FTC Flags Android Developers For Apps That Spy On User Television Habits With Audio Beacons

Could your smartphone be listening in on your life? If you download mobile apps without much care for their permissions requests, you might not ever know. The privacy threat is so significant though, that the Federal Trade Commission has stepped in and warned us to be aware of it.

On Thursday, the FTC sent a letter to a dozen app developers warning them against their use of "audio beacons", which listen in on the environment and pick up hidden noise signals from TV shows. This is made possible with technology from an Indian company named Silverpush, and in effect it lets the app figure out what you're watching, because it has the ability to listen in at will. The app would also be able to tell if you completed a show or stopped it half-way through - this type of information is gold for marketers.

It's important that the FTC issued this warning before audio beacons become an even bigger problem, but it's unfortunately keeping quiet on which are the guilty, offending apps. However, we can be assured that they are fairly mainstream, as the FTC was able to source them easily enough. If you are concerned about this kind of app behavior, you could review the permissions each app on your phone has access to, and if any app that doesn't require microphone access has it, you could very well be looking at one of these guilty apps.

If you pay for an app, it's unlikely that there will be hidden features like this, but when an app is cost-free, there are immediate reasons to be skeptical. A couple of years ago, we reported on a spying issue that was discovered with a very popular free flashlight app on Google's Play Store (what is it with flashlight apps?). A great rule of thumb to abide by is that if an app is free, and isn't developed by some recognizable, trusted company you should tread lightly, and watch the permissions carefully.

The FTC's letter explicitly states that the developers in question published their apps on Google Play, so this seems to affect only Android at the current time. If the issue becomes big enough, Google could perhaps implement an extra layer of protection by warning people the first time a newly-installed app is opened if it has access to either the camera or the microphone. If you downloaded a flashlight app and received that kind of warning, it should obviously be a red flag, and a great reason to make a b-line to the uninstall button.

Source: FTC Flags Android Developers For Apps That Spy On User Television Habits With Audio Beacons

11 gotta-know iOS camera tricks for beginners

Take a tour of iOS's best camera features, from photo filters and burst mode to panoramic images and slow-motion video.

The original iOS Camera app was so simple, toddlers could master it—and often did. Indeed, there was little more than a viewfinder, a shutter release, and a toggle that let you switch between still photos and videos.

Over the years, the iOS camera interface has evolved into a sleek, sometimes confounding array of barely there buttons, swiveling settings, and hidden features. Without a proper orientation, you could easily miss out on some of the Camera app's most interesting functions.

Read on for a guided tour of 11 iOS Camera tricks you need to know—and no, you don't need to be Ansel Adams to tag along.

Snap photos with the volume buttons

This first trick is actually as old as the Camera app itself, but it's still an easy one to miss.

Ben Patterson

Just press one of the volume buttons if you're having trouble with the onscreen button.

If you ever have trouble capturing the moment with the slippery onscreen shutter release, there's a far more tangible alternative: the volume buttons. Just click one of them to snap a pic.

Take a selfie

Now that taking photos is a little easier, it's time to capture your smiling mug with help from your iPhone's or iPad's front-facing camera.

Ben Patterson

You can quickly switch between the front and rear lenses with a tap of this button.

Just tap the little camera-lens toggle button in the corner of the screen—the one that looks like a camera with a couple of curved arrows inside.

Each time you tap the button, the Camera app will switch between the front and rear camera lenses, perfect for taking a selfie without taking your eyes off the viewfinder.

Try the timer

If you want to snap a group shot without leaving anyone out of the frame, you'll need a feature than even your dusty old Instamatic had: the timer.

Ben Patterson

Once you tap the timer button, you can choose between two options: three seconds or 10.

For the new iOS Camera app, it's the button near the edge of the screen that looks like a minimalist clock. Tap it before shooting your next picture, then choose either three seconds or 10.

Now position your iPhone or iPad just right, tap the shutter release, and scramble in front of the lens.

Turn the flash on or off

By default, the built-in flash for the iOS Camera is set to automatic, meaning that a delicately lit scene could easily be ruined by a bright glare.

Ben Patterson

When you see this flash icon on the viewfinder, you know that the iOS Camera app plans on firing the flash for your next shot.

