Forbes states that there is no indication that this app can or will "phone home".
Its stated use is for other apps to scan an image they have access to find out what kind of thing it is (known as "classification"). For example, to find out if the picture you've been sent is a dick-pick so the app can blur it.
My understanding is that, if this is implemented correctly (a big 'if') this can be completely safe.
Apps requesting classification could be limited to only classifying files that they already have access to. Remember that android has a concept of "scoped storage" nowadays that let you restrict folder access. If this is the case, well it's no less safe than not having SafetyCore at all. It just saves you space as companies like Signal, WhatsApp etc. no longer need to train and ship their own machine learning models inside their apps, as it becomes a common library / API any app can use.
It could, of course, if implemented incorrectly, allow apps to snoop without asking for file access. I don't know enough to say.
Besides, you think that Google isn't already scanning for things like CSAM? It's been confirmed to be done on platforms like Google Photos well before SafetyCore was introduced, though I've not seen anything about it being done on devices yet (correct me if I'm wrong).
I couldn't actually believe this article was real. Figured it was a comedic post like that previous one about switching to Cyrillic letters in the US .
Very disappointing that Match Group, being effectively a monopoly, doesn't give us the one benefit we would get from it being a monopoly: industry-wide bans.
Normally, you'd need a whole bunch of companies to agree on a universal standard for communicating bans between each other and agreements to stick to it (similar to standards like USB) but here they could just do it. They even collect the information, they just don't act on it.
WD seems to have the most reliable drives of those tested, with Toshiba being a relatively close second
Some models of drives are significantly more likely to fail than others, with some having a ~6% annual failure rate vs another model from the same company at 1%
Seagate had a rough year when it comes to reliability
It's hard to tell if capacity affects drive life as the drives being tested have been in use for different lengths of time
Verbatim is doing more than just keeping the formats on life support – it also unveiled new hardware at CES 2025. Its Slimline Blu-ray Writer lets you back up 4K video to Ultra HD Blu-ray and even comes bundled with antiquated Nero disc burning software.
This is the important part imo, given that LG and Sony both pulled out of the USB Blu-ray reader-writer market
The councils pay landlords for 1 room in a 8+ room house.
In the area I'm thinking of, this costs £900 (or $1100) a month. For comparison,
Council flats (1 person flat) cost £500-600/month
Market rate for apartments is £1000 / month.
I think the absurd rate being charged for abysmal conditions is partially rationalised by the fact that it's paid to those landlords on a daily basis, but it's obviously completely inefficient.
I don't want to go into the horrors of being in a homeless shelter, but it would be better for everyone involved if housing was more accessible.
I know someone who is homeless and sheltering them (in shit conditions) is costing the local council almost twice as much per month as just giving them an apartment.
Janet Petro—the first woman to hold the position since its founding 67 years ago—wrote that diversity programs “divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination,”
In 2021, when she was the director of Kennedy Space Center, she spoke at length in an interview about the value of diversity, saying “our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility has been paramount to mission success.”
The turnaround is giving me whiplash.
There's no begrudging following of the rules, it's wholeheartedly embracing the new regime.
God I wish I could completely deny internet access to some of my apps on stock android. It's obvious why they don't allow it though.