Technology - Google News

Tim Cook Urged Mark Zuckerberg to Delete User Data From 3rd Party Apps in Private 2019 Meeting - MacRumors
iOS 14.5 update comes with App Tracking Transparency for better privacy - Vox.com
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT packs 480 ponies and more torque than a Mach 1 - CNET

Tim Cook Urged Mark Zuckerberg to Delete User Data From 3rd Party Apps in Private 2019 Meeting - MacRumors

Posted: 26 Apr 2021 04:33 AM PDT

At a private meeting on the sidelines of an informal gathering of tech and social media executives in July of 2019 in Sun Valley, Idaho, Apple CEO Tim Cook urged Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg to delete all user information his company has collected from third-party apps, according to The New York Times.

According to the Times, the executives met annually at the conference organized by investment bank Allen & Company to "catch up" and attempt to "repair their fraying relationship."

In particular, this meeting in the summer of 2019 came as Facebook was embroiled in a massive scandal involving Cambridge Analytica. Facebook had come under intense scrutiny for sharing the information of more than 50 million users, without their consent, with voter-profiling firm Cambridge Analytica to use for political ads during the 2016 Presidental election.

During their meeting, Zuckerberg reportedly asked Cook how he would deal with the situation. He responded that Facebook should delete user information it has collected from third-party apps.

At the meeting, Mr. Zuckerberg asked Mr. Cook how he would handle the fallout from the controversy, people with knowledge of the conversation said. Mr. Cook responded acidly that Facebook should delete any information that it had collected about people outside of its core apps.

According to people with direct knowledge of the meeting, Zuckerberg was "stunned" by Cook's answer given the fact that Facebook's business model consists of user data and using the data to provide more personalized ads. Zuckerberg interpreted Cook's answer as the CEO saying his business was "untenable."

During a TV interview with MSNBC in 2018, Cook was pressed on how he would deal with the situation Zuckerberg found himself in. "I wouldn't be in this situation," Cook responded.

The two executives and companies have rarely seen eye-to-eye, and the tension between the two is likely to reach its peak this week. In the coming days, Apple will release iOS and iPadOS 14.5 with ATT or App Tracking Transparency, which will crack down on apps tracking users across other apps and websites without their consent.

Once the iOS update is released, all apps, including Facebook, will be required to ask for a user's permission before tracking them across apps and websites owned by other companies. Users can accept to be tracked or not. If the latter, Apple will block that app from collecting data about the users from other apps and services.

Facebook has blasted the new change as unfair, calling it a severe blow to small businesses which use the Facebook platform and its accompanying ad business to run personalized ads for users. Facebook expects the majority of users to opt-out of tracking, which will, in turn, lead to less effective data for the social media giant to use to deliver tailored, personalized ads.

Despite his initial rejection of ATT, Mark Zuckerberg has recently changed tones on Apple's upcoming change. In a Clubhouse meeting earlier last month, the CEO says that Facebook may "be in a stronger position" due to the upcoming change possibly encouraging more businesses to "conduct more commerce on our platforms by making it harder for them to use their data in order to find the customers that would want to use their products outside of our platforms."

In public appearances and interviews in the run-up to the launch of ATT, Cook has said Apple is looking to provide users a choice about whether they wished to be tracked or not. In a recent speech at a privacy conference, Cook indirectly called out social media companies, including Facebook, that fuel disinformation and conspiracy theories with their algorithms.

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iOS 14.5 update comes with App Tracking Transparency for better privacy - Vox.com

Posted: 26 Apr 2021 07:52 AM PDT

On Monday, Apple is rolling out a long-awaited privacy feature for iOS. The latest version of the company's mobile operating system, iOS 14.5, will prompt iPhone and iPad users to opt out of tracking in apps that monitor their behavior and share that data with third parties.

This new feature is a significant step for user privacy, as it gives people more control over their mobile phone app data and how it's used by companies, like Facebook and Google, to target ads. At the same time, the move has frustrated app developers and tech companies that have relied on the reservoir of user data for years, and who fear they're likely to be cut off from it in the near future.

The biggest difference most people will see with the introduction of the new privacy tool, called App Tracking Transparency, is a pop-up that appears when you open an app that tracks you:

Since 2012, apps developed for iOS have used an Identifier for Advertising (IDFA) to conduct tracking across different websites and apps. Apps usually collect this identifier so they can connect the information about the user gathered through the app to information about that user gathered elsewhere, like on the web, in order to better target ads. Before 14.5, Apple mobile users were able to limit ad tracking through toggles deep in the software's settings, but this newest update directly prompts users to approve and disapprove this tracking for every app.

With the App Tracking Transparency feature, however, apps will need users' permission to access a user's IDFA before conducting tracking, which could include collecting user data to sell to data brokers or linking a user's app data with third-party data that was collected in order to target ads. These new rules, Apple has said, will also impact other app processes, including sharing location data with data brokers and implementing hidden trackers for the purpose of conducting ad analytics. Some ad industry experts believe a large number of users will opt out of tracking when the new app tracking transparency feature goes live.

