Apps

Apple can share your iMessage contacts with authorities

Published

September 29, 2016

Marvin Velasco

A week after we discussed the lack of privacy in Google’s Allo messaging app, a report made by The Intercept details how Apple’s iMessage service can send information about people you’re in contact with to law enforcement.

As soon as you begin entering a phone number in iMessage, Apple’s servers immediately begin logging the IP address and metadata of your contact person and your own. The host has to do this in order to check if that specific number has an iMessage account. If not, the messages will be sent through SMS instead. All that sounds trivial, but the issue lies in the length this data is stored.

The information, together with the exact time and date you inputted them, will be readily available in Apple’s servers for 30 days. The police or any government agency may then ask for the data with a valid court order.

You might now be asking: Aren’t all my messages encrypted and protected by Apple’s privacy policy? Yes, definitely, but that doesn’t include your contacts, whether or not you actually sent them a message.

The original source appears reliable. The Intercept claims the information comes from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Electronic Surveillance Support Team, which is a “state police agency that facilitates police data collection using controversial tools like the Stingray, along with conventional techniques like pen registers.”

It’s not as bad as you’d think; if you’re clear of any criminal deeds, you shouldn’t have to worry about using iMessage — or any messaging service for that matter. As proven by the NSA debacle a few years ago, nothing online is truly private, so don’t stop messaging unless you’re guilty of something illegal.

[irp posts=”8832″ name=”Replacing lost Apple AirPods is crazy expensive”]

Source: The Intercept

Apps

YouTube makes picture-in-picture mode free for everyone globally

The update is rolling out globally now.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Picture-in-picture (or PiP) mode is a godsend for multitaskers. The feature lets users watch videos in a tiny floating window while doing other tasks. However, the feature isn’t readily available for all users. Or wasn’t, at least. YouTube is now rolling out PiP mode for free globally.

Previously, PiP mode was exclusive to YouTube users who pay for Premium or Premium Lite. It was also exclusive to the United States.

Now, YouTube is making the feature completely free for users all over the globe. It will be available for both iOS and Android versions of the app.

There’s still a catch, though. The free version is available only for “longform, non-music content.” The same goes for Premium Lite subscribers. Music is still an exclusive feature for those who pay for the regular version of Premium. Basically, there is no change for paying users or users in the United States.

Using PiP mode is simple. All you need to do is load up a video you want to watch in the background. Then, just exit the YouTube app and go about your other tasks. The video will be inside a floating, resizable window while you look at other things.

There’s no timeline on when the update will reach your device. However, YouTube has promised that it will roll out globally within the coming months.

Apps

Google might be moving away from flat design

Bye bye, Material Design.

Published

April 27, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

It’s time to kindly shove off, flat design. After over a decade of Google’s Material Design, Android is finally showing signs of ditching flat, monotonous colors. In a series of logo redesigns, Google is reportedly trying out gradients as its latest reinvention.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Google is moving forward with incorporating gradients into its designs. Previously, the company started changing the icons of a few first-party apps including Photos and Maps. Now, it seems that the new design philosophy will reach the rest of Google’s suite.

In the obtained designs, the rest of Google’s plethora of apps will no longer look static. The splash of gradient adds the feeling of layering without losing the company’s roots in flat design. Docs and Sheets, for example, look like a light shining on pieces of paper.

Image source: 9to5Google

It’s unknown when Google plans to incorporate the new philosophy. However, with Google I/O coming fast, it’s fair to bet that an update might come out around that time, especially since that event’s logo already has gradients.

Google’s evolution is not without its precedent. Besides the company’s small trial previously, Apple’s iOS has also made inroads into more three-dimensional designs with the new Liquid Glass. However, unlike Apple, Google’s newest design is a far cry from the former’s return to Windows Vista aesthetics.

Personally, I don’t mind the transition to 3D, as long as it’s done well. Though still visually pleasing, flat design has started overstaying its welcome. It’s time to try something new.

Apps

Significantly better ChatGPT Images 2.0 launches

Stronger creative reasoning, better design output, more formats, improved overall experience

Published

April 22, 2026

GadgetMatch

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Images 2.0. This updated image generation model has a meaningful jump over competitors and its current ImageGen 1.5.

Now available across ChatGPT, Codex and the API, Images 2.0 delivers stronger creative reasoning, better design output, more flexible formats, and a faster, more intuitive user experience.

Paid users (Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise) will benefit from a more advanced image experience (ImageGen Thinking 2.0). The state-of-the-art model can take on complex visual tasks and produce precise and immediately usable visuals.

ChatGPT Images 2.0 is likewise better for creative and professional use cases. It has a significantly better performance at producing text-heavy assets, infographics, product mockups, UI concepts, and more structured visuals.

Moreover, users can generate images in a wider range of aspect ratios. The outputs are limitless, from posters to comics or anime to detailed infographics to simple images. API users, on the other hand, will also have access to 4K resolution.

To try the upgraded image generation model, simply head to ChatGPT and select “Images” in the sidebar.

Users will be able to see the top five prompts as well, curated by OpenAI, for them to try. This is to highlight the capabilities of the new model.

Overall, ChatGPT Images 2.0 offers a more seamless experience on mobile, web, and desktop. The intuitive user experience includes improved prompt suggestions, loading states, editing features, and multi-output views.