What does Tim Hortons think your data is worth? A coffee and donut, apparently

Business sign of a Tim Horton’s cafeteria. | Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images

Tim Hortons, the Canadian fast food chain accused of using its mobile app to collect “vast amounts of sensitive location data” in violation of Canadian privacy laws, says it’s reached a proposed settlement in the resulting class action lawsuits, Vice reports. To make up for tracking users, recording their movements “every few minutes” even when the app was closed, the chain is proposing to give affected users… a free hot beverage and a free baked good worth a little under $9 CAD plus tax.

Customers started receiving emails detailing the proposed settlement on Friday, and screenshots were posted to Twitter by James McLeod. “You are receiving this email in connection with a proposed settlement, subject to Court approval, of a national...

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Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols dies at age 89

Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura in Star Trek. | Photo by Fotos International/Courtesy of Getty Images

Nichelle Nichols, who was best known for her groundbreaking role as Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek series, died at age 89. Her son, Kyle Johnson, informed her fans in a post on Nichols’ Instagram account.

“Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away,” Johnson writes. “Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration.”

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A post shared by Nichelle Nichols (@nichellenicholsofficial)

Nichols was born on December 28th, 1932 in Robbins, Illinois. Before joining the cast of Star Trek, Nichols toured with jazz artist Duke...

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A TikTok Music app could challenge Spotify and Apple

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Considering how intertwined music discovery is with TikTok, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the company launched a music streaming app of its own. Well, patent filings uncovered by Insider suggest TikTok’s working on just that.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for “TikTok Music” in May. According to the filing, the service would let users purchase, play, share, and download music. It would also allow users to create, share, and recommend playlists, comment on music, as well as livestream audio and video. ByteDance already filed for a “TikTok Music” trademark in Australia last November.

ByteDance already has experience with music streaming. In 2020, ByteDance...

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The Pixel 6A is getting an immediate update to make sure it’s moddable

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Just days after the Pixel 6A’s launch, Google’s rolling out an update to fix an issue preventing users from unlocking the bootloader and performing mods, according to a report from Android Police. The change is bundled within the Pixel 6A’s first update, which Google just started releasing last week.

In short, a bootloader is a piece of software that loads the operating system (OS) on a device when it turns on. Gaining access to the bootloader on Android can give you full control over your OS in a process known as rooting. It also allows you to install modded versions of Android, called ROMs. While some phone-makers and carriers don’t let you unlock your device’s bootloader, Google does things differently. It lets you dive right in on...

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The next Tomb Raider film will feature a new Lara Croft

Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in MGM’s 2018 Tomb Raider. | Image: Warner Bros

Tomb Raider’s movie rights are up for grabs. According to a report from TheWrap, the Amazon-owned MGM waited too long to create a sequel to its 2018 Tomb Raider film, freeing up the rights for the next Hollywood studio that wants to take a stab at creating an adaption of the long-running video game franchise.

Several studios are currently engaged in a bidding war to snap up the Tomb Raider rights, TheWrap reports. And since the license come with no obligation to retain the same cast and crew, the next Tomb Raider film could be a total reboot that passes the Lara Croft baton to yet another actress.

The 2018 Tomb Raider stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, and was met with mixed reviews that criticized its weak portrayal of the series’...

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This app does only one thing: splitting meal bills

There’s a lot to be said for an app with one singular function, and that’s what makes the Tab app so magical. Unlike other bill splitting apps like Splitwise, which lets you split and track any type of expense, the Tab app exists to only split meal bills among a group of people. That’s it — that’s all it does.

I was first introduced to the app by my friends when I lived in New York City. After many dinners and debates over who ordered an extra side of fries, who got three beers instead of two, and who just had an hors d’oeuvre in place of an entree, we were fed up with doing basic math so the five or six people at the table could each pay their fair share. Thus, we transitioned to the Tab app. Its appeal came from the ease of signing up...

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The best instant photo printer you can buy right now

Whether you want the best photo quality or ultra-portability, there’s a printer for you.

The little prints

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Today I learned about an easy way to share files between Mac apps

No Finder required.

Apple has made macOS very good at handling drag and drops. For example, I often pull a picture right out of the Photos app or Safari and drop it into iMessage or Slack. One thing that’s always slowed me down, though, is moving around more traditional files, like PDFs or other documents.

But then I learned that quite a few apps, including many of the built-in ones, have a quick shortcut to get at the file you’re viewing. Using this shortcut (which is officially called the proxy icon), you can easily do things like upload a PDF you have open in Preview to Google Drive without having to go looking for the file in Finder. Here’s how it works:

GIF of someone dragging a file from Preview to a Safari window with Google Drive....

