Imagine if you had a magic map that could show you where all your favorite toys were at any time. Sounds pretty? Well, in Kenya, the government wants to do something similar, but with people’s phones. They plan to use a special code on each phone called an IMEI number to track where all phones are. But even though it might help people find lost phones or stop phone crime, some people are worried this could also be misused. What’s an IMEI Number? Every phone has its own unique code, like a secret name tag, called an IMEI number (say it like “eye-mee”). This code helps identify each...

In a significant development for digital privacy enthusiasts, the Tor Project and Tails have merged their operations, uniting two of the most trusted tools in the fight against online surveillance. This merger, announced this month, combines the power of Tor’s anonymity network with Tails' privacy-focused portable operating system. The goal? To offer a more robust, comprehensive solution for users seeking to protect their digital activities from prying eyes. Why This Merger Matters Tor and Tails have long been go-to tools for activists, journalists, and individuals under oppressive regimes, and privacy sensitive persons. Tor, best known for its anonymizing browser, routes users’ internet traffic through multiple servers to mask their...

A cryptic image posted on John McAfee's Instagram moments after he was reported dead sparked speculation from QAnon conspiracy theorists that the antivirus software entrepreneur had activated a so-called "dead man's switch" to expose the government. John McAfee, 75, was found dead in a Barcelona prison cell hours after a Spanish court agreed to extradite [...]

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the TechCrunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through...