Google's new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected

Google's new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected

Google's new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected

Google’s new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected


 
Google’s new messaging app, Allo, is just a bit snoopier than the company promised it would be back in May.
The app is already viewed with suspicion by many privacy advocates, because its integration with Google’s new AI assistant (called, imaginatively, Assistant) requires messages to be sent without end-to-end encryption on by default. That means Google’s Assistant can read your messages, and provide contextual aid – but it also means Google can read them, and so too can law enforcement, national security and anyone else with a valid warrant.
But as a spoonful of sugar to help that go down, the company also announced back in May that Allo would have some of the most progressive message retention policies of any app: rather than keeping your texts forever, they would instead be stored “transiently”, ensuring that your full chat logs aren’t sitting on Google’s servers forever, and anonymously, so that even if the logs are subpoenaed, they can’t be linked back to the sender.
Now that Allo is in app stores, those features appear to be missing in action. By default, messages are stored indefinitely, and linked directly to an account.

Källa: Google’s new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected | Technology | The Guardian

Google’s new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected

Google’s new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected

Google's new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected

Google’s new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected

 

Google’s new messaging app, Allo, is just a bit snoopier than the company promised it would be back in May.

The app is already viewed with suspicion by many privacy advocates, because its integration with Google’s new AI assistant (called, imaginatively, Assistant) requires messages to be sent without end-to-end encryption on by default. That means Google’s Assistant can read your messages, and provide contextual aid – but it also means Google can read them, and so too can law enforcement, national security and anyone else with a valid warrant.

But as a spoonful of sugar to help that go down, the company also announced back in May that Allo would have some of the most progressive message retention policies of any app: rather than keeping your texts forever, they would instead be stored “transiently”, ensuring that your full chat logs aren’t sitting on Google’s servers forever, and anonymously, so that even if the logs are subpoenaed, they can’t be linked back to the sender.

Now that Allo is in app stores, those features appear to be missing in action. By default, messages are stored indefinitely, and linked directly to an account.

Källa: Google’s new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected | Technology | The Guardian

Google’s new messaging app Allo is a little bit snoopier than expected

Fitness trackers may not aid weight loss, study finds

Fitness trackers may not aid weight loss, study finds

Fitness trackers may not aid weight loss, study finds

 

They have become the must-have for fitness fans but wearable gadgets that track users’ physical activity may not help people lose weight, a new study has found.

Instead of motivating users to do more exercise over the day, the two-year survey found the devices were actually less effective at encouraging people to lose weight than simply following a diet and exercise plan.

Scientists suspect that people become overly dependent on the gadgets to help them change their health, developing a false sense of security – and would do better by relying on simple willpower.

Costing up to £150, the devices by technology firms including Fitbit, Jawbone and Misfit are worn on the wrist or arm, monitor physical activity, steps taken, calories burnt, heart rate and quality of sleep – and feed the data directly into a smartphone.

The researchers tracked 470 overweight or obese people, aged 18 to 35, for 24 months. Everyone in the study was put on a low-calorie diet, given an exercise plan and invited to regular group sessions.

After six months, half the group was given a Fit Core armband, whoch tracks activity and feeds it into a computer programme that also allows people to log their diet. The other half were simply told to monitor their exercise and diet by themselves.

Källa: Fitness trackers may not aid weight loss, study finds | Technology | The Guardian

Point and Shoot

Point and Shoot

Point and Shoot

Point and Shoot

“When an attempted burglary turns into an unlikely car-jacking, two aspiring criminals learn an important lesson : only practice makes perfect.”

Starring Lucas Near Verbrugghe, Caleb Scott and Donald Sutherland

Directed by Thomas Leisten Schneider
Written by Caleb Scott and Thomas Leisten Schneider
Produced by Simon Wallon and Thomas Leisten Schneider
Executive producers : Simon Wallon, Jeremy McWilliams, Tom Whitehead and Max Thomas
Co-producers : Don Block, Steeven Petitteville
Cinematography by Steeven Petitteville
Edited by Vincent Tabaillon
Music by Wolf at the door
Production design by Clovis Chambarret
Costume design by Lauren Knudsen
Post producer supervisor Guillaume Raffi at Nightshift LA
Color Correction Greg Reese at the Mill LA

pointandshootthefilm.com
facebook.com/Pointandshootthefilm/
directorsnotes.com/2016/09/19/thomas-leisten-schneider-point-and-shoot/
filmshortage.com/shorts/point-and-shoot/

Apple Seeds First macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Beta to Developers

Apple Seeds First macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Beta to Developers

Apple Seeds First macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Beta to Developers

Apple Seeds First macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra beta to developers, just a day after releasing the new operating system to the public. macOS Sierra Beta 10.12.1 is available for download through the Apple Developer Center and through the Software update mechanism in the Mac App Store. It is not clear what improvements the first update to macOS Sierra will bring, but it’s likely to include bug fixes and performance improvements for issues that have been encountered between the time between the beta testing period and release.

Källa: Apple Seeds First macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Beta to Developers – Mac Rumors