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Chance Miller

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Chance currently writes for both 9to5Google and 9to5Mac, in addition to 9to5Toys. He has previously written for several other online publications. He uses a Nexus 5, iPhone 5s, iPad Air, Hackintosh, and Macbook Air.

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TikTok ban

House passes bill that bans TikTok unless ByteDance sells

As expected, a bill that could ultimately ban TikTok in the United States has officially passed the House. The bill, titled as the “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” cleared voting on Wednesday, securing 352 votes in favor versus 65 votes against.

Now, the legislation is set to move to the Senate, where its fate is less clear.

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Google was once bold enough to expect Apple to pre-install its search app on every iPhone

As the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google continues, more details about the company’s relationship with Apple have emerged. This time, testimony from Google CEO Sundar Pichai has revealed that Google once pitched Tim Cook on building a version of the Google Search app that would come pre-loaded on every iPhone.

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microsoft super app iphone

Bloomberg: Apple held talks with Microsoft about acquiring Bing in 2020

As the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google presses on, we continue to learn more about Apple’s search agreement with the company and its talks with other companies.

Now, Bloomberg reports today, citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” that Microsoft held talks with Apple in 2020 about selling Bing, which would’ve then replaced Google as the default search engine on Apple platforms.

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DoorDash iPhone Android

DoorDash charges iPhone users more than Android users, lawsuit alleges

DoorDash charges iPhone users more than it charges Android users, at least according to a class-action lawsuit filed against the company. In the lawsuit, customers allege that DoorDash uses vague “delivery charge” fees as a way to mask the higher prices being paid by iPhone users.

According to the lawsuit, DoorDash engages in a “fraudulent scheme to charge and collect misleading, premium, and hidden fees from consumers for deliveries that DoorDash does not perform and for food that DoorDash does not sell.”

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Apple and Google team up to bring AirTag-like unwanted tracking alerts to all item trackers on iPhone and Android

Apple has announced a major new partnership with Google today to lead an “industry specification to address unwanted tracking.” Through the partnership, Apple and Google will create a “draft specification” to alert users about possible unwanted tracking by AirTags and other Bluetooth item trackers.

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Twitter dumpster fire

Latest ongoing Twitter outage breaks links, images, and more

If you’re having problems accessing links on Twitter today, it’s not just you. An apparent outage affecting Twitter’s API has broken all links on Twitter because of errors with the t.co link shortener redirect. Images on Twitter are also completely broken for many users. The entire Tweetdeck web experience is also broken.

Update: In a statement, Twitter says: “Some parts of Twitter may not be working as expected right now. We made an internal change that had some unintended consequences. We’re working on this now and will share an update when it’s fixed.”

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google photos iPhone crash

PSA: Don’t update to iOS 16.3.1 if you’re a Google Photos user [U]

If you’re a Google Photos user, it looks like you should hold off on updating to iOS 16.3.1 for the moment. Users say that the update breaks compatibility with the Google Photos app for iPhone, leading to the app crashing immediately when opened.

February 14, 2023 Update: A new version of Google Photos is now available on the App Store to fix this problem.

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iMessage RCS

Apple ‘not currently considering’ adopting RCS, despite EU law requiring iMessage interoperability

A new report from Bloomberg today says that Apple is planning to open the iPhone up to third-party app stores for the first time. The report, however, also says that Apple hasn’t made a decision on “how it may open iMessage and its Messages app to third-party services.”

Like the App Store changes, this is something that would be required under the new Digital Markets Act in the European Union.

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Akamai DNS outage knocks many major websites and services offline: PSN, Steam, Fidelity, more [U]

Update 12:48 p.m. ET: Akamai says it has implemented a fix for the issue. “We have implemented a fix for this issue, and based on current observations, the service is resuming normal operations. We will continue to monitor to ensure that the impact has been fully mitigated,” it says.

An apparent DNS issue is affecting a number of high-profile websites today, taking them offline and leading to error messages for users. Reports on Downdetector began to spike around 12 p.m. ET today, with users facing issues accessing websites such as Chase, AT&T, HBO, Steam, American Express, and more.

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Netflix announces new feature to automatically download shows and movies based on your tastes

Netflix has announced a new “Downloads for You” feature for its iOS and Android applications. The company says that this feature will automatically download recommended TV shows or movies to your device “based on your tastes,” and it’s thankfully completely opt-in.

The feature is rolling out today on Android and will begin testing on iOS soon.

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