Perplexity has launched a hybrid compute feature for its Computer agentic platform that splits AI tasks between cloud-based frontier models and smaller open-weight models running locally on Apple silicon Macs. Sensitive data is automatically routed to the on-device model via a locally-run 'Privacy Gate' classifier that detects personal information before anything reaches the cloud, without interrupting the task or losing context. The feature launches today for opted-in enterprise customers plus Pro and Max subscribers on Macs running macOS 15 or later.
venturebeat.com
· 2026-09-01
Google Street View publicly displays detailed exterior shots of homes, including house numbers, parked cars, and yard layouts, accessible to anyone who searches an address. Google has long allowed users to request blurring of this imagery, but the feature is hidden deep within Google Maps and rarely used because most people don't know it exists.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-01
Over his 15 years as Apple CEO, Tim Cook navigated increasingly tense relations between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, helping Apple avoid the worst fallout from a US-China trade war while keeping manufacturing operations in China intact. His approach included storing some Chinese user data on mainland servers starting in 2014, complying with Chinese app removal demands, and staging high-profile displays of goodwill with Trump, such as touring a Mac Pro plant together.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-01
Google's Android 17 QPR2 Beta 4 introduces a new 'Data logging' section inside Privacy Dashboard that lets users monitor data leaving the Private Compute Core, the isolated sandbox behind features like Live Caption and Smart Reply. Users can toggle logging on or off, choose between a limited three-day/100MB mode and a more exhaustive 12-hour/100MB detailed mode, and download or delete the resulting log files.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-31
Google's latest Android 17 QPR2 Beta 4 introduces an 'Agents' section under Security & Privacy settings that lists AI agents with access to apps or device actions. The feature isn't limited to Gemini's Spark-created agents and appears designed to track third-party agentic apps as well, though it currently shows no agents until one is installed.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-31
Multiple Reddit users report that Google Messages is inserting old texts from unrelated conversations into new ones, sometimes attaching them to photos or group chats and in some cases actually delivering them to unintended recipients. The bug spans both Pixel and Samsung devices, occurring regardless of whether RCS is enabled, and follows other recent Messages glitches like broken RCS delivery and duplicated threads. Google has acknowledged at least one report and passed it to its engineering team, but no fix has been announced.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-31
A Washington Post review found that transcripts of conversations with ChatGPT and similar chatbots have been used as evidence in a dozen public court cases over the past two years, obtained through phone searches, subpoenas or discovery. In one lawsuit against Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube over alleged social media addiction, defense lawyers accessed the teenage plaintiff's ChatGPT history, including messages about a proposed settlement; the case was later settled or dropped without the transcripts affecting the outcome.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-30
A Wonder Tools newsletter roundup highlights software for private AI chats, offline audio transcription, and secure PDF redaction that all run without sending user data to external servers. The focus is on tools designed so sensitive information stays on the user's own device rather than being uploaded for processing.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-30
A journalist filed over 100 California Consumer Privacy Act data-access requests to major companies, including McDonald's, which returned a 515-page report detailing app behavior and predictive profiling. Many companies mishandled the process—some deleted data instead of disclosing it despite explicit instructions otherwise, while others ignored the contact methods listed in their own privacy policies.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-08-29
Brave has released version 1.94 of its browser with a new Email Aliases feature that lets users create disposable email addresses for signing up to websites, while messages are still forwarded to their real inbox. The feature requires a free Brave Account and works separately from Brave Premium, with up to five aliases available at no cost before a paid tier removes that limit.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-08-29
Secure Justice, an Oakland-based anti-surveillance group, reports that 214 cities and counties have dropped Flock Safety license-plate camera contracts since 2021, with 90 cancellations in August 2026 alone—four times July's total. Communities citing surveillance overreach, data-sharing concerns, cost, and police misuse are ending deals at roughly three per day over the past month. Flock disputes the significance, saying new partnerships have outpaced cancellations 10 to 1 in 2026.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-08-28
A Wall Street Journal report on the rapid expansion of Flock Safety's AI-powered license-plate reading cameras drew sharp reactions from readers, who split between viewing the systems as vital crime-fighting tools and warning they enable mass surveillance. The debate centers on how widely law enforcement and communities are adopting the technology and what oversight, if any, governs its use.
wsj.com
· 2026-08-28
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