Happy belated Data Privacy Day!
Apple rang in the holiday with a FaceTime bug that lets you eavesdrop on the person you're calling before they pick up. It was also reported that dismissing an incoming FaceTime call by pressing the power or volume button gives the caller a live video of the recipient's front-facing camera.
As of last night, Apple disabled Group FaceTime and said the glitch will be fixed in a software update later this week. Until then, it's probably a good idea to disable FaceTime in your phone's settings.
Obviously, the bug is a pretty serious issue for any iOS user and comes at a bad time for Apple. Apple has been very public about its pro-privacy stance in recent months — especially as its rivals (like Facebook) suffered from data breaches. For example, this tweet — sent hours before the bug was reported — hasn’t aged well:
The company is also expected to report its Q1 earnings today after cutting its revenue forecast (for the first time in 16 years!) earlier this month.
If you've got the privacy blues like we do today — here are 10 apps that launched in 2018 making privacy a priority:
🚀 1.1.1.1. by Cloudflare is a privacy-first consumer DNS service that will speed up your internet
🔒 DuckDuckGo's mobile app and browser extension give you encrypted private browsing that blocks trackers
📈 Simple Analytics gives you the analytics you need without invading your user's privacy
👀 Mozilla Facebook Container is a Firefox extension that keeps your Facebook data isolated...to Facebook
🤫 ShareUrl lets you share accounts (think Netflix, Hulu, etc.) without giving out your password
🔑 Cryptee is an encrypted home for your private photos, files, docs, and notes
💪 Outline (made my Alphabet) lets you build your own VPN
👻 Ghostery's new AI tool will block ads and stops trackers for you
💌 Burner Emails gives you fake email addresses to avoid spammers
🔐 Google Titan is a 2FA device that protects you against hackers
"TLDR; it's my secret weapon for staying on top of the ecommerce/DTC industry."
Spoiler: This newsletter will tell you the future of commerce about 6 months before it happens. 🔮