TechRadar: Google is taking far more data from your Android devices than you may think. “Researchers have discovered that Android devices are collecting far more telemetry data on users than iOS. The findings from Douglas Leith from Trinity College in Ireland were part of a project looking to quantify the data both Android and iOS handsets send to their headquarters.”
PopSugar: This iPhone Trick Shows You How to Extract Text From a Photo Using the Google App. “If there’s ever been a time where text was physically written or typed on an offline document and you needed it on your phone, you probably had to spend time typing it out yourself, right? Well, there’s actually a hack that lets you extract any text you want right onto your iPhone in seconds, and all you need is the Google app!”
Next Web: My team experimented with ‘no screen mornings’ — it worked wonders. “Want to feel stressed, anxious, and/or completely exhausted before you even have breakfast? I highly recommend looking at your phone right when you wake up. I tend to look at Slack, email, and (*sigh*) Twitter right after I wake up. But sometimes I wonder if my head would be clearer if I just… didn’t. So I tried it out — and asked my coworkers at Zapier to join me.”
Mike Shouts: Holy Mother Of… Smartphone Can Decipher The Shape Of A House Key. “Acoustic cryptanalysis, for those who aren’t familiar, is the analysis of sounds of, say, a computer or device, to determine what someone is typing based on each click of the keyboard. I know. It sounds totally creepy and it is more creepy when you know this form of security attack can be used to decipher the ‘biting’ of house keys too. If that does not creep you out, wait till you hear that it is totally doable through recording a key turning using a regular smartphone.”
Mashable: 7 best apps for making quick GIFs on your phone. “DIY GIF-making is possible on your Android or iPhone smartphone if you have the right apps. Even some apps you probably already have downloaded include some hidden GIF features: You may not associate WhatsApp or Twitter with making your own silent short video sequences, but we’re here to fix all that.”
Pew Stateline: For States’ COVID Contact Tracing Apps, Privacy Tops Utility. “More than 28 million people in the United States have downloaded the mobile apps or activated exposure notifications on their smartphones. The systems use Bluetooth technology and are both voluntary and anonymous. Critics say the technology has overemphasized privacy at the cost of usefulness.”
Route Fifty: Utah Poised to Block Porn on Smartphones. “Cell phones and tablets sold in Utah could soon be required to block pornography under a bill awaiting a signature from Gov. Spencer Cox. The bill, passed by the House in February and the Senate earlier this month, requires tablets and smartphones sold after Jan. 1, 2022, to automatically enable a pre-installed ‘filter capable of blocking material that is harmful to minors.’”
National Science Foundation: Chip delivers COVID-19 test results on a phone. “COVID-19 can be diagnosed in 55 minutes or less with the help of programmed magnetic nanobeads and a diagnostic tool that plugs into an off-the-shelf cellphone, according to Rice University engineers. Mechanical engineer Peter Lillehoj has developed a stamp-sized microfluidic chip that measures the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein, a biomarker for COVID-19, in blood serum from a standard finger prick. The nanobeads bind to SARS-CoV-2 N protein in the chip and transport it to an electrochemical sensor that detects minute amounts of the biomarker.”
Wired: Smartphone Camera Tricks That Will Make Your Life Easier. “YOUR PHONE’S CAMERA is more than just a lens for capturing memories. You probably know that already—it can deposit checks, import business cards, and look for constellations in the night sky. But with some clever thinking or the right tools, it can do so much more.”
Christian Science Monitor: Smartphones have redefined protests. But will it last?. “The ubiquity of smartphones and social media has accelerated the the sharing of images by citizens – from Myanmar to Minneapolis, drawing the attention to conflicts and protests in an unprecedented way. But can they keep global attention for long?”
Mashable: TikTok users are teaching iPhone owners how to screenshot an entire webpage. “Did you know you could screenshot an entire webpage on your phone, then save it as a PDF and revisit its contents whenever your little heart desires? Full-page screenshotting is a super simple and helpful trick, yet I, a person who’s owned an iPhone for over a decade, had no idea it was possible until I watched this TikTok video.”
News .com .au: ACCC examining whether choice screens for search engines on smartphones should be compulsory. “The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is asking for submissions from smartphone users and industry participants to inform a report it will hand to the federal government in September, which will examine the fairness of competition among search engines in handheld devices.”
TechCrunch: Detail wants to turn your phone into a software-optimized camera app for live video. “Meet Detail, a new startup working on an app for iOS and macOS so that you can turn your iPhone into a software-optimized camera for live video. The startup wants to make it easy to use the phone that you have in your pocket with the livestreaming platform that you already use, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Twitch, Hopin or YouTube Live.”
EurekAlert: Smartphones could help to prevent glaucoma blindness – study. “Smartphones could be used to scan people’s eyes for early-warning signs of glaucoma – helping to prevent severe ocular diseases and blindness, a new study reveals. Some of the most common eye-related diseases are avoidable and display strong risk factors before onset, but it is much harder to pinpoint a group of people at risk from glaucoma.”
