alltaket

Amazon drops great deals on Samsung Galaxy smartwatches for Presidents Day
Tech News: The Most Popular Messaging App Now Has 2 Billion Users
Samsung Galaxy S20 5G and Z Flip: How to buy and where to find the best deals
App credited for preventing further vision loss for 6-year-old boy
11 Standout Samsung Galaxy S20 Features
Life360 Comes At You Fast — Cops Convince Arson Suspect’s Kid To Give Up Dad’s Location On Family Tracking App
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip's foldable glass screen already blows me away (sorry, Razr)
China's Coronavirus App Uses Mass Surveillance to Tell Citizens If They Could Be Infected
Tech News: The Most Popular Messaging App Now Has 2 Billion Users
Samsung Galaxy S20 5G and Z Flip: How to buy and where to find the best deals
App credited for preventing further vision loss for 6-year-old boy
Tech News: The Most Popular Messaging App Now Has 2 Billion Users
Amazon drops great deals on Samsung Galaxy smartwatches for Presidents Day
Amazon drops great deals on Samsung Galaxy smartwatches for Presidents Day
App that detects signs of eye diseases credited for preventing further vision loss for young boy
BlueMail is back in the App Store after it called out Apple
Samsung's Folding Phone Is the Cheapest One Yet, and the Least Flimsy
Tweeten, the best Windows Twitter app, is now available on Surface Pro X
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip's foldable glass screen already blows me away (sorry, Razr)
Liftoff: 2020 may be the year Android app revenue eclipses iOS
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip: At last, a phone to be seen with
Life360 Comes At You Fast — Cops Use Family Surveillance App To Trace Arson Suspect
App helps detect vision problems in children
Samsung just added 2 of the iPhone's most-coveted features to its new Galaxy S20 phones
Circle Sells Crypto Investing App Business to Voyager Digital

Amazon drops great deals on Samsung Galaxy smartwatches for Presidents Day

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 10:11 AM PST

The smart wearable is a tough market to make a name for yourself in especially with heavyweights like Apple and Fitbit crowding the area. Samsung, however, managed to establish itself in the industry with its growing and ever-improving lineup of Galaxy watches. If you're looking for a wearable to pair with your Android smartphone, here some of the best smartwatch deals you can get right now. The international versions of the fitness-centric Galaxy Watch Active2 and Galaxy Watch Active are enjoying price cuts on Amazon as part of the Presidents Day sale, letting you in on up to a whopping 50% off.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2, 40mm – $249 ($251 off) Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

Corey Gaskin / Digital Trends

If you own and Android phone and want the best smartwatch to pair with it, you don't need to look any further than the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2. This model earned an impressive star rating of 4-out-of-5 stars along with a Recommended Product seal from our Digital Trends review team. It does not only look good but also packs quite a punch under the hood.

Despite being a fitness-focused wearable, the Galaxy Watch Active2 is far from being bulky, rugged, or excessively sporty. Its profile is astonishingly sleek and versatile, which means you can wear it in the gym, for casual everyday wear, and even for formal events. It even comes with a "My Style" feature that uses a selfie from your phone to generate watch faces that will match your outfit. It also boasts a comfortable and nicely proportioned build – a round face and comfortable bands – that looks good on both small and large wrists. What's more, it has the IP68 and 5-ATM ratings for dust and water resistance.

As its "Active" moniker suggests, one of the strongest suits of this smartwatch is fitness and health tracking. It keeps you mindful of your health by monitoring and alerting you to your blood pressure, stress levels, sleep patterns, and heart rate. The smartwatch also has a solid foundation of built-in exercise tracking, which lets you track various activities – like swimming, running, cycling, and walking – either manually or automatically. And with reminders to move, there's no stopping this smartwatch from helping you achieve your fitness goals.

This Samsung smartwatch operates very fluidly. The company's proprietary OS called Tizen runs particularly smoothly in this model, and combined with a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED screen, you'll be able to see everything clearly in almost any lighting situation. The rotating bezel we all love has also made a comeback, but it's now digital rather than mechanical.

Connecting the Active2 to your smartphone will enable real-time notifications on calls, messages, social media, and other apps. While it's compatible with both iPhones and Android devices, the experience is significantly better for the latter. Android users can reply to text messages, scroll through Twitter, and even watch YouTube directly from the watch. Bringing your favorite tunes with you is also possible as the watch comes with 4GB of internal storage.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 gives you everything you would need and want in a smartwatch and a fitness wearable. Enjoy the best of both worlds by getting it now for a massive 50% off on Amazon. Order the international version for only $249.

BUY NOW

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, 40mm – $180 ($100 off) samsung galaxy watch active 40mm deal amazon

If you want to save a few bucks and don't mind buying an older model, check out the Galaxy Watch Active. This model is the stripped-down version of the Galaxy Watch, with emphasis on fitness and wellness tracking. It's highly rated and highly recommended by our review team as well, and that's mainly because of its overall value.

