In Aug 2026, Apple confirmed Hide My Email masked addresses will remain on @icloud.com, undoing its earlier 2026 move to @private.icloud.com after public backlash. The feature was later questioned after a 404 Media spam bug exposed real emails, fixed more than a year later.
WhatsApp announced on August 25, 2026, that it is rolling out several new security features, including stronger two-step verification, support for multiple passkeys, and additional context for calls…
Pie, the social app founded by Bonobos co-founder Andy Dunn, launched a Communities feature on Tuesday, August 26, 2026, giving users permanent digital spaces to organize social groups — a move that…
Google is rolling out Android 17’s Motion Assist in phases in 2026, starting with some Pixel phones, to cut car motion sickness by using accelerometer/gyroscope data to move edge “dots” with vehicle motion. Users can tweak opacity, shapes, colors, and auto-activation via Quick Settings; it mirrors Apple’s Motion Cues (introduced in 2024).
GrapheneOS won’t support Motorola phones until 2027: this year’s Signature and Razr handsets are “very close” but still lack memory tagging and secure element integration. A Mastodon post dated Aug. 24, 2026 says support starts with a Motorola slab flagship, then brings Razr Fold and Razr Ultra, with Razr Ultra the first officially supported flip phone.
TikTok and ByteDance agreed to a $400M DOJ COPPA settlement over claims that the app let millions of children under 13 use it and collect their data without parental consent, including for targeted ads. Reached Aug. 2026 after the DOJ sued in 2024, it mandates tighter age controls and added parent oversight, with no admission—following a $5.7M Musical.ly settlement in 2019.
A federal civil trial in Oakland starting August 2026 has 29 state AGs alleging Meta (Facebook/Instagram) broke COPPA by collecting under-13 data without parental consent and misled users about app operations. California Deputy AG Megan O’Neill claims Meta engineered engagement features; Meta’s Paul Schmidt cites built-in safety tools and raises Section 230.
Google is rolling out a new AI-powered feature for its Discover feed that lets users describe what content they want to see, with changes set to arrive in the Google app within “coming days,” as announced in 2026.
Google announced in August 2026 that it is giving online publishers an embeddable “Preferred Sources” button, allowing readers to designate a site as a favorite directly from that publisher’s own…
Patreon rolled out 30 updates on Aug. 20, 2026, led by iOS Clips that convert videos into downloadable short clips or Quips, plus suggested preview tests from paid videos. It’s overhauling discovery using post-by-post topic, craft, style, and theme, alongside Niches communities and live Q&A.
HiLight Studio by X dev Dhananjay_Tech expands Pixel 11 Pro’s HiLight LED beyond Google’s 2026 defaults—Gemini face-down glow or favorite-call alerts, with only five colors. It adds triggers like Slack keyword notifications, rainbow/wave animations, per-cycle timing/brightness control, and import/export presets, but must be installed via GitHub sideloading (not Play Store).
Bumble ditched its women-first rule for heterosexual matches less than 24 hours after an August 2026 rollout, also stretching replies from 24 to 72 hours. Within a day, users including Robin H., 53, in Orlando reported unwanted messages, and some called it “Yellow Tinder.”
