Following Trump’s win, new users of encrypted email services double

Donald Trump's election as the 45^th President of the United States seems to have a few people worried. We've all heard about the Immigration Canada website crashing and flocks of protesters lining the streets, but a less well known story has just emerged regarding a massive uptake in new subscribers to encrypted email services since the election result.

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September 13, 2016

Interestingly enough, the story comes from those perennially neutral types in Switzerland, so at the very least a political angle to the story seems out of the question. ProtonMail, the world's largest encrypted email provider, has reported a 100 percent increase in new user sign-ups in the last two days.

According to ProtonMail, the surge of interest likely comes from Democrats wary of a Trump-controlled NSA. Of course, exactly how President Trump plans to utilize the NSA's domestic surveillance capabilities will probably never be fully known, but it seems like at least a few folks are erring on the side of caution.

As outlined in a ProtonMail blog post:

Many of our new users have voiced a few common concerns both on Twitter and also in emails to us. Given Trump's campaign rhetoric against journalists, political enemies, immigrants, and Muslims, there is concern that Trump could use the new tools at his disposal to target certain groups. As the NSA currently operates completely out of the public eye with very little legal oversight, all of this could be done in secret.

Regardless of how you feel about the election result, taking privacy seriously is something we should all be interested in. Whether you have something to hide or not, any warrantless invasion of privacy is an infringement on your Fourth Amendment rights. So if you've found yourself thinking about signing up for an end-to-end encrypted email account, you're apparently not alone.

Do you use an encrypted email service or chat app? Do you plan to?

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The ZTE Axon 7 won’t get Android Nougat until January

If you're proudly rocking the ZTE Axon 7 and have been eagerly awaiting the Android Nougat update – you'd better get comfortable. According to a tweet from ZTE Mobile Germany, the Axon 7 won't be getting Android 7.0 until January 2017. We can only hope that by the time January rolls around, it will have become Android 7.1 instead.

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1 week ago

We can't guarantee that U.S.-based Axon 7s will get the update at the same time as those in Deutschland, but it's a pretty safe bet seeing as there's no carrier-optimization or testing to be done. Here's the tweet from ZTE Mobile DE, which roughly translates as "Android 7.0 is coming, stay tuned! In January there will be an update to Android Nougat for the Axon 7. That's still tasty!".

#Android 7.0 kommt, seid gespannt! Im Januar wird es für das Axon 7 ein Update auf Android Nougat geben. Das ist doch Lecker! #ZTE #Axon7 http://pic.twitter.com/vgQBzA11ET

— ZTE Mobile DE (@ZTE_Mobile_DE) November 10, 2016

ZTE U.S. hasn't tweeted anything to the same effect yet, but we're keeping an eye out for U.S. confirmation. As you likely know if you're reading this, ZTE has been pushing a few updates lately, but the delayed rollout of Nougat is sure to disappoint more than a few folks.

When were you expecting to see Nougat? Did you ever expect it to take until next year?

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SwiftKey adds incognito mode for secret texting

Just as with children, there are occasionally words you'd rather your keyboard didn't learn from you. If this sounds like something that keeps you awake at night, then you'll be elated to hear that the latest SwiftKey update has taken the incognito feature out of beta and into the public release.

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May 2, 2016

Incognito mode is accessed via the hamburger menu at the top left of the keyboard. Simply activate it and SwiftKey will temporarily pay no mind to the cussing, x-rated words or other gutter talk you throw at it. I'm sure it's really designed to avoid having the name of a secret gift show up in the predictive bar when your girlfriend borrows your phone, but yeah, we're all adults here.

The feature arrives as part of the latest update available in Google Play right now. The update also delivers a few new keyboard layouts for you international types, including QWERTZ for Swiss French as well new extended layouts for Swiss German and Swiss Italian.

• Install SwiftKey from Google Play

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Now you can talk to random strangers with Facebook Messenger Rooms

If you've ever felt the need to start chatting with random strangers online, Facebook has a new feature with you in mind. Well, when I say "new" I really mean "old" but in a repackaged new location. Facebook Rooms as a standalone app was killed off back in December last year, but it is now reappearing as a part of Messenger.