Similar to the newer model, the Active looks very sleek and modern and fits well on both small and large wrists. For exterior functionality, the South Korean tech giant ditched the mechanical rotating bezel and went instead for some side-mounted buttons. While this change may mean slower scrolling through the widgets and notifications, interaction with the watch is nonetheless smooth and feels much like Wear OS.

The Galaxy Watch Active lives up to its name, offering a solid suite of health and fitness tracking. It mostly revolves around the Samsung Health app, which is now updated with new stress management and breathing features, along with an array of indoor exercises and tracked workouts. And just like most fitness trackers, it covers all-day tracking for heart rate, sleep quality, stress level, and blood pressure. More fitness features are easily accessible by downloading apps from the Galaxy Store.

Hook it up with your compatible phone and you're in store for smart alerts on messages, calls, social media, and more. There are options to send customizable replies directly from the watch and it also supports speech-to-text, emoticons, and has an intuitive keyboard. Music playback is also not a problem as it can connect to your Galaxy Buds.

Samsung estimates the Galaxy Watch Active to deliver up to 45 hours of power on a single charge. It juices up wirelessly through a charging dock and comes with an innovative Wireless Power Share for convenient charging.

Anyone who finds the Galaxy Watch Active2 too rich for their blood will find a great alternative in the form of the Galaxy Watch Active. It normally sells for $280, but Amazon's discount makes it more budget-friendly at just $180. Get yours now while the deal is live.

BUY NOW

Looking for more savings other than these smartwatch deals? Browse through our curated deals page for more exciting discounts on tech products. Also, be sure to check out our compilation of awesome Valentine's Day gift ideas if you're still undecided about what to get the man or woman in your life.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we choose what we cover carefully and independently. The prices, details, and availability of the products and deals in this post may be subject to change at anytime. Be sure to check that they are still in effect before making a purchase.

Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editors' Recommendations

Tech News: The Most Popular Messaging App Now Has 2 Billion Users

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 10:08 AM PST

KEY POINTS

WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption and says it has no plans to change that

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world

WhatsApp is owned by Facebook

WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in the world, announced Wednesday it now has more than 2 billion users globally, particularly outside the United States.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, five years after it debuted as a text messaging app for mobile devices that eliminated the cost of SMS messages and offered the ability to send multimedia content for free without restricting the number of recipients. Once it added free-calling features, it dominated VoIP and video calling.

Unlike many other messaging apps, WhatsApp is fully encrypted, with no way to turn it off – a feature that has been criticized by law enforcement and government officials.

CEO Will Cathcart told the Wall Street Journal keeping user communication secure is something the company will continue to fight for despite pressure from law enforcement and government to install back doors. Cathcart said providing back doors is just too dangerous, citing Huawei's ability to access networks on which its equipment is installed. He said the app, however, would provide metadata to law enforcement.

"For all of human history, people have been able to communicate privately with each other," he said in announcing the milestone. "And we don't think that should go away in a modern society."

Cathcart said the app also will continue operating mostly independent of Facebook (FB).

The app announced its user numbers in a blog post, the first such disclosure in two years.

"WhatsApp is secured with end-to-end encryption by default. Strong encryption acts like an unbreakable digital lock that keeps the information you send over WhatsApp secure, helping protect you from hackers and criminals," the blog post said. "Messages are only kept on your phone, and no one in between can read your messages or listen to your calls, not even us."

It added: "We will not compromise on security because that would make people less safe."

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also has said the benefits of encryption outweigh the arguments against it, and the social networking giant was planning to encrypt its other messaging platforms.

Samsung Galaxy S20 5G and Z Flip: How to buy and where to find the best deals

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 10:06 AM PST

If you're interested in one of the new Samsung Galaxy S20 models or the new Galaxy Z Flip, you need to hurry and buy it now. The Z Flip is available in limited quantities, and the S20 launch specials won't last long.

Also: Galaxy S20 Ultra vs. Note 10 Plus: Which Samsung phone is best for business use?

While the three Galaxy S20 models and the Z Flip can be ordered now, Samsung is also continuing to offer the Galaxy S10 models since they start at a lower price point than the least expensive $999 S20 model. As an additional bonus, Samsung dropped the price across the S10 line by $150, so last year's phone can be found at a good price and is still an extremely capable phone.

Disclosure: ZDNet may earn an affiliate commission from some of the products featured on this page. ZDNet and the author were not compensated for this independent review.

Galaxy Z Flip: When and where to buy

Availability starting on Feb. 14

Price is $1,380 and there will be limited quantities

The Galaxy Z Flip will be available in Mirror Purple and Mirror Black in stores and online through AT&T, Best Buy, Sprint, Samsung Experience Stores, and Samsung.com for $1,380.

Galaxy S20: When and where to buy

Pre-orders start at 9:01pm PT on 20 February, reserve now

Full availability starts March 6

Pre-orders start on Feb. 20 at 9:01pm PT. There are three models of the Galaxy S20: The standard Galaxy S20, the larger Galaxy S20 Plus, and the largest S20 Ultra with a stunning 108MP camera. To compare specs and features, go here. Once you decide which one you want to buy, browse where they're available (below) as well as the pre-order deals available at each place. You can purchase one of the three models in these available colors:

Galaxy S20: Best pre-order deals

Between Feb. 21, 2020 and March 5, 2020, consumers who pre-order can get a $100 Samsung credit with a Galaxy S20, $150 Samsung credit with a Galaxy S20 Plus, or $200 Samsung credit with a Galaxy S20 Ultra. Pre-order consumers can build their own Galaxy Ecosystem and redeem their Samsung credit for curated bundles or select products like Galaxy Buds Plus, QLED 8K TVs, SmartThings, chargers and more.

