Category Archives: Phone

iPhones In Police Custody Reportedly Reboot Themselves

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Apple iPhones stored for forensic examination are allegedly rebooting themselves, making it difficult for police to get the info they need, PCMag reported. The reports come from a document put together by Detroit Law enforcement officials and obtained by 404 Media.

After the mysterious reboots, the devices supposedly enter what is called the Before First Unlock (BFU) state. This makes cracking them to get data about criminal activity much harder.

The document seen by 404 Media theorized that the iPhones rebooted in “a short amount of time” when removed from a cellular network, potentially around 24 hours. According to the document, one of the iPhones was even in Airplane mode and one was inside what is called a Faraday box, a type of container that blocks electronic signals from reaching the iPhone, stopping them from accessing telecom coverage, as well as things like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

TechCrunch reported iPhones might be harder for police to unlock, thanks to a new reboot feature. New code introduced in the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system could make it more difficult for both police and thieves to unlock phones.

404 Media reported Thursday that law enforcement officials were warning each other that phones being stored for forensic examination seems to be rebooting themselves — something that security experts confirmed in a follow-up story. After the reboot, it’s harder for those phones to be unlocked by password-cracking tools.

This reboot appears to be taking place after iPhones with iOS 18.1 have not been unlocked for a set period of time. According to Chris Wade, founder of mobile analysis Corellium, iPhones seem to reboot after their fourth day in a locked state.

Gizmodo reported: We seem to have gotten an answer to the mystery of why iPhones in the custody of law enforcement have been rebooting themselves, making it harder for cops to break them open. Security researchers have found that the latest version of iOS, version 18.1, includes a feature called “inactivity reboot” that restarts a device approximately four days after being in a locked state.

404 Media reported earlier that week that police officers in Detroit were freaking out because iPhones in their custody for examination were randomly rebooting, making it more difficult to crack them open and exfiltrate data that could be useful in investigations. 

Law enforcement and forensic experts quickly make their way into group chats in order to warn others to get data off devices in their custody as quickly as possible before the reboot happens.

Apple is constantly implementing new security measures into its devices, and it’s not likely that the company was specifically targeting law enforcement with this security enhancement.

In my opinion, it sounds like iPhones are going to be much harder for law enforcement to crack open and collect data from. 

 

Google’s Pixel Studio Image Generation Can Go Off The Rails

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One of the new AI-powered launch features on the Pixel 9 series is Pixel Studio, an app that takes text prompts and turns them into images. It might end up being a fun little tool, but it can also go off the rails pretty easily in our experience, 9to5Google reported.

Pixel Studio is a dedicated app for creating images from text prompts. The app works on the same idea as Gemini and ImageFX, allowing users to input a text prompt and get an image in return. But, like any respectable image generator, there have to be limits in place.

In a statement to 9to5Google, Google explains that there are limits in place for both Pixel Studio and Magic Editor to “prevent abuse” while still respecting “the intent of the user prompts” even if instructed to create content that “may offend” if the user directly tells the app to do so.

This is similar to Gemini, which has safeguards in place against potentially offensive and divisive content. For example, Google was criticized for inaccurate depictions of people in historical context, which led Google to “temporarily” disabling the ability to generate images of people as it has for the past several months,

Like Gemini, Pixel Studio is unable to generate images of people, but we found that the app can quickly and easily go off the rails.

According to 9to5Google, ahead of today’s Pixel 9 review embargo, we found that Pixel Studio was able to generate images of cartoon characters in WWII German uniforms, in some cases with Nazi symbols. Another jarring and worrying example 9to5Google viewed saw a character shooting in a school with dead children surrounding it, which Google’s models shouldn’t be able to generate in the first place.

Engadget reported: This year, Google decided not only to update the design of its Pixel phones but also put its AI features front and center. The Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are the first Pixels that have swapped the Assistant for Gemini. 

With it’s latest flagships, Google continues to improve its cameras, by upgrading its primary sensor and expanding its suite of editing tools. And to power all those new AI tricks, the company has equipped the devices with its newest Tensor processor, designed to handle on-device Gemini tasks. 

