Tech Roundup: DuckDuckGo Android Tracker Blocking, Meta Encryption Plans & More

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

• Meta's Facebook begins testing a feature that lets users adjust the level of News Feed content they see from specific friends, family, Groups, and Pages; says it doesn't "plan to finish the global rollout of end-to-end encryption by default across all our messaging services until sometime in 2023."
• DuckDuckGo debuts App Tracking Protection for Android in beta that aims to "block third-party trackers like Google and Facebook lurking in other apps," following the footsteps of Apple, which introduced App Tracking Transparency, that requires apps to explicitly ask for users' consent before allowing third-party app tracking.
• Apple is reportedly accelerating the development of a fully autonomous electric car, after hitting a car processor milestone that is made up primarily of neural processors and can handle the artificial intelligence needed for autonomous driving, with plans to debut it by 2025.
• Google begins testing a dramatic redesign of its Play Store website, giving the digital marketplace a much needed facelift from the current design that dates back to 2013. (On that note, can Google begin consolidating movies under YouTube just like the way it did for Music, and move Books to Google Books? And then Google Play can just sell apps and games.)
• Music streaming service Spotify removes the shuffle button from all album pages for premium users, so that tracks play in the order artists intended; rolls out Musixmatch-powered real-time lyrics feature globally that allows users to "see track lyrics that scroll in real time as the song is playing."
• Walmart-backed Flipkart acquires online pharmacy startup SastaSundar and launches a healthcare vertical called Flipkart Health+ in India as e-commerce battle intensifies in the world's second largest internet market.

• The U.K. government passes new legislation that bans "any use of hand-held mobile phone while driving," making it illegal for "drivers from using their phones to take photos or videos, scroll through playlists or play games" as part of efforts to improve road safety.
• Microblogging service Twitter rolls back its support for Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) on mobile, sending users directly to the regular web page, rather than an AMP version; doubles down on e-commerce efforts include livestream shopping.
• Speech to text transcription and translation service Otter.ai to limit its free plan to 30-minute transcriptions starting December 1, down from the current 40-minute limit, citing "increased costs and to maintain high standards of service."
• Location tracking service Life360 acquires Tile, which makes Bluetooth-based tracking accessories that compete with Apple's AirTag, for US$ 205 million.
• Popular videoconferencing service Zoom reports Q3 revenue of $1.05B, up 35% YoY, with over 2,500 customers spending more than $100,000 a year.
• Google begins rolling out an update for Google Messages that displays iMessage Reactions from iPhone users as emoji on Android devices.
• Ride hailing giant Uber to lets users in Ontario, Canada order cannabis on its Uber Eats app for pickup, marking Uber's first foray into the weed market.
• As many as 14 of the world's biggest crypto mining companies moved more than 2 million machines out of China following the country's ban earlier this May, with a majority going to the Russia, Kazakhstan, the U.S., Canada, Paraguay and Venezuela.
• Electric carmaker Tesla addresses an outage affecting its app that locked drivers out of their cars, effectively preventing owners from connecting to their vehicles.