SAMSUNG

If you want to buy a Galaxy S20, you can pre-order it directly from Samsung with the instant credit options detailed above. Consumers who trade-in an eligible device on samsung.com, Best Buy or the Shop Samsung app can also get up to $600 towards the purchase of a device in the Galaxy S20 line.

AT&T

AT&T will sell all variations of the Galaxy S20 line but has limited support for 5G networks. Nationwide support is planned for and launching in the middle of 2020. AT&T's 5G network uses the low-band spectrum, while its 5G Plus uses the mmWave (high-band) spectrum. The two upper-level S20 devices support both of these 5G networks.

For a limited time, customers who sign up for AT&T Unlimited Extra and AT&T Unlimited Elite, with the latest unlimited plans with 5G and 5G Plus service included, can get a Galaxy S20 5G free and a Galaxy S20 Plus 5G starting at $200 when they port a line, buy on a qualifying installment plan and trade-in an eligible smartphone.

T-MOBILE

The Galaxy S20 lineup supports T-Mobile's low-band frequency. The S20 Plus and S20 Ultra also support mid and high band frequencies and when the Sprint purchase is complete then T-Mobile will be the carrier providing 5G across all three layers. Thus, you can purchase the ultimate 5G phone and have the broadest coverage of frequencies on T-Mobile.

VERIZON

Verizon's Ultra Wideband 5G network is available now and is the fastest variation of 5G. The standard S20 launches a bit later because Verizon is working to roll out its low-band network, which is the only 5G network available on the Galaxy S20 model.

Verizon will also be selling the Samsung Galaxy Book S, available 13 February for $999.99. It is Samsung's first Galaxy computer with LTE. Galaxy Buds Plus will be available in stores on 6 March for $149.99.

XFINITY MOBILE

Comcast customers who switch to Xfinity Mobile between Feb. 21 February and April 5 will receive $300 off the new Galaxy S20. Existing Xfinity Mobile customers can also receive a $300 pre-paid card with the purchase of a Galaxy S20 device.

Xfinity Mobile is available to Xfinity Internet customers and includes up to five lines of unlimited nationwide talk and text, and no phone line access fees. Customers can choose from two straightforward data options: "By the Gig" shared data starting at 1GB for $12 (3GB for $30 and 10GB for $60), or Unlimited for $45 per month per line. 5G data options will be announced soon for Xfinity Mobile.

BEST BUY

Save up to $850 on a Galaxy S20 by trading in an eligible phone and activating the S20 on AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon.

SAM'S CLUB

Sam's Club members will receive a $200 Sam's Club eGift card with the preorder, activation, and purchase of any new Samsung Galaxy S20 5G device. Preorder any Galaxy S20 5G device between 12:01am ET Wednesday, Feb. 21and 11:59pm ET Sunday, March 1. Purchase on installment with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, or US Cellular two-year carrier agreement. Purchase must be completed between Friday, March 6 and Sunday, March 8.

App credited for preventing further vision loss for 6-year-old boy

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 10:03 AM PST

a person posing for the camera: 0212-ctm-eyeapp-villafranca-2025897-640x360.jpg

An app that can detect signs of eye diseases by scanning photos helped the mom of a 6-year-old boy see the symptoms of a rare eye disorder. She now credits the app with preventing even worse damage to her son's vision.

Landon Lessman acts like any other curious and playful 6 year old, but he has Coats disease, a blood vessel disorder that left him with limited vision in one of his eyes. His mom, Sarah, said warning signs of the disorder were hard to spot.

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"Landon was a little delayed in all of his gross motor and fine motor development," she said. "He had a really hard time going down and up stairs."

But four years ago, Lessman noticed a white glare in her son's left eye in pictures taken with a flash. She thought it was just bad lighting until she started doing some research.

"I'd remember seeing some kind of news article or news report about a little boy having cancer in his eye, and it was caught by a glow in the eye like that," she said. "My mom alarm bells started going off."

Lessman downloaded Cradle, an app that scans photos already on your phone for white eye glares, which can be a symptom of Coats disease, cataracts or even a type of eye cancer called retinoblastoma.

The app found several white glares in Landon's eyes, and a specialist confirmed that he had Coats disease.

"Had I not seen that, I would've probably let it go for I don't know how long," she said.

"They can't usually trick mom though," he said. "Usually it's mom that kind of figures it out."

Bryan Shaw, a biochemist at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, made Cradle with the help of software engineers at the university. He was inspired by the experience of his oldest son Noah, who was diagnosed with retinoblastoma at 4 months old.

Shaw said he remembers seeing unusual glares in pictures of Noah just days after his birth, but didn't realize that unlike the red eye typically seen in flash photos, a white glow could be a sign of trouble.

