Instagram Tests New Way To Protect Users From Being Exposed To Unwanted Content In DMs

Instagram recently launched a new filter that will prevent users from witnessing unwanted exposure to content on the app.

In case you didn’t know, the app has come a long way in blocking explicit content; therefore, if you still happen to be facing problems in that department, Instagram is working on it.

The development in question is called the nudity filter they're currently experimenting with. But the app says things are looking promising, and if they go as planned, this could be something major for the platform.

The idea is to block explicit content like nude pictures seen through the app’s DMs, and it’s an issue that we felt needed to be addressed earlier. But better late than never, and we hope blocking such texts will now be possible on the platform because, let’s face it, most people aren’t interested in seeing others’ private parts.

We’ve got the news thanks to avid app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi who says the app is all set to roll out the feature that detects nudity and blocks it from being transferred forward. Hence, all images will be scanned, and if they pass the criteria of safe viewing by the app’s system, they’ll be allowed, but if not, they will get blocked.

The app will blur the picture out whenever it's detected, and it will all be carried out on your device. For now, we’re hearing news about the test being conducted for iOS users, but if it works out well, Android should follow up soon.

The thought of private images being detected by the app is a little concerning for some because they’re worried the app might end up downloading them in the end. But don’t worry, Apple has reassured users that they’re keeping an eye out to see how the whole process of detecting and blurring occurs, and privacy is maintained.

Meta says it’s going to be conducted via machine-powered tools and data matching. Hence, it will not trace or track down any specifics related to user data of the interactions between various people.

So yes, it’s a little controversial, if we must say so ourselves because many feel the drawbacks might jeopardize the benefits.

The news comes after a Facebook leaked document showed how Meta is well aware of the fact that Instagram affects the mental health of young people. Yet, it chose to ignore it and continue its profit-making endeavors.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

The Popularity For Business Apps In The US Is On The Rise With Installs Rising By 70%

New research by Sensor Tower is putting the popularity of business apps across the US on display.

Without a doubt, remote forms of work have had a major impact in the US. And we’ve witnessed a constant peak in people adopting the trends of business apps. Therefore, this study highlighted just that and how stats rose by 70 million every quarter when compared to those seen in Q1 of 2020.

It currently stands at a staggering 76 million, which is more than a 70% rise since the second quarter of 2022. The research also looks at other subcategories for app trends that many have witnessed growth. We're talking about the remote office, jobs, and business.

The year 2022 saw positive growth in terms of communication apps. From Google Chat to Microsoft Teams, they all had a rise in terms of their downloads. And that grew by a massive 3% between 2020 to 2021. And then, in 2022, the share of downloads rose in the US by 15%.

In the same way, we saw many app downloads for video conference apps decline last year and even further cline by 18% this year. Remember, the pandemic is over, so the surge that was once seen is no longer seen now as more and more people prefer in-person chats. Still, it’s not performing too badly and continues to remain a leading subcategory for business applications globally.

Next up, we saw Instawork experience mega gains this year, thanks to the very flexible platform it comprises of its workers. The user base here has increased more than 15 times than it started. And the reason is related to how it differs from classic apps.

This form for staffing is great for those working hourly shifts or having part-time jobs. This shows people are keener on making money online through freelancing apps like Fiver and Upwork.

Next, let’s take a look at downloads for office tools. They’re peaking as usual again as people working remotely don’t need to add extra effort to get their things physically for the office. They can scan things online, and that’s why Adobe Scan leads the pack. Next in line comes the Office Suite and then Adobe Acrobat. They’re getting more and more popular, up by 6% YoY.

Most of these downloads linked to business applications have seen leading figures across both the App Store and the Play Store. And they’re retaining gains since the first quarter of 2020. And most of the credit goes to both hybrid environments and those still relying on working remotely.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google Chrome Will Soon Get A New Security Enhancement That’s Similar To Microsoft Edge

It was only yesterday that we found out that Google Chrome would be attaining an innovative search functionality that’s located on the sidebar. It was stated to be similar to Microsoft Edge.

In this way, users could highlight all the text of their liking on a webpage to search for more details related to it on the internet. Hence, you would no longer be required to open up a new tab.

All the results of your searches would neatly appear inside a pane that’s present on the side of the screen. Any relevant links, content, pictures, and more could be seen. But that’s not the only feature of Microsoft Edge that the firm is taking inspiration from.

There is a new security enhancement that they’ll be adopting soon that’s, again, very similar to Microsoft Edge, reports Leopeva64. Interestingly, a lot of Edge users won’t be aware of the fact that the browser provides a new ‘Sign-in via password’ that’s mentioned in the settings. So, you can witness this as your new added layer of protection when you’re planning to auto-fill any passwords seen in a form.

First, you’ll be required to add a few credentials linked to your device right before you plug that password in via autofill. So if you actually come to think of it, the real password is your device’s credentials. This is applicable to all websites seen on Edge.

So Google’s Chrome is all set to attain a similar option soon. Thanks to one eagle-eyed observer, we know that the option is up for grabs on Chrome Canary.