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Netflix sues creators behind The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical following sold-out show

Image: Liam Daniel / Netflix

Netflix is suing Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the duo behind The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical over copyright infringement, as first reported by Deadline. The streaming giant filed the complaint in a Washington, DC district court just days after Barlow and Bear held a live, sold-out show dedicated to their Bridgerton-inspired album.

After Bridgerton’s 2020 debut, Barlow and Bear began creating music based on the Netflix original series and promoting the endeavor on TikTok, where it quickly gained popularity. As fans requested more content, Barlow and Bear soon had enough to create a 15-song album that went on to win a Grammy in April, a first for music originating on TikTok. On July 26th, Barlow and Bear held a concert at the Kennedy...

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China’s uncontrolled rocket crashes over the Indian Ocean

A Long March 5B rocket with the Wentian lab module lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site. | Photo by Yang Guanyu/Xinhua via Getty Images

China’s uncontrolled Long March 5B rocket reentered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, landing somewhere near Sarawak, the Malaysian state on the island of Borneo.

The US Space Command confirmed the rocket’s reentry at 12:45PM ET, but it remains unclear where its debris landed. In a translated post on Weibo, China’s Manned Space Agency said the rocket reentered near the same area, and that most of it burned up on its way down.

Uncertainty about where the rocket would land rippled across the globe

On July 24th, China used a Long March 5B rocket to launch a lab module to its unfinished Tiangong space station. Unlike most rockets, the Long March 5B thrusts its first stage into orbit when delivering its payload. This piece, which...

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Indonesia bans access to Steam, Epic Games, PayPal, and more

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Indonesian government has blocked access to a range of online services, including Steam, Epic Games, PayPal, and Yahoo after the companies failed to comply with a new requirement related to the country’s restrictive content moderation laws, as reported earlier by Reuters.

In line with the rules, companies deemed “Private Electronic System Providers” must register with the government’s database to operate in the country, or otherwise face a nationwide ban. Indonesia gave companies until July 27th to comply and has since banned those that haven’t.

The requirement is part of an overarching law, called MR5

The requirement is part of an overarching law, called MR5, which was first introduced in 2020. As noted by Reuters, the laws give...

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The Google Pixel’s squeeze for assistant was a button without a button

Putting essential features at your fingertips is good, actually. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The Pixel 2 is an almost five-year-old phone, but it introduced a feature that I miss more and more with each passing year. It was called Active Edge, and it let you summon Google Assistant just by giving your phone a squeeze. In some ways, it’s an unusual idea. But it effectively gave you something sorely lacking on modern phones: a way to physically interact with the phone to just get something done.

Looking at the sides of the Pixel 2 and 2 XL, you won’t see anything to indicate that you’re holding anything special. Sure, there’s a power button and volume rocker, but otherwise, the sides are sparse. Give the phone’s bare edges a good squeeze, though, and a subtle vibration and animation will play, as Google Assistant pops up from the...

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Google’s latest multiplayer Doodle lets you play a round of pétanque with your friends

A screenshot from Google’s pétanque Doodle. | Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge

Google has a delightful new multiplayer Doodle that lets you play a game of pétanque online. If you haven’t heard of pétanque — I hadn’t before writing this article — it’s a game that’s kind of like bocce ball.

The goal of pétanque is to throw your ball (the boule) as close as you can to a little ball (the cochonnet) on the playing field in front of you. On your computer, you’ll “throw” the ball by clicking on the boule and dragging back with your mouse to slingshot it forward; on a phone, you’ll toss the boule with your thumb (kind of like throwing a Poké Ball in Pokémon Go). You get points for having more boules close to the cochonnet than your opponent, and whoever has the most points after three rounds wins. Google has a good...

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Apple Pay may finally work on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox in iOS 16

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

Apple Pay could finally be compatible with Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox in iOS 16. MacRumors contributor Steve Moser found that Apple Pay works with Edge and Chrome in the iOS 16 beta 4, and shared his findings on Twitter.

Moser’s screenshots show a “Continue with Apple Pay” option on Apple’s checkout page when using Edge. Apple Pay only works in Safari on iOS 15 and older, preventing you from using any other browser if you want to pay with Apple Pay when shopping on the web.

On the latest iOS 16 beta Apple Pay works in Edge, Chrome and I assume any third party browser. On iOS 15 Apple Pay only works in Safari. pic.twitter.com/x7zV5xCuiC

— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) July 30, 2022

Although Moser doesn’t mention...

