iPhone Privacy Billboards Appear in Europe

We’ve seen Apple’s billboards pushing its privacy credentials in the U.S. and Canada. Now,  they’ve appeared in locations around Europe, Cult of Mac reported.

Apple often makes privacy a selling point of the iPhone. It has long been considered one of the biggest advantages its smartphone has over Android-powered rivals. These billboards make it so that the privacy-conscious have only one handset in mind when they go shopping. Spotted in three locations around Germany, each of the ads has a big, bold message that is based on the location. One in Hamburg, which proudly calls itself the “gateway to the world,” reads, “Das Tor zur Welt. Nicht zu deinen Informationen.” It translates to “The gateway to the world. Not your information.

WhatsApp Rolling Out Payment Tool in India

WhatsApp is to roll out a payments system in the crucial Indian market, Reuters reported. Users will be able to make and receive payments through the messaging app. Apple Cash offers a similar facility, although it is only currently available in the U.S.

WhatsApp is ubiquitous across India, where data consumption is surging thanks to cheap internet, but a full launch of its payments feature had been delayed amid some false messages circulating on the platform that have led to mob lynching and more government scrutiny, according to local media. The Menlo Park, California-based firm has also been trying to comply with Indian regulations including data storage norms that require all payments-related data to be stored locally…Digital payments, lending and e-wallet services have been growing rapidly in India, led by a government push to bring more of the country’s cash-loving merchants and consumers into the formal economy.

Evidence Mounts: Apple's Butterfly Keyboard is on the Way Out

Evidence is mounting that the ill-fated Butterfly mechanism keyboard that Apple has been using in its notebook computers ever since the MacBook debuted in 2015 will eventually become history. AppleInsider has the goods:

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suspects that the [rumored] 16-inch MacBook Pro will be the first Apple laptop to shift [back] to a scissor mechanism …

Furthermore, Kuo is predicting that the entire MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines will migrate in 2020 to the technology.

Some think this is evidence of the subtle hand of Apple’s COO Jeff Williams.

Amazon Requires Police to Promote its Ring Surveillance Cameras

As part of a secret agreement, Amazon requires that police “encourage adoption” of its Ring doorbell surveillance cameras.

Dozens of police departments around the country have partnered with Ring, but until now, the exact terms of these partnerships have remained unknown. A signed memorandum of understanding between Ring and the police department of Lakeland, Florida, and emails obtained via a public records request, show that Ring is using local police as a de facto advertising firm. Police are contractually required to “Engage the Lakeland community with outreach efforts on the platform to encourage adoption of the platform/app.”