It was bad enough that companies like Facebook and Google relentlessly mine your information and sell it to advertisers. But now third-party startups are getting into the mix. Thanks to unprecedented access to photos uploaded to apps like Instagram, these third-parties are scanning and storing people's photos on behalf of major advertisers.

As tech corporations began releasing a slew of disappointing diversity reports this year, most companies apologized for their numbers and pledged to do a better job at being inclusive. Those pledges didn't mention the part where the tech industry systematically underpays non-white, non-male workers.

Congratulations to new CEO Satya Nadella for making people give a fuck about Microsoft for the first time in years. Nadella achieved this emotional engagement by offering up the most deplorable and incorrect advice to women in the workplace since Joan Holloway told Peggy Olson to wear something that showed off her darling ankles.

There's nothing quite like watching two billionaire blowhards fighting it out on basic cable. This time, Carl Icahn and Marc Andreessen are bickering over eBay.

The idea of an economic safety net for the general populace makes Silicon Valley squirm, but they'll rush to strap a parachute on one of their own.

Silicon Valley's tech tycoons have been lurching towards the right wing for years now. But with the Valley's valuations climbing to record heights, those billionaires are backing Republicans like never before—and the party of obstruction is willing to say whatever it takes to get their dollars.

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, whose teen smartphone sensation was recently valued at $10 billion, spoke at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit yesterday. The 24-year-old wore a $220 sweatshirt from Acne Studios that said "You First." He cooly deflected his frat boy rep. He brushed off the haters. It was a chill sitch.

Thanks to the meritocracy that is Silicon Valley, any doofus with a bloated bank account can become a venture capitalist. But you no longer need the right net worth to get in on the excitement of making speculative bets on startups!

Uber is famous for cutting corners to make a buck. Now a Forbes report reveals that the on-demand service provides no mandatory training of its drivers and doesn't inspect their cars. Rather, Uber charges drivers upwards of $65 for optional customer service classes that could help make the service safer.

Like many other cities across America, San Francisco is attempting to raise its minimum wage and fill a gap caused by federal and state incompetence. The city's voters in the upcoming election will decide whether to up the local minimum wage from $10.74 to $15 an hour, boosting incomes of the most vulnerable workers in the hyper-gentrifying city.

Few pieces of corporate software have earned so many fans so quickly as Slack, which is basically a sophisticated chat room for businesses. But as one blogger just realized, a vulnerability in the login page lets you snoop on the other guy.

Airbnb just got its very own law! San Francisco Board of Supervisors agreed to "legalize but rein in short-term residential rentals by passing the so-called 'Airbnb law.'" Hopefully that marks the end of "almost cult-like" Airbnb proselytizers who followed Supervisor Eric Mar around a farmer's market.

Facebook just spent weeks banning users and battling back criticism against their misguided "real name" policy. So you wouldn't think that the company would be now embracing online anonymity. However, that's exactly what they've done.

The Bay Area, ground zero for apps that will change the world and the investors who finance them, is one of the least charitable places in America. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked the 50 largest metropolitan areas. San Francisco was no. 45 on the list.

When it comes to fashion, techies are perhaps best known for being layered in logos. But there are the occasional exceptions. And according to the New York Post—the city's premier publication for fashion tips and aggressive racism—app consultant Rameet Chawla is the "most stylish man in high tech."

At a hearing in San Francisco Superior Court this morning, Dana McCallum, a Twitter engineer and prominent women's rights and LGBT activist, accepted a guilty plea for two misdemeanors related to the alleged rape of her wife. McCallum, who is a transgender woman, was initially charged with five felonies for the alleged incident, which occurred in January.

Web 2.0's most influential consultants just sold to Capital One, so Mat Honan wrote a eulogy for the entire era: "Web 2.0 was a hothouse of self-promotion—and knives-out backstabbing."

After checking up on their brood last month, some of the tech industry's most prominent investors scolded startups about burning through their venture capital allowance. But dad's new rule about spending wisely has not reached founders themselves, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The workers who drive Facebook's luxury shuttles have exposed the harsh realities of their jobs over the past few months. Now they're turning their complaints into action, pushing Facebook to help them unionize for better wages and livable work schedules.