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Amazon’s stunner of a smart thermostat is on sale for its best price to date

Amazon’s budget-friendly Smart Thermostat packs plenty of smarts for a mere $41.99. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Amazon Prime Day is back, baby! OK, maybe not technically speaking, but so many Amazon devices are currently discounted at Best Buy and other retailers that it's giving us a major sense of deja vu. Right now, for example, you can buy Amazon’s excellent Smart Thermostat at Best Buy and Target for just $41.99 ($18 off) — a record low set during Prime Day.

The budget-friendly thermostat will mesh with most decor, and can even learn and adapt to your habits like more expensive options. Be aware, however, that you can’t integrate the device with voice assistants beyond Alexa, and there are no native temperature sensors. Still, if those caveats don’t bother you, Amazon’s Smart Thermostat is a great option to consider, one that could...

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Subscriptions have made gaming on an iPhone fun again

Into the Breach

Once upon a time, my smartphone doubled as my most-used gaming platform. It’s hard to believe now, but there was once a period when app stores felt like a new frontier, and game developers had a blast experimenting with a little touchscreen rectangle that you always had in your pocket. Then the economics changed. Games slowly got cheaper before eventually becoming free altogether. New releases had to decide between a dwindling audience for premium games or saddling their game with in-app purchases. Things became dire. But lately, I’ve been having fun with my phone again — and it’s due almost entirely to subscription services.

I came to this realization recently when I switched from Android to an iPhone and started loading my new gadget...

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The Beats Fit Pro are the best running earbuds I’ve ever had

This is the version I bought, and I love them so freakin’ much. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

One truth about me as a runner is that I need my jams. No jams, no run. I have meticulously curated playlists where the bass drops are strategically timed to gas me up when I lose steam. Aside from my sneakers, my earbuds are the most important piece of running tech I own. And yet, my decade-long search for the perfect pair only just ended a few weeks ago.

Behold, the beautiful, purplicious Beats Fit Pro.

To understand why I’m gaga for these buds, you need to know about the headphones that didn’t make the cut. (Don’t worry, I’ll stick to the highlights and spare you a Dickensian-length novel recounting the dozens of earbuds that have failed me in my 10-year running journey.)

Earbuds with superior sound — like the Bose SoundSport — are...

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Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa review: not essential at all

Your kid might like it, but you probably won’t

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Dell XPS 13 Plus review: XPS plus, battery minus

The XPS 13 has a new design and a whole bunch of new problems

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Uber will start showing drivers how much they’ll be paid for accepting a trip

It says it’s trying to make things more flexible for drivers. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Uber says that it’s “completely reimagined the way drivers accept rides” with a feature called “upfront fares,” which shows drivers exactly how much they’ll be paid for a trip and where they’ll end up after dropping a rider off. In its announcement on Friday, the company says the change is part of its push to make driving for the rideshare service more flexible. Uber’s also planning on rolling out a feature that lets drivers see other ride requests in their area, letting them pick specific trips they’d like to do.

For riders, the changes, which have been tested in select locations, could mean fewer canceled trips because a driver doesn’t actually want to go to the destination, or realizes that it won’t be a very profitable trip.

A...

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Helium says its crypto mesh network is used by Lime and Salesforce — it isn’t

Who uses Helium? | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

On Friday, Mashable reported that Helium, a crypto project praised by The New York Times earlier this year and whose parent company is backed by investment firms like Andreessen Horowitz, had been misleading people about the companies it works with. Helium advertises on its homepage that Lime, the mobility company behind those electric scooters and bikes, uses its crypto-powered mesh wireless network. The company, however, told Mashable that it hasn’t had a relationship with the company since 2019, and that it had only ever initial testing with Helium’s tech.

Now, Salesforce, whose logo appeared on Helium’s website right next to Lime’s, says that it also doesn’t use the technology. “Helium is not a Salesforce partner,” Salesforce...

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$7 billion verdict awarded after Charter Spectrum tried to forge documents in a murder case

Image: Charter Communications Inc.

A jury in Texas found Charter Communications liable for $7 billion in punitive damages this week as the result of a lawsuit from the family of Betty Jo McClain Thomas, an 83-year-old woman who was stabbed to death by one of its employees in December 2019. The $7 billion is in addition to $375 million in compensatory damages the jury assigned in June.

The explanation behind the staggering figure of the verdict goes well beyond the horrific crime committed. It also includes the company’s policies and responses to previous incidents of theft and an attempt to forge a document showing Thomas agreed to forced arbitration that would have limited potential damages to the amount of her last bill.

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The Verge’s 2022 back-to-school gift guide

All the best backpacks, laptops, tablets, and wearables for the new school year. | The Verge

Our favorite laptops, bags, and gadgets for students

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Apple is planning to put ads right in the App Store’s Today tab

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple is planning to show ads in the App Store’s Today tab and on individual app pages, according to MacRumors, 9to5Mac, and AppleInsider. The two new ad placements will expand upon the ads you can already see in the App Store’s search tab and in search results.

