Technologies

Celebrity Private Jets Can Still Be Tracked Despite New FAA Rules. Here’s Why

The FAA’s move to hide ownership details might not stop those who post private-jet information on social media.

Owners of private jets can now request that their names and addresses be kept private, thanks to a rule enacted last week by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which was signed into law last year. According to the FAA, ownership information wouldn’t be publicly available on its websites.

The new rule appears to be partly in response to social media accounts that post air travel information about celebrities such as Elon Musk and Taylor Swift, which has faced criticism in the past due to privacy concerns. Those accounts had also allowed people to post info in the past on who the biggest carbon offenders in private jet usage were.

An electronic request form has been made available for owners to make their private jetting more private.

However, this may not thwart those who run tracking sites, as reported earlier by The Verge, who say they rely on other sources of information for their reports — not just FAA records.

Private jet privacy: not much change?

David Gitman, CEO of Monarch Air Group, a private jet charter company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, told CNET that the FAA’s new privacy control will not prevent flight trackers from posting about the comings and goings of notable people.

«There is no material change,» Gitman said. «The FAA ruling allows the aircraft owner to block the ownership information, not the actual tracking of the aircraft. Most aircraft are not owned by the individual, but rather by a corporation or a trust.»

Gitman said that because high-profile people are often photographed arriving and departing on planes and those photos end up on social media, it isn’t hard to track them.

«Once an aircraft is connected to a person, it becomes easier to track, as nothing has changed on that side,» he said.

Gitman said private charters like his can make tracking more difficult for trackers because different planes are being used at different times for different customers. However, tracking as a whole isn’t going away.

«In my opinion, aircraft tracking is a given fact, a modern reality, just like the paparazzi stalking celebrities outside of restaurants,» Gitman said. «Any aircraft movement, from Taylor Swift to strategic bombers, is available online.»

Daniel Findley, associate director at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at North Carolina State University, said that the FAA move is not likely to affect people in his field or other research areas where flight tracking is done since occupants are not the focus.

«For the vast majority of people who track flights, who owns the plane or who is on it is not as important,» Findley said.

Technologies

Rumors of a Final Fantasy 9 Remake Heat Up After Social Media Tease

Fans think a social media post from Square Enix might signal a remake announcement of one of the franchise’s beloved games.

A remake of the game Final Fantasy 9 might be on deck as the 25th anniversary of the beloved RPG approaches. At least that’s what some fans believe after the game’s publisher Square Enix posted on X a screenshot with a line from the original 2000 game, «My memories will be part of the sky…» with the caption, «If you know, you know 😭.»

If you know, you know 😭 pic.twitter.com/PZsUfJA1o5

— Square Enix (@SquareEnix) April 7, 2025

The line, from the ending of the original game, has some speculating that Square Enix will soon announce a remake, as it has for Final Fantasy 7. The company set up a new website for the game as the anniversary date approaches. There’s been reports of a possible remake since as far back as 2021 when a purported list of games in the pipeline was leaked.

Not everyone, however, is happy with at least one player suggesting that the original game is so good, it doesn’t need a remake.

Square Enix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Apple Shoppers Are Reportedly Panic Buying iPhones Amid Looming Tariffs

Apple Stores saw a surge in foot traffic over the weekend amid concerns over upcoming tariffs.

The fear of soaring iPhone prices amid incoming tariffs is driving some customers to make purchases.

Bloomberg reports that Apple Store employees saw an uptick in foot traffic over the weekend amid growing concerns that iPhone prices could rise after new tariffs are imposed. iPhones, which account for the majority of Apple’s revenue, are manufactured in China, a country now facing tariffs of up to 54%.

One employee told Bloomberg the surge felt a bit like the holiday shopping season. Although many customers reportedly asked about potential price hikes, the company has not provided store employees with guidance on how to respond to those inquiries.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company’s valuation fell by more than half a trillion dollars late last week, marking its worst performance over that time span in more than two decades.

The concept of iPhone panic-buying comes as Apple’s share price continues to decline. Although it could boost short-term sales for the iPhone maker, the greater impact of tariffs won’t be felt until the following quarter.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has been stockpiling inventory to brace for the tariffs and is accelerating production shifts to India, where tax rates are lower. The Times of India reports that Apple transported five plane loads of iPhones from India and China to the US in the last week of March as part of this effort to maintain stable pricing.

Apple also manufactures some of its products in other countries, including Vietnam, Malaysia and Ireland.

Technologies

We Now Know the Price for Nintendo’s Controversial Switch 2 Welcome Tour

Fans aren’t thrilled that the $450 console doesn’t simply include a free copy of the tutorial game.

We now know a price for the Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which acts as a user tutorial for the various new features of the Nintendo Switch 2. According to IGN, the game will cost $10. A representative for Nintendo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The console’s specs were mostly unveiled during a Nintendo Treehouse event on April 3. That event also featured the announcement of a new game called Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which acts as a user tutorial for the various new features of the Switch 2. It quickly became controversial, with fans posting online that they thought the game should be free and included with the new console.

Per Nintendo, the game will feature «tech demos, minigames, and quizzes» for players to complete. The primary subject matter is the various new features on the Switch 2, like using the controller as a mouse and the upgraded HD Rumble feature. The game shows off some of the design elements of the Joy-Con controllers. For example, the upgraded HD Rumble feature puts the vibration motors «close to where your hands are holding the controllers» to intensify the vibrations. The minigames award medals, which are then used to access new parts of the game until the player has completed everything.

Read more: The 17 Best Nintendo Switch Games Right Now

Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Product and Player Experience, Bill Trinen, told IGN that there’s enough content in the Welcome Tour to justify the $10 price.

«I think it’s going to be a great product,» he said. It’s really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does. And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, ‘Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you’re getting out of the product.’ «

Should a tutorial game cost money?

Fans have already been criticizing the gaming giant for the prices of its release titles. Mario Kart World is set to go on sale for $80 around the same time the Switch 2 is launched, making it one of the most expensive games Nintendo has ever released.

The fact that the tutorial game doesn’t come included with the console — as was the case with Astro’s Playroom on the PlayStation 5 — displeased many Nintendo fans, who had something to say about it.

«That’s definitely a…choice? Not sure I understand the idea of making it paid when it should be a built-in app in every system,» Reddit user Rudy69 said.

«The audacity to make a game that helps you learn about the Nintendo Switch 2 and make it PAID,» argued X user CanadianZar. «No one is buying this game. Hell… Astro’s Playroom walks all over this and IT WAS FREE.»

Other people expressed interest in learning about the new controls but don’t want to shell out for the tutorial. Instead, their plan is to wait for gaming YouTubers to post Let’s Play videos about the game and watch it from there.

Read more: I Played the Nintendo Switch 2: Is It Worth It?

Just because people complain doesn’t mean that the game won’t sell well. Per Guide Strats, Breath of the Wild had a huge number of complaints on social media. The game would go on to outsell its own console when it and the original Nintendo Switch launched together in March 2017.

The game is set to launch on June 5, the same day as the Nintendo Switch 2 console. Preorders for the console have been delayed due to the new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, but the launch date is unchanged.