Researchers say only four per cent of iPhone users in the U.S. have agreed to app tracking after updating their device, a cyberattack shuts down a U.S. pipeline, and WhatsApp scraps its May 15 deadline for accepting its privacy policy, but there’s a catch.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Friday, May 7 and I’m your host Alex Coop.
After Apple rolled out its App Tracking Transparency feature at the end of April, a new report says only four per cent of iPhone users in the U.S. have agreed to let apps track them on their device. The report from Verizon-owned analytics firm Flurry says that number jumps to 12 per cent when talking global figures, but it’s still not the best news for companies like Facebook that have made fortunes by sell your data to advertisers. Users who want to turn off tracking altogether without rejecting permissions for each app individually can toggle “Allow Apps to Request Track” in the iPhone’s privacy settings.
A cyberattack has shut down 5,500 miles of a U.S. pipeline that carries nearly half of the east coast’s fuel supplies, according to the Washington Post. Colonial Pipeline told that publication that the cyberattack took place Friday and included ransomware. The company says it’s acquired the services of a third-party cybersecurity firm as well as law enforcement and other federal agencies.
And lastly, multiple reports have confirmed that WhatsApp won’t delete user accounts that refuse to opt in to its new privacy policy. In a statement given to Android Central, WhatsApp has confirmed that while it won’t terminate accounts immediately, users who don’t accept the new terms will have only “limited account functionality” available to them until they do. For now, that means losing access to your chat list, but you will still be able to see and respond to notifications as well as answer voice and video calls. However, after a few weeks of that, WhatsApp will then switch off all incoming notifications and calls for your account.
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