Lit Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad User Group

[sultrysandy]

iPhone camera and iOS 14 at crux of Facebook & Instagram spying lawsuit

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With all that I've been reading of iOS 14 alerting of apps and websites doing things that they shouldn't be, each have said that it's only a bug, and none admitting to their wrong doing.

Imagine how much worse it is on other platforms (e.g. Android, Windows) where the O.S.'s also spy on and track users?

Facebook allegedly spied on Instagram users through unauthorized use of iPhone cameras, a new lawsuit claims.

Back in July, an iOS 14 privacy feature revealed that Instagram appeared to be activating the iPhone camera and microphone even when they weren't in use. The specific feature was an indicator dot that showed up when the camera wasn't active, such as when a user was scrolling the feeds.

At the time, Facebook said that the behavior was unintentional and caused by a bug that was quickly fixed. In the complaint, lodged Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, plaintiff Brittany Conditi contends that it wasn't.

"Instagram is constantly accessing users' smartphone camera feature while the app is open and monitors users without permission, i.e., when users are not interacting with Instagram's camera feature," the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint contends that Facebook is surveilling users to collect "lucrative and valuable data on its users that it would not otherwise have access to."

That alleged spying, it continues, allowed Facebook to "monitor users' most intimate moments, including those in the privacy of their own homes, in addition to collecting valuable insight and market research on its users."

"Defendants abused their ability to access users' smartphone cameras, and committed egregious privacy violations, for one specific reason: to increase their advertising revenue. By obtaining extremely private and intimate personal data on their users, including in the privacy of their own home, Defendants are able to target users more than ever before," the complaint reads.

The lawsuit also specifically notes that iOS 14 is a "game-changer" for privacy, since it allows users to "see exactly how companies access and use their personal information" and which apps are currently using the camera or microphone. It also brings up past alleged privacy blunders from TikTok and LinkedIn that were exposed by the Apple operating system update.

In response to the July media reports, Facebook said that it doesn't surreptitiously activate either the camera or microphone.

"We only access your camera when you tell us to — for example, when you swipe from Feed to Camera. We found and are fixing a bug in iOS 14 Beta that mistakenly indicates that some people are using the camera when they aren't," Facebook said. "We do not access your camera in those instances, and no content is recorded."

Facebook has not publicly commented on the allegations.

The complaint alleges that Facebook broke wiretapping and two-party consent laws in California, and claims that its failure to disclose its data collection practices constitutes a violation of the California Consumer Privacy Act. It seeks class status, as well as damages, legal costs, and a finding that Facebook's alleged behavior was unlawful.

Conditi v. Instagram by Mike Wuerthele on Scribd
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[sultrysandy]

Apple Shares 'The Device That Saved Me' Apple Watch Video

During Apple's "Time Flies" event on Tuesday, Apple played a heartwarming video depicting stories of how Apple Watch has changed, and in some cases saved, the lives of some people who wear the device.

Apple Watch — The Device That Saved Me - 1:58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM15Qkq2BB8&feature=youtu.be




The video includes an athlete with Type-1 diabetes who uses Apple Watch to check insulin readings, which has given them a newfound sense of liberation from their condition.

Another person in the video was able to come off expensive medication for high blood pressure and hypertension by getting into shape with the help of Apple Watch, while a 26-year-old was alerted by Apple Watch to a high heart rate which led them to seek medical help before they went into cardiac arrest, potentially saving their life.

Apple is pitching the Apple Watch Series 6 as a health, fitness, and safety device like never before, and with the introduction of blood oxygen measuring, it is joining forces with researchers to conduct health studies in the hope that signals from apps on Apple Watch could serve as early signs of respiratory conditions like influenza and COVID-19.

Blood oxygen level is a key indicator of overall wellness and can help you understand how well your body is absorbing oxygen, as well as the amount of oxygen delivered to your body. The new sensor and app in the Apple Watch Series 6 enables users to take on-demand readings of their blood oxygen as well as background readings, both during the day and at night.

Apple says the Blood Oxygen app is only available in certain countries and regions.
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[sultrysandy]

How to customize your Home Screen on iOS 14

One of the best parts about setting up your iPhone is customizing it to fit your style. iOS 14 takes it a step further by allowing you to use new Widgets, flexible tiles that will enable you to quickly perform actions or glean information at a glance. We're here to teach you how to take advantage of some of the most common customization options in iOS 14.

This guide will start with the very basics and walk you through some of the more advanced features, so feel free to jump in wherever you feel most comfortable!


Wallpaper

Apple provides plenty of high-quality wallpapers for your iPhone, which saves you the trouble of finding your own. Here's how you can use one of Apple's wallpapers on your phone.

How to set your wallpaper in iOS 14

1. Open Settings
   
   
2. Tap Wallpaper
   
   
3. Tap Choose a New Wallpaper
   
   
4. Select Dynamic, Stills, or Live
   
   
5. Tap the wallpaper you wish to select
   
   
6. Swipe, pinch, and zoom to set the picture to your liking
   
   
7. Tap Set
   
   
8. Choose whether you want it to be your lock screen, home screen, or both

Using a custom wallpaper has always been an option, and it hasn't changed much in iOS 14. Here's a quick refresher on how to set a custom wallpaper on your iPhone.

How to set a custom wallpaper in iOS 14

Make sure the picture you wish to use is saved to your iPhone's photo album


Open Photos


Tap on the photo you wish to use


Tap the share button


Scroll down and tap Use as Wallpaper


Swipe, pinch, and zoom to set the picture to your liking


Tap Set


Choose whether you want it to be your lock screen, home screen, or both

iOS 14, like previous versions, allows you to use Perspective Zoom. When toggled on, your iPhone's wallpaper will move when you tilt your screen. It uses a little more battery than when it's toggled off, so it is automatically disabled when Low Power Mode is on.


