Apple has removed the Meta-owned end-to-end encrypted messaging app WhatsApp from its App Store in China following a government order citing national security concerns, the news agency Reuters reported Friday.
Meta’s newer, Twitter-esque text-based social networking app, Threads, has also been pulled from the App Store for the same reason, it said.
But the AppleCensorship site, which tracks App Store removals, records both Signal and Telegram as having been “disappeared” from Apple’s mainland China App Store.
Last year another Twitter alternative, Jack Dorsey-backed Damus, was also pulled from Apple’s China App Store shortly after it had been approved.
Although quite a number evidently managed to do so, as Threads quickly landed in the top 5 on Apple’s China App Store last summer.
Microsoft will introduce a new version of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscription service that excludes Teams, unbundling a suite following scrutiny from the European Union regulator and complaints from rival Slack.
The move follows Microsoft agreeing to sell Office 365 suite sans Microsoft Teams offering in the EU and Switzerland last year.
The company introduced Teams as a complimentary offering to the Office 365 suite in 2017.
Microsoft has enjoyed an unfair advantage by coupling the two offerings, many businesses have argued.
In a statement to Reuters, Microsoft said the unbundling “also addresses feedback from the European Commission by providing multinational companies more flexibility when they want to standardize their purchasing across geographies.”Reuters reported that Microsoft will introduce the new Office 365 lineups on Monday.
Bitcoin’s rally is turning out to be bad news for Coinbase, the crypto trading app that has just confirmed some of its customers are seeing a zero balance across their Coinbase accounts.
The price of Bitcoin climbed in the wake of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, driving a 42% price rally this month.
Users of the Coinbase app grew concerned on Wednesday as they logged in to find their accounts showing a zero balance, despite owning crypto assets.
We are aware that some users may see a zero balance across their Coinbase accounts & may experience errors in buying or selling.
Remarked one user on X, who shared a picture of a zero balance, “My mom called and asked me and mine was at zero also,” they said.
Opera revealed today that it will launch a new AI-powered browser built on its own engine for iOS in Europe.
The changes will allow developers to offer browsers that are not based on the WebKit browser engine.
Opera says the changes will allow it to provide iPhone users with an AI-powered alternative to Safari.
Last year, Opera introduced its “Aria” browser AI and redesigned its flagship desktop browser and called it Opera One, which will also be the name of the new iOS browser.
At the time, Opera said the new browser has elements that will make it ready for a “generative AI-based future.”
LoanDepot customers say they have been unable to make mortgage payments or access their online accounts following a suspected ransomware attack on the company last week.
Users on social media and forums discussing the incident say they have struggled to access their account information or submit payments.
LoanDepot’s updating cyber incident page says several LoanDepot customer portals returned online as of Thursday, albeit with limited functionality.
When reached by email, LoanDepot spokesperson Jonathan Fine declined to comment, but did not dispute that the incident was linked to ransomware.
LoanDepot has not yet updated regulators on the company’s recovery since its initial disclosure to the SEC on January 8.
Ten of TuSimple’s autonomous big rigs are set to be auctioned off later this month, just a few weeks after the self-driving trucking startup that went public in 2021 announced it was exiting the U.S. market.
The trucks, along with a slew of research and development equipment and office supplies, will be sold off in two online auctions.
A spokesperson for the auction company confirmed 10 trucks will “initially” be sold.
The company went public in 2021 and was swiftly scrutinized by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States over its Chinese shareholders.
In December, the company said it would exit the U.S. altogether and laid off more than 150 workers as a result.
Google announced today that it will pay $700 million as a part of a settlement with the U.S. Attorney General for a lawsuit over Google Play Store.
Third-party app stores and side-loadingFor at least seven years, Google will support app installs on Android outside of Google Play through different ways including third-party app stores.
Google won’t force developers to launch their apps at the same time or earlier on the Google Play for at least four years.
Plus, Google can’t stop them from displaying fees linked with Google Play or Google Play’s billing system.
OEM clausesGoogle can’t enter a deal with phone makers to have Google Play as the exclusive app store on devices to place Google Play on the home screen for at least five years.
Cruise spokesperson Erik Moser confirmed the departures and shared a statement, but declined to comment on whether these employees were fired.
“Today, following an initial analysis of the October 2 incident and Cruise’s response to it, nine individuals departed Cruise.
A video, which TechCrunch viewed a day after the incident, showed the robotaxi braking aggressively and coming to a stop over the woman.
Morale at Cruise has been low since the October 2 incident, with employees pointing the finger at poor management that didn’t prioritize safety at the company.
Initial layoffs affected contract workers who had jobs cleaning, charging and maintaining the vehicles as well as answering customer support inquiries.
Cruise spokesperson Erik Moser confirmed the departures and shared a statement, but declined to comment on whether these employees were fired.
“Today, following an initial analysis of the October 2 incident and Cruise’s response to it, nine individuals departed Cruise.
A video, which TechCrunch viewed a day after the incident, showed the robotaxi braking aggressively and coming to a stop over the woman.
Morale at Cruise has been low since the October 2 incident, with employees pointing the finger at poor management that didn’t prioritize safety at the company.
Initial layoffs affected contract workers who had jobs cleaning, charging and maintaining the vehicles as well as answering customer support inquiries.
Cruise spokesperson Erik Moser confirmed the departures and shared a statement, but declined to comment on whether these employees were fired.
“Today, following an initial analysis of the October 2 incident and Cruise’s response to it, nine individuals departed Cruise.
A video, which TechCrunch viewed a day after the incident, showed the robotaxi braking aggressively and coming to a stop over the woman.
Morale at Cruise has been low since the October 2 incident, with employees pointing the finger at poor management that didn’t prioritize safety at the company.
Initial layoffs affected contract workers who had jobs cleaning, charging and maintaining the vehicles as well as answering customer support inquiries.