By the time Noah's eye cancer was diagnosed, it was too late to save his right eye.

"If we'd got him in at 12 days old, he wouldn't have lost his eye, and he wouldn't have received 30 cycles of proton beam radiation to his remaining eye that we were able to salvage," Shaw told CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca.

People started using Cradle "immediately," Shaw said. "In the first few months, it was downloaded I think about 80,000 times."

Asked what it's like to have something he created keep others from going through the pain his son went through, Shaw said, it's "the best feeling in the world."

"There's no better reward, there's nothing like seeing your technology, your idea, help out another person, in particular a kid," he said.

Dr. David Abramson with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center said that while eye apps can generate false positives, any white glare should be checked out quickly to limit disruption to early vision development.

"With a child who has a cataract for weeks, month or years, even removing that cataract will never restore vision because it was never imprinted into the brain," Abramson said.

Shaw urged parents to keep taking pictures of their kids and look a little closer at their eyes.

"Take a lot of pictures, and if you see white pupils in your children, don't panic, don't be alarmed, but tell your doctor," he said.

11 Standout Samsung Galaxy S20 Features

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 10:01 AM PST

Samsung's Galaxy S20 line is full of huge new features, most of which aren't available in competing US phones. From 100x "space zoom" to a 120Hz screen, the S20 breaks new ground for a smartphone in this country.

Yes, it's tremendously expensive: the flagship model, the S20 Ultra 5G, will cost $1,399.99. But at least you're getting something for that price. Here are 11 features (you know, for the phone's previously rumored "Galaxy S11" moniker) that knocked our socks off.

100x Zoom

The Galaxy S20 Ultra combines multiple camera optical and digital zoom to hit an insane 100x zoom level. Yes, there are artifacts at this level; it isn't perfect. But it's practically a telescope and truly amazing. Beyond the 100x headline, the Ultra's lossless 10x optical zoom is going to sell a lot of phones. From 10-30x, the Ultra's zoom looks terrific. Huawei and others have introduced this super-zoom feature in other countries, but this will be the first time Americans get to use anything like it.

This is an example of the phones' 30x zoom - the bigger phone does to 100x.

This is an example of the phones' 30x zoom - the bigger phone goes to 100x.All the 5G

The Galaxy S20 is the first lineup of phones in the US that can handle all three kinds of American 5G. They're relatively future-proof there, combining future low-band, mid-band, and millimeter-wave 5G networks for a mix of speed and coverage like no other device we've seen. You have to be smart about what model you choose, though. On AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, only the top two models will have all three forms of 5G. (The smallest S20 will lack millimeter-wave.) On Verizon, all three models will have all three forms of 5G.

Single Take Mode lets the phone choose your filters for you.Single Take Mode

It might seem gimmicky, but Single Take Mode lets you take a 10-second video of a scene and then chop it up into social-media-ready short videos, stills, and filtered images. It sounds great for people like me who don't think about how to compose things.

Big Batteries

5G won't wear these phones out. They're packed with the biggest batteries we've seen in mainstream Galaxy phones—4,000 to 5,000mAh. Low-band 5G doesn't use considerably more battery than 4G (although millimeter-wave appears to do so), so the result for most people may be very long battery life. That's great.

The phones have big batteries, but they don't have a chunky chassis.8K Video With 33MP Stills

Whether or not you have an 8K TV to cast it to, the 8K video from these phones will allow cropping and panning after the fact, with 1080p results. Snapshots taken using the Galaxy S20 Ultra in 8K mode will be a whopping 33 megapixels, so you don't have to choose between high-res images and video. There's no time limit on the 8K video, although it takes up 3GB per five minutes of recording.

108- and 64-megapixel modes let you get really close into a scene, even after the fact.Take Now, Crop Later

The advantage of 64- and 108-megapixel cameras isn't that you're generating huge files; it's that you'll be able to zoom and crop after you take your photo. In our first tests, it looked like the Galaxy S20 Ultra's 108-megapixel mode didn't have quite as saturated colors as its 12-megapixel mode, so you wouldn't want to do this all the time, but it offers new flexibility.

Volume buttons, power button - but no Bixby button.

Volume buttons and a power button, but no Bixby button.No Bixby Button

The dedicated Bixby button was a constant annoyance for Galaxy S9 and S10 users who kept hitting it when they didn't mean to. I'm a Galaxy S10e user. I know of what I speak. Samsung made the very smart idea this time to not shove Bixby in your face, but to make it a double-tap on the power button.

120Hz Screen

The OnePlus 7 and Pixel 4 lines gave us 90Hz screens. Samsung ups that ante to 120Hz, which we've only seen before on gaming phones like the Razer Phone. That makes for very smooth scrolling and speedy gaming.

Scrolling is super-smooth on a 120Hz screenExpandable Memory

Samsung may have gotten rid of the headphone jack (boo), but at least it's kept the memory card slot. Rather than making us overpay for built-in storage, Samsung lets us load MicroSD cards up to a terabyte. Moving a physical MicroSD card also helps transfer those gigantic 8K video files much faster than wired or wireless connections.