To take charge of the camera flash, tap the Flash button in the corner of the screen, then select Auto, On, or Off.

Bonus tip: A yellow flash icon near the bottom of the viewfinder indicates that the flash will go off the next time you press the shutter release.

Take a burst of photos

Even the speediest of shutterbugs isn't always fast enough to capture the moment—or moments, as they may be. If you're hoping to catch a fleeting image, burst mode might your best bet.

Ben Patterson

Once you take a burst of photos, you can pick your favorites and ask iOS to delete the rest.

To take a burst of photos, just press and hold the shutter release. The Camera app will begin to snap pictures at a fast and furious pace, and it'll keep snapping until you let the shutter release go.

Once you're done taking all those burst-mode shots, head to the Camera Roll (either by launching the Pictures app, or by tapping the thumbnail image in the corner of the screen). Burst-mode pictures will be grouped together. Tap a group and then tap Select to choose your favorites. Once you tap Done, you'll have the chance to keep all your burst shots or to trash everything except the favorites you picked.

Tap to focus

As you aim your iPhone or iPad lens, you'll see a small, pulsing square outline dancing around the viewfinder. That little square tells you where the iOS Camera app is currently focusing the camera lens, and it's also the spot that iOS is using to determine the best exposure for the snapshot.

Ben Patterson

Tap and hold the viewfinder to force the iOS Camera app to focus on a specific point, even after you move the lens.

If you want to pick the focus/auto-exposure spot yourself, just tap anywhere on the screen; the Camera app will refocus the image and readjust the exposure automatically. If you then move the lens around again, iOS will try to find a new focal/exposure point.

To keep the focal point and exposure setting fixed no matter where you point the camera lens, touch and hold anywhere on the display until the yellow box pulses and the AE/AF Lock indicator appears on the screen.

Pick a photo filter

Instagram isn't the only app that lets you add instant photo filters to your snapshots. The iOS Camera app does, too.

Ben Patterson

Among iOS's photo filter choices: Mono, Tonal, Chrome, and Instant.

Open the viewfinder, then tap the button with three interlocking circles, just next to the shutter release. You'll have eight filters to choose from, including Mono, Tonal, Chrome, and Instant.

Whenever you have a filter selected, the three-circle button will be lit up with color; if you haven't applied a filter, the three circles will be in shades of gray. You can shoot with the filter on, or apply filters to photos you already took by viewing a photo and tapping Edit.

Capture more detail with HDR 

Let's say you're trying to take a photo of a dimly lit cavern with a bright sky above. Normally, such a shot is almost impossible to get right. If you try to boost the exposure for the cave, the sky above will look blown out, while lowering the exposure for the bright sky will turn the cavern into a featureless black hole.

Ben Patterson

It's a good idea to keep your original snapshots in addition to stiched-together HDR images.

Here's where HDR comes in. Short for High Dynamic Range, the HDR feature in the Camera app takes three photos whenever you tap the shutter release—one that's slightly overexposed, another that's a tad underexposed, and a third that's somewhere between. iOS then combines the three images to create a more evenly exposed shot.

If you're willing to give HDR snapshots a try, tap the HDR icon at the edge of the viewfinder and select On or Auto.

Keep in mind that HDR-enhanced photos aren't inherently better than regular snapshots; in fact, HDR images can look washed out if you're taking photos in a low-contrast setting. That's why it's a good idea to hang on to your original pictures too. To do so, tap Settings > Photos & Camera, then toggle on the Keep Normal Photo setting.

Snap a Live Photo (iPhone 6s and 6s Plus only)

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus boast a novel feature: the ability to take moving photos, complete with sound.

Apple Inc.

Live Photos add a few moments of motion and sound to your stills, but they also gobble up a lot of storage.

Think of Live Photos as very brief video clips, with the Camera app capturing sound and movement for 1.5 seconds before and after you snap a picture.

Once you snap a Live Photos, you can share it with other iOS users (even those without the latest iPhone hardware) or save it to your Mac. You can also use your moving photo as wallpaper on your iPhone's lock screen. Tumblr and Facebook for iOS support Live Photos now too.

