Technology

TiVo won the court battles, but lost the TV war

Published

2 days ago

October 18, 2025

TiVo won the court battles, but lost the TV war

In the 2000s, TiVo reached heights few companies ever achieve. Like Google and Xerox, its name became a verb. People had to “TiVo” the new episode of Battlestar Galactica or game 4 of the Red Sox vs. Cardinals, not “record” it. While it didn’t invent the DVR, TiVo popularized it and many of the features we would eventually take for granted, like the ability to pause or rewind live TV, and watch one program while recording another.

Those features were covered in the now infamous US Patent 6,233,389 — better known as the Time Warp patent. TiVo spent a good chunk of the 2000s and early 2010s defending its intellectual property through a series of high-profile lawsuits, most notably against EchoStar. That particular saga lasted for the better part of a decade, with TiVo originally filing the suit in January of 2004 and the final $500 million settlement being awarded in April of 2011.

But TiVo spent much of its prime years locked in court battles with major players in the television and digital video space. Motorola, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Dish Network, Cisco, and Verizon all found themselves on the receiving end of a patent infringement lawsuit from TiVo. TiVo came out victorious in almost every single one. The US Patent Office even agreed to reexamine the patent on two separate occasions and reaffirmed its claims.

If the company had been focused on revenue sources outside the courtroom, it could have been at the forefront of the smart TV rollout.

Licensing its technology became the primary way TiVo made money as it entered the 2010s. The problem was, by then, the writing was on the wall. Netflix launched its streaming service in January 2007. Hulu entered beta later that year and launched publicly in March of 2008. That year also marked the launch of Roku’s first device and the earliest models of modern smart TVs, like the Samsung PAVV Bordeaux TV 750.

DVRs became standard issue with most cable TV packages. Sure, TiVo’s interface was slicker, and it had advanced features, such as remotely scheduling recordings via TiVo Central Online or transferring them to a computer with TiVoToGo. But spending $200 or more on a separate DVR in 2008 (at least if you wanted HD tuners), plus an additional subscription cost on top of your cable bill, was an increasingly hard sell when Time Warner would give you a DVR that was good enough.

Roku was offering simple-to-use streaming set-top boxes at impulse purchase prices — as low as $49.99 by 2011. Google pushed prices even lower with the Chromecast in 2013. Smart TV operating systems were becoming increasingly capable. TiVo was adding support for Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services, but it seemed to constantly be playing catch-up as it entered the new decade.

TiVo’s hardware had stagnated. It was wasting time on features like the ability to order Domino’s from your TV. And its biggest money maker — a patent focused on manipulating broadcast television — was increasingly becoming obsolete as cord-cutting began to grow in popularity.

According to nScreenMedia traditional pay TV subscriptions peaked in the US in 2010 at around 103 million, or roughly 89 percent of households. In 2025, that number is down to just 49.6 million, or 37.6 percent of households. The most popular streaming services are now easily outpacing linear pay TV as they copy some of its moves by leaning into live content anchored by sports and other spectacles that draw eyeballs to now-unskippable ads. At the end of 2024, Netflix had 89.6 million subscribers and Disney Plus 56.8 million in the US and Canada. (The companies report subscriptions by region only, not country.) As TiVo continued to battle companies like Google and Time Warner in court, its customer base was drying up.

TiVo was eventually purchased by Rovi, a company whose primary business is hoarding patents and either licensing them to other companies or suing companies in order to force them to license their technology. This, sadly, was to be TiVo’s fate going forward. When it was purchased by tech licensing firm Xperi in 2020, the press release announcing the merger didn’t tout best-in-class hardware or innovative set-top box software. Instead, it bragged about having “one of the industry’s largest and most diverse intellectual property (IP) licensing platforms.”

TiVo’s ill-fated Android TV dongle.

Image: TiVo

After its merger with Xperi, TiVo wouldn’t launch another set-top box. Its last model, the TiVo Edge, was released in 2019. And this month, the company confirmed it had quietly sold the last of its stock on September 30th and would be exiting the hardware business.

TiVo says it plans to focus on its fledgling smart TV OS — a move that’s probably 15 years too late. Perhaps if the company had been focused on revenue sources outside the courtroom, it could have been at the forefront of the smart TV rollout. Maybe it could have developed its own streaming-first device that was more than a lazy (and late) reskin of Android TV. TiVo’s UI and iconic peanut remote were beloved. Its brand was a household name. But, rather than build a platform to power the next generation of televisions, it seemed focused on milking every dollar out of companies clearly heading towards obsolescence.

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Terrence O’Brien

Technology

Google’s new deadline for Epic consequences is October 29th

Published

6 hours ago

October 20, 2025

Press Room

Google’s new deadline for Epic consequences is October 29th

US District Court Judge James Donato has just agreed to push back enforcement of his permanent injunction until October 29th instead. Here’s the text of the order. It’s brief!

ORDER. At the joint request of the parties, MDL Dkt. No. 1110, the upcoming October 22, 2025 deadline on which certain provisions of the Injunction, MDL Dkt No. 1017, in this case are scheduled to take effect is vacated and extended to October 29th, 2025. Signed by Judge James Donato on 10/20/2025.

It’s also not clear why Google argued for the extension, or why Epic agreed to it, after Epic CEO Tim Sweeney previously celebrated the October 22nd deadline as the day “developers will be legally entitled to steer US Google Play users to out-of-app payments without fees, scare screens, and friction – same as Apple App Store users in the US!” Public documents filed by both parties don’t mention a reason for the delay.

So… October 29th. Google previously told The Verge that it would comply with its legal obligations while it continues its appeal, so that’s the day we expect to see Google pages like this one stop stating that Google Play Billing is required for developers who distribute apps via Google Play.