Great Charging Options

The phones come with 25-watt fast chargers, but they also support wireless charging, wireless reverse charging for accessories, and the Ultra has a 45-watt charger option. While I'd have liked to see that 45-watt charger make its way down the line, this is still a solid list of options to keep your phone topped off.

There will be no shortage of cases for these phones.Lots of Accessories

We review a lot of phones here at PCMag.com. One of the big problems with a lot of them is a lack of cases and other accessories. Even with mainstream devices like LG flagship phones, it can be hard to find good cases in US retail stores hugely dominated by Apple and Samsung accessories. If you buy the S20, you aren't going to have to worry about cases or car chargers; just pop into the nearest store and you'll be covered.

We have a full hands-on with the Galaxy S20 and will have a full review soon.

Further Reading More Mobile Phone Reviews More Mobile Phone Best Picks

Life360 Comes At You Fast — Cops Convince Arson Suspect’s Kid To Give Up Dad’s Location On Family Tracking App

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 09:59 AM PST

A screenshot from the search warrant on Life360 data, showing a fire in the City of Barre, Vermont. ... [+] The family tracking app helped police gather evidence on a suspect in the alleged arson.

Department of Justice

When Glenn "Chip" Hill downloaded Life360, he probably expected it to help him keep tabs on the location of his children and wife. The 40-year-old probably didn't expect it would be used by police to link him to an arson in the City of Barre, Vermont, last month.

But that's what happened, according to a just-unsealed search warrant found by Forbes, which shows how police can use data from Android and iPhone family-tracking apps to trace suspects. Forbes believes it's the first known case of such an app being used by police to trace a suspect.

When family monitoring becomes police surveillance

San Francisco-based Life360 is one of many family tracking applications on the market, which promise to let parents know where their kin are at all times with real-time location tracking. With nearly 30 million active users, more than 50 million Android installs Life360 is one of, if not the biggest, in the fledgling industry. The company, which went public on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2019, is currently worth roughly $325 million.

Given Life360 effectively turns a smartphone into a mini surveillance device, akin to a police GPS tracker but for families, cops could find many uses for it.

In the case of Hill, the police were particularly crafty. They learned that one of Hill's sons used Life360 so he could track the movements of his dad and vice versa. The son said he only used the basic, free version, which only provides data for the last two days, but if he upgraded to the premium version for $8.00, "it would populate the history of his and his father's cell phone for the last 30 days," the search warrant revealed. After speaking with his mother (also Hill's wife), investigators convinced the son to upgrade to the premium Life360 and he did so right in front of detective sergeant Todd Ambroz.

As per the warrant application, the data was as specific as they'd suspected: "Within a few seconds, the 30-day history of Glenn Hill's and [his son's] locations began to unfold. Det. Sgt. Ambroz looked at the app ... and observed that on the day of the fire, January 11 2020, the Life360 app showed Hill located at Hardrock Granite in Barre at the time of the fire, from 2:22PM to 3:31PM."

Hill had previously worked at the factory, investigators said, and was initially a suspect after video surveillance captured footage of his car in the area around the time of the fire. The blaze ended up destroying much of the building and what was inside, with police estimating financial losses at "well over a million dollars," according to the search warrant.

Hill was arrested and charged with arson in late January. The cops aren't just relying on what they saw on the son's phone, though. They demanded additional data from Life360, including content of communications through the app's chat feature and "all precision location coordinate information, movement activity, driver behavior monitoring and tracking, and specific times the cell phone was moving and stationary." The police suspected the fire started in a car before it spread to the building. According to an executed warrant file, Life360 provided the information the police sought. (Life360 hadn't responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.)

Though the Life360 data might have been his undoing, according to a local news outlet, Hill has pleaded not guilty.

Selling your surveillance data

Police in America are regularly turning to tech companies to demand data on users that could aid their investigations despite warnings from privacy advocates and civil liberties groups over the privacy implications. Last week, Forbes discovered another Californian tech firm - DrChrono - was providing a large number of medical records to police.

Neither DrChrono nor Life360 have transparency reports, meaning there is no visibility into just how frequently they're helping the government track down suspect citizens. Still, both companies reserve the right to share user data in other ways, namely selling it. For instance, in its privacy policy, Life360 says it â€œmay share de-identified location data with third parties that analyze location and movement trends.â€

The company discloses that one of those third parties is Arity, â€œan insights technology companyâ€ that can use the data to â€œprovide and service insurance products, including using personal data to perform profiling activities and to provide you with relevant and personalized advertising.â€ That information includes not just geolocation data but also â€œdriving eventâ€ details. But in at least one place, the state of California, residents can now legally demand Life360 stop selling their data, thanks to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

If you live anywhere else, there are other ways to opt out, though they may not entirely prevent Life360â€™s data trading practices. For instance, the company says users can turn location services off on their phones, but adds: â€œWe and our third party partners may continue to approximate your location based on other data.â€ And, though users can opt out of location sharing for ads by changing settings at life360.com/opt-out, the company adds â€œLife360 may continue sharing your location data with third party partners for non-advertising purposes.â€ Life360 also notes that third-party advertisers â€œmay continue to send you location-based ads based on your previous location or may approximate your location based on other data.â€

Whether theyâ€™re helping cops or turning the likes of Life360 into money-making machines, family tracking apps carry all kinds of data thatâ€™s not just used to keep families safe.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip's foldable glass screen already blows me away (sorry, Razr)

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 09:59 AM PST

The Galaxy Z Flip's 6.7-inch foldable glass screen stands up on its own.

