MacRumors

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's own personal information was among the details of 533 million Facebook users that leaked in a data breach, it has emerged.

Facebook has now confirmed that the leaked data was obtained not by a hack, but by scraping the platform prior to September 2019. The company now says that an exploit was found in its contact importer, but the "specific issue that allowed them to scrape this data in 2019 no longer exists."

Facebook has not clarified exactly what personal information leaked about the 533 million users, and has only said that "the information did not include financial information, health information or passwords." Although the company has not issued an apology over the data breach, it has said that Facebook is "focused on protecting people's data" and recommends that "people do regular privacy checkups to make sure that their settings are in the right place, including who can see certain information on their profile and enabling two-factor authentication."

Wired reported late last week that the personal information of a number of high-profile individuals was among the leaked details, including those of Zuckerberg:

The information from more than 500 million Facebook users in more than 106 countries contains Facebook IDs, phone numbers, and other information about early Facebook users like Mark Zuckerburg and US secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, as well as the European Union commissioner for data protection, Didier Reynders. Other victims include 61 people who list the "Federal Trade Commission" and 651 people who list "Attorney General" in their details on Facebook.

Pundits investigating the data breach also discovered that Zuckerberg is in fact a user of the encrypted messaging app Signal. Since WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, announced a number of changes to its privacy policy that would allow for more data sharing with its parent company, Signal has seen a surge in popularity, so it is interesting to see that the Facebook CEO himself is a user of the privacy-focused rival app.

Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram, were found to be the most "invasive" apps for collecting data from users under Apple's app privacy labels. The company has also come under fire from security researchers for collecting and using data from link previews in Facebook Messenger and Instagram in a way that would breach European privacy law.

Facebook has suffered from major data breaches in the past. In 2018, a security vulnerability allowed hackers to steal data on 29 million Facebook users, including personal details about usernames, relationship status, religion, birthdate, location, and more.

Apple is on a trajectory to sell a record-breaking 240-250 million iPhones in the 2021 fiscal year, topping a previous record of 231 million iPhones sold in the 2015 fiscal year, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

"While the Street is forecasting roughly 220 million iPhone units for FY21, we believe based on this current trajectory and in a bull case Cupertino still has potential to sell north of 240 million units (~250 million could be in the cards - an eye popping figure) which would easily eclipse the previous Apple record of 231 million units sold in FY15," said Ives, in a research note shared with MacRumors today.

Ives estimates that 350 million iPhone users worldwide are currently "in the window of an upgrade opportunity," which he believes is "translating into an unprecedented supercycle upgrade cycle" for Apple this year.

If this forecast proves to be accurate, the iPhone 12 lineup could prove to be the most popular since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which saw strong demand following their September 2014 launch due to their larger screen sizes. Samsung already offered multiple smartphones with screen sizes at or beyond the 5-inch mark at the time.

Starting with iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5, Apple will be requiring apps to receive a user's permission to track their activity for targeted advertising purposes, as part of a privacy measure known as App Tracking Transparency.

To help advertisers adjust to this change, Apple today shared a new version of its "A Day in the Life of your Data" document with details on two privacy-preserving ad measurement technologies that advertisers can use to measure the impact of their ad campaigns without tracking users, including SKAdNetwork and Private Click Measurement.

Apple says SKAdNetwork lets advertisers know how many times an app was installed after ads for it were seen, without any user or device data being shared. Likewise, Private Click Measurement allows advertisers to measure the impact of ads that lead users to a website while minimizing data collection using on-device processing. Apps can use Private Click Measurement starting with iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5.

"A Day in the Life of your Data" has also been updated with new information that details how advertisers bid in an auction to show their ad on a user's device, and how advertisers use ad attribution to optimize their ad campaigns.

Apple reiterated that iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5 will be released in early spring, but no specific timeframe was outlined. In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the updates will be released in "just a few weeks."

Apple is opposing the trademarking of a bottled water business's logo since it argues that it can be easily mistaken for its own (via Law Street).

Apple filed a notice of opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against Georgette LLC's logo, asserting that its brand will be damaged if the applicant's logo is registered because of dilution and the likelihood of consumer confusion, mistake, or deception.

Georgette's logo depicts a whole apple with the words "I am Arcus" over it, and with two leaves. Apple's logo, on the other hand, has a bite out of its right-hand side, and a single leaf. Apple says that the applicant's logo "features a stylized apple design with a right-angled, detached leaf, rendering it visually similar to Apple's famous Apple Marks."

