As many parents have struggled with childcare issues during the pandemic, a number of tech firms have been offering solutions.
Richard Conway says that many people were not convinced by his idea for "virtual nannies" - whereby the child…
Japan plans to boost its tumbling birth rate by funding artificial intelligence matchmaking schemes to help residents find love.
From next year it will subsidise local governments already running or starting projects that use AI to pair…
China has removed 105 apps from its app stores as part of a campaign to get rid of content related to pornography, prostitution, gambling and violence.
Most of the banned apps are Chinese but US travel app TripAdvisor is also included o…
Encryption of online messages could make it harder to police child abuse and grooming online, the children's commissioner for England has warned.
End-to-end encryption is a privacy feature that makes it impossible for anyone except the …
After a year-long due diligence process, EOH, a JSE-listed technology services firm, through its IT services company, iOCO, has chosen to extend its partnership with Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurit…
Google Maps is getting a new update that lets you create Street View photos using just a phone. Android users with ARCore-compatible devices can now capture imagery and publish it to Google Street View in certain areas. Google is allowing …
Samsung is starting to roll out updates to Android 11 and One UI 3.0, its customized interface, to some of its latest phones. The first up are Galaxy S20 series devices in the US, Korea, and most of Europe, which will start receiving updat…
Android Auto, the Google-powered software system for cars, is expanding to dozens of new markets around the world, the company announced. In the coming months, Android Auto will be available in 36 additional countries, including much of Ea…
Amazon is testing a new feature for its iOS Alexa app: the ability to type out Alexa commands, instead of having to ask questions or requests by speaking out loud.
“Type with Alexa is a Public Preview feature available to iOS Alexa app …
Razer released its first set of true wireless earbuds in 2019, with the main appeal being a low-latency mode that made them better suited for mobile gaming. Now, the company is ready with its second pair, the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro, …
Slack’s life as an underdog darling of Silicon Valley ended on November 2nd, 2016. That’s when the upstart communication startup published an open letter to Microsoft in The New York Times, offering the tech giant an insincere “welcome” to…
Remember the first folding phone? No, not Samsung’s ill-fated original Galaxy Fold — the one that beat it to market. In hindsight, and honestly in foresight back then as well, Royole’s FlexPai was a hurried attention grab that existed sole…
Twitter is shutting down its experimental app twttr, which the company had used publicly to prototype new features back in 2019. The app was first introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2019, then launched to testers that M…
Fintech startup Stripe has announced an ambitious new product today called Stripe Treasury. The company is partnering with banks to offer a banking-as-a-service API. In other words, Stripe clients will be able to provide bank accounts to t…
Online shoppers are being warned of the risks of cyber-fraud during the festive season.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) - part of GCHQ - is launching a major campaign called Cyber Aware with its first ever TV ads.
It says o…
Facebook says it will start removing false claims about Covid-19 vaccines to prevent "imminent physical harm".
The company says it is accelerating its plans to ban misleading and false information on its Facebook and Instagram platforms…
Like most of us, Hannah Lawson-West has a regular night-time routine.
Unlike most of us though, hers involves carrying out thousands of complex scientific calculations to help fight Covid-19.
This is how it works: Hannah heads to bed…
Odeon owner AMC is in "urgent talks" with Warner Bros after the film maker said all releases would be available to stream instantly in the US.
The move will enable film fans to watch the forthcoming sci-fi epic Dune and the Matrix seque…
Bitcoin has grabbed headlines this week with its dizzying ascent to an all-time high. Yet, under the radar, a trend has been playing out that could change the face of the cryptocurrency market: a massive flow of coin to North America from …
China has pledged that it would be sharing its COVID-19 vaccines with other countries, especially those with which it has close ties. While the country is not ready to deploy its vaccines internationally, it is gearing up the infrastructur…
Web Summit announced today that it will revive RISE, one of Asia’s largest tech conferences, in March 2022, moving it to Kuala Lumpur after five years in Hong Kong. It also announced a new event, called Web Summit Tokyo, that will launch i…
Hundreds of thousands of people will have access to hyper-fast broadband after Virgin Media said it would bring its gigabit service to Wales.
The service will be available to people in parts of Cardiff and some nearby counties in south-…
Researchers have revealed a flaw that allowed Apple iPhones to be hacked from afar without the owner doing anything.
Usually, smartphone hacks rely on user error - by clicking on a suspicious link, opening a message or downloading a mal…
Streaming a television show in standard definition can shave a little off your carbon emissions, a report from scientists at the UK's Royal Society says.
HD video streaming on a phone generates about eight times more in emissions than s…
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would veto the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act unless it includes a measure eliminating a federal law protecting tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter.
“If the very da…
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group said on Wednesday it will introduce an electric vehicle-only platform early next year that will use its own battery technology to cut production time and costs.