Widgets

The newest version of iOS has brought an exciting feature — widgets! Widgets are tiles that you can place on your home screen that offer a bit of expanded functionality over something like an icon.

For example, adding a music widget can allow you to see what you were last listening to and enable you to easily jump right back into your favorite playlists.

How to add widgets to your home screen in iOS 14

Tap and hold on your home screen until the icons begin to wiggle


Tap + in the top left corner


Scroll through to find a widget you'd like to use


Tap the widget you'd like to add


Scroll left or right to change what size widget you'd like


Tap Add Widget


Drag your widget into place


Of course, there's a chance that you don't want to use the official Apple widgets. App developers are beginning to roll out their own apps that allow you to create your own widgets, and we expect there will be plenty available in short order.

Currently, a favorite go-to is Widgetsmith, which you can easily download from the App Store here. Here's a brief guide on how to use Widgetsmith to make a basic custom widget.

How to create your own widgets with Widgetsmith

Download and open Widgetsmith


Tap Add Small Widget


Scroll through and tap the widget you'd like to create. (Eg: Moon Phase)


Tap and hold on your home screen until the icons begin to wiggle


Tap + in the top left corner


Scroll and tap Small Widget


Tap Add Widget


Drag your widget into place


Tap and hold on the Widgetsmith widget


Tap Edit Widget


Select the widget you created


Custom icons

For those of you who are comfortable using the Shortcuts feature, there's one more thing that you can do to customize your iPhone's home screen — create and use custom icons for apps. Because you're executing an app through a shortcut rather than directly, there will be a slight delay — especially on older iPhones. However, this is currently the only Apple-approved way to set your own custom icons.

We won't be walking you through the process of making or obtaining custom icons, so make sure you have the image you'd like to use downloaded to your iPhone's photo album.

How to set custom icons for apps in iOS 14

Open Shortcuts


Tap +


Tap Add Action


Tap Scripting


Tap Open App


Tap the app you wish to customize


Name the app


Tap Done


Tap ...


Tap ... (again)


Tap Add to Home Screen


Tap the icon under Home Screen Name and Icon


Select the image from your camera roll


Tap Add

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[sultrysandy]

Multiple services including App Store, Apple Music affected by server outages

Apple's online services are experiencing multiple outages, with problems cropping up in Apple's digital storefronts, Apple TV services, Apple Business Manager, and Apple School Manager.

The Apple System Status page indicates that there are multiple issues with Apple's various online services. The problems largely started at 1:23pm BST (8:23am Eastern Time), and mostly center around Apple's various storefronts.

According to the page, "Some users are affected" and may be "experiencing a problem" or "intermittent issues" with the App Store, Apple Music, iTunes Store, and the Mac App Store. Further problems are being endured with Apple TV and Apple TV Channels, with all six commencing at the same time and listed as "ongoing."

The Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager were both listed as being an issue from 3:15pm BST (10:15am Eastern Time), but were "resolved" by 4pm BST (11am Eastern Time).

The list of issues on the Apple System Status page, as of 4pm BST.



It is unclear what exactly caused the six remaining issues, but considering they all occurred at the same time and deal with storefronts and content, it is likely the problems are linked in some way.
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[sultrysandy]

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Update: The System Status page now displays the six remaining issues as "resolved," following an outage that lasted 3 hours and 22 minutes. All services should now be running optimally for all users.

Apple's online services are experiencing multiple outages, with problems cropping up in Apple's digital storefronts, Apple TV services, Apple Business Manager, and Apple School Manager.

The Apple System Status page indicates that there are multiple issues with Apple's various online services. The problems largely started at 1:23pm BST (8:23am Eastern Time), and mostly center around Apple's various storefronts.

According to the page, "Some users are affected" and may be "experiencing a problem" or "intermittent issues" with the App Store, Apple Music, iTunes Store, and the Mac App Store. Further problems are being endured with Apple TV and Apple TV Channels, with all six commencing at the same time and listed as "ongoing."

The Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager were both listed as being an issue from 3:15pm BST (10:15am Eastern Time), but were "resolved" by 4pm BST (11am Eastern Time).

The list of issues on the Apple System Status page, as of 4pm BST.



It is unclear what exactly caused the six remaining issues, but considering they all occurred at the same time and deal with storefronts and content, it is likely the problems are linked in some way.
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[sultrysandy]

A tip from a kid helps detect iOS and Android scam apps’ 2.4 million downloads

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SCAMWARE —

Smartphone apps raked in ~$500,000, in part thanks to shilling on TikTok and Instagram.

Researchers said that a tip from a child led them to discover aggressive adware and exorbitant prices lurking in iOS and Android smartphone apps with a combined 2.4 million downloads from the App Store and Google Play.

Posing as apps for entertainment, wallpaper images, or music downloads, some of the titles served intrusive ads even when an app wasn’t active. To prevent users from uninstalling them, the apps hid their icon, making it hard to identify where the ads were coming from. Other apps charged from $2 to $10 and generated revenue of more than $500,000, according to estimates from SensorTower, a smartphone-app intelligence service.

The apps came to light after a girl found a profile on TikTok that was promoting what appeared to be an abusive app and reported it to Be Safe Online, a project in the Czech Republic that educates children about online safety. Acting on the tip, researchers from security firm Avast found 11 apps, for devices running both iOS and Android, that were engaged in similar scams.

Many of the apps were promoted by one of three TikTok users, one of whom had more than 300,000 followers. A user on Instagram was also promoting the apps.

“We thank the young girl who reported the TikTok profile to us,” Avast threat analyst Jakub Vávra, said in a statement. “Her awareness and responsible action is the kind of commitment we should all show to make the cyberworld a safer place.”