Consumers encountering Applicant's Mark are likely to associate the mark with Apple. Applicant's Mark features a stylized apple design with a right-angled, detached leaf, rendering it visually similar to Apple’s famous Apple Marks. Indeed, the overall shape of Applicant's apple design is nearly identical to the shape of the Apple Logo

An image enclosed in the filing overlays Georgette's logo with Apple's logo, to reveal that they are even dimensionally similar.

Apple argues that since 1977 it has used its logo, which has gone on to become distinctive and gain a high level of consumer recognition and goodwill.

Applicant's Mark readily calls to mind Apple's famous Apple Logo given the visual similarities, and the Apple Marks are so famous and instantly recognizable that the similarities in Applicant's Mark will overshadow any minor differences and cause the ordinary consumer to believe that Applicant is related to, affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.

Beyond the obvious similarities between Apple's logo and that of Georgette, Apple is also arguing that it sells "goods related to beverages" featuring its logo, including mugs, thermal bottles, and water bottles, such as those available to customers exclusively at the Apple Park Visitor Center. Since Georgette wants to trademark its logo for "purified drinking water; bottled water," Apple believes this is even greater grounds to refuse the application.

Last year, Apple initiated trademark litigation with a small company called "Prepear," arguing that its pear-shaped logo was too similar to its own mark. Prepear ultimately changed its logo to bring the dispute to an end, but Apple continues to fiercely guard the trademark of its logo.

Apple hosts millions of apps on the App Store, calling the platform a "safe and trusted" place to discover apps. While mainly true, Apple has come under criticism for hosting many different scam apps on the platform, some even raking in millions in revenue.

In February, developer Kosta Elefherious highlighted how many of his own apps, including the popular Apple Watch keyboard, FlickType, gets blatantly copied on the ‌App Store‌. Eleftheriou says that copies of his apps can trick Apple's ‌App Store‌ algorithm into giving it prominence by fake ratings and five-star reviews.

Now, Eleftheriou has highlighted yet another scam app on the ‌App Store‌. This time Eleftheriou is shining a light on how one scam app called "Privacy Assitant: StringVPN" uses Apple's in-app purchasing system to trick people into purchasing either a weekly, monthly, or yearly subscription for a fake VPN service.

The scam app promises to offer a "full-featured" and "safe" VPN experience, but that's not the case. The app has a total of 104 reviews and a 3.5/5 rating at the time of writing. The majority of reviews praise the app as being "perfect" and say it offers "the best experience ever." The masses of fake reviews posted by the developer tricks Apple's ‌App Store‌ algorithm into boosting its appearance in search results, making it easier for other users to discover and download the app.

However, there are real reviews posted by users scammed by the app in the barrage of fake reviews. One user says the app tricked them into purchasing its yearly $89.99 subscription without the option to chose weekly or monthly, and notes how the app looks like a legitimate VPN app.

They did not show the different payment options for weekly or monthly. Yearly was the only option. I'm reporting to Apple to get a refund. There is no way to contact them directly, and there are no reviews when I did a Google search on this App... It tries to look like a "strongVPN" app, which has many positive reviews.

Other legitimate ‌App Store‌ reviews describe an experience in which they received a pop-up in Safari encouraging them to download the app, only for the app to scam them into purchasing its expensive "subscription."

ITS A SCAM!!!!! IF YOU GOT A SECURITY ALERT THROUGH SAFARI ITS A SCAM!!!! DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PUT YOUR INFO IN THIS APP!!!! THERE IS A REASON YOU CANT CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS!!!!!

Was charged for app from a pop up. Could not find a way to contact and request refund. Had to contact apple and report it. Was told I would be refunded. Still waiting for the refund. Will be reporting them over and over again!

As Eleftheriou notes, the app is grossing around $1 million per month by scamming users, and is even ranked #32 at the time of writing in the ‌App Store‌'s Utilities category.

There are other alarm bells, such as the fact that the app's website is blank, and the developer lists a fake email with a fake domain provider for its "privacy contact." In a previously issued statement, Apple said it does not "tolerate fraudulent activity on the ‌App Store‌" and that it will work hard to put in place "stringent rules against apps and developers who attempt to cheat the system."

Apple's in-app purchasing system, the center of this scamming tactic, has come under increased scrutiny recently. The criticism has come mainly from Epic Games, who are taking into question the fact that for every purchase made inside of an app, Apple takes a 30% commission from the revenue. In this case, even with the fake VPN app, Apple is earning a profit, at the expense of scammed users.

