Apple, Facebook, others defy authorities, notify users of secret data demands  —  Major U.S. technology companies have largely ended the practice of quietly complying with investigators' demands for e-mail records and other online data, saying that users have a right to know in advance …

OAuth, OpenID security flaw can be exploited to steal personal info, redirect users to unsafe sites  —  Serious security flaw in OAuth and OpenID discovered  —  Malicious attackers can use the ‘Covert Redirect’ vulnerability in the OAuth 2. and OpenID open-source login systems to steal …

Angela Ahrendts officially starts role as Apple's new Senior VP of Retail and Online Stores  —  Angela Ahrendts has officially taken the reins of Apple's new Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores.  Ahrendts's last day as the CEO of Burberry was yesterday, and Apple's website …

Wild Rumor of Apple EarPods with Biometric Sensors Has Roots in Apple's Research  —  A seemingly wild rumor of Apple planning to launch new EarPods headphones with integrated heart rate and blood pressure sensors has been making the rounds today after the claim was posted on anonymous information sharing platform Secret (via Reddit).

White House report on Big Data calls for limits on online data collection by tech companies  —  Call for Limits on Web Data of Customers  —  WASHINGTON — The White House, hoping to move the national debate over privacy beyond the National Security Agency's surveillance activities …

Google sued for requiring OEMs to bundle its mobile apps, make search and location services default on Android phones  —  Google uses secret Android deals for illegal search monopoly, lawsuit claims  —  Google requires Samsung, HTC and other mobile device makers that use the Android operating system …

By splitting in two, Foursquare joins Facebook, Google, and Dropbox in the great unbundling  —  Foursquare has split its mobile application into two applications — one focused on discovering new places and the other, called Swarm, focused on helping users share their location with their friends.

Canadian Telcos Asked to Disclose Subscriber Data Every 27 Seconds  —  Every 27 seconds.  Minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month.  Canadian telecommunications providers, who collect massive amounts of data about their subscribers …

Twitter is experimenting with a mute feature in its mobile apps  —  One of the most-requested features for Twitter's mobile apps may be on the cusp of arriving.  Users of the company's iOS and Android clients are now seeing an option to mute accounts that they follow, preventing another user's tweets …

Activists sue San Francisco to stop shuttles of Facebook, Apple, and Google from using public bus stops  —  Activists sue San Francisco over ‘Google buses’  —  A shuttle to the Google campus loads passengers in San Francisco.  (Liz Hafalia / San Francisco Chronicle / October 23, 2012)

iTunes Match Expands to Japan  —  Apple is expanding its iTunes Match service to Japan, according to a MacRumors tipster and the company's iTunes Match availability website.  The service, which costs ¥3,980 per year, allows iTunes users to match their existing iTunes libraries …

Kantar data suggests UK smartphone penetration will reach a ceiling of 91% by Q3 2017  —  The death of the featurephone in the UK - and what's next  —  More than nine years of data on UK smartphones means we can forecast how many people might stick with ‘featurephones’ - like the popular Nokia 6310 …

Meet Vhoto: This new iPhone app scans your videos to find amazing still photographs  —  There are amazing photos hidden in all of the those videos you've shot on your mobile phone over the past few years.  You just don't know it, or have a means to access them.

Wikipedia Has a New Boss: Lila Tretikov Named Executive Director of Wikimedia Foundation  —  One of the most important sites on the Internet has a new leader: Lila Tretikov is the new executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia and supports its volunteer corps.

LG G3 Makes Appearance in Two New Photos  —  LG is going to announce the G3 come May 27, yet somehow, the company has managed to keep its next flagship mostly under wraps.  We have seen the backside's button arrangement a couple of times, but nothing like the leak that showed up tonight, assuming these photos are the real deal.

Samsung attempts to preempt Apple's Healthbook launch with a health-focused event of its own in late May  —  Samsung has just announced a health-focused event that will take place on May 28th, just days before Apple is set to unveil its next-generation mobile and desktop operating systems at WWDC …