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The Advertising-Ecosystem Edition Friday, January 10, 2025

Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See The Thousands Of Apps Hijacked To Spy On Your Location, by Joseph Cox, Wired

Some of the world’s most popular apps are likely being co-opted by rogue members of the advertising industry to harvest sensitive location data on a massive scale, with that data ending up with a location data company whose subsidiary has previously sold global location data to US law enforcement.

The thousands of apps, included in hacked files from location data company Gravy Analytics, include everything from games like Candy Crush and dating apps like Tinder to pregnancy tracking and religious prayer apps across both Android and iOS. Because much of the collection is occurring through the advertising ecosystem—not code developed by the app creators themselves—this data collection is likely happening without users’ or even app developers’ knowledge.

LA Fires

Apple To Donate Towards Los Angeles Wildfire Recovery Efforts, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

In response to devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles, California area this week, Apple said it will be donating towards recovery efforts on the ground.

Apple Card Users Impacted By LA Fires Able To Delay Payments, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Apple and Goldman Sachs are allowing Apple Card customers who have been impacted by the fires in Los Angeles to temporarily postpone their payments if necessary.

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Payment delays are being offered to ‌Apple Card‌ users who live in an area that has been declared a national disaster zone by FEMA, with Apple sending out notices to impacted customers.

Stuff

Hearing A Mysterious Chime From Your AirPods Pro Case? It's A Feature, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

In a support guide, Apple says that the AirPods Pro may play a sound every so often while in the case to ensure the microphones and speakers are working as intended.

Apple's Student Offer With Free AirPods Returns In These Four Countries, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

Apple's annual "Back to School" or "Back to Uni" promotion has returned this week in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and South Korea.

Apple’s Weird iPhone Alarm Problems Are Still Happening, by Umar Shakir, The Verge

We’ve asked Apple if they’re still looking into this problem, but we have not received a response yet. Personally, I’ve also noticed my iPhone sometimes doesn’t make sounds or vibrate in the morning, but it does drop down a lifeless notification as if it did.

Satechi’s Mechanical Keyboard Purpose Built For Mac, by Fernando Silva, 9to5Mac

At CES 2025, Satechi has unveiled the SM3 Slim Mechanical Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard, a sleek, low-profile mechanical keyboard built with Mac users in mind. It’s Satechi’s first full-size mechanical keyboard, and it’s designed to balance style, functionality, and comfort — perfect for those who want the mechanical typing experience without the bulk.

Notes

Apple Makes Severance Season One Available To Stream For Free On The Roku Channel For A Limited Time, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

In a promotional push to boost interest for the upcoming second season, Apple has added all of Severance season one to the Roku Channel, for users to watch for free. The Roku Channel boasts more than 90 million users, making it one of the largest destinations of free streaming video content.

Bottom of the Page

Maybe Apple want to bring back iAds?

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Thanks for reading.