Spotify has launched a lightweight version of its music streaming app so you don’t have to worry about hitting data limits as you stream. The 10 MB Spotify Lite app is designed for older devices and operating systems, and it’s coming to 36 countries. People with free and Premium Spotify accounts can download the app …

Google announced Monday that people could join beta testing for its new version of Messages, the texting app that comes standard with Android phones. In less than a day, the program reached capacity. If you try to join the beta program now, you’ll see this note from Google: “Thanks for your interest in becoming a tester for the Messages app. …

State databases of driver’s licenses have reportedly become a treasure trove for facial recognition searches by the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Millions of Americans’ license photos have been scanned without their knowledge or consent, The Washington Post reported Sunday. The Post based its article on five years of documents provided by Georgetown Law researchers.  In a related report …

The end came quietly, slipped in with a series of back-to-school announcements about better screens and lower prices for the MacBook Air, and, uh, more Touch Bars for the MacBook Pro. No formal announcement was made in the jargon-filled press release letting us know that the entry-level Pro now features “Touch Bar and Touch ID, a True Tone Retina display …

Google has announced that YouTube, YouTube TV and YouTube Kids apps are now available on Amazon’s Fire TV streamers and TVs worldwide, after 18 months of hostility and user workarounds.  The companies announced the truce back in April, which also includes the ability for Amazon Prime Video apps to connect to Google Chromecast streamers and Android TV from today.  The official …

Sony’s finally delivering a fast 35mm lens unto the full-frame faithful. It’s a compact, midpriced f1.8 option optimized for both still and video shooting and designed to be a high-end choice for APS-C cameras as well as full-frame models. To date, Sony’s only in-house fast 35mm lenses have been for APS-C cameras.  The $750 lens enters preorders today and is …

The US Federal Communications Commission will be deciding next month whether to expand 911 location tracking to other calling platforms such as VoIP. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday that street address, floor number and suite number should be conveyed via all emergency calls. Pai has produced draft rules that would see “dispatchable location” information provided to emergency responders “regardless of the technological …

Microsoft has denied that it’ll be moving production of its tech products out of China, following a report that the rising US-China trade tensions had spurred the potential move. Last week, the Nikkei Asian Review said Microsoft, along with Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sony, Nintendo, Asus and Lenovo, would start manufacturing products in other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia …

President Donald Trump will have to lay off the block button on Twitter. A federal court has ruled that the leader of the US can’t block users on the social network, because it’s a public forum. The unanimous decision by the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirms the ruling made by the US District Court for the Southern …

Using Google‘s Chrome browser to buy things just got easier with an update that skips over a step to autofill your credit or debit card digits directly into the purchase page. Before, you could use only Chrome’s extremely convenient autofill feature if you turned on Chrome Sync in the browser. Now, Google lets you sidestep Chrome Sync. As long as you’re signed in …

I’m no audiophile, which is why I generally decline to pay a premium for things like speakers and headphones. That said, when I can get a premium product at a hefty discount, my ears prick up. (See what I did there?) Read more: The best Bluetooth speakers for 2019 Here’s one such premium product and one such hefty discount: For …

Zoom is rolling out a patch Tuesday after a security flaw allowed websites to join users to video calls without permission. As part of the patch, the company will completely remove the local web server on Mac devices. The security flaw, which security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh flagged in a Medium post on Monday, also activated Mac webcams without permission. Zoom will stop …

Facebook aims to double the percentage of women working at the social network around the world over the next five years, while simultaneously doubling the number of black and Hispanic employees in the US. The company stated the goals in a Tuesday blog post about its diversity efforts that showed the percentage of women in Facebook’s ranks had inched higher …

Amazon has taken another step toward providing global broadband internet from space through its Project Kuiper. The company filed paperwork with the US government to launch the thousands of satellites needed for the plan. Amazon submitted its application with the FCC for Project Kuiper on July 4.  The internet heavyweight asked the commission for permission to “launch and operate a …

Facebook’s newly announced cryptocurrency Libra is facing more pushback, this time reportedly from the Indian government. India, the third-largest economy in Asia, is considering not allowing the currency to be traded at all, according to a Bloomberg report Monday. In April 2018, all entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India were banned from dealing in cryptocurrencies and virtual coins, although …