenly" revealed the Galaxy X phone on their website support page.
Both the But The support page and the NRRA certification reference model number SM-G888N0, which is the Korean model of the phone. While the support page doesn’t reveal any specifications about the phone itself (save for the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi certifications, and one from the South Korean NNRA), it does confirm that Samsung is plotting something X As for the launch date and availability, nothing was revealed but it could coincide with January’s CES 2018.
But let's not mistake the Galaxy X with the Foldable Galaxy X Glass smartphone from same company. More information on this phone will be revealed as time goes on.
Millions of devices in London, including baby monitors and webcams, can be hacked right now
London has millions of exposed devices online, a cybersecurity firm has warned
London has more than 2.5 million exposed electronic devices including routers, webcams, medical equipment, personal baby monitors and company databases, new research suggests.
Using Shodan, a search engine for internet-of-things (IoT) devices, security firm Trend Micro said in a report released today (28 November) that the UK capital had one of the highest numbers of exposed devices at risk of hacking and cybercrime. It was matched by Berlin.
An analysis entitled Cities Exposed has warned that tech-savvy criminals use Shodan to scan for so-called "cyber assets" left visible to the public and then use any available tricks to target them.
Connected devices which are not adequately protected can leak personal data or even be held to ransom.
"Despite their prevalence as tech and business hubs, it is concerning that people in these capitals are not extending this knowledge into their security practices," said Trend Micro researcher Rik Ferguson.
"The number of exposed devices is likely just the tip of the iceberg, as anyone breaching these could potentially gain access to entire networks."
After London, Manchester has a high risk ratio with around 320,000 exposed devices. Glasgow has 160,000 devices at risk.
Experts found that the UK had more than 5,000 exposed webcams which "attackers could use for surveillance or stealing and publishing live video feeds from compromised devices".
The Trend Micro report reads: "Connected devices are an integral part of our daily lives. Device security should ideally not affect availability and be transparent to a user.
"There is no one-size-fits-all cybersecurity solution for connected devices.
"In addition to [general guidelines] users must be able to rely on device manufacturers to enable strong security out of the box. Ultimately, we may need to rely on security by obscurity — hiding our devices among billions of other connected devices online to avoid getting compromised."
CoinPouch hack: Over $655,000 worth of Verge cryptocurrency was stolen by hackers
CoinPouch blamed the incident on a Verge node the firm set up to handle Verge transactions for its users.
This is the second cryptocurrency wallet hack to occur in November
Hackers allegedly stole over $655,000 (£490,000) worth of Verge cryptocurrency from the CoinPouch wallet this week, which appears to have sparked a blame game between the CoinPouch and Verge aboutwhat caused the hack. Both CoinPouch and Verge have confirmed the hack.
However, while CoinPouch blamed the hack on the Verge node, the firm set up to handle Verge transactions for its users, Verge maintains that CoinPouch was hacked because the app "wasn't secured properly on their side".
CoinPouch took to Twitter to update users about the incident. The firm said that it had reported the hack to the local authorities, adding that the investigation into the hack "will be hampered due to the current Thanksgiving Holiday in the U.S. which may slow down the efforts of attorneys, forensic labs, and law enforcement authorities involved in this matter".
CoinPouch said that on 9 November, a user first reported about having his/her funds stolen from the wallet. This led to CoinPouch investigating the incident alongside Verge project lead Justin, who later concluded that the incident "did not look like a hack". Nevertheless, Justin recommended a few security modifications for CoinPouch's Verge node.
However, despite following the security recommendations from the Verge team, CoinPouch said that it "started getting additional reports from users stating their Verge wallets in Coinpouch were not working correctly".
Meanwhile, Verge managed to track down the wallet where all the stolen funds – 126 million Verge coins – still remain. It is unclear why the hackers have not moved the funds elsewhere. "At this moment neither Coinpouch nor Justin, the founder and lead developer of Verge, are clear how the hack occurred," CoinPouch said in its statement.
This is the second cryptocurrency wallet hack to occur in November. Earlier in the week, hackers stole nearly $30m worth of cryptocurrency from the startup Tether, briefly causing the price of Bitcoin to drop.
