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Mitt Romney has a ridiculous Twitter alias: Pierre Delecto
In an interview with The Atlantic, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) admitted to being a "lurker" on Twitter. He wouldn't share his Twitter handle, but it didn't take long for the internet to figure out Romney's alias, Pierre Delecto (@qaws9876).
Chinese officials reportedly installed a surveillance app on tourists' phones
Chinese border guards are reportedly installing surveillance apps on the phones of some travelers. According to an investigation by the Guardian, The New York Times and Süddeutsche Zeitung, the app extracts emails, texts and contacts, as well as info about the device. Without notifying phone owners, border guards have installed the app when people attempt to cross from the Kyrgyzstan region to the Xinjiang region, an area where the Chinese government has long restricted the freedoms of the Muslim population.
LED signs could soon hide secret messages
From free decoder rings hidden in our cereal and Enigma machines used during world war two to the end-to-end encryption of iMessage, the sending and receiving of secret messages has always been a part of our daily lives. Thanks to technology, apps and services that offer end-to-end encryption are now commonplace. But what if you want to share a piece of information with an individual or group in a public area?
James Comey reveals his (not so) secret Twitter account
Back in March then-FBI director James Comey told the American people they should not expect "absolute privacy". Now, undoubtedly heeding his own advice, he's outed himself on Twitter, telling the world he'll "try to tweet in useful ways".
Who needs friends when you have anonymous feedback apps?
The No. 1 app in the iOS App Store has a curious name. It's called Sarahah, and it's been at the top of the iTunes Free Apps chart for the past few weeks. It's an anonymous messaging service for personal feedback. Anyone -- whether they're on the service or not -- can leave comments for users without revealing who they are.
Secret's saga ends as its creators head to Postmates
The years-long drama surrounding Secret is coming to an end. Postmates has hired Secret founder David Byttow and his teammate, Ben South Lee, shutting down their publishing platform Bold (and plans for a Secret revival) in the process. Byttow will lead the product development for Postmates' app, and it's clear that he sees bright prospects for the on-demand delivery service -- the entrepreneur believes his new employer can "leapfrog itself." Whether or not that happens, the career move underscores the volatility of internet startups, and Secret in particular.
Secret's anonymous sharing app is now a publishing platform
Remember Secret? The standard bearer for the anonymous social app movement shuttered in 2015 before co-creator David Byttow teased a possible Version 2 in the wake of Donald Trump's election. While the old app-based Secret won't be coming back, Byttow unveiled its successor today in the form of anonymous publishing platform IO.
Secret's anonymous sharing is coming back as a response to Trump
Secret's air-your-dirty-laundry service collapsed about as quickly as it rose to prominence, but it looks like it's poised for a comeback thanks to the new political climate. Co-creator David Byttow has vowed that "Secret V2" is on the way as an explicit answer to Donald Trump winning the US election -- "it's too important not to exist," he says. In a chat with our friends at TechCrunch, he paints it as a way to both encourage authenticity and bridge political divides. The US can't "heal and work together" if people aren't comfortable being themselves and aren't self-aware, Byttow argues. This wouldn't be a simple matter of turning the servers back on and re-releasing the apps, though.
The truth about Trump's secret server and Russia
It's hard not to follow the hacks and cracks of the election, even if you don't want to -- every day there's a new accusation or hysterical revelation. So you no doubt saw "Was a Trump Server Communicating With Russia?" postulating that Donald Trump's connections to Russia were confirmed with the discovery of a secret email server. That story came from Slate and was based on a connection a researcher found between a Trump Organization server and a Russian bank. News outlets took the bait and ran with it, telling us that this was as damning as it appeared.
Recommended Reading: Can Apple avoid a fate similar to IBM?
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Apple Won't Always Rule. Just Look at IBM. by Jeff Sommer The New York Times Apple's growth is staggering. It's also unsustainable... just ask IBM. The folks in Cupertino may still have room to expand the company's reach, but there are some signs that the ceiling may be approaching. Of course, IBM, a company that was once on top, is doing great work, but its market cap is estimated to be less than a quarter of Apple's.
Secret's out: The rise and fall of the anonymous social app
Secret, the app that was practically synonymous with the anonymous-app movement, is shutting down. David Byttow, Secret's co-founder and CEO, explained in a Medium post yesterday that the reason for the shuttering is that the app no longer represents the vision he had when he started it in January last year. And if the lackluster activity in my Secret feed of late is any indication, I'm guessing the severe decline in users is a reason too. Its recent design overhaul probably alienated a lot of folks and the departure of co-founder Chrys Bader can't have helped things either.
Secret now lets you anonymously post to specific events, starting with CES 2015
Secret, the anonymous-sharing app that took Silicon Valley by storm early last year, recently underwent a serious overhaul that saw a massive app redesign, a new private chat feature and a renewed focus on location-specific missives. So, for example, instead of confiding your innermost desires to your "friends" (which are essentially people in your contacts list), you could post them to a location, which should theoretically hide your real identity even further. Over the weekend, however, Secret introduced yet another new feature: You can now post to specific events as well. The first event Secret is trying this out with? CES 2015, of course.