But Chrome is definitely improving on Microsoft Edge’s version by the addition of a dialog box. This tells you exactly which webpage you’re going to be given complete access to when using the convenient autofill mechanism.

We’re definitely viewing the new addition as a handy capability. After all, it’s adding a new layer of security. But do remember that it’s totally optional. Hence, if you don’t wish to be bothered by it, you simply leave it on the default configuration every time you want to auto-fill something on a webpage.

For now, there’s no word on when we can benefit from the feature on Chrome. But we know that it’s currently going through a testing phase, so it will take a while for the launch to reach all users.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Meta-Business going downhill for Zuckerberg

Data shows that the famous tech billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg, has faced a major rebuff in the Metaverse business. Mr. Zuckerberg has lost $71 billion in wealth after investing in the concept of Metaverse.

Bloomberg shared a report in which Zuckerberg's fortune comes down to nearly half of what it used to be, leaving him on the rank of 20th among global billionaires. It is considered to be the lowest ranking since 2014.

The reports say that Zuckerberg’s net worth is around $55.9 billion, and he has been graded further down than three Walton and two Koch family members. He controls 350 million shares of the corporation. In his recent interview with Joe Rogan, he claimed to be a product designer and provided a video of himself practicing MMM.

The 38 years old has seen major success in his career from the beginning. The bloom in the business brought him $106 billion in less than two years, including him in the company of well-known billionaires around the globe, such as Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.

The success brings about the idea of changing the most followed social media medium Facebook Inc. to Meta. This launch has not been fortuitous as it turned out to be going downhill since its invention. Since then, the tech world has not gotten a hold of it as it tries to regain its position.

Moreover, recent reports of earning through the medium have proven bleaker. In 2022, the revenues have dropped to $31 billion, making it a historic drop in the stock market.

It all began when the firm disclosed that it had marked no growth in monthly Facebook users. Furthermore, the TikTok reels sensation also shadowed the Instagram reels, leaving Zuckerberg on the verge of exile from the tech world.

The industry, as a whole, is on the verge of collapse because of the economic slowdown. Laura Martin, the senior internet analyst at Needham and Co., stated that the stock invested in the Metaverse is being pulled down.

As said by the founder, Zuckerberg, the company will lose “substantial money” in the coming three to five years. Moreover, Martin also said that the company needs to gain viewers from TikTok as it is reducing industrial revenues.

Many companies have performed worse in the year 2022. For instance, Menlo Park, a California-based company, performed worse than the majority of its FAANG counterparts. It has reported a degradation of 57% this year, significantly higher than Apple Inc. 14% drop, Amazon.com Inc.’s 26% drop, and Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s 29% drop.

Meta, on the other hand, has dropped down to 60%. Considerably higher than most companies. Meta is also closing down its 2022 loss gap with Netflix Inc. Technology analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, Mandeep Singh, claimed that if Facebook prevented entering into the Metaverse business, it could’ve been more in line with where Alphabet is.

He further advised the founder that he could avoid these major breakdowns by shifting the focus to other businesses like WhatsApp or Instagram. Yet, it is significant to note that Zuckerberg’s half fortune has been spent in the making of Meta stock.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Top 10 Educational Apps On iOS That Are Sure To Invade Your Privacy

The term educational apps definitely sound enticing. And that’s probably the main reason why they’re awfully popular all year round.

While we agree they come with a plethora of benefits, you just might be shocked to learn that they’re equally good at harming your privacy. By this, we mean collecting user data without taking prior consent. You just might be surprised to learn that 98% of them do it, and some more than others.

Here is a list comprising the top educational apps on iOS that you need to be aware of. The list comes to us thanks to Atlas VPN, which has gone through some painstaking efforts to investigate just how private popular educational apps can be. So let’s take a look!

One of the world’s most popular apps for learning a language, Duolingo came out on top in terms of data collection. It’s safe to say that this application is extremely data hungry because it grabs hold of data through 19 different segments. Keeping the same theme in mind, Google’s Classroom and Busuu are other top names, each getting data across 17 segments.

When we say segment here, we’re talking about contact details, financial information, and also the user’s location. As a whole, the company’s App Store differentiates into 14 different data types and nearly 32 different segments.

All apps included in the research were taken from a nice blend of book reading, education and technology, virtual learning, language, music learning, and study help. And all of those selected were taken from several leading iOS app charts this year.

The third position went to Chegg Study and Quizlet- again, two very prominent apps used to collect information across 16 different data segments. ClassDojo, Brainly, and Lumosity all came in the fourth position with 14 data segments. And the fifth position went to Masterclass and Remind.

It’s quite interesting how so many of the names taken in this list were also known offenders of privacy invasion across Android’s recently conducted app study. But what exactly these applications are collecting is a question that’s on plenty of minds.

Well, the answer is a little complicated. It’s a nice mix, but we must say that some types of data are more commonly observed than others.

As far as the most frequently collected data types are concerned, the answer is user IDs and device IDs. On average, they’re collected about 88% of the time. This is closely followed up by contact details like the user’s name, email ID, address, and phone number.

And it’s shocking to note how they’re also frequently after your usage data. By that, we mean product interactions. They're after it all, be it videos, audio, images, or diagnostic information.