The iOS 14.5 software update is considered a major win for user privacy and is expected to give iPhone users a much greater sense of the type of tracking that takes place in their devices (in fact, privacy advocates were frustrated that the tool wasn't rolled out earlier). While Apple users had some control over ad-tracking in the past, it's easier than ever for users to opt out of being tracked.

"They'll see a simple pop-up that basically prompts them to answer the question of, are they okay with being tracked or not? If they are, things move on," Apple CEO Tim Cook explained in an interview with Kara Swisher earlier this month. "If they're not, then the tracking is turned off for that individual with respect to that specific app."

At the same time, this new Apple feature has frustrated other technology companies that rely heavily on this data to support their web advertising businesses. Google has announced a number of changes to its Google ads systems following the announcement of the new Apple privacy features. The update has also led to a rather public fight between Facebook and Apple. Facebook has run a months-long media campaign claiming that Apple's changes will hurt the personalized ads that support small businesses. The change is actually more likely to hurt Facebook, assuming many Facebook users opt out.

Apple has been running a campaign of its own, touting privacy and security as key features of its products, for years. Tim Cook, the company's CEO, has long emphasized that Apple is not in the data business, a position that has increasingly put him at odds with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. App Tracking Transparency isn't even the only big privacy update in iOS 14, which also includes "privacy nutrition labels" that encourage apps to provide explanations of their privacy that are easier to understand.

Aside from its privacy features, iOS 14.5 offers a few other reasons to update your software. For instance, you will now be able to set your phone to automatically download security updates, rather than remembering to do this yourself. New emoji options are available. You also now have the option to unlock your phone using an Apple Watch if the device's Face ID cameras see that you're wearing a mask.

The App Tracking Transparency tool won't necessarily mean an end to all tracking, and Apple is already playing whack-a-mole trying to find and stop other workarounds for identifying your device. Still, this newest feature is a new and in-your-face way to remind users about the kind of data apps are seeking about them.

Open Sourced is made possible by Omidyar Network. All Open Sourced content is editorially independent and produced by our journalists.

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2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT packs 480 ponies and more torque than a Mach 1 - CNET

Posted: 26 Apr 2021 03:00 AM PDT

Coming to you this fall -- quickly.

Ford

Behold, the long-awaited 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT. Ford has always touted the all-electric Mach-E as a real 'Stang, so you know darn well there was going to be a GT variant. And at least on paper, the souped-up SUV doesn't disappoint, whipping up 480 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque.

The automaker provided further details on the Mustang Mach-E GT on Monday, though we already knew some of the particulars. Ford previously released a picture here and there of the GT in the past, but kept most of the model's specifications and differences to itself until now. With 480 hp on tap, Ford estimates the SUV will do 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds and still go 250 miles on a fully charged battery. EPA ratings aren't in yet, but the company has nailed past estimates with the standard versions of its electric SUV.

But wait, there's more. Not only is the Mustang Mach-E GT new, there's also a Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition. (Wow, that's a lot of letters to type.) The Performance Edition lands with the same 480 hp, but gets 634 lb-ft of torque. Ford points out this battery-powered super SUV of sorts actually generates 214 more lb-ft of torque than a Mustang Mach 1, which puts it into serious snap-your-head-back territory. The performance of the GT PE was strong enough that it made our Executive Editor, Chris Paukert, turn positively green during an exclusive high-speed ridealong. The focus on performance for this version does result in a range loss, however, as Ford is targeting 235 miles between charges.

The GT enjoys a more rear-biased torque split for more tail-out fun.

Ford

Both the regular GT and GT Performance Edition receive a unique version of the Mustang Mach-E's "Unbridled Mode" called "Unbridled Extend." For use only on closed courses, the software tells the SUVs to balance power output from the battery for consistent lap times and tweaks the stability control for track use. Ford also amps up the amount of powertrain noise piped into the cabin to help build excitement.

Interestingly, Ford has paired the Mach-E GT with a set of 20-inch Continental all-season tires as standard. Behind those big wheels sit Brembo brake calipers, ventilated 385-millimeter front rotors and solid 316-millimeter rear rotors. The Mach-E GT Performance Edition, meanwhile, nabs Pirelli P-Zero summer tires and MagneRide magnetorheological adaptive dampers to improve the SUV's handling.

As for design, both SUVs rock a carbon-gray front grille, rather than the glossy body-colored one on the standard SUV, with an illuminated pony badge front and center. GT badges also remind other motorists this isn't your average Mach-E. Inside, Ford jazzes up the cockpit with sport seats for the standard GT and full-blown Ford Performance chairs for the Performance Edition. Both feature copper contrast stitching (copper for the GT, metallic for the Performance Edition) and perforated inserts. A nine-speaker Bang & Olufsen with a subwoofer stands ready to serve when it's time for tunes and the SUVs will be eligible for Ford's new BlueCruise hands-free highway driving assistant.

Prices for the latest electric ponies start at $61,000 for the Mustang Mach-E GT and $66,000 for the Mach-E GT Performance Edition. Both prices include a $1,100 destination charge, and they also qualify for a federal tax credit of $7,500. The first SUVs will land in early fall, but order books open this Wednesday.

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