The apps, Avast said, made misleading claims concerning app functionalities, served ads outside of the app, or hid the original app icon shortly after the app was installed—all in violation of the app markets’ terms of service. The links promoted on TikTok and Instagram led to either the iOS or Android versions of the apps depending on the device that accessed a given link.


Targeting “younger kids”

“It is particularly concerning that the apps are being promoted on social media platforms popular among younger kids, who may not recognize some of the red flags surrounding the apps and therefore may fall for them,” Vávra added.

Avast said it privately notified Apple and Google of the apps’ behaviors. Avast also alerted both TikTok and Instagram to the shill accounts doing the promotions.

A Google spokesman said the company has removed the apps, and Web searches appeared to confirm this. Several of the apps for iOS appeared to still be available in the App Store as this post was being prepared. Representatives from Apple and TikTok didn’t immediately have a comment for this post. Representatives with Facebook, which owns Instagram, didn't respond to a request to comment.

Android users by now are well-acquainted with the Play Store serving apps that are either outright malicious or that perform unethical actions such as deliver a flood of ads, often with no easy way to curtail the deluge. Abusive apps from the App Store, by contrast, come to light much less often—not that such iOS apps are never encountered.

Last month, researchers discovered more than 1,200 iPhone and iPad apps that were snooping on URL requests users made within an app. This violates the App Store’s terms of service. Using a software developer kit for serving ads, the apps also forged click notifications to give the false appearance that an ad viewed by the user came from an ad network controlled by the app, even when that wasn’t the case. The behavior allowed the SDK developers to steal revenue that should have gone to other ad networks.

People considering installing an app should spend a few minutes reading ratings, reviewing prices, and checking permissions. In the case of the apps found by Avast, the average rating ranged from 1.3 to 3.0.

“This all is bad don’t buy,” an iOS user wrote in one review. “I accidentally bought it. 8 dollars wasted and it doesn’t work.”
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[sultrysandy]

PSA: Websites asking you to allow downloads? Here’s the solution …

An increasing number of people are finding a wide range of websites are asking permission to allow downloads to your Mac from googlesyndication.com …

The problem is a rogue ad that has made it through to the Google ad network, which is used by a great many websites. If you do allow the download, it’s just a harmless text file, but it’s annoying to have to keep hitting Cancel to block it.

Fortunately, there’s a simple way to stop the alerts. In Safari, go to the Safari menu, select Preferences and then Downloads from the left-hand menu. Beneath the list of Allowed and Denied sites is an option: When visiting other websites. Just set this to Deny.

You may need to explicitly grant permission for sites you do want to be able to offer you downloads. Simply visit those website and they will appear at the top, under Currently Open Websites. For each of these, select Allow or Ask as desired. They will then be added to your Currently Configured Websites list.

Google should soon block the specific ad causing the problem, but this is a useful thing to configure anyway.
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[sultrysandy]

Justice Department unveils legislation to alter Section 230 protections

The U.S. Department of Justice has unveiled new draft legislation that would reform Section 230, a key protection for technology companies from users posting illicit content.

In June, the DOJ announced a set of reforms that would hold technology companies more legally responsible for the content that their users posted. That followed President Donald Trump signing an executive order that sought to weaken social media platform protections.

The proposed legislation on Wednesday would narrow the criteria that online platforms would need to meet to earn Section 230 liability protections. One of the main reforms is carving out immunity in cases such as child sexual abuse. It would need to be passed by Congress.

It also includes a "Bad Samaritan" section that could deny immunity to platforms that don't take action on content that violates federal law, or fail to report illegal material. That's similar to a variant of the EARN IT act that passed in the Judiciary Committee in July.

The proposal also states that nothing in the statute should prevent enforcement under separate laws, such as antitrust regulations.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects online platforms from being liable for the content that users post. It and also requires them to moderate and remove harmful content to be extended Section 230 protections.

Those protections allowed technology platforms and the internet to flourish in their nascent years, but have since come under scrutiny. Trump signed the executive order in May, for example, after Twitter fact checked one of his tweets.

That scrutiny has bled into other areas of technology oversight. At what was supposed to be an antitrust hearing in July, many members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee criticized companies like Facebook for alleged "censorship" of political views.

The Justice Department, specifically, has been looking into Section 230 reforms for the better part of a year. Attorney General William Barr said in December 2019 that the department was "thinking critically" about Section 230, and later invited experts to debate the law in February.
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[sultrysandy]

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote updated for iPhone and iPad with new features for iOS

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Pages, Numbers, and Keynote updated for iPhone and iPad with new features for iOS and iPadOS 14

Apple’s productivity suite has been updated to take advantage of the new features that have arrived with iPadOS 14 while bringing some new changes to iOS as well.

New changes across the iOS iWork suite include support for Apple Pencil’s Scribble feature in iPadOS 14, new templates, a new image picker, and more.


Pages

• Use Scribble to write by hand with Apple Pencil, and your words will automatically convert to text. Requires iPadOS 14.

• Select from new report templates to help you get started.

• Enhance your documents with a variety of new, editable shapes.

• Easily find pictures and videos using new zoom and search capabilities in the redesigned image picker. Requires iOS 14 or iPadOS 14.


Numbers

• Use Scribble to write by hand with Apple Pencil, and your words will automatically convert to text. Requires iPadOS 14.

• Forms are now easier to create and customize. Add a form to any table or use the new Basic Form template.

• Improved performance when working with large tables.

• Easily find pictures and videos using new zoom and search capabilities in the redesigned image picker. Requires iOS 14 or iPadOS 14.

• Enhance your spreadsheets with a variety of new, editable shapes.


Keynote

• Use Scribble to write by hand with Apple Pencil, and your words will automatically convert to text. Requires iPadOS 14.