All school pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland, between the ages of 10 and 18 are set receive an iPad as part of the capital's "Edinburgh Learns for Life" program, the city's council has announced.

The initiative, which begins in September and runs through to the end of 2022, will see the local government issue 27,000 new iPads to pupils and staff, and 12,000 refreshed iPads for pupils and staff.

Younger pupils will also receive iPads, however the city has yet to provide the exact number of units that will be available.

The 1:1 deployment is being made possible thanks to a £17.6 million ($24 million) grant provided by way of a partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council's ICT services provider CGI. The initiative will also provide wireless access points and a comprehensive program of professional learning for teachers.

"This is a really exciting project which is going to be a real game-changer for the learning and teaching in our schools," said councillor Ian Perry, education convener for the City of Edinburgh Council. "Giving pupils their own device has been shown to improve outcomes and result in increased engagement and motivation for our young people. It will create a learning environment which will drive higher levels of creativity also improve teacher and learner collaboration."

According to the government's website, key benefits of the Empowered Learning program for young people will include:

• Fair and equal access from P6 to S6, ensuring all pupils have personal access to digital learning with their teacher in school or at home.
• Effective digital workflow to increase engagement, improve teacher feedback and raise attainment.
• A range of innovative accessibility features to improve access to the curriculum for pupils with additional support needs.
• Pupils can work online simultaneously in a class or collaboratively outside the classroom.
• High quality digital applications for productivity and creativity, providing more ways to personalise and choose how they learn.
• Development of learning, thinking and digital literacy skills vital for success in today’s rapidly evolving, technological society.

The rollout meets a key element of one of the 15 outcomes and actions from the Council's three year business plan "Our Future Council, Our Future City: increasing attainment for all and reducing the poverty-related attainment gap."

The initiative highlights the increasing adoption of digital devices in education since distance learning needs increased since the global health crisis took hold.

Last August, Apple and T-Mobile announced a collaboration to provide 1 million iPads with high-speed cellular connectivity to students across California, as part of advance planning for distance learning in the next school year.

(Via AppleInsider.)

Reddit for iOS and iPadOS now no longer supports iOS 12 and older, meaning that customers running a version of Apple's mobile operating system released more than two years ago will not be able to receive updates to the app.

Reddit announced the new change in its latest App Store update, saying that "Moving forward, we will only support iOS 13.0 and above." In simpler terms, users will now need an iPhone 6s or later to install the Reddit App following this week's App Store update. Luckily, the majority of active iPhones and iPad devices are running iOS 14, meaning the lack of support for older iOS firmware will not impact a significant amount of users.

In its ‌App Store‌ update, Reddit also introduced a new "double tap on images to zoom in" feature that gives users more ability to zoom into photos, much like the stock Photos app on iOS and iPadOS. For users looking for an alternative to the stock Reddit app, Apollo for Reddit remains a popular choice amongst users. [Direct Link]

According to the latest podcast analytics, Apple's Podcasts platform recently surpassed 2 million titles, however almost a quarter of those shows have only published one episode, suggesting the numbers are inflated by so-called "once-and-done" podcasts.

Breaking down the latest statistics provided by Podcast Industry Insights, industry advisor Amplifi Media found that 26% of listed podcasts have published just one episode, suggesting that many content creators immediately went out of business or else never intended to continue creating beyond their opening act.

Adjusting the mark, Amplifi found that 44% of podcasts have published three or fewer episodes, meaning if the arbitrary benchmark of a "real podcast" is set as a series of at least four episodes, then the total number of shows on Apple Podcasts is closer to 880,000.

Looking at podcasts offering ten or more episodes, a little more than a third of all titles have achieved this number (around 36%), which places around 720,000 podcasts at the ten-episode level.

The statistical breakdown suggests that "once-and-done" podcasts clutter up the ‌Apple Podcasts‌ library with what might be considered "dead-end" content. Indeed, according to Podnews.net's James Cridland, 63% of single episode podcasts came via Spotify's Anchor and another 16% came from iHeart's Spreaker, both of which are free-to-use hosting providers that appeal to new podcasters who are still experimenting with the medium.

Amplifi suggests that the way single-act runs inflate the 2 million number is equivalent to including TV shows that produced a pilot but never became a series in a list of all-time TV shows. Despite that assessment, however, Amplifi noted that not all podcasts are suited to multiple episodes:

Not all podcasts are meant to be unending series. You can find plenty of great and evergreen content designed to run for just a handful of episodes. That’s part of the beauty of podcasting, but the one-and-done titles unfairly inflate the overall number of podcasts, and it is revealing that 44% have three or fewer episodes.