As you might have guessed, Live Photos are storage hogs, gobbling up roughly twice as much storage space as regular snapshots. You can conserve your storage space by turning off Live Photos until you really need them. The button to toggle the Live Photo feature on and off is in the very center of the toolbar above the viewfinder; it looks like a bullseye that glows yellow when turned on, or white when it's off.

Shoot a slow-motion or time-lapse video

If you've ever wanted to shoot your own National Geographic-style slow-motion video of, say, a hummingbird hovering in your backyard, your iPhone can do the trick.

Ben Patterson

Slow-motion video is the best way to (for example) capture a dropped Cookie Monster as he careens off a windowsill. 

Open the viewfinder and swipe the screen until the selector (it's either at the bottom or the side of the display, depending on the orientation of your iPhone) is set to slo-mo. Press the red Record button to start recording, then tap it again when you're done. When you play the video back, the scene you shot will have a portion in silky slow-motion. If you want the whole video in slow-mo, or just want to change where the effect begins and ends, you'll need to open the clip, tap Edit, and use the sliders that appear above the timeline to tweak the effect.

You can change your slo-mo video recording by tapping Settings > Photos & Camera > Record Slo-mo. You have two choices: 720p at 240 frames per second, or 1080p at 120 frames per second. The more frames per second, the slower your slo-mo videos will be—and the bigger the files, too.

On the flip side, you can also record time-lapse (or fast-motion) video, perfect for one of those sped-up scenes of, say, a two-hour painting job compressed into 30 seconds.

Once again, go to the Camera viewfinder and swipe the screen until the time-lapse setting is selected. Be sure your iPhone will remain totally still for the entire process: Use a stand or tripod, always. When you've got your shot framed, tap Record to begin shooting, and again to stop.

You don't get to select the exact interval between shots—iOS uses "dynamically selected intervals" so you get decent results each time without trying to do the math yourself. If you need more control over a time-lapse video, try a dedicated time-lapse app like Frameographer instead.

Create a panorama

Last but not least, the iOS Camera app boasts a tool that lets you take panoramic shots of your surroundings. The process is easy, but you'll need some patience and a steady hand.

Ben Patterson

Just follow the arrow and twirl slowly to create your panoramic shot with the iOS Camera app.

Open the viewfinder and swipe the screen until the selector hits the pano setting. Aim the lens where you want your panorama to begin, tap the shutter release, then slowly pivot your body in the direction of the arrow, making sure to keep the iPhone level so the onscreen arrow follows the line in the center of the display. A "slow down" warning will appear if you're moving too quickly. The Camera app will beep once it's done taking the panorama. The "pan" defaults to left-to-right, but if you'd rather pan right-to-left, just tap the arrow before you start shooting to reverse its direction.

Source: 11 gotta-know iOS camera tricks for beginners

FTC warns Android developers about apps that monitor users’ TV habits

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued warnings to a handful of Android app developers using controversial software that could invade users' privacy without their knowledge. Known as "SilverPush," the advertising framework can use an Android device's microphone to listen for television shows in the background, in turn providing third-party advertisers with information on users' viewing habits.

The FTC says it has sent letters to 12 developers with apps discovered to be using the SilverPush software. The developers and apps weren't specifically named, however they are all available on the Google Play Store.

Ever notice how opening certain third-party apps for the first time prompts a request to access certain data — like a camera app that asks permission to access the camera roll? Well, the FTC found that these Android apps were asking for microphone access, but didn't have a good reason for needing it, in addition to failing to explain to users what information they were collecting.

The government agency's warning noted that the apps "would be capable of producing a detailed log of the television content viewed while a user's mobile device was turned on for the purpose of targeted advertising software and analytics."

SilverPush's creators apparently claim that their software isn't yet used in the US, but the FTC warns that its appearance in apps could be illegal — and the developers held responsible — if users aren't made aware of what data is being collected and why.

SOURCE Federal Trade Commission

Source: FTC warns Android developers about apps that monitor users' TV habits

Featured: Top 10 Vintage Camera Apps – March 2016

Whether or not you fancy yourself as a "hipster" or just someone interested in being creative with your photos and video, there's a lot of options available on Android. Sure, these filters and throwback camera apps often get a lot of criticism, but they certainly have their place and for the creative out there, some really great pictures and footage can be put together with an injection of nostalgia. Whether or not you're looking to film, take great stills, share these cool shots with friends or whatever else, this Top 10 list should have something for you.