Ads in the Today tab will appear in the larger card format used by other content in that tab, but you’ll see a small blue box with the word “Ad” inside it under the app’s name. Ads in individual app pages will appear under the “You Might Also Like” header that suggests apps related to the one you’re looking at. Like in App Store search, ads on app pages will be highlighted in blue to distinguish them from other recommendations. According to 9to5Mac, ad buyers won’t be able to...

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Samsung has a new feature that will hide your pics during a phone repair

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Handing over your phone — full of photos, texts, and other personal private info — to a repair person can feel dicey. After all, the horrifying reality of having your data leaked during the repair process has actually happened to some people. SamMobile found a press release from Samsung’s Korean press site stating that the company hopes to put an end to that with a new privacy feature called Repair Mode (via Ars Technica). It’ll give technicians a limited amount of access to your phone’s innards. From the sound of it, they’ll be able to access enough to make the fix but not so much to leak your pics.

This feature is coming first to Galaxy S21 phones in South Korea. The company plans to expand support to other models in the future.

As...

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Is that a birthday greeting or are you just trying to sell me something?

As a giant panda, Meng Meng does not need to worry about corporate emails on her birthday. | Photo by Chen Jimin/China News Service via Getty Images

Automated birthday emails are a constant of modern life, right up there with death, taxes, and computer updates with poor timing. Once a year, my inbox fills to the brim with reminders of just how many companies I’ve entrusted with my birthdate.

But not this year. No, this year was going to be different. This year I went on a relentless unsubscribing kick, just ruthlessly clicking the unsubscribe button whenever something from a corporate mailing list came into my inbox. But I knew that some things were definitely going to still sneak through.

See, companies can’t resist a birthday. It’s one of the easiest things they can do to get someone’s attention. “​​Birthday emails are one of the most effective emails you can send,” says a blog...

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This interactive map highlights the most notable person from your hometown

Image: Mapbox

This interactive world map visualizes “a cross-verified database of notable people” to show you the most notable person in your hometown — or anywhere else you might want to look.

Topi Tjukanov, a geographer and senior map designer at Mapbox, put the visualization together, which features different influential people from fields including culture, science, leadership, and sports. What someone contributes to society to be considered notable can vary, so researchers tried to narrow it down and account for biases where possible.

Did you know Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar and Barack Obama in Honolulu? Who is the most famous person from your home town?

I made a map of the most notable people around the world. Built with @Mapbox.

C...

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The best gaming headset deals you can get right now

Logitech’s budget-friendly G435 boasts color and comfort as well as a host of solid features. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

A good gaming headset is practically a necessity these days. Clean and precise audio is essential for competitive gaming, allowing you not just to pinpoint your enemies but also to communicate effectively with your teammates. Moreover, recent developments in spatial audio and virtual surround sound have allowed headsets to meet — and occasionally surpass — more expensive audio setups, allowing even the most budget-conscious gamer to obtain a competitive edge at a fraction of the price.

While you could always invest in a massive pair of speakers, they’re likely to earn you the dubious distinction of the worst roommate of the decade. Thankfully, the right headset will allow you to keep the running and gunning to yourself, which is why...

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How to use Steam’s FPS counter

It takes about five seconds to set up.

If you want to know what frame rates your Steam games are running at, there are many third-party programs out there to help. But if all you need is a very basic counter and you don’t care about other hardware stats, you don’t need to download any of these — you can use a feature that’s built right into Steam.

Here’s how to set up Steam’s built-in FPS counter for your PC.

I go with the top left, myself.

• Open Steam.
• Go to Steam > Settings > In-Game.
• Under In-game FPS counter, select the corner where you’d like the counter to appear. You can also check High contrast color if you prefer.
• Click Ok.

Now, go ahead and start your game. You should see the frame rate your game is running at displayed in the corner that you...

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US federal courts were reportedly hit by another data breach

Lawmakers are blaming “three hostile foreign actors.” | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The federal courts’ document system was hit by a breach with a “startling breadth and scope” in early 2020, according to a report from Politico that cites testimony from House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler. The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly informed the judiciary about the breach in March and told lawmakers that an investigation is ongoing. Other lawmakers, such as Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), expressed concern that the DOJ had been hiding information about the breach and was refusing to explain it to the public and Congress.

Nadler reportedly said that the “system security failure” was the work of “three hostile foreign actors,” though, according to Reuters security officials for the DOJ didn’t specify which countries...

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