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Apple has removed Eyes Up, an app that collects and archives videos of Immigration Customs and Enforcement arrests, 404 Media reports. The app’s removal follows similar action taken against ICEBlock last week, an app that tracks ICE activity in an attempt to offer real-time alerts of when and where arrests are happening. Unlike ICEBlock, though, Eyes Up’s main purpose is to serve as an archive, not a tool for eluding government agents.

The app, which is still available via the web and the Google Play Store, archives videos of ICE arrests from a variety of different sources, and plots them on an interactive map. Users can submit their own videos for inclusion, and tap or click on individual map pins to view videos and download them for later use. “Our goal is government accountability, we aren’t even doing real-time tracking,” an Eyes Up administrator told 404 Media. Ultimately, saved videos could prove useful in court, especially in response to possible ICE misconduct.

Apple says it removed Eyes Up because it violated the company’s policy around “objectionable content,” according to the report, and because it received information from law enforcement that the app is used “to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group.”

Engadget has contacted Apple for more information on Eyes Up’s removal from the App Store. We’ll update this article if we hear back.

Apple reportedly received similar information to spur the removal of ICEBlock from the App Store, including a direct request from Attorney General Pam Bondi, Fox Business reports. The fact that Eyes Up was also removed suggests that Apple is casting a wider net than just banning apps that help pinpoint the location of ICE activity.

Google has been removing similar apps on the Play Store, too. The company pulled an app called Red Dot that also plotted ICE activity on a map, one of several apps that were removed because they shared the location of a “vulnerable group.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-removed-an-app-that-archives-videos-of-ice-arrests-212946540.html?src=rss 

Earlier this year,Texas passed a law requiring app stores to verify the ages of their users. Now, Apple has shared more about how it plans to comply with requirements, which are slated to go into effect next year.

Beginning January 1, 2026, people in Texas creating new Apple accounts will need to verify that they are over the age of 18, Apple said. And anyone under 18 will be required to link their account to a parent or guardian’s via the company’s Family Sharing settings. Parents will then be prompted to approve all of their child’s downloads, in-app purchases and other transactions. 

While Apple didn’t explain exactly how it will conduct age verification, the company noted that developers will also need to make changes in order to comply with the Texas law. The company is working on new developer tools so app makers can implement parental consent requirements and other age-restricted features. 

The Declared Age Range API is available to implement now, and will be updated in the coming months to provide the required age categories for new account users in Texas. And new APIs launching later this year will enable developers, when they determine a significant change is made to their app, to invoke a system experience to allow the user to request that parental consent be re-obtained. Additionally, parents will be able to revoke consent for a minor continuing to use an app. More details, including additional technical documentation, will be released later this fall.

Apple had opposed the law and CEO Tim Cook personally lobbied Texas Governor Greg Abbott to veto the measure. In its latest update, the company made clear that it still isn’t enthusiastic about Texas’ approach. “While we share the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores,” Apple said in its note to developers. 

Though Texas’ age verification law for app stores  will be the first to take, it isn’t the only state to implement such requirements. Utah and Louisiana have also passed laws requiring app stores to conduct age verification checks. Those measures will also take effect in 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-explains-how-it-will-comply-with-app-store-age-verification-requirements-in-texas-185934469.html?src=rss 

Over a year after former Twitter executives sued Elon Musk for around $128 million in unpaid severance benefits, both parties have agreed to settle for an undisclosed amount. The settlement is dependent on “certain conditions” being met in the near term, according to a new filing in the Northern District Court of California, but will postpone existing deadlines in the case so Musk can fulfill his obligations.

Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sean Edgett originally sued Musk for millions of dollars of unpaid severance benefits in 2024. The justification for their lawsuit was made clear in Walter Isaacson’s account of the Twitter acquisition: Musk closed the $44 billion deal early and fired the executives in an attempt to avoid paying out their severance and vested stock options. The executives naturally sued, and now appear to be receiving some amount of what they’re owed.

The whole lawsuit likely wouldn’t have happened if Musk hadn’t originally tried to back out of his acquisition of Twitter, which the company later forced to happen through an extended legal battle. The early days of Musk’s ownership of the social network were characterized by drastic cost saving measures as a result, including mass layoffs and the decision to just not pay rent for some of the company’s offices.

Finally settling this lawsuit closes the book on that original Twitter saga, with a dismissal of the lawsuit the only real missing milestone. If for whatever reason Musk and X are not able to meet the terms of the settlement, the case will continue on October 31.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/elon-musk-and-former-twitter-execs-agree-to-settle-128-million-lawsuit-181915972.html?src=rss 

Tag Heuer has announced its latest luxury smartwatch, the Connected Calibre E5, and it comes complete with a partnership with sneaker maker New Balance on a particularly sporty version. The biggest selling point here is likely the design. This is a snazzy-looking watch, with a bright purple and green color scheme that is reminiscent of Unit-01 from Evangelion.

The exterior is coated in Grade 2 titanium and the watch ships with a flexible strap that’s also been inspired by New Balance sneakers. Tag Heuer promises “outdoor-readable screens” and full compatibility with iOS devices. It offers dual-band GPS and a battery that lasts a day and a half per charge. The watchmakers say it can charge from dead to 100 percent in just 90 minutes.

It comes with a Snapdragon 5100+ chip, an AMOLED display and plenty of sensors to track health and fitness. These include a heart rate monitor, a steps counter, a blood oxygen saturation monitor and a sleep tracker, among other sensors.

The only potential downside? The smartwatch runs via a brand-new, untested OS. It comes with a bunch of New Balance training plans preloaded, including options for marathons and 10K races. The companies also promise “gamified prompts” and post-run graphs that “transform data into clarity.”

The watch costs over $2,000, which is an extraordinary asking price but not far off from other Tag Heuer products. In addition to the New Balance Edition, the company is offering the smartwatch in a variety of case materials and strap combos, some of which get the price down to $1,600. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/tag-heuer-made-a-smartwatch-with-new-balance-183614594.html?src=rss 

Google recently started letting you try on clothes from the comfort of your home by uploading a photo and letting AI take care of the rest — and if you’re in the US, you can now do the same thing with shoes. Fortunately, the process isn’t nearly as creepy as Google needing a close-up of your bare feet. Rather, when you’re browsing shoes, you tap the pair you want to try on and upload a full-length photo of yourself in any old outfit.

Google will then swap out whatever shoes you’re wearing in the original photo for the ones you’re interested in buying, so you can see how they look with a particular outfit. For the best results, it advises that you stick to solo photos in which you’re standing upright, with good lighting and a background that isn’t too busy. Your clothing shouldn’t be too baggy either. And naturally, Google warns to only use photos of yourself or those you have permission to use from someone else. It won’t accept photos of children, either.

Google points out that the image it generates is designed to help you see how an item might look, but doesn’t guarantee that it’ll actually fit you in real life. It’s an approximation, then, rather than an image that perfectly takes into account your body shape and personal features. This is probably more of a catch when you’re for clothes than shoes, though. Just don’t walk into a store and blame Google when the sneakers you tried on virtually aren’t manufactured in your real-world size.

Google says that no biometric data from the photo you upload is collected or stored, nor will it use the image for training purposes. It won’t share it with other Google apps or third parties either, but you can delete both the original photo and any generated images if you’d rather not let it hang onto them.

Google has been gradually improving the capabilities of its AI as a virtual shopping assistant. When you use AI Mode to help you find a particular item now, such as a pair of jeans, you can make more specific queries about their style and ask follow-up questions to the chatbot to narrow down the visual results further.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-wants-to-see-your-feet-for-virtual-shopping-purposes-165446054.html?src=rss