Tech Roundup: Robinhood IPO, Slack Connect & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• China issues new rules that define for the first time the "necessary" personal information that mobile apps can obtain from their users, as the government intensifies its campaign against unauthorised data collection by tech platforms to further control the country's digital economy; allows users to decline to provide data outside of what is deemed necessary and continue to use certain apps without obstruction, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).
• Indian antitrust body, the Competition Commission of India, orders an investigation into WhatsApp's proposed privacy policy changes, saying that Facebook-owned service breached local antitrust laws in the guise of a policy update; to probe the new policy to "ascertain the full extent, scope and impact of data sharing through involuntary consent of users."
• Jack Dorsey's first tweet "setting up my twttr" from March 21, 2006 is sold as an NFT (aka non-fungible token) for US$ 2,915,835.47 on a service called Valuables; Dorsey says he sent all proceeds to GiveDirectly's Africa fund as bitcoins.
• Google's YouTube confirms it is testing a feature in the U.S. that automatically detects products in videos and provides related content links; company's fitness tracking platform Fitbit announces new partnership with Tile that allows users of Fitbit's Inspire 2 locate their devices with Tile's Bluetooth tracking.
• The deal with Apple' competitor, Google, is particularly interesting in the face of new competition from the iPhone maker and Samsung, both of which already are in the process of making similar products available in the market.
• Apple is expected to announce AirTags sometime this year, and Samsung unveiled its Galaxy SmartTag back in January. Apple's work on AirTags have also led Tile to file an antitrust complaint, alleging that the company limits third-party access to "Find My" app, thereby preventing apps from persistently accessing a user's location (which is needed to track a lost device).
• Mozilla releases Firefox 87 with a new intelligent tracker blocking mechanism called SmartBlock that "fixes up web pages that are broken by our tracking protections, without compromising user privacy."

• Retail behemoth Amazon has reportedly added 3,700 new sellers every day in 2021 so far on its website for a total of 295,000; 26% of new sellers are in the U.S., while 10.1% in India; mandates delivery drivers in the U.S. to sign "biometric consent" forms, granting the firm the permission to use AI-powered cameras to access drivers' location, movement, and biometric data or risk losing their jobs.
• Nearly 65% of all Google searches on desktop and mobile ended without a click to another web property in 2020, up from approximately 50% in June 2019, as the search giant increasingly leans on knowledge graph to surface relevant information right on the search results page with the need for clicking the links (called "zero-click searches").
• Microsoft is supposedly in talks with Discord to buy the popular gamers-oriented communications and chat platform in a deal that could be worth more than US$ 10 billion.
• Opera revamps web browser for iOS on its third anniversary; says its iOS user base increased by over 65% in the last 12 months, partly due to Apple's decision to let users change their default browser in iOS 14.
• Music streaming service Spotify simplies its homescreens for Android and iOS; rolls out "several advancements on the mobile Home hub designed to make finding the audio you love easier and more intuitive."
• Twitter acquires API integration platform Reshuffle, along with its seven member team, to help it accelerate its own API efforts and tools; tests use of Facebook-styled emoji reactions to tweets, including heart (like), laughing face with tears (funny), thinking face (interesting), and crying face (sad).
• Popular trading app Robinhood files confidentially for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Qualcomm purportedly plans a console for Q1 2022 similar to Nintendo's Switch, with detachable controllers, SD card slot, Android 12, and display-out capabilities.

• OnePlus unveils US$ 159 OnePlus Watch with a circular 1.39" display, blood oxygen tracking, fast charging, 1GB RAM, 4GB of internal storage; officially debuts 6.55" OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9R and 6.7" OnePlus 9 Pro with 120Hz displays, Android 11, on-screen fingerprint sensors, Hasselblad-branded cameras, and 128GB base storage.
• Privacy-oriented Proton calls out Apple for briefly blocking updates to its VPN app in Myanmar after the military deposed the democratically-elected government and seized power on February 1; says Apple stopped its security updates because its "app description in the App Store, which we have used without issue for months, mentions ProtonVPN is a tool to 'challenge governments... and bring online freedom to people around the world.'"
• Disney+ on-demand video streaming platform to cost US$ 1 more per month starting March 26, increasing to US$ 7.99/month or $US 80/year, marking the first price hike for the service.
• Facebook says it took down 1.3 billion fake accounts between October and December and that it removed "more than 12 million pieces of content about COVID-19 and vaccines" that were flagged by global health experts as misinformation.
• Slack officially rolls out Connect, allowing "employees at more than 74,000 organizations and counting can now securely direct message anyone – inside or outside their company," making it a full-on messaging app; disables the option to send someone a message along with an invite to chat following reports it could be abused to facilitate harassment.
• Apple's HomePod mini houses a currently-disabled sensor that can measures temperature and humidity to allow internet-connected thermostats adjust different parts of a home based on current conditions; reporedtly "developing new speakers with screens and cameras" as it tries to improve its smart home strategy that has trailed Amazon and Google.
• Microsoft rebrands Xbox Live as Xbox network in a bid to distinguish the online service from Xbox Live Gold membership.