Google revamps its ad settings to let users disable targeted ads without turning off features like Web & App Activity and YouTube History (Thomas Germain/Gizmodo)

Kyle Barr / Gizmodo:
Malwarebytes: four malicious Android apps from developer Mobile apps Group, which has deployed malware before, remain on Google Play with millions of downloads  —  Google is still failing to catch malicious apps from being listed on its app store, but it seems that some developers …

Florence Ion / Gizmodo:
Google adds tablet-friendly features to Chrome on Android, including a visual tab grid, tab groups, and a side-by-side design  —  The update brings abilities like tabs and a drag-and-drop mode, but it’s for Android tablets only.  —  Alerts  —  Dear Android tablet users, there’s some good news.

Thomas Germain / Gizmodo:
Despite Apple saying that usage data it collects does not include personally identifiable info, researchers say it contains an ID that is unique to the user  —  Your iPhone’s analytics data includes an ID number tied to your name, email, and phone number, say researchers who uncovered other holes in Apple’ promises.

Andrew Liszewski / Gizmodo:
Amazon updates its entry-level Kindle with USB-C, 16GB storage as standard, a blue color option, and improved 300ppi display, available for $100 with ads  —  Amazon’s most basic Kindle still squeaks in at under $100, with some compromises.  —  Alerts  —  If all you really care about is reading …

Thomas Germain / Gizmodo:
Pathmatics: Apple’s Twitter ad purchases grew from $989K in October to $1M+ in November; Elon Musk said Apple “mostly stopped advertising on Twitter” on Nov. 28  —  Musk tweeted that Apple had all but stopped buying ads on Twitter.  The iPhone maker’s ad purchases had actually increased, according to an ad analytics firm.

Andrew Liszewski / Gizmodo:
Disney unveils FRAN, an AI tool that helps TV or film producers make an actor look older or younger without the need for complex and expensive visual effects  —  With just a few clicks, actors can look younger or older without the need for expensive visual effects.  —  Alerts