For the first time, too, the Pro-branded Pixel is available in two sizes, with a smaller version joining the family. Better yet, if you go for the Pixel 9 Pro, you’ll be getting a largely identical phone to the pricier 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL. 

But this isn’t just another flagship Android: it’s a concerted effort to get you hooked on Google’s AI-powered image editing, email assistance and more. The Pixel 9 Pro delivers on all these aspects, with varying degrees of success.

The Verge reported: For the first time, Google is offering the Pro version in two sizes. They come with different-sized batteries, naturally, but both managed a full day of heavy use without needing a recharge. The Pixel 9 Pro is the size of the Pixel 8 (and the standard Pixel 9) with a 6.8-inch display.

But despite the difference in size, these two Pro 9 devices share the exact same camera hardware, including a 5x telephoto lens — something you don’t get on every “small” flagship phone. The main and telephoto cameras are unchanged from the 8 Pro, but the ultrawide has been updated with a faster lens that helps boost low-light performance.

In my opinion, it sounds like Google is trying very hard to prevent its Pixel line of phones from generating images that can be offensive or just plain incorrect. That’s one problem that can happen when relying on AI to create an image.

 

Nothing’s CMF Devices Prove Cheap Doesn’t Have To Be Boring

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Budget gadgets are usually stuck with drab designs and lackluster specs, a challenge Nothing’s sub-brand CMF has decided to take on. The relatively new offshoot from Nothing focuses on the relatively new offshoot from Nothing focuses on the extreme lower end of the market and has until now sold a smartwatch, wireless earbuds, and chargers, Wired reported.

Today marks its first smartphone, the CMF Phone 1, becoming available in the US through a beta program. It’s accompanied by unique accessories, plus the new Buds Pro 2 and Watch Pro 2.

According to Wired, a Nothing spokesperson said: “We do not provide battery parts to users and do not encourage users to remove the battery. We have marked warnings on the PET film reminding users not to remove the battery.”

The Verge reported CMF, Nothing’s budget-conscious but still extremely style-driven sub brand is shipping its first phone, the aptly named Phone 1. While it shares a name and an operating system with Nothing’s first own-brand phone, it comes to the table with a new modular approach to phone customizations. 

The concept is simple: It’s a phone, but the back panel comes off so you can swap it with a different one. Each replacement comes with everything you need for the job, including its own little screwdriver, screws, and a color-matched SIM tray.

There’s also a round accessory port cover in the bottom corner of the phone. Although it resembles the control dial in CMF’s neckband earbuds, it doesn’t offer any functional use aside from protecting the accessory port. At launch, CMF will offer three accessories: a lanyard, a wallet, and a kickstand, each $25 and an eye-catching orange color.

Those are all sold separately, as are the colorful replacement back panels, which are $35 each. In the box, you get a thoroughly respective budget Android phone with a 6.7-inch OLED, 50-megapixel rear camera, a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset, and a generous 5,000mAh battery. It comes with a black panel installed; other options include orange, light green, and blue.

9to5 Google reported: Alongside its $199 CMF Phone 1, Nothing today launched two new wearables — the $69 CMF Watch Pro 2 and the $59 CMF Buds Pro 2.

CMF by Nothing is a design and budget-focused sub-brand of the Carl Pei-led startup. The brand debuted last year, primarily showcasing a pair of earbuds and a smartwatch. Now, we’re getting sequels to those products.

The CMF Buds Pro 2 are direct sequels to the Buds Pro. The updated product delivers upgrades Active Noise Cancellation at up to 50db as well as a better sound quality. The physical design is very similar, but with a new case that includes a physical dial. The dial is able to control the volume of the earbuds, activate a voice assistant, and control noise cancellation too.

Like their predecessors, these come at an affordable cost, launching for $59 in the US. They’ll be sold via Amazon eventually, but are shipping first from CMF’s website starting July 12.

In my opinion, the Nothing company appears to be trying to give consumers smartphones that they are in an affordable price range. It’s nice to see a company make phones that are less expensive.

 

Selling Your Cellphone Location Data Might Soon Be Banned In The U.S.