10 things you didn't know you could do with Facebook Messenger
1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger each month. But are they really making the most of it?
Since Messenger became an app of its own, Facebook has been quietly adding functionality to make it stand out. The app has a ton of neat hidden features, from GIFs to addicting games and ever-innovative ways to write and present text.
Here's some of the coolest stuff you didn't know you could do with Facebook Messenger.
1. Use Messenger on the computer
If you want to message your friends on your computer without the distraction of your News Feed, try pulling up Messenger directly onto your computer. Just go toMessenger.com and sign in with your Facebook account. You can also access a conversation directly by going to Messenger.com/ and adding your friend's Facebook username at the end.
The desktop Messenger looks just like the Messenger page that can be accessed from Facebook, but it lacks the Facebook search bar at the top of the screen.
2. Send and request money
Facebook has been allowing users to send and receive money for the past few years. Much like Venmo, Messenger lets you connect your credit card to the app, and send money to your friends, and request money from them as well.
To use it, link your debit card by going toProfile > Payments > Add New Debit Card. To send and request, enter a chat with the friend hit the plus sign on the bottom left corner, select Payments, and enter the necessary amount.
3. Add friends instantly with your profile code
If you ever meet someone and like them so much that you want to friend them instantly, you can have them scan your unique profile code.
To pull it up, tap your profile's icon in the top left corner of the app, then tap the large profile picture in the center of your screen. Press My Code to display your own code, and Scan Code to scan someone else's.
4. Play games
Facebook has a lineup of really addicting games from user favorites Words with Friends and 2048 to classics like Pacman and Snake — all of which can be played right in Messenger.
To challenge a friend or group of friends, start a conversation, press the plus sign, and select Games. If you're a loner, or you want to get some practice, start a conversation with yourself to play any game alone.
5. Chat with bots
If you've had enough of human interaction, never fear: Messenger's army of bots will keep you company. They'll send you news, help you place orders, play games, and more.
Tap Discover in the bottom right corner, and start a conversation with the bot that strikes your fancy.
6. Secret Conversations
You can start encrypted conversations in Facebook messenger that nobody outside of them can see — not even the government or Facebook itself. They useend-to-end encryption similar to that of Facebook's Whatsapp.
Start a conversation, tap Secret in the top right corner, and select the friend you want to message. To make your messages disappear after a certain period of time, tap the clock icon to the left of the text box.
7. Customize your conversations
Facebook has a number of ways to make your conversations with your friends your own. Open a group chat and tap its name to open customization options.
You can change your group's color, give your friends nicknames, or set a group emoji (to replace the "Thumbs Up" icon).
8. Share news, recipes, restaurants, flights, and more
With Messenger's lineup of integrated third-party apps, you can send your friends some pretty cool stuff in just one click.
If you're chatting about travel plans, you can search for and share hotel and flight options with the Kayak extension. You can share recipes from the Food Network, restaurants from OpenTable, songs from Spotify and Apple Music, and news articles from the Wall Street Journal.
To access these extensions, open a conversation and tap the plus sign in the bottom left corner.
9. Scribble Chat
Scribble Chat turns your messages into fun 3D animations. There are currently 42 animation options, and they're all adorable.
Open a conversation and tap the plus sign in the bottom left corner, then swipe left to select ScribbleChat.
10. Send an audio recording
An audio recording is an easy way to share a song you're listening to, or send a fun birthday greeting.
To start a recording, open a conversation and press and hold the microphone button to the left of the text box. Drag up to cancel the recording, and let go of the icon to end and send.
Recent estimations project that global gross app revenue will double to reach $102 billion by 2020.
As the mobile app ecosystem undergoes rapid expansion, app publishers will find it more and more challenging to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
To capture a slice of the market, you’ll need to implement monetisation tactics that evolve as quickly as the ever-changing preferences and demands of your users.
In this article, I’ll explain 6 widely used and emerging monetisation strategies for driving in-app revenue.
I’ll also share 3 key trends that app developers need to know in order to monetise their apps successfully in a dynamic mobile landscape.