Angela Lang/CNET

Wow. I've just finished using the Galaxy Z Flip, the foldable flip phone Samsung announced on Tuesday in San Francisco, and I can already say this phone is something special. I know, I know, I say that about all the foldable phones I use for the first time. Each is unique, and seems to build off the last. But the $1,380 (£1,300) Galaxy Z Flip has two important distinctions that blow me away -- and that signal that the $1,499 Motorola Razr is in trouble.

They both come down to the screen's sturdiness and flexibility. The Z Flip has the world's first foldable glass screen and the top of the phone can stand up on its own at most angles. It doesn't hurt that the Z Flip's screen doesn't creak when you open it. I tried that out on three different demo units.

Compared to the Razr, the Z Flip also costs $119 less and packs in more features -- like two 12-megapixel cameras and a 10-megapixel interior camera, rather than the Razr's single 16-megapixel lens.

Now playing: Watch this: Galaxy Z Flip is the first phone with foldable glass

7:17

The Galaxy Z Flip goes on sale Feb. 14 in Mirror Purple (yasss), Mirror Black and in select countries, Mirror Gold. That glass body really is mirrored, too -- those fingerprints build up fast. It'll cost $1,380 in the US and £1,300 in the UK. Australian pricing is TBA, but the UK price converts to about AU$2,500.

Read on for what it's like to use the Galaxy Z Flip, how the hinge works and all the pros and cons I noticed in my 40 minutes using the clamshell foldable so far (10 minutes in one demo room and 30 in another).

Z Flip's glass screen could be killer

Samsung demos the Galaxy Z Flip on stage at Samsung Unpacked.

GIF by Mike Sorrentino/CNET

What's it like to use a foldable glass screen, instead of a plastic display?

It might be too soon to tell, but I immediately noticed that the screen crease looked less pronounced than I've ever seen it. I could still see light reflecting off of it at the bend, and could feel a slight dip when I ran my fingertip deliberately over the midline. It's certainly more subtle than on the Galaxy Fold.

I tapped the glass too, and listened, but didn't hear that telltale clink. Must be because it's ultrathin. Navigation felt smooth in my brief time with the device, and so did the surface.

Since the very first first peep about foldable phones, glass has been the holy grail of foldable screens: Thin enough to fold without breaking, but providing a more effective shield to the delicate OLED display beneath than a sheet of plastic.

The hope is that an ultrathin foldable glass will also deflect scratches and water damage. The question we still have to answer is if and how it will break when you inevitably drop it.

A big deal: The screen stands up on its own

In addition to foldable glass, the Z Flip's second distinction is the fact that the hinge is sturdy enough for the screen to stand upright on its own without slowly closing or opening.

I pushed and pulled the upper portion of the screen at every angle from the base, and it wasn't until the very bottom or very top of that arc that the phone either opened fully or else snapped shut, assisted by magnets at the corners.

A self-supporting screen has been high on my list since the first foldable phone prototypes we've seen, especially if you can view an image or video on the top portion while typing or doing something else on the bottom. On a taller, narrower design like the Z Flip, you'll get the convenience of watching a video hands-free, though the clip itself will feel pocket-size compared to the 7.3-inch Galaxy Fold, which you'd watch totally unfolded.

Samsung has also partnered with Google (specifically YouTube) to make its app split into two portions when the Z Flip bends. The idea is to watch YouTube videos on the upper screen while reading comments on the bottom. I wasn't able to test this, because YouTube needs an update for that to work, but I was able to see the effect on the camera app. A row of controls appears on the bottom and the image retreats on the top.

We'll need more apps to take advantage of the capability to see how well it works in the real world.

How long will the Z Flip screen really last?

Samsung says the Galaxy Z Flip's screen will last 200,000 flips without damage, or about what you'd get after five years of use. This figure speaks to the wear and tear on the screen and hinge resulting from opening and closing the device repeatedly.

That's the same rated number of uses as the Galaxy Fold, which CNET tested last October on a machine called the FoldBot. That test, which was meant to be an approximation and not a scientific final word, lasted for 120,000 folds. Meanwhile, we stopped the test on the Motorola Razr after just 27,000 folds when the same machine could no longer fold it. (We note the results aren't exactly comparable, and Motorola challenges the FoldBot's results.)

All of this is to say that we don't know yet how long it will really last in the real world, or even more importantly, what kind of environmental damage from water, moisture, dust, sand and ordinary objects like fingernails and keys the screen and hinge mechanism can sustain. We do know that Samsung has included fibers inside the hinge area that will work like nose hairs to help trap or filter out dust and debris.

