Apple Maps gained the Look Around street view feature last fall along with iOS 13 but it was launched in limited cities. Now the handy option has rolled out to Boston, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia.

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Google is indexing invite links to WhatsApp group chats whose administrators may want to be private. This means with a simple search, random people can discover and join a wide range of WhatsApp group chats. From a report: "Your WhatsApp groups may not be as secure as you think they are," Jordan Wildon, a multimedia journalist for German outlet Deutsche Welle, tweeted on Friday. Using particular Google searches, people can discover links to the chats, Wildon explained. App reverse-engineer Jane Wong added in a tweet that Google has around 470,000 results for a simple search of "chat.whatsapp.com," part of the URL that makes up invites to WhatsApp groups. Motherboard used a number of specific Google searches to find invite links to WhatsApp groups. Some of the groups appear to not be overly sensitive or for a particular audience. Many of the links on Google lead to groups for sharing porn. But others appear to be catered to specific groups. Motherboard entered one WhatsApp group chat that described itself as being for NGOs accredited by the United Nations. After joining, Motherboard was able to see a list of all 48 participants and their phone numbers.

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iOS 13.4 lets you adjust how the TV app handles downloads and streaming for Wi-Fi and cellular connections separately.

BundleHunt has launched its first collection of apps on sale for 2020 with prices starting at just $0.50 per app. As you may recall, BundleHunt charges a $5 fee to unlock the collection and then you can add each app to your custom order at varying prices. Additional discounts kick in when you add more apps, topping off at a 15% reduction when you purchase over 15 titles. This is one of the best ways to add a substantial number of apps to your Mac without breaking the bank, as BundleHunt offers notable savings across the board. Every app comes fully unlocked and compatible with Catalina. Head below for a few details on our top picks or dive into the entire sale here.

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An absurdly named bill is set to form the latest attempt to create legislation requiring tech giants to provide a backdoor to encryption.

The Eliminating Abuse and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2019 (EARN IT Act) is co-sponsored by Lindsey Graham (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)…

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The coronavirus outbreak could result in at least a 3.3% drop -- and as high as a 9% dip -- in the volume of PCs that will ship globally this year, research firm Canalys reported Thursday evening in its revised projections to clients. From a report: PC shipments will be down between 10.1% to 20.6% in Q1 2020, the firm estimated. The impact will remain visible in Q2, when the shipments are expected to drop between 8.9% (best case scenario, per Canalys) and 23.4% (worst case scenario), it said. In the best case scenario, the outbreak would mean 382 million units will ship in 2020, down 3.4% from 396 million last year. The worst case makes a deeper dent, stating that about 362 million units will ship this year, down 8.5% from last year. "In the best-case scenario, production levels are expected to revert to full capacity by April 2020, hence the biggest hit will be to sell-in shipments in the first two quarters, with the market recovering in Q3 and Q4," the firm said.

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Apple Music gains new features, coronavirus forces Apple to adjust earnings guidance (again), new iPhone SE and iPad Pro rumors continue, and Apple may finaly be considering third-party default apps.

9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or through our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes are released every Friday.

Sponsored by Capterra: Visit Capterra.com/HappyHour today and join the millions of people who use Capterra each month.

https://9to5mac.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/02/9to5Mac-Happy-Hour-02-21-2020.mp3

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An anonymous reader shares a months-old report, which is getting some attention this week: Many clones are born with defects and genetic disorders, and since those imperfections aren't what their buyer is spending tens of thousands of dollars on, they end up discarded. That's the price. Neonatal complications for cloned animals abound: Poor placenta and fetal development in the womb lead to high rates of early- and late-stage abortions. Once born, those first few weeks remain tenuous: Incidences of large offspring syndrome (which usually results in a cesarian section) are high as are pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome in cloned lambs and cows, which indicates poor adrenal gland and lung function. And if that cloned dog does make it through the gauntlet -- but is missing the spot over its eye that a deceased pet had, for instance -- it still faces a swift death via euthanasia, just another pile of genetic material to harvest. "There's too many mistakes, too many stillbirths, deformities, and mutations," warns Chris Cauble, a Glendale, California, veterinarian whose mobile service offers tissue collection for cloning pets. Despite being involved in the industry, Cauble wouldn't clone his own pets. "I'd hate to see one of my beloved dogs born with three eyes or without a leg. I'd feel like I created a monster. There are a lot of failures, and those are killed because they're not perfect. They keep trying until they get a good puppy. Consumers have to realize the procedure is not fully perfected."

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Attempts to fight the net neutrality repeal continue as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been ordered by a court to examine the impacts of repealing the protection.