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Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing a near total ban on buying and selling of location data drawn from consumers’ mobile devices in the state, in what would be the first-in-the-nation effort to rein in a billion-dollar industry, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Massachusetts legislature held a hearing last month on a bill called the Location Shield Act, a sweeping proposal that would sharply curtail the collecting and selling location data drawn from mobile phones in Massachusetts. The proposal would also institute a warrant requirement for law-enforcement access to location data, banning data brokers from providing location information about state residents without court authorization in most circumstances.

Location data is typically collected through mobile apps and other digital services and doesn’t include information such as a name or a phone number, The Wall Street Journal reported. But often, a device’s movement patters are enough to derive a possible identity of its owner. For example, where a phone spends its evening and overnight hours is usually the owner’s home address and can be cross-checked against other databases for additional insight…

…No state has gone so far as to completely ban the sale of location data on residents. The most common approach in other states is to require digital services and data brokers to obtain clear consent from consumers to collect data and put some restrictions on transfer and sale.

…The bill has drawn the support of a coalition of progressive activists in a state where Democrats have supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control the governorship. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Cindy Creem, a Democrat representing the Boston suburbs, who also serves as the majority leader in the state Senate.

Engadget reported that the Massachusetts state legislature is considering bill that would ban the sale of users’ phone location data. If passed, the Location Shield Act would be the first such law in the nation as Congress stalls on comprehensive user privacy solutions on a national scale. The state’s proposed legislation would also require a warrant for law enforcement to access user location data from data brokers.

Engadget noted that the bill wouldn’t prevent Massachusetts residents from using their phone’s location services for things that directly benefit them – like Google Maps navigation, DoorDash deliveries or hailing an Uber. However, it would bar tech companies and data vendors from selling that data to third parties – a practice without any clear consumer benefit.

The Location Shield Act is backed by the ACLU and various progressive and pro-choice groups, who see a greater urgency to block the dissemination of user location in a post-hobbs world. As red states increasingly criminalize abortion, concerns have grown over the transfer of user data to catch women traveling out of state to undergo the procedure or access medication. In addition, the bill’s backers raise concerns about national security and digital-stalking implications.

According to Engadget, requiring law enforcement to provide a warrant to access user location data could also help curtail the rising trend of law enforcement buying that information commercially. A 2022 ACLU investigation found that the Department of Home Security bought over 336,000 data points to essentially bypass the Fourth Amendment requirement for a search warrant.

Personally, I hope that the Massachusetts law goes into effect as soon as possible. That could encourage other states to make the same kind of bill. Nobody likes data brokers who sneakily steal information from other people’s phones.

The Apps On Your Phone Are Tracking You

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We put apps on our phones for many reasons. Some apps are useful – they tell us the weather, the pollen count, and the latest news. Other apps allow us to post things from our phones to social media. The New York Times reported that the apps on your phone are tracking you. Or, more correctly, the marketing industry is tracking you through those apps.

The New York Times received a data set from a source who is being kept anonymous. The data set “followed the smartphones of thousands of Trump supporters, rioters, and passers-by in Washington, D.C., on January 6, as Donald Trump’s political rally turned into a violent insurrection.”

According to The New York Times, the data they were given included about 100,000 location pings for thousands of smartphones, revealing around 130 devices inside the Capitol exactly when Trump supporters were storming the building. About 40 percent of the phones tracked near the rally stage on the National Mall during the speeches were also found in and around the Capitol during the siege – which The New York Times said was “a clear link between those who’d listened to the president and his allies and then marched on the building.” There were no names or phone numbers in the data.

How is this happening? According to The New York Times, it is because of the unique ID that is tied to a smartphone.

The IDs, called mobile advertising identifiers, allow companies to track people across the internet and on apps. They are supposed to be anonymous, and smartphone owners can reset them or disable them entirely. Our findings show the promise of anonymity is a farce. Several companies offer tools to allow anyone with data to match the IDs with other databases.

No matter what your opinion of the people who converged at the Capitol, you should be concerned about how much data is being taken from your smartphone by the “location-tracking industry” (as The New York Times calls them). Location data can be deanonymized. The data set examined by The New York Times included information harvested from phones of “rioters, police officers, lawmakers, and passers-by”.