Secret reboots its anonymous sharing app in search of a future
Secret first sprung into life in February 2014 as an app/social space where people could get together and engage in real talk, all while leaving their real names checked at the door. It generated Silicon Valley acquisition rumors. It sparked IRL dinner parties (complete with masks). And, as is often the case for the buzzy startup du jour, it got stale. So, what's a beleaguered company to do? Well, if you're Secret, you completely redesign your iOS and Android apps in hopes people fall in love with it again. Of course, a new coat of paint and some bolt-on features might not be able to change Secret's underlying problem.
Dragon Age: Inquisition Easter egg is The Lord of the Pies
A Dragon Age: Inquisition Easter egg that a BioWare artist is dubbing "The Lord of the Pies" surfaced this week, and occurs when players manage to fall through the floor of the Skyhold area of the game. Shown in a video courtesy of YouTube user LeeCsM after the break, the secret, cavernous room with creepy music discovered under Skyhold houses what LeeCsM calls a "Nug with a top hat." BioWare designers jumped into YouTube's comments to confirm that the Easter egg was placed in the game intentionally, with artist Graham Kelly noting that he "hid it under the level" and that players "weren't meant to fall through it." Kelly added that the hidden figure is "not a bunny either," but rather The Lord of the Pies. "I may or may not have hidden some of his smaller flock around the rest of Skyhold," he wrote. While we didn't find any pie, we enjoyed our time with Dragon Age: Inquisition in our review. [Image: EA, LeeCsM (YouTube)]
HTC One M8 for Windows, 'Halo 2: Anniversary' and other stories you might've missed
This week, we got our hands on the HTC One M8 for Windows, anticipated the release of Halo 2: Anniversary, learned about monkey selfie rights, investigated issues with Secret's anonymity and more! Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last seven days. Oh, and be sure to subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
Engadget Daily: 'Halo 2: Anniversary,' problems with Secret's secrecy and more!
Today, we anticipate the visual glory of Halo 2: Anniversary, learn that a monkey can't own photo rights, sit down without a chair, investigate problems with Secret's anonymity and more! Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Secret's next update will add polls and Flickr support, but limit photo uploads
If you love hanging your dirty laundry on carefully curated and symbolic images, then Secret's next update both is -- and isn't -- for you. Sometime next week, the anonymous sharing app will integrate Flickr image search, but access to the photo service's library comes at a price: the ability to use your own photos. The update will remove the ability to upload images from your phone, with the exception of pictures taken in real-time with the Secret app itself.
If Secret isn't anonymous, we're all screwed
People have been airing their dirty laundry and slinging shade on Secret -- an anonymous sharing app -- for months now. Who could blame them? It's fun, it's freeing and accountability basically doesn't exist there... or so some may believe. Kevin Poulson at Wired spoke to a security researcher named Ben Caudill and the takeaway is clear: your secrets aren't necessarily as secret as you think. And the kicker? The process of tying real people to the things they said was a shockingly simple one if you understand how Secret finds and displays people's messages.
Apple removes "Secret" app from Brazilian App Store per Judge's ruling
A Brazilian judge a few days ago informed both Google and Apple that they had a few days to remove the Secret app from their respective app stores and remotely delete the app from users' devices. In case you're unfamiliar, Secret is an app that enables users to anonymously post, well, secrets that they might not ordinarily express without a cloak of secrecy. Think of it as PostSecret gone mobile. So why all the fuss about Secret in Brazil? Well apparently anonymity in the country is illegal. Gigaom reports: In his ruling, judge Paulo César de Carvalho pointed out that the Brazilian constitution says "the privacy, private life, honor and image of persons are inviolable, and the right to compensation for property or moral damages resulting from their violation is ensured." The constitution also backs free expression, but to square that with its privacy elements it forbids anonymity. Now comes word via 9to5Mac that Apple has, in fact, removed Secret from the Brazilian App Store. Users searching for the app are now greeted with an "Item Not Available" alert message. At this point it remains unclear whether or not Apple or Google have gone so far as to remotely delete the app from iOS and Android devices, but we'll keep you posted once we find out more.
Apple blocks access to Secret in Brazil after anti-bullying ruling
A few days ago, a Brazilian judge ordered Apple and Google to pull Secret from the local app store and wipe it from the handsets of whose who had downloaded it. The same ruling covered Microsoft, who was ordered to do the same to Windows Phone clone Cryptic. So far, however, only Apple has begun to comply with the order, after suspending fresh downloads of the app to iOS accounts registered in Brazil. According to local news media, the company hasn't started pulling the software from individual handsets, but that's still more than Google or Microsoft have done. Both companies claim that they've not been directly notified of the widely-reported ruling, although it's more likely that they're waiting on a final decision from the courts before taking any action.
