Good morning. It’s Thursday, April 23. Today we are covering:
Apple security fix — a bug that let police extract deleted messages from iPhones has been patched
X and Grok — the platform is handing timeline curation to its AI for Premium users
Microsoft and Cursor — why Microsoft passed on the AI coding startup SpaceX is now buying
AI workplace divide — top earners use AI daily at nearly 4x the rate of low-income workers
Bob Lee’s murder — a new Bloomberg investigation revisits the killing that shook Silicon Valley
Let’s dive in
Apple fixes bug that cops used to extract deleted chat messages from iPhones
By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai via TechCrunch
Apple released a software update on April 22 to patch a security bug that allowed law enforcement to recover messages users had deleted from apps like Signal and WhatsApp.
The flaw cached notification content in the device database for up to a month, and FBI forensic tools had already exploited it to extract deleted Signal messages from a suspect’s iPhone.
Apple backported the fix to older iOS 18 devices, closing a loophole that bypassed the auto-delete privacy protections users relied on.
𝕏: Apple fixes bug that enabled law enforcement seeking secure messages to be recover them from notifications - Alan Woodward (@ProfWoodward)
X is going to allow Grok to curate your timeline
By Emma Roth via The Verge
X is rolling out Grok-powered Custom Timelines, a feature that lets users follow curated feeds across more than 75 topics including Technology, Politics, and Sports.
Unlike keyword-based filters, Grok reads and labels every post on the platform before surfacing personalized content, with each feed shaped by the user’s existing algorithm.
The feature launches for Premium subscribers on iOS first, as X simultaneously shuts down its Communities feature on May 6 due to declining usage.
𝕏: We’re going to be investing heavily in XChat. Communities had a great vision, but they were used by less than 0.4% of users—yet contributed to 80% of spam reports, financial scams, and malware on X. It occupied half the team’s time some weeks, while the rest of the app suffered… - Nikita Bier (@nikitabier)
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Microsoft looked at buying Cursor before SpaceX deal
By Kate Rooney via CNBC
Microsoft considered acquiring AI coding startup Cursor but declined to make a bid, according to sources familiar with the matter.
SpaceX subsequently secured an option to buy Cursor for $60 billion later this year, or alternatively pay $10 billion for a joint collaboration arrangement.
The deal positions SpaceX in the fast-growing AI developer tools market and marks a significant setback for Microsoft, which has been working to strengthen its own AI coding offerings.
High earners race ahead on AI as workplace divide widens
By Madhumita Murgia via Financial Times
A new FT-Focaldata poll of 4,000 workers across the US and the UK finds that 60% of top earners use AI tools daily, compared to just 16% of lower-paid workers.
The gap runs along gender lines too, with men significantly more likely to use AI and women estimated to be about 20% less likely overall.
Corporate training is the single biggest factor in driving adoption, raising questions about whether structured programs can scale fast enough to prevent AI from deepening existing income inequality.
𝕏: High earners race ahead on AI as workplace divide widens - ‘AI is going to increase inequality between labour and capital. That is almost for sure. I would say it is setting us up for a . . . shitshow.” - john williams (@wi_john)
Bob Lee’s Murder, the Tech Right, and the San Francisco Doom Loop
By Shawn Wen via Bloomberg
Bob Lee, the creator of Cash App, was stabbed to death in San Francisco in 2023, and his killing sparked a wave of tech industry outrage blaming the city’s so-called doom loop.
Prominent voices including David Sacks and Elon Musk pointed to homelessness and failed governance, before investigators revealed the accused killer was Nima Momeni, a 38-year-old IT consultant with ties to the local tech scene.
Bloomberg‘s new investigative feature traces how the case shifted from a cautionary tale about urban decay into a window on the excesses and tensions within Silicon Valley itself.
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