Privacy leak found in Google Home and Chromecast that would let a malicious site find a user's precise location from Wi-Fi info; Google to fix leak within weeks  —  Google in the coming weeks is expected to fix a location privacy leak in two of its most popular consumer products.

In letters to Jeff Bezos, nearly 20 Amazon shareholder groups, ACLU, and others call for halt of selling Rekognition facial recognition tech to law enforcement  —  Facial recognition could revolutionize public transportation  —  Nearly 20 groups of Amazon shareholders are pressuring …

In a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration, Senate votes 85-10 on an annual defense policy bill that included a measure to reinstate penalties on ZTE  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate voted on Monday to reinstate tough penalties on ZTE, a Chinese telecom company accused of violating American sanctions …

Microsoft acquires Flipgrid, a video discussion platform used by 20M+ students and teachers in 180 countries, and makes it free for schools to use  —  A YouTube reaction video platform for students is now free to use for schools  —  Microsoft has acquired Flipgrid, a video discussion platform used …

After Microsoft pulled reference on its site touting work with ICE, it reemerged after inquiry; Microsoft says it's “dismayed” by ICE's child separation policy  —  “An employee briefly deleted the blog after seeing commentary in social media.  This was a mistake and as soon …

Experts say macOS' Quick Look feature has for years created and insecurely cached preview thumbnails and more for files in encrypted containers and USB drives  —  Security researchers are warning of almost a decade old issue with one of the Apple's macOS feature which was designed …

Datally, Google's Android app for monitoring and managing mobile data, updated with new features including daily limits, guest mode, unused apps, and a WiFi map  —  In November, Google introduced Datally, a data-saving app largely aimed at emerging markets where users often rely on prepaid SIM cards …

Google rolls out web interface for Android Messages to enable texting from desktop and says GIF search, Smart Reply, and more features coming by next week  —  Over the past few years, we've been working on improving the messaging experience on Android—from working with carriers to upgrade …

Google Maps on Android removes ability to hail an Uber from within the app, after adding the integration in January 2017  —  Google has removed the ability to book an Uber ride from inside Google Maps.  You can still look up the route in Maps and then “request the ride from the Uber app,” …

Apple says iOS 12 will be able to automatically share precise location info with first responders when iPhone users call 911 in US, integrating RapidSOS tech  —  Apple is announcing a new life-saving feature in iOS 12 that hasn't been publicly disclosed before today.

WHO to add gaming addiction as a medical condition to the International Classification of Diseases, its highly regarded compendium of medical conditions  —  Video games work hard to hook players.  Designers use predictive algorithms and principles of behavioral economics to keep fans engaged.

Filing suggests Travis VanderZanden, founder of scooter rental startup Bird that has raised $450M to date, has sold tens of millions of dollars worth of stock  —  The founder of Bird, a year-old scooter rental service that has attracted $450 million from investors, including Sequoia Capital …

How a team of 150 at Square made the $999 Square Register, a two-screen Android device with its own secure enclave chip, aiming to be SMBs' preferred PoS device  —  IF YOU KNOW the company Square, it's probably because you've paid in a store using a Square “stand,” a dock that supports a tablet …

Google to invest $550M in China's second-largest e-commerce site JD.com as part of a strategic partnership  —  - U.S. tech giant Google said it would invest $550 million in cash into Chinese e-commerce player JD.com.  — The companies said the investment is part of a strategic partnership …

US Supreme Court to hear Apple's appeal of lower court ruling that company can be sued for monopolizing iOS app market, allegedly leading to inflated prices  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) bid to escape a lawsuit accusing …

How advances from Google's Medical Brain team, which is building AI tools to predict disease symptoms, risk of death, more, could help it break into healthcare  —  AI advances by the ‘Medical Brain’ team could help the internet giant finally break into the health-care business

Domo updates IPO range to $19-$22/share, which would value it at roughly $511M, far below its previous valuation of $2.28B, now expects to raise $233M in IPO  —  - Domo, last valued at $2.28 billion, could go public at a valuation of $511 million — bad news for investors.

Pulumi, founded by Microsoft and AWS veterans, raises $5M seed and debuts an open-source project and commercial SaaS product to help devs be cloud agnostic  —  When you consider the seismic shifts in computing history, there has usually been a period of adjustment during …