• Use the new Outline View to focus on the structure and flow of your content without other distractions.

• Play YouTube and Vimeo videos right in your presentations.*

• Movie export now supports a wide selection of formats and frame rates.

• Hold the option key while dragging an object to duplicate it.

• Easily find pictures and videos using new zoom and search capabilities in the redesigned image picker. Requires iOS 14 or iPadOS 14.

• Enhance your presentations with a variety of new, editable shapes.

*May not be available in all regions.
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[Jada59]

Zoom.

 

[sultrysandy]

Apple releases iOS 14.0.1 with bug fixes for widgets, default app settings, more

Following last week’s release of iOS 14 to the general public, Apple released a bug fix update today in the form of iOS 14.0.1. Today’s update brings fixes for iOS 14 home screen widgets, default app settings, and more.

Apple has also released iPadOS 14.0.1, watchOS 7.0.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.7, and tvOS 14.0.1.

Last week, an apparent bug highlighted in iOS 14 that caused your default browser or mail app setting to reset to Mail or Safari when your iPhone or iPad rebooted. Today’s update to iOS 14.0.1 resolves that issue, ensuring that you only have to set your default app preferences once.

Apple also says that today’s release of iOS 14.0.1 includes a fix for the Apple News widget that caused images from appearing, as well as bug fixes related to WiFi connectivity and email sending with some mail providers. For iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users, there’s a fix for an issue that could have affected camera previews.

Here are the full release notes for today’s iOS 14.0.1 update:

• Fixes an issue that could cause default browser and mail settings to reset after restarting your iPhone
  
  
• Addresses an issue that could prevent camera previews from displaying on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
  
  
• Fixes an issue that could prevent your iPhone from connecting to Wi-Fi networks
  
  
• Resolves an issue that could prevent sending email with some mail providers
  
  
• Addresses an issue that could prevent images from appearing in the News widget

Apple says that watchOS 7.0.1 “fixes an issue where some payment cards in Wallet were disabled for some users.”

iOS 14.0.1 is rolling out today to all iPhone users, and you’ll be able to update by heading to the Settings app and choosing “Software Update.” Note that if you don’t see the update immediately, keep checking as it may take a few minutes to hit your device.

 

[sultrysandy]

Apple releases macOS Catalina 10.15.7 with bug fixes for WiFi and iMac GPU, more

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Apple releases macOS Catalina 10.15.7 with bug fixes for WiFi and iMac GPU performance, more

Apple has released several updates for Mac today including macOS 10.15.7 and new versions of Final Cut Pro X and iMovie that squash a number of bugs and improve stability. macOS 10.15.7 includes fixes for a WiFi issue and an iMac graphics card issue. The FCP X update solves problems with brightness levels, keyframes, exporting, and more.

First up, macOS 10.15.7 comes about a month after we saw 10.15.6 arrive last month with fixes for a virtualization issue and trouble with the 2020 iMac display. macOS 10.15.7 comes with fixes for a WiFi issue, problems with iCloud Drive syncing correctly, and a graphics problem with 2020 iMacs that have the Radeon Pro 5700 XT (the WiFi and iCloud Drive fixes previously arrived in a 10.15.6 supplemental update that Apple marked as a public release but turned out to be just for beta users).

The release also includes other security updates and bug fixes. macOS 10.15.7 is rolling out now, check System Preferences > Software Update to see if it’s landed on your Mac.

Final Cut Pro X 10.4.10

A new release of FCP X is also available alongside the latest macOS Catalina update. FCP X 10.4.10 comes with seven specific bug fixes and stability improvements:

• Fixes an issue in which XAVC media from the Sony PXW-FX9 camera is not recognized

• Fixes an issue where brightness levels shift when switching between Better Quality and Better Performance in the viewer

• Fixes an issue in which effect keyframes are not added correctly when using onscreen controls

• Improves stability when using the transform tool with multiple clips in the timeline

• Improves reliability when exporting an FCPXML that contains Compound clips

• Addresses an issue which could prevent sharing at certain resolutions

• Fixes an issue in which sharing a Compound or Multicam clip from the timeline was disabled

iMovie 10.1.16

Finally, iMovie for Mac gets a minor update with two specific fixes:

• Addresses an issue that prevented the sharing of some projects in HD or 4K resolutions
• Improves stability when importing media

 

[Fingerfuxs]

Good morning Ms.Sandy ......geek goddess of knowledge

I have a3rd generation iPad photos question.?

My iPad no longer allows me to edit photos in the picture holding section ? , for a lack of a better word choice.

Also 80 percent of the tiles just show up saying jeg ? With no preview pic there.

Is there a fix ? Mac user magic work around I could do ?

It no longer excepts updates , " Apple wants us to buy a new model every release date " .......sign , grrr we know but really don't need or want too.

Thanks in advance , for any help you can provide
Mr. FF

 

[sultrysandy]

Companies Can Track Your Phone’s Movements to Target Ads

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This is going to be cool. Well that is if I can be left alone long enough.

This post references what will be the next post, iOS users unlikely to share IDFA with Publishers. Then the third post will be geeky. Will show you some aobut j a v a s c r i p t, how they can feed more to load, all sucking resources, just for loading webpages.



Brands are seeking new ways to customize messages. A startup that gathers data on when you pick up your phone, or when you go out on a run, can help.

Google and Apple have taken steps this year they say will help users shield themselves from hundreds of companies that compile profiles based on online behavior. Meanwhile, other companies are devising new ways to probe more deeply into other aspects of our lives.

In January, Google said it would phase out third-party cookies on its Chrome browser, making it harder for advertisers to track our browsing habits. Publishers and advertisers use cookies to compile our shopping, browsing, and search data into extensive user profiles. These profiles reflect our political interests, health, shopping behavior, race, gender, and more. Tellingly, Google will still collect data from its own search engine, plus sites like YouTube or Gmail.