Unless, of course, the Supreme Court grants a stay by then… Google previously stated it would file its Supreme Court appeal by October 27th.

Technology

AI girlfriend apps leak millions of private chats

Published

6 hours ago

October 20, 2025

Press Room

AI girlfriend apps leak millions of private chats

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Millions of private messages meant to stay secret are now public. Two AI companion apps, Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat, have exposed more than 43 million intimate messages and over 600,000 images and videos after a major data leak discovered by Cybernews, a leading cybersecurity research group known for uncovering major data breaches and privacy risks worldwide. The exposure revealed just how vulnerable you can be when you trust AI companions with deeply personal interactions.

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Users have experienced a massive leak, exposing millions of private AI chat messages. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Massive data breach exposes AI chat users

On August 28, 2025, Cybernews researchers discovered that the Hong Kong-based developer Imagime Interactive Limited had left an entire Kafka Broker server open to the public without any security protection. This unsecured system streamed real-time chats between users and their AI companions. It contained links to personal photos, videos, and AI-generated images. In total, the exposed data involved 400,000 users across iOS and Android devices. Researchers described the content as “virtually not safe for work” and said the leak exposes a deep gap between user trust and developer responsibility.

DISCORD CONFIRMS VENDOR BREACH EXPOSED USER IDS IN RANSOM PLOT

Researchers found an open server streaming users’ private data in real time.

iPhone and Android users’ private data was found to be streamed on an open server. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Who was exposed in the AI leak

Most affected users came from the United States. About two-thirds of the data belonged to iOS users, while the remaining third came from Android devices. Although the leak did not include full names or email addresses, it did expose IP addresses and unique device identifiers. This information can still be used to track and identify individuals through other databases. Cybernews found that users sent an average of 107 messages to their AI partners, creating a digital footprint that could be exploited for identity theft, harassment, or blackmail.

AI secrets and spending habits revealed

Purchase logs revealed that some users spent as much as $18,000 to chat with their AI girlfriends. The developer likely earned over $1 million before the breach was uncovered. Although the company’s privacy policy claimed that user security was “of paramount importance,” Cybernews found no authentication or access controls on the server. Anyone with a simple link could view private exchanges, photos, and videos. This lack of protection shows just how fragile digital intimacy can be when developers ignore basic safeguards.

Experts warn scams, blackmail, and identity theft can be a result of the leak. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How Cybernews discovered and closed the leak

Cybernews quickly reported the problem to Imagime Interactive Limited. The exposed server was finally taken offline in mid-September after appearing on public IoT search engines, where hackers could easily find it. Experts are still unsure whether cybercriminals accessed the data before it was removed. However, the threat remains. Leaked conversations and photos can fuel sextortion scams, phishing attacks, and serious reputation damage.

HACKER EXPLOITS AI CHATBOT IN CYBERCRIME SPREE

Tips to stay safe from AI data leaks

Even if you never used an AI girlfriend app, this case is a clear reminder to protect your privacy online.

1) Think before you share

Avoid sending personal or sensitive content to AI chat apps. Once shared, you lose control of it.

2) Use reputable AI tools

Choose apps with transparent privacy policies and proven security records.

3) Remove your data online

Use a data removal service to wipe personal information from public databases. While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting CyberGuy.com

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: CyberGuy.com

4) Strengthen your cybersecurity with strong antivirus software

Install strong antivirus software to block scams and detect potential intrusions. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware and potentially access your private information is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at CyberGuy.com

5) Protect your accounts with a password manager and MFA

Use a password manager and enable multi-factor authentication to keep hackers out.

Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our #1 password manager (see CyberGuy.com) pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.

Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 at CyberGuy.com

What this means for you

AI chat apps often feel safe and personal, but they store enormous amounts of sensitive data. When that data leaks, it can lead to blackmail, impersonation, or public embarrassment. Before trusting any AI service, check whether it uses secure encryption, access controls, and transparent privacy terms. If a company makes big promises about security but fails to protect your data, it is not worth the risk.

Kurt’s key takeaways

This leak exposes how unprepared many developers are to protect the private data of people using AI chat apps. The growing AI companion industry needs stronger security standards and more accountability to prevent these privacy disasters. Cybersecurity awareness is the first step. Knowing how your data moves and who controls it can help you stay safe before another leak puts your personal life online.

Would you still confide in an AI companion if you knew anyone could read what you shared? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Major AWS outage takes down Fortnite, Alexa, Snapchat, and more

Published

24 hours ago

October 20, 2025

Press Room

Major AWS outage takes down Fortnite, Alexa, Snapchat, and more

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is currently experiencing a major outage that has taken down online services, including Amazon, Alexa, Snapchat, Fortnite, and more. The AWS status checker is reporting that multiple services are “impacted” by operational issues, and that the company is “investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region” — though outages are also impacting services in other regions globally.

Users on Reddit are reporting that the Alexa smart assistant is down and unable to respond to queries or complete requests, and in my own experience, I found that routines like pre-set alarms are not functioning. The AWS issue also appears to be impacting platforms running on its cloud network, including Perplexity, Airtable, Canva, and the McDonalds app. The cause of the outage hasn’t been confirmed, and it’s unclear when regular service will be restored.

“Perplexity is down right now,” Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said on X. “The root cause is an AWS issue. We’re working on resolving it.”

The AWS dashboard first reported issues affecting the US-EAST-1 Region at 3:11AM ET. “We are actively engaged and working to both mitigate the issue and understand root cause. We will provide an update in 45 minutes, or sooner if we have additional information to share,” Amazon said in an update published at 3:51AM ET.