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FCC Move May Help ISPs Hide Internet Fees From You

✇Android Headlines
By:Chandan Pandit
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The FCC has taken its first step toward scaling back the broadband “nutrition label,” the standardized pricing sheet that helps consumers see the true cost of the plan. These labels were made mandatory back in 2024. Now, after years of debate, the FCC plans to remove those requirements, and therefore indirectly allow ISPs to hide fees from you.

FCC’s next step will indirectly allow ISPs to hide internet fees

In a 2-1 vote, the FCC approved a proposal to reconsider some major parts of the broadband label rules. Supporters of the rollback, led by Commissioner Brendan Carr, argue that the transparency rules are “burdensome.” They further claim that they do not meaningfully influence customers’ decisions on which internet plan to buy. The proposal would drop rules forcing ISPs to itemize fees, show labels online, offer multilingual versions, and read details by phone. Carr says that these add needless cost and complexity.

Proponents also argue that eliminating certain elements from the rule would allow ISPs to focus on the information that actually matters. Their point is that adding fee information and language details has zero real-world impact.

Critics also have a strong point to argue against the proposal

Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone dissenting vote, has sharply criticized the proposal as anti-consumer. She argues that transparency is very important, especially when considering expensive broadband plans. She questioned why the FCC would reverse a requirement designed to empower shoppers, calling it confusing and unnecessary.

Consumer advocates, on the other hand, warn that dropping the fee label and language could revive confusing bills. It may also hide price jumps behind vague charges. Broadband trade groups back revisions and say they remain committed to clarity. Both sides seem to have strong arguments. The next comment phase will determine whether labels are going to stay in their place or get stripped down even before consumers fully reap their benefits.

The post FCC Move May Help ISPs Hide Internet Fees From You appeared first on Android Headlines.

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Samsung's One UI 8.5 To Stop Social Media from Eating Your Data

✇Android Headlines
By:Chandan Pandit
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A lot of smartphone users spend their time scrolling social media, and this drains the device’s battery very quickly. While Android already has a data saver, Samsung is reportedly working on a smarter data saver for its One UI 8.5 that helps users save data on popular apps like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

One UI 8.5 to have a smarter data saver for social media apps

As reported by Android Authority, a hidden feature called “Adaptive data saver” was found in an early One UI 8.5 test build. Based on the early findings, it appears to control how social apps load videos. Instead of automatically fetching every video as the user scrolls, the phone may only download clips when they actually tap or stop to watch.

While this might sound very simple, it can prevent heavy background data use when you casually scroll through your feed. Furthermore, a string code in the software confirms that the user won’t notice any downgrade in the video quality. Meaning, your data would be saved without compromising the viewing experience. Samsung is aiming for smarter control rather than aggressive limits.

This could save a good amount of data in the long run

How exactly the feature works is unclear. It appears that it likely tweaks prefetching, which is when apps load content before you see it. Most social media apps rely on prefetching to offer a smooth scrolling experience. Samsung could reduce or control this process so the phone only loads what you need. If successful, users will save data while still enjoying fast loading and smooth playback.

Since the feature is still hidden, the company is likely working to refine it before the stable release. While the One UI 8.5 release seems to be delayed, the update is shaping up to bring some meaningful changes for the users.

The post Samsung's One UI 8.5 To Stop Social Media from Eating Your Data appeared first on Android Headlines.

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Amazon's $2.5B FTC Settlement: Are You Eligible to Claim a Refund?

✇Android Headlines
By:Chandan Pandit
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Amazon has agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the US regulator. This comes after the accusations that it misled people into joining its Prime service and made canceling harder than expected. As part of this FTC settlement, a large share of the money will go straight to the Amazon Prime customers in the form of a refund.

Who qualifies for a refund under Amazon’s FTC settlement

Under the settlement, only certain Prime customers will get money back. To be eligible, the user must have purchased the Prime subscription between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025. Moreover, the signup must have happened through one of the ads or interfaces that the FTC flagged as misleading. It includes checkout pages, delivery choices, and specific enrollment screens where the user was unable to confirm if they were committing to subscribe to Amazon Prime.

On top of this, there’s a certain usage condition as well. Customers who have barely used the service in their first year of subscription will be given priority. For the first batch, anyone who has used the Prime benefits three times or fewer in the first year will automatically receive a refund. They do not have to fill out any form. Amazon will directly send a refund of up to $51 within 90 days if they meet the criteria.