Apple, meanwhile, says it will require apps in a forthcoming version of iOS to ask users before tracking them across services, though it delayed the effective date until next year after complaints from Facebook. A poll from June showed as many as 80 percent of respondents would not opt in to such tracking.

Together, the moves are likely to squeeze the industry of middlemen that compile user profiles from our digital tracks. But “big companies with large repositories of first-party data about their consumers probably aren’t going to be terribly negatively impacted,” says Charles Manning, CEO of the analytics platform Kochava.

Companies looking for new ways to categorize users and tailor content are turning to a new tool: physical signals from the phone itself.

“We see Apple's announcements, consumers getting more conscious of privacy, and the death of the cookie,” says Abhishek Sen, cofounder of NumberEight, a “contextual intelligence” startup in the UK that infers user behavior from sensors in their smartphone.

Sen describes NumberEight’s chief product as “context prediction software.” The tool helps apps infer user activity based on data from a smartphone’s sensors: whether they’re running or seated, near a park or museum, driving or riding a train.

Most smartphones have internal components that record data on their movements. If you’ve ever used the compass on your phone, it’s thanks to internal sensors like the accelerometer (which can tell the direction you’re facing) and magnetometer, which is drawn to magnetic poles. These and other sensors also power features like “raise to wake,” where your phone powers on when you pick it up, or rotating to horizontal orientation to watch a movie.

Sen knows a lot about the sensors in phones, having worked with them at Blackberry and Apple. An earlier iteration of NumberEight’s tech was built around travel, collecting sensor data as part of research on London commuters, whose bus and train fares are based on the distance traveled. Sen researched using sensor data to determine when someone had exited a train or bus, to charge their fare automatically. But, given the “incredibly long sales cycle” of public contracts, Sen says, the app pivoted to music and other commercial services.

Companies like NumberEight, or competitors Sentiance and Neura, use sensor data to categorize users. Instead of building a profile to target, say, women over 35, a service could target ads to “early risers” (as indicated by sensors noting when the phone is picked up after hours of rest) or adapt its user interface for after-work commuters (as indicated when sensors note riding a train after 5 pm). The feedback from the sensors provides “context” on the user’s physical behavior.

Sen says NumberEight restricts how clients can collect and combine user data. For example, a gaming app may already know which of its users makes the most in-app purchases. It can use NumberEight to determine if these people are, say, heavy runners or long-distance commuters. A music app may use the service to determine when users are most likely to skip certain songs, based on whether they are jogging or home. They can personalize the app based on real-time information on people’s activities.

In a climate of increasing regulation and public scrutiny, Sen thinks behavioral context will become more important as marketers can no longer assemble profiles built on a user’s online activity. Rather than knowing a user’s demographics or personal preferences, services will combine what they know about a user’s activity on their own apps with information on what they’re doing physically at the time.

“Brands are forced to rethink their campaigns, which have always been, ‘I want to know the individual and know their preferences,’” he says. “You don't need to know the individual. You just need to know whether your product or service is going to land with the right audience.”

Manning, the Kochava CEO, says Apple’s changes may prompt some apps to give up completely on traditional data sharing. They’d rather not collect the data than send the message that they’re tracking users, “even if they may very well be,” he says.

Neither Apple nor Google would bar apps from tracking what users do inside their own apps or on their websites. And that may favor other companies, like Facebook, with large stores of data about users.

The future will be slightly more anonymous, with less tracking from everyone but the biggest in the field, but potentially even less private. “The old world of these predefined segments like soccer moms or other [ad] categories will start to decrease,” Manning says.
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[sultrysandy]

New Poll Suggests iOS users unlikely to share IDFA with Publishers

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Found this as it was referenced in the previous post, however, it is three months old.



During its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2020 conference, Apple began laying the ground work that may render the mobile ad ID or IDFA useless. Starting this fall with the iOS 14 release, Apple will require app developers to ask user permission before collecting ad IDs used to track users across apps and websites. The move is intended to add more transparency and control to the data being collected on users.

For example, users will begin seeing in-app notifications asking permission to allow or not allow tracking across other apps and websites:

Given the language of the notification and the implications this could have on the mobile industry, we wanted to find out how iOS users felt about the new changes. So on June 29th, 2020 we ran a simple poll to 1,200 verified iOS mobile users asking them how likely they were to select “Allow Tracking” from an app they use and enjoy on a regular basis.

The poll asked was sent to iOS users, ages 18-64, that live in the US. Respondents were shown the in-app notification above and asked:


“If an app you use and enjoy on a regular basis presented this screen to you, how likely are you to select “Allow Tracking”?

1 — Extremely unlikely
2 — Unlikely
3 — Neutral
4 — Likely
5 — Extremely likely
Don’t know / no opinion


Of the 1,088 respondents who answered 1-5 the data suggests only 16% of iOS users would consider selecting the “Allow Tracking” option from an app they regularly use and enjoy.

Further, when looking at responses by age group, there’s a stark trend among younger respondents which seem more open to allowing the tracking.

While we don’t know for certain what implications this change will have across the mobile ecosystem, it is clear that mobile users will be gaining more control and transparency their data.

[Update: July 17, 2020] A few weeks after this original post there’s been some iOS 14 beta testing and we noticed a new consent screen, color and CTA so we re-ran the survey using the same methodology.

The data suggests a slight improvement on users’ likliness to consent.

[Update: August 20, 2020] We’ve been seeing more iterations on the IDFA consent screen with user prompts before presenting the iOS 14 modal window. This seems like a common best practice for location tracking so we re-ran our IDFA survey to 1,200 respondents on iOS ages 18-64:

The new data from 8/20 suggests a noticeable improvement compared to the June 29th survey which also included the “Allow Tracking” CTA.

