Path

Path spamming some with robocalls and texts

Path, the private social network, has had somewhat of a rocky start, to put it mildly.

Just as it seemingly recovered from a privacy scandal which also affected Apple and resulted in tighter iOS privacy controls, reports are surfacing alleging the startup is spamming users' address book contacts with unwanted phone calls and text messages, even after they uninstalled the software from their devices.

Path immediately crafted a non-response confirming an unknown portion of its installed base did fall victim to a glitch in the system...

Personal social network Path passes 10 million users

Last month, I downloaded Path for iOS for the third time to try out the app's new 3.0 update, and I thought to myself "this app is so beautiful." It's just too bad that no one I know uses the decidedly more intimate social network.

But just because no one I know uses it, doesn't mean that no one is using it. Dave Morin, the company's founder and CEO, announced earlier today that Path has just crossed a major milestone in its short life: 10 million users...

Path 3.0 brings private messaging and new digital content shop

Personal social network Path released a significant update to its iOS app this afternoon, bringing the software to version 3.0. The update includes your usual bug fixes and improvements, as well as two new major features.

The first one is private messaging, allowing you to talk with your Path friends in real time and share various types of media. And the other is The Shop—a digital content store of sorts, with premium photo filters and more...

Path pays dearly for stealing your iOS address book data

The private social network Path was off to a great start following its iPhone app launch in November 2010. The success was, unfortunately, short-lived as the company soon found itself at the epicenter of intense public scrutiny after it was discovered it had been uploading iOS users' address book to its servers without their explicit permission. Even though Path did apologize and update the app with the necessary changes and user prompts, the startup never really recovered from the eerie privacy scandal.

And as a result, Apple on its end introduced deeper privacy options in iOS 6 so users can select on a per-app basis which apps can access their contacts, calendars, reminders, photos and more. And now comes word that on Friday The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Path has agreed to pay a whopping $800,000 fine...

Apple drops from top 20 privacy ranking

Are consumers loosing trust that Apple will keep personal information private? That's the implication from new rankings showing the iPhone maker fell out of the top 20 most-trusted firms in 2012.

The firm fell to number 21 after being among the top 20 companies viewed as protecting customer data. Mozilla, the maker of open-source web browser Firefox claimed the number 20 spot, according to privacy watcher Ponemon Institute.

Consumer credit firm American Express again took the number one position in the 2012 privacy rankings. Computer maker Hewlett-Packard and Amazon, creator of the Kindle, ranked number two and three. Amazon improved its ranking, rising to third place in 2012, up from the fifth spot in 2011. Although Apple had ranked as high as number 8 in 2009, confidence in the firm's privacy stance has been shaken over the past year...

Would you pay for a premium Path service?

As much as Path was making waves following its November 2010 debut, little did we hear in terms of plans for the future, excluding the privacy fiasco related to uploading users' contacts without explicit permission.

That's a shame because I still hang out on Path, if only occasionally. Apart from learning about my friends' sleeping habits, Path gives me a much more private environment to catch up on what the people in my closest circle have been up to.

Facebook, despite its rich feature set, just doesn't allow for such a controllable setting. Confirming earlier whispers, Path's co-founder and CEO has gone on the record to hint that his company isn't ruling out the possibility of a paid-for premium service. He also talked about the search feature that has resulted in plenty more engagements and more...

Path releases native iPad app

Path, a social network where people engage in limited sharing of their daily habits and photos with only a select few closest friends, later today will launch its iPad app. Focused on full-screen experience in landscape, Path puts more of your network at your fingertips with fewer taps. Images of the iPad interface are promising and new features sound interesting enough to give it a a try. My favorite: the improved home screen displaying more activities from your network than is possible on the iPhone version.

UPDATE: a new version of the original iPhone app just went live with support for native iPad experience. Simply update your existing installation to get iPad goodies...

Path 2.5 brings enhanced sharing, improved camera and more

The official Path iOS client received a major update last night, bringing the app to version 2.5. The update includes a number of changes, such as enhanced media sharing, an improved camera, and new photo editing tools.

Path 2.5 also includes another cool addition that might just persuade folks to join the social network. New users now have the option to import data from their Facebook, Instagram, and Foursquare accounts into Path...

Poll: do you get all worked up over iOS exclusives going Android?

When social network Path released its Android app following the successful debut on the iPhone, barely anyone paid notice. But when Instagram went Android, it spurred lots of controversy. Even Apple’s marketing boss Phil Schiller stopped using the app because it “jumped the shark” when it went to Android.

The debate over iPhone exclusives going Android really heated up with yesterday’s announcement of Instapaper of Android, Marco Arment’s read-later program which became a huge success on the iOS platform.

Should Apple work harder to secure iOS exclusives, which have been around in the console business for ages? Or perhaps this is nothing to get worked up about? Cast your vote now...