Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

It has been one of the most problematic handset launches ever, but the beleaguered Samsung Galaxy Fold finally has a release date.

Just days after pre-registrations for the folding smartphone went live in the UK, Samsung has started to reveal detail of the release schedule. For some people -- those in Korea specifically -- the Fold launches tomorrow, September 6. The launch for other regions follows in the coming weeks.

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Facebook has announced changes to its facial recognition feature as it rolls out globally. The feature is used to automatically identify and tag people in photographs uploaded to the social network.

Acknowledging concerns about privacy, the company is making it easier to opt out of the "Tag Suggestions" feature which was introduced to a subset of users back in 2017. Now known as Face Recognition, new users will be given the chance to opt out from the word go, while anyone who has (or had) Tag Suggestions enabled will be informed of the change and asked whether it should be on or off.

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After poor reviews, a postponed launch, and something of a redesign, Samsung is readying itself to launch the Galaxy Fold.

If you haven't lost interest -- or faith -- as a result of the problems and delays, Samsung has opened up "pre-registration" once again in the US and UK. While it is not possible to pre-order yet, the move suggests that a launch is imminent, and Samsung promises you can "be the first to see the future".

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macOS users who have been disappointed with the power consumption of Firefox have something to look forward to. Developers say that power usage has been dramatically reduced in the latest nightly build, meaning that when the release goes public, MacBook owners can expect to see a jump in battery life.

There have long been complaints about Firefox Quantum sapping batteries, and now it finally seems as though the problem has been addressed.

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The Like button and its associated counter have become a quick and easy way to judge the popularity of Facebook posts and online content. But now the social network is considering hiding the Like counter.

Reverse engineering of the Facebook app revealed that Facebook is experimenting with the idea of keeping the number of Likes content has a secret, and it comes after the company introduced the same policy on Instagram.

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Zao -- a Chinese face-swapping app with the potential to be used to create deepfakes -- went viral over the weekend, shooting to the top of the App Store download charts. But concerns have been raised not only over the potential for the app to be abused, but also over its privacy policies.

Of particular concern are clauses which grant the developers "free, irrevocable, permanent, transferable, and relicense-able" rights over users' photos. Zao responded by tweaking its privacy policy, but complaints are still flooding in.

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Following the release of KB4512941 for Windows 10 version 1903, users have noticed a huge leap in CPU usage by Cortana.

After installing the cumulative update, the Cortana process SearchUI.exe is making much higher use of the CPU for many people. The problem can arise on systems where Bing Search has been disabled, and a series of workarounds have been suggested while Microsoft works on addressing the problem.

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If you are one of the unfortunate owners of an aluminum Apple Watch Series 2 or Series 3 that has developed cracks, there's some good news: Apple has launched a replacement program which means you may be able to get a new screen free of charge.

Apple has not given details of the number of affected units, but says that it "has determined that, under very rare circumstances, a crack may form along the rounded edge of the screen in aluminum models of an Apple Watch Series 2 or Series 3".

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Jack Dorsey's Twitter account was hacked yesterday, and the hackers -- going by the name of the Chuckle Gang -- proceeded to send racist tweets and made reference to a bomb at Twitter headquarters.

The account of the Twitter CEO was back under control relatively quickly, and the tweets sent out by the hackers were deleted. Twitter has said that its security systems were not compromised in the attack, instead blaming the account hijacking on a "security oversight" by a mobile provider which enabled hackers to take control of a mobile number associated with Dorsey's account.

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Foxit Software has revealed that it "recently" suffered a security breach in which private user data was exposed to unnamed third parties. Those whose account have been affected are being contacted and "encouraged to change their passwords".

The company -- famed for PDF applications such as Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF -- does not say when the incident took place, nor how many users are affected, but it explains that "My Account" section of user accounts was exposed. This includes data such as email addresses, passwords, users' names, phone numbers, company names and IP addresses, but not payment information.

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Bug bounty programs have become a popular way for developers to track down security issues in software, but big pay-outs are not something that every company can afford.

In a bid to keep its Android platform secure, Google has announced that its own bug bounty program is being expanded to include all big Android apps, regardless of who develops them. The company will reward security researchers who find bugs in any app in the Google Play Store with 100 million or more installs.

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Microsoft is due to launch the second edition of its augmented reality headset next month. HoloLens 2 will go on sale in September, according to the executive vice president of the company's artificial intelligence and research group, Harry Shum.

Shum was speaking at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai when he made the revelation, finally bringing to an end speculation about when the device will see the light of day.

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Hackers are using compromised websites to install "monitoring implants" on iPhones, warns a security researcher from Google's Project Zero.

Taking advantage of vulnerabilities in iOS and Safari, hackers are able to target devices running everything from iOS 10 to iOS 12, accessing contacts, images and other data. It is claimed that the practice has been going on for years, and that "simply visiting the hacked site [is] enough for the exploit server to attack your device".
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Following outcry over human "grading" of Siri recordings, Apple has issued an apology and promised that it will no longer retain recordings of interaction with the digital assistant unless given explicit permission.

The company says that "we haven't been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize". Having suspended the human grading of Siri requests, Apple is now making fundamental changes to its privacy policy saying that only Apple employees will be able to listen to recordings, as opposed to contractors, and users will have to opt in for this to happen.

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Fairphone is not a new name in the smartphone market, but it's not one that everyone is aware of. The company has a strong ethical and environmental stance, producing handsets that are gentle on the environment, the people producing them, and are easily repaired.

Now the company has announced the Fairphone 3. Due for release next month, the Android handset is a decent mid-ranger which is likely to attract more interest than its two predecessors. So what's all the fuss about?

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