About the poll:
TapResearch conducted this survey across their network of random mobile devices. The polls were conducted on June 29th, July 16th and August 20th 2020 each with 1,200 respondents. Each respondent was a verified iOS user.
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[sultrysandy]

Good morning Ms.Sandy ......geek goddess of knowledge

I have a3rd generation iPad photos question.?

My iPad no longer allows me to edit photos in the picture holding section ? , for a lack of a better word choice.

Also 80 percent of the tiles just show up saying jeg ? With no preview pic there.

Is there a fix ? Mac user magic work around I could do ?

It no longer excepts updates , " Apple wants us to buy a new model every release date " .......sign , grrr we know but really don't need or want too.

Thanks in advance , for any help you can provide
Mr. FF

Since no one has posted, will give it a shot.


Have you restarted? It can effectively fix many small issues
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[Fingerfuxs]

Since no one has posted, will give it a shot.


Have you restarted? It can effectively fix many small issues
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Thanks for replying , I tried that first. It's got something to do with syncing , iPhone to iPad ..... 7plus with all the current updates, iPad 3rd. Generation , that's Apple factory locked from currents updates.....FU Apple it just started happening with the last update on the phone.

I think. I can work around it , but there are times that I have some artwork or interesting things that would make for a fun avatar change that I can't see a thumb nail to use or even find it.

 

[sultrysandy]

PSA: No, iOS 14 widgets can’t secretly steal private info with your keyboard

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To me it is sad how people post and spread not only inaccurate but also false information on the web, but especially on social media websites. And say things they can not support.

If I post something you want more information, think I'm wrong, or for me to support what I say, please post asking me.
However please don't to stir up dust or behaving like a troll.

A conspiracy theory being spread on Facebook and other social media platforms this week claims that iOS 14 widgets are actually serving as key loggers, tracking everything you type on your iPhone. This is unequivocally not true, and there are technical limitations and protections in place that prevent widgets from accessing your data.

The viral post on Facebook has been screenshotted and shared to other social media platforms. On Twitter, a tweet with a screenshot of the original Facebook post has over 7,000 retweets and 8,000 likes. Screenshots have also gone viral on Instagram.

The Facebook post comes from an iPhone user who claims to have noticed that their “keyboard would lag and wouldn’t show the characters” as they were being typed, as well as other issues like app crashes and generally laggy performance.

The Facebook post also cites the security code autofill feature of iOS as evidence the app is tracking what they type.

Another piece of misinformation gaining social media traction is that iOS 14 and/or home screen widgets are responsible for compromised passwords. The misconception here is that a lot of iOS 14 users are receiving a push notification upon updating informing them that their passwords may have been involved in a data breach.

The passwords were likely compromised in a data breach that occurred before you even installed iOS 14. Apple added data breach notifications to the built-in iOS password manager as a way to make users more informed about the security of their various online accounts.

The Facebook user and other social posts all jump to the conclusion that these pieces of evidence are “all signs of a key logger.” This is not true, as it is technically impossible for widgets to access your keyboard data or virtually any other data about you.


How iOS 14 widgets work

iOS 14 home screen widgets have a variety of limitations and protections in place for things like privacy and battery life. These protections are also why you might notice widgets don’t continuously update but rather at predefined intervals.

Widgets in iOS 14 are not full-blown applications; in fact, Apple has went as far as to say they aren’t even “mini-apps.” Instead, the WidgetKit developer framework provides a limited set of tools that developers can tap into when designing and developing their home screen widgets.

Essentially, widgets run in the background very briefly to update the display content at a pre-defined interval. Once the content has been updated, the background process is killed entirely, ensuring that there is no way a widget can gather any data continuously.

Widgets are not mini-apps, so think through a glanceable experience for your user and use timelines, the concept of reloads, and intelligence to create the perfect experience on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

Widgets use SwiftUI views to display their content. WidgetKit renders the views on your behalf in a separate process. As a result, your widget extension is not continually active, even if the widget is onscreen.

If widgets were allowed to run continuously without restrictions, there would not only be privacy implications but also a dramatic impact on battery life and performance. All of these reasons are why Apple put these limitations in place with WidgetKit.

In fact, generally speaking, sandboxing protection within iOS also prevents any sort of key logger application, regardless of whether or not widgets are used.

Further reading:

Apple Developer WidgetKit documentation

Building Widgets Using WidgetKit and SwiftUI

Getting started with WidgetKit – Swift by Sundell

Widgetsmith

The viral Facebook post particularly mentions Widgetsmith as the cause of these issues, but again, there are absolutely no facts behind these accusations.

Widgetsmith developer David Smith has addressed the claims head-on, saying that he can “categorically and absolutely” state such rumors are not true. The full Widgetsmith privacy policy can be found here, and it explains that Widgetsmith was designed “from the ground up to ensure that your data stays completely private.”

I’ve seen a number of references to an article being circulated on Facebook that apps like Widgetsmith must include key loggers because of keyboard issues experienced after installing iOS 14. For Widgetsmith I can state categorically and absolutely that this is not true.

Leaving for a moment that I don’t think that is technically possible for a widget to read the keyboard. Widgetsmith was built from the ground up with complete privacy in mind and collects essentially no data about its users.

If you are experiencing laggier performance after installing iOS 14, there are several possible explanations. One of the most common causes of slow iPhone performance is a low amount of available storage.
Sandy note - Let me know if you want to know how to check iPhone storage

It’s also important to remember that iOS 14 is a brand new release, and there are likely to be bugs and performance issues. Apple released iOS 14.0.1 with bug fixes last week, so make sure that you’ve updated to that for the best possible experience.

Finally, laggy keyboard performance has been one of the most common iOS 14 complaints since beta testing started in June. The keyboard isn’t laggy because of so-called key logger apps; it’s glitchy because of system-level bugs.

