China's popular face-swapping app Zao provokes privacy concerns
Chinese face-swap app Zao rocketed to the top of app store charts over the weekend, but user delight at the prospect of becoming instant superstars quickly turned sour as privacy implications began to sink in. Launched recently, Zao is currently topping the free download chart ...
Messaging app Telegram moves to protect identity of Hong Kong protesters
Telegram, a popular encrypted messaging app, will allow users to cloak their telephone numbers to safeguard Hong Kong protesters against monitoring by Chinese authorities, according to a person with direct knowledge of the effort. The update to Telegram, planned for release over the next few ...
Small changes for big differences
Line unveils credit scoring, an AI receptionist and other new services
Line Corp. has unveiled new services, from credit scoring to an AI-powered robot receptionist, as the operator of Japan's dominant messaging platform seeks to expand beyond chat. Line Score will rate users based on information they provide as well as their interactions with other services ...
Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. said Tuesday that it will start a new service to allow customers to order and pay through its smartphone app without waiting in line. The service, called Mobile Order & Pay, started at its 56 stores in Tokyo on Wednesday. Starbucks aims ...
Line Corp., the nation's largest messaging app, is close to obtaining a license to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan, according to people familiar with the matter. The Financial Services Agency could issue the license as early as this month, with exchange operations starting a ...
Yummy Sake Collective: A new pairing of blind tasting and AI tech
Yummy Sake Collective has a solution for people who struggle to identify what sake they like: An AI-powered app, used in conjunction with a blind tasting, to help determine flavor preferences.
Over million new cases daily: WHO alarmed at STD spread in era of dating apps
The World Health Organization expressed alarm Thursday at the lack of progress on curbing sexually transmitted diseases, while one of its experts warned of complacency as dating apps are spurring sexual activity. The U.N. health agency said in a fresh report that every day globally ...
App developed by Keio University and startup proves effective in helping smokers quit
Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Friday, smokers who have been fighting a lonely battle against nicotine addiction were given another option in their quest to kick the habit. Keio University and CureApp Inc., a Tokyo-based medical technology startup, announced Thursday that a clinical ...
Stop it! Tokyo police anti-groper app becomes smash hit in Japan
A Tokyo police smartphone app to scare off molesters has become a smash hit in Japan, where women have long run the gauntlet of groping on packed rush-hour trains. Victims of groping can activate the Digi Police app, which either blasts out a voice shouting ...
Line Pay ¥30 billion campaign will allow users to send free ¥1,000 to all their friends
Line has about 80 million active users in Japan, of which about 32 million are registered Line Pay users, according to the firm.
In setback for Apple, U.S. Supreme Court lets App Store antitrust suit proceed
A divided U.S. Supreme Court has given the go-ahead to an antitrust lawsuit accusing Apple Inc. of forcing consumers to overpay for iPhone software applications, a decision that could lead to billions of dollars in damages and put the company's lucrative way of selling ...