Right now, the Podcasts app is free and Apple has no paid podcast content, but rumors have suggested that Apple is working on a paid podcast subscription service that would charge people to listen to podcasts.

With a paid subscription service, Apple could potentially lure high-profile creators with the promise of more money, stealing them away from other platforms like Spotify.

In perhaps a related move, Apple is making a small but notable change to the way listeners can sign up to get updates on new podcast content, with the company changing the word "Subscribe" to "Follow" in the Podcasts app in iOS 14.5.

The word "Subscribe" may have misled Podcasts users into thinking that the podcasts cost money to listen to, in which case the change in language could facilitates the later introduction of a podcasting subscription service and will prevent confusion in the future.

LG today announced the worldwide rollout of its 2021 sound bar lineup, complete with AirPlay 2 support for wirelessly streaming audio from Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The sound bars also support Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

All of the 2021 sound bars support both the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound formats, while an "AI Room Calibration" feature promises optimal sound in any environment, using spatial awareness technology to measure a room's dimensions and customize the sound bar's audio settings accordingly. Many of the new models are also Hi-Res Audio certified for lossless playback at 24-bit/96kHz.

The new lineup includes models SP11RA, SP9YA, SP8YA, SP7Y, and SPD7Y, with additional models coming later this year. Availability will begin this month in key markets across North America and Europe, but pricing was not disclosed.

LG's press release includes a spec sheet with more details about the new sound bars.

Gazelle, a company that buys old iPhones, iPads, and Macs, has reinstated its device trade-in program after initially ending it in February.

Back in December, Gazelle announced plans to end its trade-in program in 2021, and said that it would shut down trade-in options on February 1, 2021. Gazelle stopped taking trade-ins at that time, but has since reversed course on the decision.

As of April 5, Gazelle is once again accepting online trade-ins for smartphones and tablets. In an email to customers that was also shared with The Verge, Gazelle said that trade-ins were reinstated after feedback from consumers.

Earlier this year, we announced that we will no longer be offering our trade-in option on Gazelle. After careful consideration, including feedback from customers like you, we have decided to keep Gazelle Trade-In going. Today, we are happy to say, 'We're back, baby!' Gazelle Trade-In is a pioneer of the electronics trade-in space and we are happy to continue building on our legacy by offering a simple process and immediate payouts for those unwanted devices.

When initially announcing that its online trade-in program was ending, Gazelle said that it would instead focus on its in-store ecoATM kiosks, which are designed to offer instant cash for devices.

Gazelle operates more than 4,000 ecoATM units across the United States and has collected more than 25 million devices.

Popular Twitter client Tweetbot 6 was today updated to version 6.1, introducing a redesigned video player, new custom icons, and more.

The app features a redesigned video player that includes Picture in Picture support, so videos playing in the app can be watched even if you swipe out of the app.

A video that's playing in Tweetbot can be shifted into Picture in Picture mode by tapping on the Picture in Picture icon in the top left. Once in Picture in Picture mode, the video will continue playing if you exit the Tweetbot app and open another app.

According to the Tweetbot 6 release notes, today's update also includes new custom icons, a new high contrast light theme, and a number of bug fixes.

Tweetbot can be downloaded from the App Store for free, and all features can be unlocked for $0.99 per month or $5.99 per year. [Direct Link]

Apple yesterday updated its Apple Music for Artists app with some minor bug fixes and improvements, but also one other notable change -- a new icon.

The Apple Music for Artists app now features a simpler, streamlined icon with a pinkish red music logo rather than the multicolored logo that was used before. The icon also has an embossed look that makes it stand out from other Apple icons.

‌Apple Music‌ for Artists is an app that lets artists know how their music is performing across ‌Apple Music‌, iTunes, and Shazam, so it's an app with a limited audience and the new icon may seem inconsequential, but it is similar to another app icon change that Apple introduced last year.

App Store Connect in October was updated with a refreshed icon that's similar to the ‌Apple Music‌ for Artists icon, which means Apple has now updated two app icons with this new design.

Over on Reddit, users are speculating that the icon changes could perhaps be indicative of more sweeping design changes set to be introduced in iOS 15.

Apple in macOS Big Sur refreshed many of its icons and streamlined their design, so there is a chance that something similar could happen in iOS 15. That said, these could just be one-off updates for Apple's behind the scenes apps for developers and musicians, and not a sign of something to come.