Around 40% of these applications are after-purchase data like the user’s history of payments, and some go as far as wanting location history, like precise details of places visited.

22% are after users’ search history; to a smaller extent, some want information on browsing through these educational apps. And a smaller chunk of these apps is also looking forward to getting financial details like payment information and even contacts. Thankfully, the latter is very less, around 4%.

The most commonly encountered purpose has to do with app functionality, closely followed by analytics and personalization. Meanwhile, some of the data is used for the main purpose of a developer’s advertising strategy or to conduct better marketing. And then, a quarter of these apps make use of data for advertising via third parties.

So as you can see, most of these educational apps collect information in one manner or the other.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Tech World Braces For A Major Letdown As Apple Set To Raise Its App Store Prices In Europe And Asia

It’s not the news that many people were hoping to hear, but we’d hate to tell you that Apple is gearing up for a price hike across its App Stores. This new change will take place from next month and will include all stores seen across Europe to Asia.

Apple Inc. has recently witnessed increasing prices on various app tiers and in-app purchases. And the move was taken to help protect its profit margins as the world’s currency takes a tumble due to the current economic uncertainty.

This, in turn, means customers in various parts of the world will have to put up with the news, such as those utilizing the Euro and many others.

Bloomberg and  Reuters were the first to break the not-so-positive news, listing the top nations affected: China, Sweden, Japan, Pakistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and South Korea. They will all see the price hikes starting October 5, as mentioned by the firm via a message to its developers.

The news can come as early as October 5, the Cupertino company revealed in a text released for developers recently. This move will also severely affect Vietnam as new tax collection rules come into play. These were the only nations highlighted for now, but the company has yet to explain why.

But industry critics say it has to be related to the role of the US dollar and how its strength might get out of control compared to other currencies. For instance, let’s take Japan for example. We could soon see a price hike of 30% as the yen fell to new lows in 2022.

It was only this year, during the summertime, that we saw the tech giant raise its prices across various devices like the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. And it was related to the current economic downturn seen worldwide.

A similar scenario was seen with the Euro, and it’s currently trading at par with the US dollar and may soon be depicting signs of more weakness in the near future.

This is definitely not the first time that we’re seeing such news about Apple going ahead with a price hike taking center stage. But it’s definitely being called out as a major one, explained one market analyst from Tokyo.

It’s like an adjustment that many developers will be forced to deal with, leading to more and more people being less willing to create in-app purchases. And as a result, developers will really need to step up their pricing game if they wish to do well in today’s markets that are bustling with the competition.

Unfortunately, leading app developers have already carried out a price hike in the past year, as proved by a previously published independent study. Here, the average costs for in-app purchases increased by 40% in July 2022. But there are some reports about how Apple’s policy will enable developers to keep on board their current subscribers for a subscription service offered at the prices right now.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Report Says Apple Exerts Mega Influence Over A Body The Represents Developers

Apple is a name that has been making the headlines for some of the most bizarre reasons. There are new reports of the firm's involvement in the App Association, and this is the latest update of the firm getting caught in all sorts of weird controversies.

This morning's new write-up talks about how the company exerts a mighty influence over its developers. This is commonly seen when they have conflicting interests with the tech giant. But what is The App Association?

Well, it’s another name given to a body that represents the voice of today’s great app economy. And in this group, we’ve got around 5,000 developers, including manufacturers of connected devices.

Congress even calls in these members to testify on several serious matters linked to health innovation on the web. They like to hold seminars and briefings to unveil the latest happenings and issues in the spotlight by different entrepreneurs.

And the fact that developers commonly engage in various battles with the Cupertino company means there’s a lot of discussion on commissions on the App Store.

At first glance, it might not seem as if the top iPhone leader has any form of influence in the matter, but that’s not the case, as shown by this new piece published today.

It’s actually Apple who is in charge of shaping this particular association’s goals. Several employees explained to Bloomberg recently how the firm alters both the targets and policies observed in the group.

Despite the App Association showing and claiming that it represents the voice of today’s world, it’s actually the one providing it with funding. And obviously, that means it's in charge.

While the firm is not exactly a member of this particular organization, it definitely has a major role in terms of developing the policies. And that’s all thanks to four ex-employees from the tech giant, that obviously requested for their identity to be anonymous.

Critics have also outlined how the lobbying agenda is closely aligned with Apple's, despite it being against app developers.

Some reports speak about Apple silently giving more cash to the body to affect their policies. Meanwhile, others strongly feel it gathers influence without even being a member.

Is this the reality or a clear misunderstanding? There are reports that we could well be seeing this as a misunderstanding. The App Association calls Apple Inc. a public sponsor of its initiatives.

So as you can see, the Cupertino firm is keenly interested in the ordeal, even as a sponsor. But it’s not the only one out there. Others like Microsoft, Cisco, and Intel are also a part of the list.

But the initiative that Apple sponsors exerts a giant chunk of influence on developers. Without the company saying yes to several decisions, it would be near impossible to develop a new device or smartphone in the market today.

Hence, it makes sense why Apple is very keen on providing sponsorship because they're getting plenty of power at the end of the day.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World