Based on this, it seems to me that there should be some legislative effort put into stopping the “location-tracking industry” from freely grabbing as much data as they desire. There is a risk that a police officer could wrongly discern this type of data to accuse an innocent person of a crime. According to the New York Times, some location data is accurate to within a few feet, other data is not.

Huawei is Selling its Honor Smartphone Brand

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Huawei Investment and Holding Co., Ltd. announced that it has decided to sell all of its Honor business assets to Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co, Ltd. According to Huawei, this sale will help Honor’s channel sellers and suppliers make it through this difficult time.

Reuters reported that Honor is a budget brand smartphone unit of Huawei. It is being sold to a consortium of over 30 agents and dealers, according to a joint statement signed by 40 companies involved in the purchase.

Huawei will not hold any shares in the new Honor company after the sale, according to the statement, with the buyers setting up a new company, Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology, to make the purchase, the statement said.

Reuters also reported that sources with knowledge of the matter said that the U.S. government will have no reason to apply sanctions to Honor after it separates from Huawei.

Forbes reported that Honor made a name for itself by selling cheap smartphones. It also has a range of other low-budget equipment including laptops and routers that, Forbes reported, Honor “is currently banned from selling in the U.S.”

The Forbes article includes statements from Chief of Research at CCS Insight, Ben Wood. He pointed out that the deal has been confirmed, but has yet to be completed. He expects that Huawei will wait until after the U.S. administration transition in January happens before the consortium that will purchase Honor will attempt to re-engage with suppliers.

To me, it appears that Huawei hopes that by selling its Honor brand that incoming U.S. President Biden will choose to overturn current President Trump’s executive order that affected Huawei. The order blocked Chinese telecommunications companies from selling equipment made in the United States.

Social Media Sites to Reduce Spread of Conspiracy Theories about Coronavirus

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There are few things more dangerous than spreading conspiracy theories about coronavirus (COVID-19) during a pandemic. Misleading information can cause people to get hurt, get sick, or die. Fortunately, YouTube and Twitter are starting to make efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus conspiracy theories, including the one about 5G.

YouTube has added policy regarding monetization and videos about COVID-19. Content must adhere to YouTube’s Advertiser-Friendly and Community Guidelines in order to be eligible for monetization. Breaking YouTube’s policies regarding coronavirus can also result in videos being removed.

The following things can result in a video losing eligibility for monetization:

Distressing Footage: Footage of people visibly suffering due to COVID-19.

Pranks & Challenges: Any COVID-19 related prank or challenge that promotes medically dangerous activities, such as purposeful exposure to the virus or incites panic. It includes the “licking toilet seat challenge”, coughing or sneezing on bystanders or food, and dressing in a hazmat suit and inspecting others.

Medical Misinformation: Content that misinforms users about health matters related to COVID-19. This includes content that encourages non-medical tests or exams for COVID-19, or false/unsubstantiated claims about the cause, promotion of dangerous remedies or cures, and origin or spread of COVID-19 that contradicts scientific consensus. The conspiracy theory that COVID-19 is spread by 5G is included as medical misinformation.

This is significant because, as The Guardian reported today, the UK government is to hold talks with social media platforms after mobile phone masts in Birmingham, Merseyside, and Belfast were set on fire by people who believe the conspiracy theory linking 5G networks to coronavirus.

In addition, broadband engineers have faced physical and verbal threats while trying to do their job. There is a clear link between people who fall for the 5G conspiracy theory and decide to abuse broadband engineers, and the risk of the physical and mental health of those workers. There is no evidence of a link between 5G and coronavirus.

Twitter updated its policies regarding COVID-19 and will remove tweets that include misinformation about global or local health authorities recommendations to decrease the spread of the virus, alleged cures (that may be ineffective or harmful), denial of established scientific facts about transmission during the incubation period of COVID-19, or things that can cause widespread panic, social unrest, or large-scale disorder.

It sounds to me like the conspiracy theory about 5G causing coronavirus would count as “widespread panic, social unrest, or large-scale disorder.” People intentionally setting fires near where you live can easily cause widespread panic.