Bumble biggest offender for harvesting personal data, world’s largest wind farm now in service
Three-quarters of mobile apps are harvesting our personal data due to unnecessary and overreaching developer permissions, according to an analysis of the most popular mobile apps globally by cybersecurity company NordVPN. Researchers used the privacy checker Exodus to compare the leading apps of 18 different countries including the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In the UK, Bumble was found to be the biggest offender among the most popular downloads, with 14 out of its 32 requests (44%) about data unrelated to the functioning of its iOS app. TechDigest
Rishi Sunak’s advisers are trying to thrash out an agreement among world leaders on a statement warning about the risks of artificial intelligence as they finalise the agenda for the AI safety summit next month. Downing Street officials have been touring the world talking to their counterparts from China to the EU and the US as they work to agree on words to be used in a communique at the two-day conference. But they are unlikely to agree a new international organisation to scrutinise cutting-edge AI, despite interest from the UK in giving the government’s AI taskforce a global role. The Guardian
Twitter/X will now let users stop unverified accounts from replying to their posts, in case that was something you wanted to do. If it is, you’re probably in the minority. The official X account announced the change on Wednesday by posting an image of the platform’s updated reply limitation menu. Now instead of just being able to restrict replies to “everyone,” “accounts you follow,” and “only accounts you mention,” there is a new fourth option: “verified accounts.” Select that option, and only people who are paying Twitter/X’s $8 per month X Premium subscription fee will be able to respond to your tweet. Mashable
The world’s largest offshore wind farm has started supplying power to Britain’s energy grid after it generated electricity for the first time. Turbines started turning at the Dogger Bank wind farm on Saturday, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hailing the project as crucial to Britain’s net zero future. When complete, Dogger Bank will consist of 277 giant offshore turbines that generate enough electricity to power six million homes a year. Energy giant SSE confirmed production from the first installed turbine on Tuesday. Telegraph
The new Skoda Kodiaq will be shipped next year without sat-nav and instead ask customers to pay to download it as Skoda explores offering more “on-demand features”. The second-generation SUV runs the new version of Volkswagen Group’s infotainment system, called MIB4, and will be permanently connected to the internet, allowing the Czech brand to expand its Skoda Connect service. “We’re trying to explore functions on demand and give customers the chance to order the features online,” its head of sales and marketing, Martin Jahn, told Autocar at the launch of the Kodiaq in Berlin last week. Autocar
John Riccitiello has resigned as chief executive of game development tool Unity following a controversial pricing change which angered gamers and developers alike. The firm wanted to charge studios every time a person installed a game using Unity’s code which powers thousands of modern video games. Big developers already pay a licensing fee to use Unity in their games. The company has since rolled back most of its plans and apologised. Unity said Mr Riccitiello was retiring from the firm effective immediately. BBC
