2026-02-12 06:47:45
The U.S. version of TikTok is being updated with a new community-focused "Local Feed," according to a blog post shared by the TikTok USDS Joint Venture.
The Local Feed is designed to let TikTok users "discover and connect with content, businesses, and services" wherever they are. Available from a tab on the TikTok home screen, the feed features content related to travel, events, restaurants, and shopping, plus posts from nearby small businesses and local creators.
TikTok U.S. says that posts are selected based on location, the topic of the content, and when the content was posted. TikTok users who want access to the Local Feed will need to turn on precise location.
"This approach is consistent with how many modern apps use location today and gives people the choice to enable it when they want more relevant, local experiences, while keeping them in control," reads the blog post.
Precise Location is off by default, and the feature is opt-in with location only relayed when the app is in active use. Location data is "protected in the TikTok USDS JV secure environment."
TikTok U.S. says that it wants to "make sure TikTok is useful, locally relevant, and trusted." A similar "Nearby Feeds" feature rolled out for TikTok users in Europe back in December.
TikTok's U.S. operations were transferred to a majority American-owned TikTok USDS venture in late January, and the transition hasn't gone smoothly. TikTok users were unable to upload videos and had posts flagged as ineligible for recommendation, an issue that U.S. TikTok said was due to a power outage at a data center.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is 80.1 percent owned by U.S. and global investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX. The three companies each own 15 percent as managing investors, and other U.S. stakeholders include the Dell Family Office and affiliates of Susquehanna International Group. TikTok parent company ByteDance continues to hold a 19.9 percent stake.
A seven-member majority-American board of directors is operating the U.S. version of TikTok, with Adam Presser, TikTok's former global head of operations serving as CEO.
Under the agreement, the venture handles U.S. data protection, content moderation, and algorithm security. TikTok's recommendation algorithm is being retrained and updated on U.S. user data, and it has been secured in Oracle's cloud environment.
2026-02-12 05:28:26
Apple released iOS 26.3 today, and while it doesn't have as many features as iOS 26.1 or iOS 26.2, there are still a couple of new additions worth knowing about.
2026-02-12 04:18:40
Apple has "run into snags" testing the more personalized, smarter version of Siri that's planned for iOS 26.4, reports Bloomberg. Because of the issues, the upcoming Siri features will be spread across several upcoming iOS releases and won't all come in the spring iOS 26.4 update.
Apple could postpone some or all of the new Siri features until iOS 26.5, an update planned for May, and iOS 27, which will launch this September.
We've been waiting on the Apple Intelligence version of Siri since iOS 18, when Apple debuted the features at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference. At the time, rumors suggested a spring 2025 launch. When spring rolled around, Apple announced that the new Siri would take longer than expected, with the functionality delayed for a year.
Since then, Apple has been targeting iOS 26.4, which the company will begin testing later this month. As Apple has been testing the updated version of Siri ahead of the release of the first iOS 26.4 beta, there have been unforeseen problems. Siri sometimes doesn't properly process queries and can take too long to respond to requests.
Apple engineers have been told to use iOS 26.5 for further internal testing, suggesting the new Siri features will be delayed until that update. Internally, iOS 26.5 includes notices describing the Siri features, as well as a "preview" toggle for turning on the Siri personalization feature that lets the personal assistant tap into user data like text messages and emails.
Employees that are testing iOS 26.5 say the update includes all of the features Apple promised, including personalization, onscreen awareness, and the ability for Siri to do more in and between apps, but not all of the features are working reliably and there are problems with accuracy.
Siri also apparently sometimes falls back on using ChatGPT for information instead of relying on the Gemini-powered technology that Apple has partnered with Google to use, even when the new version of Siri is capable of handling a user's request.
Apple also planned to include features that haven't been announced, such as options to generate images or search the web. Image generation and web search were tested as part of iOS 26.4, and it's possible they will still be included in the update, so Apple might still be able to announce some of the new Siri functionality. Image generation uses Image Playground, and web search summarizes information from the web.
Bloomberg says the situation is "fluid," though, so Apple's plans could change, and executives are reluctant to further delay the Siri functionality beyond spring 2026.
There are still major changes planned for iOS 27, with Apple aiming to add chatbot functionality to Siri to allow it to better compete with chatbots like Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT. That version of Siri will have deep integration with Apple's operating systems.
2026-02-12 03:22:48
No matter how well you think you know your iPhone, there are always tons of hidden features and shortcuts that you aren't aware of, or might have forgotten about. We've rounded up 10 useful iPhone features that are worth knowing about to make using your iPhone just a little more pleasant.
2026-02-12 02:51:50
Apple today released iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, and macOS Tahoe 26.3, all of which largely focus on bug fixes and security improvements. Apple says that the updates address dozens of vulnerabilities, including one that is known to have been actively exploited.
That vulnerability in the dyld dynamic link editor could allow for the execution of arbitrary code, and Apple says the bug may have been exploited in an "extremely sophisticated attack" against targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 26.
An attacker with memory write capability may be able to execute arbitrary code. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 26.Apple says the memory corruption issue was fixed with improved state management.
2026-02-12 02:07:30
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According to Apple's release notes, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 include unspecified bug fixes and security updates, but there are a couple features that Apple didn't highlight.
The updates add a tool for transitioning from an Apple device to an Android device. Transfers are able to be started during the device setup process, and moving data from one device to another can be done without having to download apps from Apple and Google.
The transfer process supports moving photos, messages, notes, apps, passwords, phone numbers, and more, and it's not too surprising that Apple isn't advertising it. Data transfers were already possible, though not quite as simple, and Apple likely doesn't want to encourage users to move to a different platform.
In December, the European Union took credit for the new transfer tool, touting it as an example of how the Digital Markets Act (DMA) benefits users and developers. Google and Apple apparently implemented the feature because the DMA requires services to offer interoperability to prevent customers from being locked in to an operating system. The two companies opted to add the functionality worldwide rather than just in the EU.
iOS 26.3 includes a setting to limit carrier location tracking, though it is limited to a few select carriers worldwide. In the United States, only Boost Mobile is supporting the feature as of now. EE and BT in the UK offer it, as does Telekom in Germany and AIS and True in Thailand. It is a feature available only for devices with C1 or C1X modems.
In the iOS 26.3 beta, Apple added other Europe-only changes for third-party wearables, which were shared by the European Commission. Devices like headphones and smartwatches will be able to use some of the same functionality available to the AirPods and the Apple Watch going forward.
Proximity pairing will allow third-party devices to pair with an iOS device in an AirPods-like one-tap way by bringing an accessory close to an iPhone or an iPad. Third-party accessories like smart watches will be able to receive richer notifications from the iPhone, which are able to be viewed and interacted with. Apple is allowing notifications to be forwarded to a single connected device, so turning on notifications for a third-party watch disables notifications on the Apple Watch.
While these features have been tested in iOS 26.3, they may have been removed for the release version of the software and could come in a future update.
Most of the beta testing period focused on bug fixes and these EU-specific features, so there isn't a lot that's new in iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3. We are expecting a lot more to be added in iOS 26.4, and the first beta of iOS 26.4 could come this month.
