Tech Roundup: Apple iCloud Redesign, Google Health Connect & More

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

• The U.S. government says it's "extremely concerned" about TikTok's operations in the country; raises the "possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users" or "control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations."
• Epic Games calls out Apple's walled garden approach and for using security and user safety as an "excuse to remove all competition"; Apple says the security features offered by the company with its App Store restrictions legally outweigh the "minor anti-competitive effects" faced by third-party developers on the platform.
• Twitter says it's working on a new way to authenticate users; to roll out a feature that will allow organisations to identify accounts that are "actually" associated with them after its new US$ 8 per month Twitter Blue subscription is abused to impersonate legitimate accounts on the platform and spread false news.
• Meta's Facebook to remove details such as Interested In (which indicates sexual preferences), Religious views, Political Views and Address from users' profiles starting December 1, 2022.
• DuckDuckGo launches App Tracking Protection in public beta on Android to block third-party trackers within apps.
• Google launches Health Connect in beta on the Play Store with partners including Fitbit, Lifesum, Peloton, Oura, Flo, MyFitnessPal, Dexcom and Samsung, after months in "early access"; allows fitness apps to share and sync data with other apps throught the platform as well as offer users centralised privacy controls to manage data permissions.
• Apple faces lawsuit over claims that it gathers usage information from different first-party apps such as the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Books and Stocks despite turning off the option to send analytics data; comes amid mounting scrutiny of Apple's implementation of Apple Tracking Transparency (ATT) over concerns that it has hampered competitors' ad business at the expense of boosting its own offerings. (It's worth pointing out that Apple has made protection of user privacy central to its image, and long opposed ads on its platforms. It even threw a spanner in the works of surveillance capitalism last year when it gave users the power to easily block apps from tracking their activities on the devices.)
• VideoLAN confirms India's Ministry of Electronics and IT lifted its download ban on VLC after blocking the media player's official website over nine months ago in February 2022.
• Meta's WhatsApp officially introduces option for users to send messages to themselves, following the footsteps of other platforms like Signal, Slack and Telegram.
• Google tests Material You design changes for ChromeOS and Chrome browser that automatically recolours the user interface based on the chosen wallpaper; adds Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to facilitate mobile payments for subscription-based purchases in the Play Store in India, even as it pilots alternative payment systems amid mounting regulatory scrutiny.

• Apple debuts new design for iCloud.com on the web; launches Emergency SOS via satellite feature to customers in the U.S. and Canada, enabling users to "message with emergency services while outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage" for free for two years starting at the time of activation of an iPhone 14 model.
• Amazon-owned Ring launches pilot program to let local agencies and government entities share updates and "safety information"; messages to be posted through Neighbors, the company's neighbourhood watch feature that alerts users to nearby alleged crimes and events.
• Google's YouTube debuts shopping features in Shorts, its answer to TikTok, that allows creators and influencers to tag their own products in Shorts that viewers can then purchase, as it seeks to diversify revenue streams; also allows users to use up to a minute of copyrighted music in Shorts, up from the previous limit of 15 seconds. (The move also comes as ByteDance launches TikTok Shop in the U.S. market in bid to monetise the video app's huge popularity.)
• Movie streamer Netflix launches Manage Access and Devices, which lets account owners view all the devices linked to their account and remotely log out of devices.
• Note-taking platform Evernote to be acquired by Italian app developer Bending Spoons, the developer behind apps like Splice and Remini, for an undisclosed sum.
• Linktree announces Payment Lock, which lets creators on its paid plans add a paywall and use PayPal or Square to charge up to US$ 150 for access to premium content.
• Microsoft rolls out Discord voice chat integration to all Xbox users after a test with Xbox Insiders; partners with Nvidia on a multiyear deal to build an AI supercomputer in the cloud, making Azure the first public cloud to incorporate Nvidia's full AI stack.
• Intel unveils FakeCatcher, a web-based real-time deepfake detector that analyzes the subtle "blood flow" in video pixels; claims the technology can detect fake videos with a 96% accuracy rate.
• Amazon launches Amazon Clinic, a telehealth marketplace for third-party virtual consultants in the U.S., months after shuttering Amazon Care.
• Cisco reports Q1 2023 revenue up 6% YoY to US$ 13.6 billion, including Secure, Agile Networks up 12% YoY to US$ 6.68 billion.
• Nvidia reports Q3 2022 revenue down 17% YoY to US$ 5.93 billion; Data Centre revenue climbs 31% YoY to US$ 3.83 billion and Gaming revenue drops 51% YoY to US$1.57 billion.
• Tencent reports Q3 2022 revenue down 2% YoY to ~US$ 19.8 billion, below ~US$ 20 billion estimates.