Key Highlights: WhatsApp will cease to work on S40 devices This includes Asha devices that were launched around 2011 If you're using a Nokia S40 device, we've got bad news for you. WhatsApp will stop working on your device by the end of the day. WhatsApp announced over a couple of years ago on its blog that it would kill support for a list of operating systems by the end of 2018 and S40 is part of it. This includes Nokia Asha devices introduced in the market over five years ago, like Asha 201, Asha 205, Asha, 206, Asha 208, Asha 210, Asha 230, Asha 301, Asha 500, Asha 501, Asha 502, Asha 503, and Asha 505. In a June update to the original blog, WhatsApp wrote, "You won't be able to use WhatsApp on the following platforms for: Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018, Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020, iPhone iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020". If you own and use a Nokia S40 device, you will have to switch to a newer device to continue using WhatsApp. WhatsApp is currently supported on Android devices running Gingerbread (v2.3.3) or above and on iOS devices running version 8 or later. Series 40 (or S40) is a software platform developed by Nokia back in the late 90s. It was used in several Asha models that were sold in India around 2011. With WhatsApp introducing a new feature every other month these days, S40 could not have caught up. When WhatsApp was launched for S40 phones, it was solely a messaging application. Today, it supports voice and video calling too, along with more recently introduced features like stickers. On a modern Android device like say, the Nokia 3.1 (which costs below Rs 10,000), one can enjoy the latest features of WhatsApp without having to worry about deadlines for app support. WhatsApp only last week introduced picture-in-picture (PiP) mode for Android devices. What this means is that users can watch forwarded WhatsApp videos in a smaller separate window while continuing to text in the chat window. Related Read: Picture in Picture now available for WhatsApp Web
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Highlights: Sony to boost camera 3D sensors’ production The sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras They will go into mass production in the summer of 2019 Japanese multinational company Sony will boost the production of its next-generation of 3D sensors amid high demand of the product from phone makers, including Apple, a Bloomberg report has said. These sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras of models from customers in 2019. Sony will commence the mass production in late summer to meet demand, Satoshi Yoshihara, Head of Sony’s sensor division, was quoted as saying. The executive, however, declined to provide sales or production targets, but said the 3D business is already operating profitably and will make an impact on earnings from the fiscal year starting in April. Bloomberg says that Sony’s technology “provides much needed optimism to the global smartphone industry, which is suffering a slowdown as consumers find fewer reasons to upgrade devices.” The company has reportedly started providing software toolkits to third-party developers to let them experiment with the chips and create supported apps. “Cameras revolutionized phones, and based on what I’ve seen, I have the same expectation for 3D. The pace will vary by field, but we’re definitely going to see adoption of 3D. I’m certain of it,” Yoshihara was quoted as saying. According to the executive, Sony’s technology differs from the ‘structured light’ approach of existing chips, which have limitations in terms of accuracy and distance. Sony uses ‘time of flight’ method that sends out invisible laser pulses and measures how long they take to bounce back, which, he claimed, creates more detailed 3D models and works at distances of five meters. Bloomberg says that Sony controls about half of the camera chip market and supplies chips to Apple, Alphabet, Samsung, and Huawei, among others, although Yoshihara declined to identify them by name, citing confidentiality agreements. Related read: 38MP Sony IMX607 sensor Image Courtesy: Bloomberg
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Key Highlights: "At least" 20 out of 34 popular Android apps found sharing sensitive data with Facebook without user consent. The apps are reportedly using an older version of Facebook Developer Kit Some app developers weren't even aware the apps have been sharing user data It was found earlier that health and dating apps routinely violated user privacy by sharing data with Facebook. According to a study by Privacy International, “at least” 20 out of 34 popular Android apps are sending sensitive data to Facebook without explicit user permission. The apps include Kayak, Skyscanner, MyFitnessPal and TripAdvisor. The report states that the data includes the analytics data that is sent during the app launch, as well as the unique Android ID. Later, the apps were found to send more sensitive data. Kayak, the popular flight-booking app, was found to be sending destination and flight search data, travel dates and whether or not someone is traveling with kids. It can be argued that the data shared cannot directly be used to identify a specific user. The data can, theoretically, be used to recognise someone through indirect means. One can easily see who has the app installed or whether they are traveling with the same person. There is also a concern that the apps may be violating European Union’s stringent privacy-focused GDPR regulations by collecting data without taking explicit consent from the users. In fact, Facebook’s developer kit didn’t have the option to ask for permission until the GDPR laws took effect. Once the rules were put into effect, Facebook did offer a way to let apps ask for user permission, but it’s not clear how many developers went ahead and implemented it. There are many apps that are using older versions of the developer kit, as claimed by the study. The report claims that Skyscanner was “not aware” it was sending data without user permission. Facebook is reportedly working a “clear history” option and has stressed that developers have the choice to turn off automatic data collection. Nevertheless, it is yet another instance of Facebook failing to protect the interests of its users. In this case, app developers are equally at fault by not keeping up to date with changing regulations and failing to adapt newly rolled out rules about user privacy. Related Links: Facebook stops third-party apps from stealing user data Report claims Facebook allowed device-makers to access users' data, company denies wrongdoing Here's how Facebook uses information from WhatsApp to show you advertisements
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