Here’s how to fill out a claim form to get your share of money back

Once the first batch have received the refunds. Amazon will send claim forms to people who signed up through the same flagged screens but used Prime more actively, up to ten times in their first year. The form will be sent to the registered email. Also, note that there’s no way to manually hit and fill out the form yet. The user will have up to 180 days to submit the claim form. Once verified, they will receive the refund within 30 days.

If both the batches have received their refunds and there is still some money left in the refund fund, the tech giant must continue expanding eligibility gradually until at least $1 billion is distributed to consumers.

The post Amazon's $2.5B FTC Settlement: Are You Eligible to Claim a Refund? appeared first on Android Headlines.

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Cellebrite Leak Raises Alarms — Are Pixel Phones Really Hackable?

✇Android Headlines
By:Chandan Pandit
Google Pixel 10 Pro Review AH 14

Modern-day smartphones carry a huge amount of data, including personal details, bank records, etc. In the past, they did not have strong security, but thankfully, things have changed over time. But this doesn’t mean that your smartphone and its data are completely safe. Some companies build tools that help law enforcement break into phones. One such company is Cellebrite. A recent leak shows that Google Pixel phones can be hacked using the Cellebrite tool.

Leak shows that most Google Pixel devices are vulnerable to Cellebrite phone hacking

The person, who uses the online name rogueFed, quietly entered a Cellebrite online session and took screenshots. It later posted these screenshots on a community forum of GrapheneOS users. For reference, GrapheneOS is an AOSP skin that focuses on privacy and security. It doesn’t even have Google Apps pre-installed. It is very popular among privacy-seeking tech enthusiasts.

The leaked screenshots mention Pixel 6, Pixel 7, Pixel 8, and Pixel 9 devices. Yes, the recently launched Pixel 10 models weren’t shown. However, this doesn’t mean that they are completely safe. The chart showed three phone conditions. One is before the first unlock, which means the phone has been restarted and remains fully locked. Another is after the first unlock, when some data becomes easier to reach. The last one is when the phone is already unlocked.

Cellebrite can access all of your data even before you can notice

According to the leak, the Cellebrite tool can get data from a Google Pixel phone running on the stock Pixel software in all three conditions. However, the tool still cannot break the phone passcode or copy the digital SIM card. That means some safety remains. But the tools can take a lot of information if the device software is not extra protected.

However, thing seems to be different with devices running GrapheneOS. The chart shows that newer Pixel models running updated GrapheneOS versions are much harder to access. Phones updated after late 2022 appear safe in both locked and unlocked states. Even if a phone is open, the tool cannot grab the stored data the same way. Only things already visible to the user can be checked.

The post Cellebrite Leak Raises Alarms — Are Pixel Phones Really Hackable? appeared first on Android Headlines.

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Verizon’s New CEO Promises a Comeback — With a Big Focus on Customers

✇Android Headlines
By:Chandan Pandit
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Verizon recently shared its results for the third quarter of 2025, and the outcome paints a mixed picture. The company is trying to recover after its former CEO, Hans Vestberg, was suddenly removed. He has been replaced by Dan Schulman. During a recent earnings call, Verizon’s new CEO promised to make customers happy again and improve the telecom giant’s performance.

Verizon’s new CEO wants the company to shift focus towards consumers

Dan Schulman did not give any detailed roadmap plan yet, but he explained his main goals. Before anything, he wants Verizon to cut costs, remove the weak parts of the business, and operate in a simpler and faster way. He emphasized that the customers will be the main focus of the company going forward.

The CEO mentioned that Verizon has spent numerous years building the most reliable network. Now, with that foundation in place, the company aims to focus on offering good value and a better customer experience. Moreover, he adds in his statement that Verizon must stop becoming an easy target for its competitors who want to snatch away its customers.

Verizon’s Q3 2025 performance report shows no sign of growth

The financial report shows that Verizon’s performance was not the worst, but also not strong enough to calm worries. The consumer division lost 7,000 wireless postpaid phone customers, while the business side gained 51,000 customers, leading to a total gain of 44,000 postpaid phone customers. Verizon made $28.20 billion in service revenue. The company also added 261,000 fixed wireless access customers and 61,000 FiOS customers, but those numbers were below predictions.

For reference, other carriers performed better in the same period. AT&T gained 405,000 postpaid phone customers and reported strong earnings. T-Mobile added about a million postpaid phone customers and also saw big growth in fixed wireless access numbers. Industry experts are unsure how Verizon will compete without lowering prices or offering big promotions.

The post Verizon’s New CEO Promises a Comeback — With a Big Focus on Customers appeared first on Android Headlines.

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