We don't know much at all about iOS 15 at this point, but we could perhaps see some details leaking out as the software's launch date approaches. Apple is expected to debut iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, tvOS 15, and macOS 12 at its keynote event that will be held on June 7.

Apple is getting closer to launching the third-party program that will allow item trackers and other Bluetooth devices to be tracked using the Find My app, based on the launch of a new app.

As noted by TechCrunch, Apple Sunday introduced the Find My Certification Asst. app, which was created exclusively for Made for iPhone (MFi) licensees who need to test their accessories with the ‌Find My‌ network. From the App Store description:

For use by MFi Licensees only. Use the Find My Certification Assistant to test discovery, connection, and other key requirements for accessories you develop that incorporate Find My network technology.

Based on screenshots of the app, product developers are able to test connectivity, sound power, NFC capabilities, firmware, Bluetooth connectivity, and more.

Apple's Find My Network Accessory Program was first introduced alongside iOS and iPadOS 14. It lets third-party products integrate with the ‌Find My‌ app, allowing them to be tracked right alongside Apple devices.

iOS 14.5 added a new "Items" tab to the ‌Find My‌ app, which is where any ‌Find My‌ integrated device will be able to be tracked. This is also presumably where Apple's own AirTags will be able to be located when those launch, but for now, it may be aimed at third-party accessories.

So far, there are few accessory makers that have released a product that works with ‌Find My‌ integration. Belkin in January announced the Soundform Freedom True Wireless Earbuds, which have ‌Find My‌ integration and will be able to be tracked in the ‌Find My‌ app.

‌Find My‌ is able to work with any device that has Bluetooth and integrates Apple's code through the ‌Find My Network Accessory Program‌, so it is not limited to item trackers and can be built into any Bluetooth product. Tile has been offering a similar program that allows accessories to integrate with the Tile ecosystem to be located through the Tile app.

Four months after Apple first began requiring apps to add App Privacy labels to their App Store listings, Google has finally updated all of its most popular apps with the information, letting people know exactly what data Google is collecting.

Google began adding App Privacy labels to its apps in February after months of delaying. Gmail, for example, got App Privacy labels on February 22, and other apps have been slowly updated over time.

Google Maps was quietly updated with privacy information last week, and as noted by The 8-Bit, Google today updated its last main app with App Privacy details, adding the information to Google Photos.

As a consequence of taking so long to add App Privacy labels, many of Google's apps went months without an update. Apple began enforcing App Privacy labels on December 8, and any new app or app update submitted after that time had to include the information.

Back in February, it had been two months since Gmail was updated, and the app started giving users a warning that it was out of date and should be updated, but there was, of course, no update available. Gmail was finally updated on March 1.

Though Google ‌Photos‌ and Google Maps now have App Privacy labels, the apps still have yet to be updated. It's been four months since Google Maps and Google ‌Photos‌ got bug fixes or new features, which is highly unusual as Google typically pushes regular updates.

It's not clear why Google delayed adding App Privacy labels to its apps for so long as it isn't exactly a surprise that the company is collecting quite a bit of data from users. Google Maps, for example, uses coarse location, search history, browsing history, identifiers, and usage data for third-party advertising purposes, with Google Search using much of the same information.

All of the data that Google is collecting is now listed in the ‌App Store‌ for each individual app for those who are interested.

Longtime Apple supplier TSMC is set to begin mass shipments of Apple's upcoming A15 chip for the iPhone 13 ahead of schedule at the end of May, according to a snippet of a full report set to be published tomorrow by DigiTimes.

The new chip will be based on an enhanced version of the 5nm process, which first debuted in the A14 Bionic with the 2020 iPad Air and ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup. While the full report will likely offer more details as to the specifics of the new chip that will power the next-generation iPhones, it can be reasonably assumed that it will improve on performance and power efficiency.

Due to impacts to suppliers as a result of the global health crisis, Apple launched the ‌iPhone‌ 12 series in October, out of the normal September timeframe. With impacts to supply chains now easing, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple is on track to release the iPhone 13 in September. With TSMC now believed to be starting mass shipments of the new chip ahead of schedule, that certainly does seem to be the case.

Improved performance and power efficiency in the A15 will be one of the multiple rumored features coming to the 2021 iPhones. Information so far suggests that Apple will relocate the earpiece to the top bezel for the upcoming iPhones, resulting in a smaller notch.

Internally, Apple is expected to include a ProMotion 120Hz and always-on-display for at least some ‌iPhone‌ 13 models. Additional features include a rumored new matte black option, improved fingerprint resistance for the stainless steel edges, and possibly an in-screen fingerprint sensor.