Trust the privacy protections that Apple has put in place and customize your home screen to your heart’s content.
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[sultrysandy]

Craig Federighi explains how the Apple Pencil Scribble feature in iPadOS 14 developed

One of the tentpole features of iPadOS 14 is a new feature called Scribble, which automatically converts handwritten notes from Apple Pencil into typed text. Speaking to Popular Mechanics, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi offered additional details on how the feature works.

The iPadOS 14 Scribble feature allows Apple Pencil users to handwrite into almost any text field, such as the address bar in Safari or the compose field in the Messages app. The handwriting is then automatically converted into typed text, essentially meaning that users don’t have to switch back and forth between using the keyboard and Apple Pencil for input.

Federighi explained to Popular Mechanics that the basis of the Scribble feature is data gathering. During the feature’s development, Apple found people all over the world and had them write things with Apple Pencil:

“When it comes to understanding (handwriting) strokes, we do data-gathering. We find people all over the world, and have them write things,” says Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple. “We give them a Pencil, and we have them write fast, we have them write slow, write at a tilt. All of this variation.”

That methodology is distinct from the comparatively simple approach of scanning and analyzing existing handwriting. Federighi says that for Apple’s tech, static examples weren’t enough. They needed to see the strokes that formed each letter. “If you understand the strokes and how the strokes went down, that can be used to disambiguate what was being written.”

As with most machine learning features of Apple products, all of the processing is done on-device, which presents another set of challenges. “It’s gotta be happening in real time, right now, on the device that you’re holding,” Federighi said. “Which means that the computational power of the device has to be such that it can do that level of processing locally.”
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[sultrysandy]

Restoring iPhone and Apple Watch to Fix Excess Battery Drain or Missing GPS Data

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Apple Suggests Restoring iPhone and Apple Watch to Fix Excess Battery Drain or Missing GPS Data

Shortly after the release of iOS 14 and watchOS 7, many users ran into problems with their iPhone and Apple Watch.

Multiple online support threads found GPS data was not being properly recorded during activities. The issue appeared to affect all models of Apple Watches.

In the majority of cases, users record a workout on their watch while leaving their *iPhone* at home, but when they later look at the Activity app it only shows the workout's starting point on the GPS map, and nothing else.

In addition, some users have been reporting excess battery drain of their Apple Watch, *iPhone* or both under *iOS 14* and *watchOS 7*. In the support threads, the unofficial fix seemed to be unpairing and restoring your Apple Watch. Jack Taylor from our forums reported resolving both issues with this method:

Both the GPS and severe battery drain issues on *watchOS 7* were fixed for me simply by in-pairing and re-pairing my watch. Both issues resolved themselves immediately after as noted in many of the support groups

It appears that Apple has adopted this advice as the official solution to this problem. In a newly published support document titled If you're missing Workout GPS routes or Health data after updating to *iOS 14* and *watchOS 7*, Apple writes that users may see the following issues after upgrading to *iOS 14* and *watchOS 7*:


Possible Symptoms

• Your workout route maps are missing in the Fitness app on *iPhone* for previous GPS-enabled workouts from your Apple Watch.
  
  
• The Activity, Heart Rate, or other health-related apps fail to launch or load data on your Apple Watch.
  
  
• The Fitness app or Health app fail to launch or load data on your *iPhone*.
  
  
• The Health app or Fitness app is reporting an inaccurate amount of data storage on your *iPhone*.
  
  
• The Activity app is reporting an inaccurate amount of data storage on your Apple Watch.
  
  
• Your environmental sound levels data or headphone audio levels data from Apple Watch is missing in the Health app on *iPhone*.
  
  
• Increased battery drain on your *iPhone* or Apple Watch.

If you are experiencing two or more of these symptoms, Apple suggests unpairing your Apple Watch, backing up both your *iPhone* and Apple Watch, wiping both devices and restoring from backup. Apple provides steps to accomplish these tasks in their support document which was published today.

 

[sultrysandy]

Apple Pulls Problematic Safari 14 and Security Updates for macOS Mojave

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OH CRAP! Working on a laptop post, but instead half a dozen new decent article hit my desk. Looks as if it's going to be a busy evening in this thread.



Apple appears to have pulled the latest macOS Mojave Security Update (2020-005), which was released on September 24 alongside the macOS Catalina 10.15.7 update. Apple has also removed Safari 14 for macOS Mojave from download.

Both the Mojave Security Update and the Safari 14 update were causing numerous problems for those still running macOS Mojave, as outlined by Mr. Macintosh.

macOS Mojave users who installed the updates have been noticing memory issues, slow boot times and Finder stalling, numerous system.log entires, and crashes when attempting to use Migration assistant, among other problems. Complaints about the update started shortly after it was released, but Apple did not pull the updates until yesterday.

Those who had already downloaded the Mojave Security Update or installed Safari 14 should soon be getting a fix in the form of updated software that addresses the bugs that were introduced. Reverting to a Time Machine backup, reinstalling macOS Mojave, or installing *macOS Catalina* also seem to successfully fix the issues.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple Card Mislabeling AT&T Charges as 'Waters, Hardy & Co' Leading to Customer Confu

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Apple Card Mislabeling AT&T Charges as 'Waters, Hardy & Co' Leading to Customer Confusion



A transaction labeling error with the Apple Card has been causing confusion for some *Apple Card* owners, with AT&T charges listed as "Waters, Hardy & Co" instead of AT&T on *Apple Card* statements.

The problem appears to have started at some point yesterday, with tax preparation service Waters, Hardy & Co receiving hundreds of phone calls from confused customers. In a Facebook post, the company said that it had received so many calls from *Apple Card* owners that its phones had to be turned off.

