US Customs says it can search devices but not data stored in the cloud at border

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If you’re entering or exiting the US anytime soon, we have a bit of news for you. Border officials can search your devices with or without probable cause but, according to acting US Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McALeenan, they can’t touch information stored “solely” in the cloud. The quoted word is important here as that means border officials can still look at the information on your phone and check things on your email or social media accounts or even files from your cloud storage apps that are stored on the device itself.

McALeenan revealed these conditions in his reply to Senator Ron Wyden’s letter to Homeland Security about the sudden increase in searches of devices at US’s borders. In February alone, Wyden says, CPB looked through 5,000 devices of travelers, whereas that number was the total for the year 2015. McALeenan says they conduct searches to see if a gadget has things like child pornography or anything that can be considered a threat to the US’s national security. The commissioner has also mentioned that you can refuse to give the password to your personal devices but they also have the right to detain your device and if you aren’t a citizen, then this might mean you get denied entry into the country.

Source: The Verge

Samsung might have ‘accidentally’ unveiled Galaxy Note 8

Samsung knows the power of leaks and teasers so it seems to be banking on the hype surrounding the Galaxy Note 8. We can’t quite say this was an accident on their part though. On Samsung’s official Exynos Twitter account, Samsung tweeted a promotional image of the Exynos 8895—the chipset found in the Galaxy S8 and S8+. But the image we see in the tweet isn’t either device. It shows another smartphone with an Infinity Display and even smaller bezels than the aforementioned flagships. It seems to match the leaked renders and schematics that have been showing up for the new Note device. It’s notable also that Samsung hasn’t taken it down yet or addressed the image even as the Twitterverse is in a frenzy because of it.

Source: Forbes

It’s now easier for Google to find out if an app is asking too much info from you

There are apps on the Play Store that ask way too much information from you. And while Android apps have mostly been developed to entertain and help us with our daily lives, it makes sense they need certain access to certain features—like a camera app needing access to your camera sensor. But sometimes there are other apps that ask too much from its users. For example, what would a coloring book app need with your location and microphone? These can potentially lead to leaking your personal information that you didn’t want others to know. But it’s hard to spot which apps ask too much from its users. However, Google seems to be working on that.

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Android Wear 2.0 finally comes to ASUS ZenWatch 3

ASUS announced that Google Android Wear 2.0 is finally available as an update for the ZenWatch 3 smartwatch. Android Wear 2.0 is the latest version of Google’s smart wearable operating system and offers a variety of new features and enhancements for ZenWatch 3 users.

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