Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into controversial deals Facebook struck to share its users’ data with dozens of tech companies without the users’ knowledge, The New York Times reported Wednesday. A New York grand jury has subpoenaed records from two smartphone makers involved in the partnerships, anonymous sources described as familiar with the …

Twitter is updating the process for reporting tweets that share personal information, allowing users to specify what type of content violates their privacy. The update was announced Thursday in a Twitter Safety channel tweet that included a GIF demonstrating the process step-by-step. Users will now have the option to specify whether a tweet reveals their contact information, home or physical …

If you think your Facebook page looks a bit different today, you’re not alone. The social networking giant appears to have rolled out a new page design on Tuesday, eschewing the previous three-column layout for one that incorporates only two. On the right is static information about the page, while the left side contains the feed of recent posts. Facebook …

Samsung’s family of foldable smartphones may be tripling soon. The South Korean electronics giant is developing a pair of new foldable handsets following its unveiling of its Galaxy Fold, people familiar with the company’s plans told Bloomberg. One of the devices would fold away from the user like the Huawei Mate X instead of inward, as the Galaxy Fold does. …

If you ever get frustrated by inane and even toxic replies degrading the value of your tweets, or even hijacking the thread completely, Twitter might have a solution for you. The social networking company on Thursday confirmed it’s developing a “Hide Tweet” feature that lets users protect their conversations by hiding individual replies to tweets. The “Hide Tweet” option was …

Smartwatches were more popular than ever with shoppers at the end of last year, notching a record in global shipments, according to new research. Global smartwatch shipments hit a record 18 million units in the fourth quarter of 2018, a 56 percent increase year-over-year, researcher Strategy Analytics reported Wednesday. For the full year, global shipments reached 45 million units — …

BlackBerry on Wednesday filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Twitter, accusing the social network of illegally using the former phone giant’s mobile messaging technology. Calling Twitter a “relative newcomer,” the lawsuit accuses the microblogging site of co-opting BlackBerry’s technology for use in several services, including the main Twitter app and Twitter Ads, the companies advertising platform. BlackBerry said Twitter’s alleged …

Apple is developing a sleep-monitoring feature for a future version of its Apple Watch, Bloomberg reports. The feature has been in testing for several months and could be added to the Apple Watch by 2020 if functionality results are positive, people familiar with the project told Bloomberg. Fitness bands already offer sleep monitors, but Apple’s presence could be disruptive to …

Google Duo — the web giant’s video chat service — is now available to web users. Google’s answer to Apple’s FaceTime had previously been available only on iOS, Android and Chromebook, but Google on Tuesday began offering it to web-based users, dramatically expanding the number of people who can use the service.   The simple video-calling app was introduced at …

Although LG Electronics announced three new midrange phones a week before the world’s biggest phone show kicked off, it was only once the show began in earnest that we were able to see the phones themselves. The LG Q60, K50 and K40 feature high-end displays and a focus on artificial intelligence. All three will feature LG’s HD+ FullVision display, the …