Lenka

Lenka has been a popular app on the iPhone for some time, but it recently launched on Android last year, and we took a good look at what it had to offer. Lenka has one simple feature; to take photos in Black and White. Rather than offer the gimmicky version of that endeavor, Lenka has some simple and serious tools to adjust color filters and more to get the right sort of B/W shot you're looking for. It's free to download and while it's very simply, it takes excellent black and white photographs with bags of detail.

Glitchr

While Lenka is all about going back to the beginning of photography, Glitchr concerns itself with the early days of digital photography. Styling itself on an oldschool computer from the late 80s, Glitchr allows users to put all sorts of different computer-generated effects on to their pictures. It's simple, good fun and will offer a lot of nostalgia to those that remember such technological wonders like the floppy disk and the 56K modem.

Retro VHS – Old School Video

Before we had the ability to record moving images digitally, the VHS camcorder was the best we got. That meant decades of home videos that were fuzzy, a little bit wavy and naturally, flooded with time stamps. This Android app is all about allowing people to record a similar video with their smartphones, and while it could be considered cheesy, there are probably people in your life that might appreciate such films, reminding them of a simpler time. Perhaps one where the footage didn't always have to end up online.

Instant: Polaroid Instant Cam

There used to be a time where an instant photo would actually result in something physical you could share and pass around. That was back when the Polaroid was a thing, and this neat little Android app tries to bring the Polaroid back from the depths of irrelevancy by offering a simple way of creating digital Polaroids. These framed pictures with a cool film look to them are all good fun, especially to put a sort of oldschool slant on something, and if nothing else Instant will help bring back some sort of fanfare to taking an impromptu picture, sans selfie stick.

Fisheye

During the early 2000s the ability to take photos with a near-360 view was all the rage for marketers, as well as folk that could afford the right lenses, too. Now though, 360 is confused with virtual reality and looking more than a little bizarre with something strapped to your face. Fisheye is an Android app that brings that 2000s fun back to 2016, and will basically allow you to take and edit photos with the same Fisheye effect that many a marketing ad did almost two decades ago.

Snapseed

Snapseed isn't a camera app like the others on this list, in fact it's more of a photo editing app that's really quite modern. The reason it's in this list however, is because of just what you can do with it, Snapseed will allow users to create whatever the hell they want, with focus blur, color filters, view changes and a whole lot more. Snapseed allows people to create their own sort of "vintage" and that's really the big draw of something like Snapseed, it lets you go wild.

Instagram

Instagram is all about the filters, and no matter how proud people are of their #nofilter shots, the temptation is always there. To take and then share a photo that looks like it was taken 50 years ago with Millions upon Millions of people, there's nothing quite like Instagram. With all the filters to make a good-looking film-esque shot, the only thing you have to work around is all of those foodie shots.

Black and White Camera

Much like Lenka, this is an app that just allows people to take good-looking Black and White photos, but unlike Lenka this has a lot of presets included. With lots of different filters included, this is the sort of app that's good for pointing and shooting and then turning something into a shot from yesteryear. There's even a filter called "Hipster" included, which just has to be good, right?

Vintage Retro Camera + VHS

This cool app allows users to film videos with a vintage feel in a number of different filters and frames. It looks good in B/W, classic 35mm and more. Simple and to the point, the filters and frames here are good fun and it will certainly allow users to experiment with a little nostalgia here and there. There are 20 different filters to choose from and the videos can easily be uploaded to Instagram, too.

Source: Featured: Top 10 Vintage Camera Apps – March 2016

The Throwable, 360 Degree Camera Ball Is Here... Five Years Too Late

All Images: Alex

It's been five years since the public first eyeballed the Panono, a green rubber ball that shoots 360-degree images. It's been another three since we went hands on with the super cool prototype. Now the Panono is finally here, shooting very pretty picture and costing a wallet-puckering $1400.

A lot has changed in the interim.

