Facebook’s latest scandal is one that’s been lingering in the shadows for years: if you used Facebook for Android, chances are you allowed the app to collect your SMS text logs and call history. Although Facebook has never technically obfuscated the fact that it collects your message logs and call data, the extent of its …
Among the dozens of exciting ways to get hacked these days, none are more dangerous than the SIM port-out. Consumers have increasingly started using two-factor authentication to secure everything from Facebook to bank accounts, and often the 2FA security code is sent via a text message. So criminals are following the system, and persuading cell …
Google just came out with a couple of announcements outlining its plans for this year’s Mobile World Congress. One of them was dedicated to RCS, an acronym you may have spotted in plenty of tech stories recently, especially the ones related to instant messaging. RCS is short for Rich Communication Services, which is Google’s way …
Given recent news that popular online anonymity tool Tor might not be as completely secure as many of us had assumed, we were intrigued to see that some researchers at MIT are now claiming that they’ve created a way to send completely “untraceable” text messages. A team at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has …
Facebook’s purchase of WhatsApp does a good job of showing just how much the wireless carriers failed to capitalize on messaging. It was their game to lose, with SMS built in as the default messaging client on just about every phone. If they had drastically lowered their prices, they could be where WhatsApp is today. …
Despite the massive popularity of Facebook (FB), WhatsApp and other alternative messaging methods, preliminary global SMS volume figures for Christmas show surprising vigor in 2012. In Belgium, KPN customers delivered a 15% increase in Christmas text-messaging volume. This is particularly interesting since nearby Netherlands is practically ground zero for steep SMS volume decline. Mobistar also …
In late July, top Dutch carrier KPN (KPN) reported another grim quarter and slashed its dividend from €0.50 to €0.35. The carrier once again cited steep erosion in text-messaging volumes as a drag on sales and earnings. SMS has been a goldmine for operators over the past decade because the simple mobile phone messaging service …
Vonage on Wednesday unveiled a new mobile app for the iPhone and Android smartphones that affords free calling and messaging along with cheap international calling rates. Vonage Mobile allows users to make free “high-definition” voice over IP calls among each other over Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G data connections, and low-cost calls can also be placed …
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has fined Nokia for sending spam-filled text messages to its customers. Nokia had been sending messages with tips on how customers could take advantage of their phones’ features, Reuters said Tuesday, but the government agreed Nokia should allow its customers to opt out of receiving the messages. “Some businesses are still not …
The most popular and successful multi-device communication platform is without question WhatsApp. More of a text messaging replacement than straight BlackBerry Messenger competitor, WhatsApp has been the number one service people rely on to communicate across iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone devices. We were sent a preview copy of the new version of WhatsApp for BlackBerry …
