Developers at Mysk claim Apple’s anonymous usage data for some of its in-house apps includes a Directory Services Identifier (DSID) uniquely linked to your Apple ID and iCloud data. Mysk notes that Apple’s tool to prevent third-party app tracking debuted in iOS 14.5, so this shouldn’t affect other software you use on your devices. For example, the developers noted your behavior when browsing apps in the iPhone’s App Store is sent to Apple with this ID. As Gizmodo also notes, Apple encrypts the usage data so isn’t necessarily processing personal and general info together.
Apple continues to draw a lot of attention to its privacy policies, as it has used them to differentiate its hardware from rivals. You might remember the “what happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone” ads that appeared in Las Vegas at CES one year. We’re still waiting to hear from Apple.
– Mat Smith
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The biggest stories you might have missed
Twitter is reportedly hiring again
Blue Verified won’t be coming back until Twitter can stop impersonation.
Twitter won’t be firing and laying off more people, Elon Musk apparently told remaining staff during an all-hands meeting. According to The Verge, which heard a partial recording of the event, the company is even actively looking for people to fill roles in engineering and sales.
Musk announced during the meeting that Twitter might not be relaunching paid verification for a while. It had to pause its $8-a-month Blue subscription with verification shortly after it was launched due to a steep rise in impersonation and fake accounts. The service won’t return until Twitter is confident it can stop impersonation.
Ubisoft will release games on Steam again, starting with ‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’
Including the free-to-play ‘Roller Champions.’
Ubisoft will bring its games to Steam again nearly four years after it turned its attention to the Epic Games Store and its own games launcher. First up is one of the publisher’s biggest games of the last few years, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which will be available on Steam on December 6th. City builder Anno 1800 and the free-to-play Roller Champions will hit Steam at a later date. It might be a good time to start Valhalla: Ubisoft will release the game’s last content update on December 6th, concluding Eivor’s story.
The best gifts for gamers in 2022
Without buying a game they may already own.
Picking a gift for someone who loves gaming can be tough. New games appear all the time: Do they already have this game? Have they already played that game? To save you some trouble (and some refunds), these gifts are a bit different but should be appreciated all the same. You may also find something to pique your interest.
NASA’s Orion crew vehicle successfully completes Moon flyby
The Artemis 1 spacecraft was just 81 miles above the lunar surface.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft has successfully completed one of the key maneuvers of its maiden journey: a flyby of the Moon during which it got as close as 81 miles to the lunar surface. The flyby burn was one of two necessary maneuvers for Orion to enter its retrograde orbit around the Moon. Next up is the distant retrograde orbit insertion burn, which is slated to take place this Friday. Orion will remain in this orbit to test various systems, including guidance, navigation, communication, power and thermal control.