Tech Roundup: Apple Sideloading Pushback, Robinhood Data Breach & More

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

• Apple faces new setback as U.S. court denies the company's request to delay making changes to the App Store as part of its lawsuit with Epic Games that allows third-party developers to add in-app links to outside websites that facilitate alternate payment methods; accuses the iPhone maker of wanting "an open-ended stay with no requirement that it make any effort to comply" and gives it time till December 9 to comply with the ruling.
• Microsoft to end support for OneDrive for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 operating systems effective March 1, 2022; says "personal files will no longer sync and should be uploaded/accessed directly on OneDrive for web."
• On-demand video streaming service Netflix makes its exclusive game catalog available as individual apps on Apple's App Store to get around the company's restrictions surrounding cloud gaming, allowing users to launch the games from within the app using their Netflix credentials (interestingly, Netflix Games uses Apple's in-app payment system, even though the main Netflix app does not); unveils Kids Clips for iOS, a TikTok-like feature that shows new daily short videos from its children's library.

• Google allegedly gives AMP a "nice comparative boost" by throttling load times of non-AMP ads via one-second delays, a recently unredacted antitrust lawsuit against the internet giant reveals.
• Retail behemoth Amazon to add a Venmo option to payment checkout for users in the U.S. starting next year as part of a new partnership with PayPal.
• Google's parent company Alphabet briefly hits US$ 2 Trillion in market capitalisation, joining the ranks of tech giants Apple and Microsoft; tests Project Relate, a voice recognition and synthesis app for indivdiduals with speech impairments.
• Social live audio app Clubhouse officially rolls out Replay on iOS and Android, letting users record live rooms and share them as a podcast or a clip on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
• Meta shares bullying and harassment numbers for the first time; claims the category represents 0.14-0.15% of Facebook content and 0.05-0.06% of Instagram content, and that it has removed 9.2 million and 7.8 million pieces of bullying and harassment content on Facebook and Instagram respectively, as the company pushes back against narrative that the social media company often fails to regulate problems such as hate speech and polarization.

• Meta-owned WhatsApp launches multi-device support to all users on iOS and Android, allowing the app to be used on up to four linked devices without users needing to be connected via a smartphone; pilots Communities, enabling users to create groups within groups; announces plans to block advertisers from using detailed ad targeting options that show ads based on users' engagement in "sensitive" areas including race or ethnicity, religious views, political beliefs, sexual orientation, health, and others.
• Online food ordering and delivery platform DoorDash reports Q3 revenue of US$ 1.28 billion, up 45% YoY; to acquire European food delivery company Wolt in an all-stock deal valued at over US$ 8 billion.
• Cryptocurrency trading service Coinbase reports Q3 revenue of US$ 1.31 billion, up from US$ 315 million YoY, as monthly transacting users falls to 7.4 million from 8.8 million QoQ.
• Online trading platform Robinhood says an unauthorised party obtained a list of email addresses for approximately five million people, and full names for a different group of approximately two million people, and additional personal information, including name, date of birth, and zip code, for a more limited number of people — approximately 310 in total — following an extortion attempt.

• Apple backpedals on restriction that renders Face ID non-functional after third-party iPhone 13 screen replacements, limiting repairs to Apple itself, Apple Authorized Service Providers, and Apple-associated repair shops; to introduce a software update that will allow for standard display repairs without disabling disable Face ID.
• Twitter expands its Blue subscription service to the U.S. (US$ 2.99/month) and New Zealand, after launching the ad-free and customisation tier in Canada and Australia earlier this June; gives subscribers the ability to catch up on Top Articles, quickly undo Tweets, read Twitter threads in a clutter-free format, and offer ad-free news articles from hundreds of publishers (following its acquisition of Scroll).
• Apple debuts new feature in iOS 15.2 (and iPadOS 15.2) that lets users select a Legacy Contact, giving the person access owners' Apple ID account and personal information after their death; includes Communication Safety in Messages feature as an opt-in feature that parents can enable to detect nudity in images that are sent or received by children, and adds option to scan for nearby AirTags and Find My-rnabled items.

• ByteDance-owned TikTok partners with mobile gaming giant Zynga to launch exclusive games on the short-form video platform.
• Microsoft takes on Google-branded Chromebooks with a US$ 249 11.6-inch Surface Laptop SE, exclusively for schools and students, running Chrome OS-like Windows 11 SE, and starting with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage.
• Apple once again shoots down proposals to open iOS for sideloading apps beyond the App Store; CEO Tim Cook says "If you want to sideload, you can buy [an] Android phone. It wouldn't be an iPhone if it didn't maximise security and privacy."
• Meta's Instagram readies to launch in-app subscriptions, allowing users to pay for exclusive content from their favourite creators as the platform looks to move away from conventional ads for monetisation.