One incident that may prove significant is when Verizon throttled data service to a fire service vehicle in a way that hampered its ability to fight wildfires…

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I’ve been using HomeKit for many years, and one of the things I can’t stop buying is outlet switches. In my house, we tend to use lamps a lot more than overhead lights, so when paired with LED bulbs, they make for an energy-efficient way to shine light in hour home. Over the years, I’ve tried multiple HomeKit compatible outlets, and I’ve finally found one that feels like it was made for HomeKit, and it’s thankfully, the least expensive one I’ve tried. Are you looking for the best HomeKit outlet? Read on to find out more. more…

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Someone who goes by the nickname "Rocky" has been tagging Apple's boss in inappropriate photos on Twitter, leaving disturbing voicemails and trying to give him flowers and champagne.

Apple rolls into the weekend with a new $5 movie sale focused on a number of iconic parody films. You can save at least 50% off the regular going rate on each of these titles, with some discounted by as much as $15. Hit the jump for all of our top picks.

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The Streisand Effect has predictably kicked in after Apple attempted to prevent the distribution of a new Apple book written by former German App Store manager Tom Sadowski. App Store Confidential is now number two on Amazon’s bestseller list in Germany, and the book is into its second print run.

Despite Apple’s claim that the book reveals company secrets, reviewers indicate that the material in it is bland and obvious …

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: Google on Thursday was hit with a lawsuit by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, alleging the search giant is illegally collecting data on school children. The suit says Google is collecting the personal information through a program the company has with New Mexico's school districts, in which it provides Chromebooks and access to G Suite for Education apps for free. Those apps include Gmail, Calendar and Google Docs. The practice would run afoul of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, a federal law that regulates data collection from sites with users who are under 13 years old. The lawsuit accuses Google of collecting information on students' locations, their passwords, what websites they've visited, what they've searched for on Google and YouTube, their contact lists and voice recordings. Balderas also said in the lawsuit that Google "mined students' email accounts" and "extracted" information for advertising purposes until 2014. Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said in a statement: "These claims are factually wrong. G Suite for Education allows schools to control account access and requires that schools obtain parental consent when necessary. We do not use personal information from users in primary and secondary schools to target ads. School districts can decide how best to use Google for Education in their classrooms and we are committed to partnering with them."

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If you want to measure distance in Apple Maps to see how far one location is from another and neither are your current one, it’s easy and here’s how.

Apple has obtained a temporary restraining order against a man accused of stalking Tim Cook at his home, leaving a ‘disturbing’ voicemail and tagging him in inappropriate photos on Twitter …

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If you haven’t taken time to set up Apple TV restrictions for content yet, this tutorial walks you through the options so you get the settings you want.

So we have AirPods, and we have AirPods Pro. Scattered track record Digitimes is continuing to report that it believes Apple will add another SKU to the AirPods lineup within the next six months, in what it calls AirPods Pro Lite.

In its latest report, Digitimes describes the AirPods Pro Lite as an entry-level truly wireless earphone set. Digitimes continues to be the only publication specifically describing such a product, although Ming-Chi Kuo did say that Apple would release new wireless headphones in the first half of 2020 — so maybe they are talking about the same thing.

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Barclays has been criticised by HR experts and privacy campaigners after the bank installed "Big Brother" employee monitoring software in its London headquarters. From a report: Introduced as a pilot last week, the technology monitors Barclays workers' activity on their computers, and in some instances admonishes staff in daily updates to them if they are not deemed to have been active enough -- which is described as being in "the zone." The system tells staff to "avoid breaks" as it monitors their productivity in real-time, and records activities such as toilet visits as "unaccounted activity." A whistleblower at the banking giant told City A.M. that "the stress this is causing is beyond belief" and that it "shows an utter disregard for employee wellbeing." "Employees are worried to step away from their desks, have full lunch breaks, take bathroom breaks or even get up for water as we are not aware of the repercussions this might have on our statistics," they added. Big Brother Watch, a privacy campaign group, described the technology as "creepy." The software, provided by Sapience, has been rolled out throughout the product control department within the investment bank division at the firm's Canary Wharf headquarters. After the publication of the story, Barclays announced it is scrapping the program.

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In Consumer Reports' "Top Picks" of the year list, Tesla's Model 3 ranks among the top 10 choices for car buyers in 2020. TechCrunch reports: The Model 3 was chosen as one of three vehicles in the $45K-$55K category, alongside the Lexus RX and the Toyota Supra. CR lauded its "thrilling driving experience," including "impressive handling and quick precise steering [that] help it feel like a sports car." They did ding it slightly for having a "stiff ride" overall, but said that that's more than made up for by its long EV battery range and emission-free eco-friendly qualities. Consumer Reports also specifically called out a worry about the Model 3 that "Autopilot, an optional system on the vehicle, does not require the driver to stay engaged, creating safety concerns." Tesla has always positioned Autopilot as a driver-assist feature that still requires a driver to be ready to take over control at a moment's notice, but critics have suggested its implementation can lead to misuse resulting in inattentiveness. Tesla as a whole ended up ranking 11th overall out of 33 automakers in the nonprofit organization's 2020 automotive brand report card, climbing eight positions from last year.

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