One person found an incorrect merchant charge for "Waters, Hardy & Co" listed in the Wallet app, which was actually his bill from AT&T. He contacted the company and received a voice recording with a message that said Apple had incorrectly listed Waters, Hardy & Co as the merchant for the AT&T charges.

Apple Support said the issue is known and was in the process of being corrected. Waters, Hardy & Co. also says that it is working to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible.
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[sultrysandy]

YouTube website’s picture-in-picture mode returns on Apple devices w/ iOS 14.0.1

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YouTube website’s picture-in-picture mode returns on Apple devices w/ iOS 14.0.1 update


YouTube’s picture-in-picture mode now looks as though it is supported again on Apple devices — even those without a Premium subscription — thanks to the latest iOS 14.0.1 update.

Late last month picture-in-picture mode was being tested with the YouTube app for iOS. But like on Android, picture-in-picture mode has only been available to those with a YouTube Premium account for some time on iOS. Another notable is that YouTube Premium costs $11.99 per month in the US, but due to Apple’s App Store 30% commission policies, you’ll pay $15.99 if you sign up on an iOS device through the app.

A workaround to get picture-in-picture was to use the YouTube mobile site, which allowed those with a subscription to view videos in the floating player across all areas of iOS. However, it appears that around the same time this option started being tested within the dedicated app, the web workaround was unceremoniously removed.

This might not have been a major problem for most, as iOS 14 was the first to introduce picture-in-picture mode to the iPhone for the first time. It is more frustrating though for iPad users, for whom the feature has been baked in for a little while now.

The latest iOS 14.0.1 update is now restoring the ability to activate picture-in-picture mode for iPads and bringing the option to iPhones when using a mobile browser. Another bonus is that you also don’t even need a Premium subscription to activate picture-in-picture mode on your device. This feature isn’t even limited to Safari either, as tapping the small picture-in-picture icon within the YouTube player interface appears to work in Chrome and Firefox on iOS devices.

At least until the native YouTube app on iOS supports picture-in-picture on all iOS devices, this is a notable solution for those wanting to watch videos without needing to have the application open. This update hasn’t affected the background play that is still available to Premium subscribers via the YouTube iOS app.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple releases macOS Mojave Supplemental Update, Safari 14 with bug fixes

Apple releases new macOS Mojave 10.14.6 supplemental update with important bug fixes


Apple today released a new macOS Mojave 10.14.6 supplemental update to fix several issues that could slow down the Mac. Today’s update also relaunches Safari 14, which was released last month for macOS Mojave users but then pulled out after causing bugs for some users.

As reported, the Mojave 2020-005 Security Update released in September has caused some serious problems for Mac users. Customers reported that their machines were constantly slowing down for no reason, along with other errors throughout the system.

The Safari 14 update, which has been made available to macOS Mojave users ahead of the macOS Big Sur public release — which comes with the new Safari pre-installed — has also made Apple’s browser stop working for some users.

Today’s supplemental update for macOS Mojave 10.14.6 fixes all issues caused by Mojave 2020-005 Security Update, as well as bugs related to Safari 14. The update can be downloaded and installed through the Software Update menu in the macOS System Preferences app.

 

[sultrysandy]

How to connect external storage to your iPad in iOS 14

Thanks to iPadOS there are more ways than ever to connect to external media drives and networks from your iPad and iPad Pro. Here's how to get it done.

The iPad Pro and the new iPad Air 4 both have USB-C ports which make connecting external drives and accessories easier than ever. Other iPads still use Lightning connectors, but using the right dongle can get your external storage connected too.

The USB-C port found on iPads is using USB 3.1 gen 2 — which is different from Thunderbolt 3. While Thunderbolt 3 drives use USB-C connectors, most will not work with an iPad.


How to connect external storage to the iPad in iPadOS 14

Regardless of which iPad you have, the process is the same:

1. Have a properly formatted drive with APFS or FAT, as NTFS is not compatible with Apple products
   
   
2. Connect the device to a hub or dongle that is connected to the iPad
   
   
3. Open the Files app
   
   
4. The external storage is shown in the left side column

You can have any number of external storage devices connected to the iPad and they will all be recognized. As long as the storage is properly formatted, you can connect and view any storage device to your iPad as if it were a Mac. If it is not properly formatted, the iPad will not see the storage and you must connect the storage to a Mac to format it properly.


Drive formats supported by iPadOS 14

• ExFAT
  
  
• FAT32
  
  
• HFS+
  
  
• APFS

Once connected to a properly formatted drive, users can drag and drop files and manage the storage as if it were native to the system as expected.

Additionally, the Files app on iPadOS and iOS is capable of connecting to network storage. Just like with external storage, network storage can be manipulated on the device with ease once connected. Devices like network attached storage already have SMB networking configured and ready to go, but the files you need may be on your Mac instead.
How to set up an SMB share on Mac


First you need to set up the SMB server:

1. On your Mac open the System Preferences application
   
   
2. Select "Sharing" near the bottom of the window
   
   
3. Select "File Sharing" in the service menu and ensure the check mark is selected on the left side
   
   
4. 
   
   
   
5. Select the "+" button at the bottom of the window and add the desired folders
   
   
6. Now you can connect to the shared folders on you network using the provided user-mac.local address shown in the window.

How to connect to a SMB server on iPadOS

Now that you have an SMB server, you can connect to it on your iPad or even your iPhone running iOS 14.

1. Open the Files app
   
   
2. Select the menu in top of the sidebar
   
   
3. Select "Connect to Server" from the menu
   
   
4. 
   
   
   
   
5. Type in the .local address from your Mac
   
   
   
6. 
   
   
   
   
7. Select "Registered User" and sign in using your Mac user name and password
   
   
8. The connected SMB server will show up in the side bar