TikTok dethrones Google to become most popular website: Report

The rankings show that TikTok knocked Google off the top spot in February, March and June this year, and has held the number one position since August. https://ift.tt/32xODtg

Leaked screenshots of Android 13 "Tiramisu" show features like per-app language selection, runtime permissions for notifications, and lock screen clock layouts (Aamir Siddiqui/XDA Developers)

Aamir Siddiqui / XDA Developers:
Leaked screenshots of Android 13 “Tiramisu” show features like per-app language selection, runtime permissions for notifications, and lock screen clock layouts  —  Android 12 is the current flavor of the season as OEMs go on to update their skins with this new release as their base.

Privoro, which makes security devices for smartphones, including a case with intelligent audio masking and camera blocking, raises a $30M Series B (FinSMEs)

FinSMEs:
Privoro, which makes security devices for smartphones, including a case with intelligent audio masking and camera blocking, raises a $30M Series B  —  Privoro, a Chandler, AZ-based mobile security hardware company, raised £40M in Series B funding.  —  The round was led by Tracker Capital Management.

The White House invites major software companies and developers to discuss improving open-source security, starting with a one-day event in January (Andrew Martin/Bloomberg)

Andrew Martin / Bloomberg:
The White House invites major software companies and developers to discuss improving open-source security, starting with a one-day event in January  —  White House officials are asking major software companies and developers to work with them to improve the security of open-source software, according to an administration official.

Russian court fines Google ~$98M for repeated failure to delete content Russia deems illegal, the first revenue-based fine of its kind in the country (Reuters)

Reuters:
Russian court fines Google ~$98M for repeated failure to delete content Russia deems illegal, the first revenue-based fine of its kind in the country  —  A Moscow court on Friday said it was fining Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) 7.2 billion roubles ($98 million) for what it said was a repeated failure …

How to hide name on WhatsApp from random users

Meta-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has rolled out several new features to improve the app’s experience for users. Some of these features include ability to listen to voice messages before sending, automatically hide last seen status, multi-device support and more. https://ift.tt/3yYad6o

Ahead of the holidays, the biggest game releases from EA, Take-Two, and Activision have received poor reviews, capping a difficult year for the industry (Dan Gallagher/Wall Street Journal)

Dan Gallagher / Wall Street Journal:
Ahead of the holidays, the biggest game releases from EA, Take-Two, and Activision have received poor reviews, capping a difficult year for the industry  —  Problems with latest ‘Call of Duty,’ ‘Battlefield’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto’ releases follow tough year for videogame stocks

New Year gifts: Bluetooth earphones and headphones you can buy under Rs 999

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How Tobi Lütke led Shopify to becoming an e-commerce giant, helping ~2M merchants run stores as its market cap rose from $46B in early 2020 to $174B today (Brad Stone/Bloomberg)

Brad Stone / Bloomberg:
How Tobi Lütke led Shopify to becoming an e-commerce giant, helping ~2M merchants run stores as its market cap rose from $46B in early 2020 to $174B today  —  Tobi Lütke transformed the Canadian upstart into an e-commerce giant by being the anti-Bezos.  How long can the formula keep working?

A look at attempts by TikTok's biggest stars to expand onto other platforms, including Charli D'Amelio's Hulu docuseries, often with mixed results (Jon Caramanica/New York Times)

Jon Caramanica / New York Times:
A look at attempts by TikTok's biggest stars to expand onto other platforms, including Charli D'Amelio's Hulu docuseries, often with mixed results  —  This year, the app's biggest stars — Charli and Dixie D'Amelio, Noah Beck, Addison Rae and others — leapt from the phone screen to other platforms …

Star Wars Eclipse: What we know so far

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Sources: Lina Khan is advancing an FTC investigation into AWS, started in 2019, including whether AWS discriminates against non-exclusive clients (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Sources: Lina Khan is advancing an FTC investigation into AWS, started in 2019, including whether AWS discriminates against non-exclusive clients  —  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is pushing forward with antitrust scrutiny of Amazon.com Inc.'s cloud computing business, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sources: Vista Equity will acquire a majority stake in SalesLoft, which offers sales engagement tools, at a $2.3B valuation; SalesLoft has $100M+ ARR (Laura Cooper/Wall Street Journal)

Laura Cooper / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Vista Equity will acquire a majority stake in SalesLoft, which offers sales engagement tools, at a $2.3B valuation; SalesLoft has $100M+ ARR  —  The deal comes as technology-focused Vista is gearing up to raise its largest buyout fund yet  —  Vista Equity Partners is taking …

Intel apologizes following backlash after telling Chinese suppliers to avoid Xinjiang labor, saying it only did so to "ensure compliance" with US law (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Intel apologizes following backlash after telling Chinese suppliers to avoid Xinjiang labor, saying it only did so to “ensure compliance” with US law  —  - Brand ambassador Wang Junkai cuts ties with the U.S. chipmaker  — Intel asked suppliers not to use labor, products from Xinjiang

HP begins manufacturing laptops, multiple PC products in India

PC and printer major HP Inc on Wednesday said it has started local manufacturing of multiple PC products including laptops in India, as the government renews its thrust on the 'make in India' initiative. https://ift.tt/3GVx6Km