The plan underscores efforts by the world…
Spotify is today launching its 2020 Wrapped personalized experience — the company’s popular year-end review of users’ favorite artists, songs, genres, and podcasts. This year, however, Spotify is making a few changes. For starters, Wrapped…
Salesforce has agreed to buy workplace messaging app Slack for $27.7bn (£20bn) in what would be one of the biggest tech mergers in recent years.
Marc Benioff, boss of the business software giant, called the deal a "match mad…
Some of the world's most popular singers have had their Spotify pages defaced by a hacker who posted messages about Donald Trump and Taylor Swift.
On Wednesday, artists including Lana Del Rey and Dua Lipa had their biograph…
China unveiled draft guidelines on Tuesday seeking to limit the scope of mobile apps’ collection of personal data in the latest attempt to curb the sprawling technology sector.
The set of draft rules published by the Cyberspace Administ…
China has introduced tough new laws which restrict the export of "controlled items".
The rules primarily focus on the export of military technologies and other products that might harm China's national security.
T…
Facebook Inc’s independent Oversight Board announced on Tuesday the first six cases where it could overrule the social media company’s decisions to remove certain pieces of content from its platforms.
The board, which Facebook crea…
Video conferencing company Zoom has said annual sales will be even higher than expected as the pandemic drives demand for its software.
The California firm said revenue could hit more than $2.5bn (£1.9bn) - more than twice w…
Bitcoin has traded at its highest value to date, reaching $19,920.53 (£14,821) according to data-provider Coindesk.
It took the virtual currency nearly three years to top its previous record, when it peaked about $137 lower.…
Tesla Inc has obtained permission to start selling its Shanghai-made Model Y sports utility vehicle in China.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published the approval on its website on Monday.
Tesla, now sells its M…
British telecommunications firms must not install new Huawei 5G kit after September 2021, the government said on Monday, as part of a plan to purge the Chinese firm’s equipment from high-speed mobile networks.
Britain has already o…
Apple’s marketing of iPhones as ‘water resistant’ without clarifying the limits of the feature and also having a warranty that excludes cover for damage by liquids has got the company into hot water in Italy.
The Italian competition au…
Even in a normal year, the holidays can be an anxiety-inducing hellscape. In 2020, though — honestly, it’s hard to say what manner of climactic finale this historically rough year might have on tap. In honor of one of the most epically rot…
Sweden’s Ericsson on Monday raised its global forecast for 5G mobile subscriptions to 220 million by the end of this year, citing faster than expected uptake in China.
The telecoms equipment maker, which had previously forecast 190 mil…
Abu Dhabi’s biggest sovereign fund is in talks with U.S. firm KKR to invest in Telecom Italia’s (TIM) last-mile network in a deal that has drawn scrutiny from Italy’s government, three sources close to the matter told Reuters.
Rome typi…
It’s a good time to buy a pair of true wireless earbuds. Whether your top priority is sound quality, comfort, battery life, voice call quality, or noise cancellation, the current field of products is full of great options. I’ve spent a lot…
You might not see it each time you make a purchase, but online shopping takes up a lot of space in the real world. The number of warehouses built to keep e-commerce running smoothly is growing quickly, and they’re creeping closer to neighb…
Tesla has issued recall orders for 9,537 of its vehicles in the US, including 9,136 Model Xs from 2016 and 401 Model Ys from 2020, Reuters reports. The issues were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and T…
Xiaomi’s budget sub-brand Redmi has never released a smartwatch before, and its first entry turns out to be what you’d expect: a pretty uninspiring design at a pretty attractive price. The Redmi Watch just launched in China for 299 yuan, o…
Ikea has rolled out scene support in the latest Home Smart software update. Owners of Ikea Tradfri Gateways running the new 1.12.31 firmware can now configure scenes to control several Home Smart products at once, like Ikea smart lights, S…
A timeline of the app's growing popularity in the United States amid increasing government scrutiny
TikTok’s rise in the West is unprecedented for any Chinese tech company, and so is the amount of attention it has attracted from politic…
A new report by European consumer protection umbrella group Beuc, reflecting on the barriers to effective cross-border enforcement of the EU’s flagship data protection framework, makes awkward reading for the regional lawmakers and regulat…
There’s no lack of news these days on China’s tech giants teaming up with traditional carmakers. Companies from Alibaba to Huawei are striving to become relevant in the trillion-dollar auto industry, which itself is seeking an electric tra…
Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it would spend more than $500 million on one-time bonuses for its front-line employees in the United States who are working the holiday season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Full-time operations staff in the…
Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency is readying to launch as early as January, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing three unidentified people involved in the project.
The Geneva-based Libra Association that will issue and govern L…