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3 days ago

Messenger Rooms is basically a public chat room on whatever topic the creator wants to make the room about. Think of it like Reddit but capped at 250 participants (for now). Rooms can be private as well as public, and Facebook reserves the right to boot any undesirables out if they start playing up, because this is the internet after all.

The feature is designed to avoid hassling your friends about topics they have no interest in, according to Facebook Messenger product manager Drew Moxon:

"Group chats today are focused on people you know — friends and family — and what we've found by talking to users is there's a lot of need for conversations about specific topics.[Rooms] will be for topic-based conversations and so people can talk with others they may not know."

Messenger Rooms are currently being field tested in Canada and Australia, but assuming all goes well, the feature should roll out globally soon. Messenger Rooms were rumored to be on the way a couple of months ago, but this is the fist time we've seen the feature active. If you've got access to Rooms we'd love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

 

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Android-based LTE 4G fixed wireless phone launched in India by Reliance

While Android smartphones are all over the world, the OS can also be used for other types of phones. In India, Reliance Communications has launched such a device, the 4G LTE HomePhone. It's a fixed wireless phone for the home or office that uses Android 5.1 Lollipop.

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3 weeks ago

Reliance says this is the first type of 4G wireless fixed phone to be launched in India. It has a 3.5-inch touch screen, and the phone's support for 4G LTE networks allows it to not only make HD voice calls, but also lets it send out SMS text messages. It can even be used as a Wi-Fi hot spot for up to eight devices in the home or office.

The 4G LTE HomePhone can be used with the new monthly data and call plans from Reliance. The 4G Smart Life monthly plans offer 300 free voice calling minutes, which include local, STD and roaming. Any calls that go over that 300 minute limit will be charged at 40 paise per minute. Prices for the plans begin at Rs. 299 with 2 GB of monthly data and Rs. 499 with 4 GB of data.

What do you think of this new kind of home or office phone that uses a wireless network?

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Deal: Moto 360 Sport for just $119.99, save $160!

The upshot of smartwatches kind of failing to take off is that they are dropping in price left, right and center. The best deal on a smartwatch we've seen in a while has just cropped up on Daily Steals: a Moto 360 Sport for $160 off.

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2 days ago

You've got three days from the date of this post to pick up the smartwatch on sale. The Moto 360 Sport features a 1.37-inch IPS LCD with 320 x 325 pixels. It has an IP67 water-resistant rating and follows the standard smartwatch spec soup recipe: Snapdragon 400, 4 GB of storage and 512 MB of RAM.

The Moto 360 Sport also has GPS, a heart-rate monitor, replaceable silicone band and 300 mAh battery. Although Motorola hasn't confirmed the Moto 360 Sport will receive the Android Wear 2.0 update when Google rolls it out next year, it's a pretty safe bet that it will.

• Buy the Moto 360 Sport for $120 from Daily Steals

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Verizon delays shipping of the 128 GB Pixel

Nice one Verizon: fans of the Google Pixel phone are reporting multiple shipping delays, with some folks apparently not due to receive their devices before mid-December. One reader submitted an email from Verizon to Phone Arena, sent on the day he was expecting to receive his 128 GB Pixel, only to find out that shipping has been delayed by another two weeks.

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16 hours ago

We already knew that Google is experiencing higher than expected demand for the first Google-branded phone. There have also been various Reddit threads tracking delivery status and wait times for various Pixel models. But the comments section on the post by Phone Arena already has more than a few tales of delayed Verizon-exclusive Pixels.

Phone Arena

One reader reports an order date of November 1st with an expected shipping date of December 15. Another commenter ordered a pixel on October 22 and has been told not to expect it to be shipped "until November 28 or later". Another reader pre-ordered the Pixel in mid-October and won't receive his until December 2.

Has your Pixel order been delayed? Share your experience in the comments below.

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