When the Panono was announced, it was a novel camera ball capable of shooting more stunning (still) panoramas than your iPhone could ever manage. Now it's competing against Frankenstein GoPro rigs that shoot 4K video for VR headsets that can be had for a lot cheaper.

There's competition. Granted, that competition can't be tossed in the air for an effortless shot, and it can't be attached on a stick ($44.90) for a quick, widest-angle-possible selfie. The Panono has some cool tricks in its stable, but they still feel like just that, tricks.

Selfie stick bonus: it makes the camera look like a boss mace.

The main reason you'll want to put down a chunk of change for the Panono is so you can show off outdoor vistas. Maybe you're a realtor looking to unload a property, or a landscape photographer looking to expand your portfolio. Or maybe you just have a lot of disposable income.

The Panono takes wonderful photos when it's outdoors. They're crisp and clean (when the stitching works) and friends in your office will be very impressed when you show them the images on your phone.

You'll want to use the selfie stick or a tripod though. Tossing the ball into the air definitely gives you a true 360 degree image, but you can't put a spin on the ball or you'll cause significant blurring (I'm terrible at that) and you will be in the image and you will look like a tit, with your eyes wide and arms outstretched to the metaphorical heavens.

At least with the selfie stick you can look away, and with the tripod you can remotely take photos with the Panono app.

The phone app you can shoot with (available on iOS and Android) is one you should be prepared to love-because it's required to do anything with the ball beyond tossing it in the air. Want to access your photos? Name them? Share them? Stitch them so they don't look like modern art?

The app is required.

Stitching, the act of piecing together images provided by all 36 cameras to create one cohesive whole, is a double-edged sword on the Panono.

You don't need expensive and mystifying software to stitch panoramas like you do with other 360-capable cameras . You tell the Panono app to upload the panorama to their servers and you're done. But you're also subject to the capabilities of Panono's servers and your own connection.

Which helps explain how I ate through 2GB of data on my phone in a couple of weeks. You have to connect to the Panono via wi-fi to interact with it, and, at least in the case of my iPhone, it does not automatically reconnect to other wi-fi after latching onto the Panono. So images would be uploaded to Panono's servers not via my home connection, but via my phone's data network.

From left to right: An image waiting to be uploaded. An image before stitching (note the lines). A queue of images processing on Panono's servers.

The process, besides being a data hog, also takes forever. There was a long, excruciating, thirty minutes between the time I uploaded one photo and the time I had the stitched final product on my phone. Worse, there was no clear estimation of how long processing would take.

And because the stitching all happens on Panono's server, there's no tweaking it. Problematic when you take a lovely picture of a neighborhood church and Panono starts stitching spires to the wrong parts of the building.

And just deeply disappointing when you try taking a cool shot as the ball is in motion and would like to do some color correction.

The Panono, out of the box, just doesn't give you enough control. If you want to edit the image you'll have to go to the site, log in, and download the raw image (stitched or unstitched) and use your own software.

It should be noted that you do get some control in-camera (using the app). You can adjust the white balance and shutter speed, but the image sensors in the 36 cameras wrapped around the Panono are terribly low quality-like three or fours years ago smartphone quality.

Every single image I took indoors was dark, grainy, and blurry. It didn't matter if I was taking it in my sun-dappled apartment or under the bright, industrial lights of the Gawker offices. The images just. Looked. Gross.

The quality of the camera sensors is what I really found myself struggling with. Because I want to like the Panono. It's a cool concept and it has some neat tricks, but it's all far too little and too late. That's part of the problem with crowdfunded gadgets. There are brilliant ideas attached to them and, often, there are brilliant people making the gadgets. But the rollouts are too glacial, and hyping the product five years before it hits the market isn't as much marketing as it is genital teasing.

When the finished product finally lands in your hand you wind up saying "that's it?" The me from three years ago would have loved the hell out of the Panono. The me from 2016 is wishing for something more.

Source: The Throwable, 360 Degree Camera Ball Is Here... Five Years Too Late

Nintendo’s first mobile app skips Mario, gives users ‘Mii’ time

LOS ANGELES--For its inaugural lunge into the mobile gaming business, Nintendo isn't relying on bouncy plumber Mario or sword-wielding hero Link. Instead, the Japanese gaming giant is looking to its legions of cutesy avatars.