A closer look at the Z Flip's glass display and crease.

Juan Garzon/CNET Little danger of repeating Galaxy Fold mistakes

The Z Flip's glass screen is expected to bypass the Galaxy Fold's biggest early vulnerabilities, like damage due to pressure. But the Z Flip also avoids confusion because there's no gap between the thick plastic bezel and the screen for a fingernail to slide into (or any dust).

Samsung also carried over the plastic T-caps (as I call them) that fit into the sides of the hinge. The purpose of these is to reinforce the area, which could be more susceptible to gunk getting caught underneath the display and causing bulges or internal damage. This is a carry-over from the Galaxy Fold redesign.

What the outer screen is good for

Probably 95% of the time, you'll use the Z Flip open. That's because the cover display is a mere 1.1 inches at the diagonal. That doesn't give you much room for anything but the smallest notification icons that roll out ticker messages when you tap them. You'll see things like a Wi-Fi icon, missed call and other notifications, and the alarm.

You can also use it as a viewfinder for taking a selfie, or tap a button on the inside for someone else to see their face before you snap the shot. But it just seems too small, squat and wide to really be effective.

I thought the Motorola Razr's 2.7-inch outer display was tiny, but at least it lets you select canned message responses and use voice commands. The Galaxy Fold, meanwhile, has a 4.6-inch cover display that lets you do everything that Android can do, but which is too small to comfortably type on. I never thought I'd miss it.

There's a tiny air gap about the width of a couple business cars or a credit card. You can see the light through it, but overall, this is an impressive achievement for foldable glass.

Juan Garzon/CNET Camera, battery life, fingerprint reader

Forty minutes isn't a long time to try out a device, so I didn't get much chance to take photos and analyze them. But I do like that the Z Flip has two main cameras. I wind up using wide-angle mode more than I ever expected. It's especially useful for making selfies look more natural, and for bringing backgrounds into the scene.

Battery life is also something I'll keep a close eye on. The Z Flip has two battery cells that work in tandem to give a 3,300-mAh total capacity. That's less than flagship regular phones, but typical for the foldable phones we've seen so far. The Flip is small enough that the capacity could last a whole day, but dual batteries are known for being less efficient than a single cell.

I'm also curious how easy the fingerprint reader will be to use. It's integrated into the power button on the Z Flip's right side and has a flat surface, just like on the Galaxy Fold. You double press it to launch the camera, as you would on other Android phones (the Z Flip uses Android 10). When it's closed, the fingerprint reader is on the top of the screen sandwich, with a whole other side of the screen just below it. It feels a little weird, and I wonder if it'll get in the way at all when using the phone, or is this is just one more feature to get used to.

Galaxy Z Flip specs

There's a lot more of the Galaxy Z Flip to explore, especially as it compares to the Motorola Razr foldable flip phone. CNET will review the device as soon as we can.

Galaxy Z Flip versus Motorola Razr Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Motorola Razr Display size, resolution Internal: 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED; 2,636x1,080-pixels / External: 1.1-inch Super AMOLED; 300x112-pixels Internal: 6.2-inch, foldable pOLED; 2,142x876p pixels (21:9) / External: 2.7-inch glass OLED, 800x600-pixels (4:3) Pixel density 425ppi (internal) / 303ppi (external) 373ppi (internal screen) Dimensions (Inches) Folded: 2.99 x 3.44 x 0.62 ~ 0.68 in / Unfolded: 2.99 x 6.59 x 0.27 ~0.28 in Unfolded: 6.8 x 2.8 x 0.28 in / Folded: 3.7 x 2.8 x 0.55 in Dimensions (Millimeters) Folded: 73.6 x 87.4 x 15.4 ~17.3 mm / Unfolded: 73.6 x 167.3 x 6.9 ~ 7.2 mm Unfolded: 172 x 7 2 x 6.9mm / Folded: 94 x 72 x 14mm Weight (Ounces, Grams) 6.46 oz; 183g 7.2 oz; 205g Mobile software Android 10 Android 9 Pie Camera 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultra wide-angle) 16-megapixel external (f/1.7, dual pixel AF), 5-megapixel internal Front-facing camera 10-megapixel Same as main 16-megapixel external Video capture 4K (HDR 10 Plus) 4K Processor 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 (2.2GHz, octa-core) Storage 256GB 128GB RAM 8GB 6GB Expandable storage TBD None Battery 3,300 mAh 2,510 mAh Fingerprint sensor Right side Below screen Connector USB-C USB-C Headphone jack None None Special features Foldable display; wireless PowerShare; wireless charging; fast charging Foldable display, eSIM, Motorola gestures, splashproof Price off-contract (USD) $1,380 $1,499 Price (GBP) £1,300 Converts to £1,170 Price (AUD) UK price converts to AU$2,500 Converts to AU$2,185

Originally published yesterday and updated with new information.

China's Coronavirus App Uses Mass Surveillance to Tell Citizens If They Could Be Infected

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 09:54 AM PST

China has released an app that lets users check if they have been in contact with a person confirmed or suspected having a coronavirus infection.