1. In-app purchase
In-app purchases are typically used with the freemium model.
While the app is available for free downloads, users are given the option of purchasing virtual or physical products, or paying to unlock additional features or new content on the app.
This method is commonly implemented in most gaming apps.
An example would be Pokémon GO, where users visit the Touch Shop to purchase PokéCoins, which they can then use to obtain a variety of premium items to enhance their gaming experience.
With gaming apps, a key consideration is presenting the right offers to the right players at the right time.
Rather than display numerous options at every stage of the game, you’ll need to assess the purchases that different types of players are likely to make, and display these accordingly.
In-app purchases are also implemented by shopping and e-commerce apps. Etsy is a great example — the app’s simple onboarding process and personalised product suggestions provides users with a seamless and unique purchase experience, and enables businesses to achieve a shorter sales cycle.
2. Subscription
With subscription-based apps, users get limited access to try out the app, but are required to subscribe to gain access to exclusive content or unlimited usage.
This has been one of the most powerful game-changing strategies used by the founders we work with here at Appster.
Content-based apps are the first type of apps that come to mind when we think about subscription models. Marvel Unlimited, for example offers a selection of comics that are available for free, but most of its content is accessible for subscribed users.
Music streaming apps like Spotify also implement this model, providing subscribers with exclusive content, additional features like sharing playlists with other users and ad-free music.
The second category are service-based apps. A wide-ranging array of apps fall under this category — from learning resources (Ekhart Yoga) to scheduling apps (Appointy) and dating apps (Tinder).
The latter has reportedly generated a whopping $285.3 million in revenue in 2016, with over 1 million users paying for additional features like unlimited swipes, Super Like or Tinder Boost, where individuals get to jump the queue to appear at the front of the feeds of other users.
3. Ads
Ads are one of the most common strategies used for app monetisation, and is typically implemented by free and freemium apps.
Here’s an overview of different types of mobile ads:
Banner ads: As the oldest form of mobile ads, banner ads have garnered a bad name for being intrusive, poorly designed and unengaging. However, it can be effective for apps that are gaining traction: Flappy Bird racked up an average of $50,000 a day from in-app ads at the height of its popularity. Banner ads remain widely implemented as it is a low-cost ad format, compatible across mobile and mobile-web apps and easy to implement.
Interstitial ads: These are interactive ads displayed across the entire screen, often during key moments during navigation, such as launching the app, or in between games. User action is required, either to close the ad or tapping on a call-to-action to view the desired content.
Video ads: Video ads are implemented in natural pauses during app navigation, and typically last between 15 to 30 seconds. With rewarded videos, users receive in-app rewards in exchange for watching a video in full. When it comes to video ads, it helps to abide by a few rules: keep it short and sweet (a study by ad-tech startup Visible Measures showed that 19.4 percent of viewers click out of a video within the first 10 seconds), use an eye-catching screen grab and autoplay videos should be muted.
Native ads: Native ads are content that integrate seamlessly with an app. With its non-disruptive approach, native advertising provide positive user experiences, and typically garners better results compared to traditional formats.
4. Freemium
As its name suggests, the freemium model offers both free and premium access: users gain access to a select few features, while exclusive content or additional features are available with a one-off or subscription fee.
An example of an app that has perfected the freemium model is Clash of Clans. While users may advance through the game without spending, the app taps on the impatience of gamers by offering small purchases that enable players to progress through the game at a faster pace.
These small purchases can add up rapidly — the app reportedly generated a revenue amounting to US$ 1.5 million per day at the peak of its popularity.
5. Sponsorship
Sponsorships offer a more target, integrated presence compared to in-app ads. As sponsorships are often negotiated with a single company, the ads are likely to be more relevant to the needs of your users.
When Gayot, an app that offers restaurant reviews written by professionals launched its mobile application, it nailed an exclusive sponsorship deal with The Marriott Rewards Chase card.
The sponsorship was a good fit as Gayot appeals to business travellers who valued fine culinary and travel experiences — a key target audience that Marriott sought to reach out to.
6. Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a fairly new monetisation model.
Developers present their idea on platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, CrowdFunder or AppsFunder, seeking donations to fund the development and promotion of their app.