Nintendo is launching the "Miitomo" app in Japan on Thursday featuring its customizable characters called Miis. The avatars can be created with the app using a smartphone camera and then outfitted with virtual fashions and quizzed by other Miis.

"Miitomo"--"tomo" meaning "friend" in Japanese--is scheduled to come to the United States and other markets later this year, but Nintendo has yet to announce a release date.

Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, believes "Miitomo" is "app-ropriate" as Nintendo's first foray into mobile gaming because it's a socially focused experience. It's also less challenging than bringing "Super Mario Bros." or "The Legend of Zelda" to touchscreen-only devices--not that Nintendo has ruled that out.

"You have your smartphone with you and you're engaging with social media on it all the time, so it made sense for us to go down this path with Miis," said Fils-Aime. "Additionally, creating more traditional gameplay experiences with our intellectual property on these devices is going to take time."

The app represents a big leap for a company known for being fiercely protective of its intellectual properties. Nintendo rarely produces content for other platforms than its own, ranging from the original Nintendo Entertainment System to the Wii U console, which has lagged behind Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One in sales since its 2012 release.

"Miitomo" is the first of five Nintendo apps that will be released over the next year in a partnership with Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA. It's an opportunity for Nintendo to possibly reach billions of consumers. Despite the jump into mobile gaming, Fils-Aime said Nintendo remains committed to creating dedicated gaming experiences on consoles.

"The smartphone device space allows us to reach many more consumers with our intellectual property and to provide them with new and difference experiences, monetize those experiences and have it be an additive part of our business, not a replacement," said Fils-Aime.

"Miitomo" users can add real-world friends' Miis to the app by finding them through social networking apps. The characters will then ask users questions and spark conversations while using the app.

In a demonstration of an English-language version of the "Miitomo," a Mii character was shown buying a new astronaut helmet to wear and learning that another Mii was a fan of the FX series "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story."

The app's quirky style is reminiscent of the "Tomodachi Life" series for the hand-held Nintendo 3DS system. "Tomodachi Life," which featured Miis cohabiting on an island, was a top seller in Japan but faced criticism in the United States for not allowing same-sex characters to engage in romantic relationships.

"Miitomo" forgoes many of the features of "Tomodachi Life" and mostly focuses on festooning avatars. The app is free but users can purchase coins with actual money to buy virtual clothing and accessories. The currency can also be earned through competing challenges and engaging in Q&A sessions with other characters.

The app will also serve as a launchpad for the My Nintendo rewards program and Nintendo Account, a new multiplatform system that will connect users across Nintendo apps and systems, including Nintendo's next console, codenamed NX.

"We're migrating the current Nintendo Network ID to Nintendo Account," said Fils-Aime. "As we look to the future with NX, Nintendo Account is going to be the way you engage with Nintendo."

Source: Nintendo's first mobile app skips Mario, gives users 'Mii' time

Change the Galaxy S7's lock screen app shortcuts to apps you actually use

Jason Cipriani/CNET

You may have noticed two app shortcuts on the lock screen of your Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. Samsung sets up shortcuts to the Phone and Camera apps by default, but gives you the option to change which apps appear with just a few taps.

And since you can quickly double-press the home button to launch the Camera app -- from any screen -- it doesn't really make sense to have a Camera shortcut icon on the lock screen.

Instead, set the app shortcuts to apps you actually use, such as Spotify or Facebook.

Here's what you need to do:

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Open the Settings app.

Tap on Lock screen and security under the Personal section.

Next, select Info and app shortcuts.

Tap on App shortcuts.

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

A preview image of your current lock screen setup will appear at the top, with the respective app icons in each lower-corner of the device's screen. Select left or right shortcut, and then pick the app you'd like to have a shortcut to on the following the screen.

Alternatively, at the top of each shortcut's page, you can turn the respective shortcut off.

With your custom apps set, you can wake your device and launch one of your apps by sliding the app icon up, towards the top of the screen.

For more Galaxy S7 tips and tricks, check out our complete guide here.

Source: Change the Galaxy S7's lock screen app shortcuts to apps you actually use