As the death toll of the deadly outbreak tops 1,100, health authorities in the country have rolled out mobile software that comes with a "close contact detector" showing potential victims on a map. It was made public last Saturday, the state's Xinhua News Agency reported.

Official Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 1,000, More than 42,500 Infected

Images of the software have since been posted to Twitter, with possible coronavirus infections seen marked with large red dots.

According to the South China Morning Post, the app is fed data from China's vast surveillance apparatus, which is known to retain large amounts of personal information on its own citizens. It tracks movements based on records from public authorities.

The app gleans data from the transport ministry, the railway service, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) and the National Health Commission.

Freedom House, an NGO that researches political and human rights, gave China 11/100 in its Freedom in the World 2019 report, noting its expanding snooping capabilities.

It says: "Surveillance cameras, increasingly augmented with facial recognition software, cover many urban areas and public transportation, and are expanding into rural regions."

It added: "Pilot programs for a Social Credit System rate citizens' trustworthiness based not only on financial responsibility or debt records, but also on purchasing behavior, video gaming habits, social acquaintances, and adherence to rules in public spaces. Devices used by police to quickly extract and scan data from smartphones... have spread nationwide."

As noted by MIT Technology Review, the new coronavirus app would likely be impossible to roll out without troves of data ingested by those surveillance networks.

The software is accessible by scanning a QR into popular apps including Alipay, WeChat or QQ, with users registering with a phone number, name and national identification number. The app will reportedly then show if they had been in close contact with any at-risk individuals.

A registered phone number can request data on three ID numbers. Anyone found to be in close contact is told to remain at home and alert emergency services.

The app checks if an individual has worked, lived or traveled with a person confirmed or suspected of being infected, but does not include visits to public spaces such as supermarkets or shopping malls. It has already been used for 100 million inquiries, the South China Morning Post reported.

The data is dated back by two weeks, state health authorities said.

An application description confirms it uses data about "contact with diagnosed or suspected patients." The government says it is a "convenient and efficient" tool for citizens.

Close contact is defined as a person who has been in close proximity to the user without virus protection. It includes co-workers, hospital patients and travelers.

According to state media, all passengers in an enclosed air-conditioned train cabin would be considered to have been in close contact. On a flight, close contact would be defined as being on the same row or within three rows front and back of a sick individual.

"Due to the complexity of the epidemic, the related query results are for reference only. Please pay close attention to your physical condition," the application page explains. "If you have any related symptoms, please consult a professional medical institution in time."

Alongside images of the software, it adds: "[While] using, please pay attention to the safety of data use, strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations, and do not use the data provided by this tool to engage in activities that infringe on the reputation and privacy of others."

As of today (February 12), there have been more than 42,000 confirmed infections around the world and more than 1,115 deaths. It is now officially known as COVID-19.

The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday the outbreak is a "very grave threat for the rest of the world" as infections continued to spread globally. There is no known cure for the virus, which spreads through contact with an infected person.

It is believed to have originated in Wuhan, a city of about 11 million people that was quarantined by the government. With transport limited, most citizens are confined to their homes.

Tech News: The Most Popular Messaging App Now Has 2 Billion Users

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 09:52 AM PST

KEY POINTS

WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption and says it has no plans to change that

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world

WhatsApp is owned by Facebook

WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in the world, announced Wednesday it now has more than 2 billion users globally, particularly outside the United States.

Unlike many other messaging apps, WhatsApp is fully encrypted, with no way to turn it off – a feature that has been criticized by law enforcement and government officials.

"For all of human history, people have been able to communicate privately with each other," he said in announcing the milestone. "And we don't think that should go away in a modern society."

Cathcart said the app also will continue operating mostly independent of Facebook (FB).

The app announced its user numbers in a blog post, the first such disclosure in two years.

It added: "We will not compromise on security because that would make people less safe."

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also has said the benefits of encryption outweigh the arguments against it, and the social networking giant was planning to encrypt its other messaging platforms.

Samsung Galaxy S20 5G and Z Flip: How to buy and where to find the best deals

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 09:52 AM PST

Also: Galaxy S20 Ultra vs. Note 10 Plus: Which Samsung phone is best for business use?

Disclosure: ZDNet may earn an affiliate commission from some of the products featured on this page. ZDNet and the author were not compensated for this independent review.

Galaxy Z Flip: When and where to buy

Availability starting on Feb. 14

Price is $1,380 and there will be limited quantities

The Galaxy Z Flip will be available in Mirror Purple and Mirror Black in stores and online through AT&T, Best Buy, Sprint, Samsung Experience Stores, and Samsung.com for $1,380.

Galaxy S20: When and where to buy

Pre-orders start at 9:01pm PT on 20 February, reserve now

Full availability starts March 6

Galaxy S20: Best pre-order deals

SAMSUNG

AT&T

T-MOBILE

VERIZON

XFINITY MOBILE

BEST BUY

Save up to $850 on a Galaxy S20 by trading in an eligible phone and activating the S20 on AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon.

SAM'S CLUB

App credited for preventing further vision loss for 6-year-old boy

Posted: 12 Feb 2020 09:34 AM PST

Click to expand

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