Mobile Growth Stack reports that non-gaming apps seem to be more successful in being crowdfunded: as of May 2017 on Kickstarter, there have been 138 non-gaming apps that raised funding between $10,000 — $100,000, compared to 29 mobile games that achieved a similar funding goal.
But there are exceptions to the norm, likeHELLO EARTH. Based on the widely popular celebrity cat, Lil BUB, the game garnered a funding of $148,003 — well past its goal of $100,000.
Three Key trends for app publishers:
1. Subscription-based apps look set to be on the rise
While the freemium model currently dominates over other monetisation strategies, a shift in the ecosystem looks set to take place. As of June 2016, Apple and Google implemented changes which signal that subscription growth will continue to be on the rise.
Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple announced a new revenue sharing system for subscription-based apps — while Apple used to collect 30 percent of the monthly subscription, it now decreased its rate to 15 percent after the first year.
Apple also opened up the subscription model to all categories on the App Store; previously, it was limited to a few select categories like media, entertainment or cloud services apps.
Google introduced changes such as an account hold feature, which allows for a service or content access to be blocked for a user if payment isn’t made, as well as a new subscription dashboard that displays subscription data like the total number of subscribers, cancellations and best-selling products.
Following these changes, publishers may increasingly offer apps based on paid subscription or recurring micro-payments.
Already, both app stores have experienced growth: Apple’s 2016 app subscription billings were up 74% year over year to $2.7 billion, while Google indicated that it had seen a tenfold increase in consumer spending on subscription apps over the past three years, while subscribers doubled in the past year.
2. Programmatic and native advertising are rising trends
When it comes to mobile ads, native and programmatic advertising are key trends to keep an eye on.
“No question that programmatic ad spend is growing, and will continue to do so. A recent eMarketer reportshowed that programmatic was responsible for two thirds of all ad spend, and programmatic mobile video would eclipse desktop in 2017.
If mobile publishers aren’t paying attention to programmatic and figuring out their strategy now, they are falling behind. Native advertising is increasing as well, and we see a lot of customers that want to integrate the ad units due to their non-intrusive nature and seamless aesthetics.”
Similarly, Becky Campbell states in a Think with Google article that while brands have done well in adapting content experiences for mobile devices, the same can’t be said for advertising.
She suggests that “programmatic native could be the answer”, as programmatic buying enables advertisers to make native ads more relevant through tapping on machine learning and contextual signals.
3. Innovative business models and ideas are key for monetising in emerging markets
The majority of these users are likely to be feature phone owners getting their first smartphone, and having access to mobile internet for the first time.
While this presents exciting opportunities for app developers, it comes with its own set of challenges.
The IDC-App Annie Monetisation Reporthighlights a critical point: while current monetisation models are effective for the current smartphone user base due to their purchasing power, these strategies are unlikely to work for the emerging base of users, most of whom will have lower disposable income, limited access to credit and insufficient purchasing power for subscription or freemium models.
Increasingly, app publishers will have to look towards developing innovative business models and ideas that leverage on a large volume of subscribers.
App Annie suggests implementing a “crowdsourced by-products” model, where businesses start with creating a free app that addresses the needs of its users.
The app then serves as a crowdsourced labour pool that generates a by-product in exchange for the free usage of the app. The by-product can then be monetised by the company.
Duolingo’s initial business model is a good example of this. Back in 2014, the app generated revenue through selling translations to companies like CNN and Buzzfeed.
These businesses sent their news articles to Duolingo, which then used these content as translation exercises for its students. Duolingo then sold the translated content back to the news sites, effectively generating revenue from the “by-product” created by its user base.
In conclusion
If you’re in the midst of figuring out your monetisation strategy, consider implementing a mix of these models, and ensure that your strategies are aligned with key emerging trends.
I’ll round up the article with a final tip: it’s never too early to think about monetisation.
It starts from the concept stage; the type of app that’s developed, the potential target market and its features and aesthetics can impact the final monetisation strategy, so you need to think about how to monetise your app in a way that doesn’t affect your users’ experience right when you’re deciding on these factors.
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