You never know if the government is secretly compelling your favorite internet company to hand over its data on users. Well, sometimes you do. On Tuesday, the ACLU announced it succeeded in getting a gag order (PDF) lifted for its client Open Whisper Systems, creator of the Signal messaging service. That’s the service favored by …

You share your cat photos to Facebook from your computer or phone at home. But where do they get stored? Possibly Denmark. Facebook is planning to build a new data center in Odense, Denmark, according to a report from Reuters. Odense, founded in the 10th century C.E., is a port city of less than 200,000 people known for being the …

If you were a frequent visitor to the website ClintonKaine.com, you’ll notice a few changes today. The former fan fiction site no longer features a cartoon portraying Hillary Clinton as a wizard much like Harry Potter. Instead, you’ll find links to news stories and commentary that criticize and critique the Democratic presidential candidate. Hillary Potter, fare thee well. The change …

Instagram has 500,000 advertisers on its platform, the company said on Thursday. Owned by Facebook, the photo-sharing social-media network offers an advertising platform that tailors ads to specific types of users. San Francisco-based Instagram has 500 million monthly active users, making a tempting target for advertisers. The network said that since it launched its advertising platform in September 2015, Instagram …

Sony has put a price tag on its new Xperia XZ and Xperia X Compact phones. On Thursday, the company announced the full-sized XZ will become available in the US on October 2 with a suggested retail price of $700. It’s smaller counterpart the X Compact will sell for $500, starting on September 25. The X Compact comes with a …

Are your friends and family in Charlotte, North Carolina okay? Now you can check on Facebook to find out. The social media company activated its “safety check” feature on Thursday in the aftermath of protests over the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old black man. On Wednesday night, gunfire resulted in the critical injury of an unnamed man …

Google’s Allo gives users a messaging app with Google Assistant built in, offering automatically generated responses called Smart Replies and other computer-generated suggestions for your everyday life. To make those features as useful as possible, Google made a trade-off with your privacy, the company confirmed Wednesday. Instead of keeping your messages on company servers for a short period of time, …

Anthony Romero knows Edward Snowden broke the law. Still, the executive director of the ACLU said, “Edward Snowden should be thanked and not punished.” His remarks came as three major human rights groups launched the Pardon Snowden campaign Wednesday to advocate for the former NSA contractor who revealed widespread government surveillance programs. At a press conference in New York, broadcast …

Now playing: Watch this: Joseph Gordon-Levitt says he wants Snowden pardoned 2:39 Enlarge Image Edward Snowden says he did the right thing and should be pardoned. Jason Seiler Sure, Edward Snowden may have broken the law. But morally and ethically, he did the right thing, he told the Guardian in an interview published Tuesday. Snowden drew international attention to internet …

You open a document or spreadsheet, start throwing in some new information, and then notice someone else is doing the same thing. You’re editing it together! That’s Google Drive. Wait, no, that’s iWork. Apple announced its new collaborative editing tool at its product event Wednesday, giving users an alternative to the Google service first announced in 2007. iWork will work …