Tech Wrap: Instagram crashes for Android users, Facebook-Apple face-off, and lots more

Instagram’s Android users on Friday reported facing problems with the application. Users soon took to Twitter to complain about the issue. The application appears to be working fine as of now. Interestingly, the service interruption comes just after almost all of Google's services went down for all users globally on December 14. That said, Instagram’s app crash, however, is not the only major thing that happened in the world of technology today. Here is what you may have missed.

Facebook-Apple face-off

Apple CEO Tim Cook has shared his opinion on the ongoing tussle between the company and Facebook over iOS’ new App Tracking Transparency feature. Cook said that Facebook can continue to track users across apps and websites but it must seek users’ consent first.

“We believe users should have the choice over the data that is being collected about them and how it’s used. Facebook can continue to track users across apps and websites as before, App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 will just require that they ask for your permission first,” he said in a tweet.

Microsoft finds malicious software

Microsoft said it has discovered malicious software in its systems related to a massive hacking campaign disclosed by US officials this week.

"Like other SolarWinds customers, we have been actively looking for indicators of this actor and can confirm that we detected malicious Solar Winds binaries in our environment, which we isolated and removed," a Microsoft spokesperson said, adding that the company had found "no indications that our systems were used to attack others."

Google’s new bid for faster updates

Google has teamed up with chipset giant Qualcomm for Project Treble under which the two will work together to provide faster updates to Android users. With the partnership, new Qualcomm mobile chipsets will support four Android OS versions, and four years of security updates.

“All Qualcomm customers will be able to take advantage of this stability to further lower both the costs of upgrades as well as launches and can now support their devices for longer periods of time,” Google said in a blog post.

LG’s rollable phone

LG may soon unveil a rollable smartphone. Even though there is no official word on when the phone will be available, a new leak suggests the possible pricing and launch timeline for LG’s rollable smartphone. According to tipster @cozyplanes on Twitter, LG will price its rollable smartphone at $2,359 ( ₹1,73,500 approx). If the pricing is correct, it will be more expensive than some foldable phones.