Facebook faces another huge data leak affecting 267 million users
More than 260 million U.S. Facebook users’ IDs, phone numbers, and names were exposed to an online database that could potentially be used for spam and phishing campaigns. Comparitech reports that before the database was taken down, it was found on a hacker forum as a downloadable file.
Facebook bans misleading content and ads about the 2020 census
Facebook is taking new initiatives to help protect the 2020 census by banning misleading information and prohibiting ads that shed a negative light on the process. The new census interference policy includes prohibiting misrepresentation of dates, times, methods, and the nature of the government’s involvement.
Instagram bans influencers from promoting tobacco and vaping in branded content
Social media influencers on Instagram aren't allowed to promote vaping, tobacco products, or weapons anymore as part of a new update on the platform. This is the first instance where the social media platform is restricting the kind of items that can be promoted through branded content.
Malicious attacker targeted epilepsy group on Twitter in bid to cause seizures
The Epilepsy Foundation said this week that it has filed a formal criminal complaint in connection with an online attack that tried to trigger seizures via images directed at its Twitter account. The troubling incident has echoes of another one in 2016 that caused a prominent writer to have a seizure.
Recognizing that you have a life, Snapchat unveils games you can play any time
Snap Games no longer require friends logged in at the same time. Snapchat Leaderboard Games are a new gaming format that allows friends to compete with high scores, without being active at the same time. The new format is launching with two new Snapcaht original games.
Why have Americans turned a cold shoulder to messaging giant WhatsApp?
It's one of the most popular messaging apps worldwide, yet Americans barely know it exists. Why is WhatsApp still so unpopular in the U.S. when it dominates the markets in places like India and Germany?
YouTube creator PewDiePie says he’s taking a break from making videos
YouTube personality, PewDiePie, announced in a video over the weekend that he’s going to take a break from the platform early next year. PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) critiqued YouTube’s new harassment policy that was announced last week, partially blaming the change as his reason for taking a break.
Instagram will warn you before you post offensive or bullying captions
Instagram is going to use artificial intelligence machine learning to notify its users if a caption contains possibly offensive language, so users have the chance to change their words before posting. The A.I. would be able to learn and recognize different forms of bullying and verbally offensive material.
The FTC might finally do something about Facebook’s social media monopoly
The FTC's antitrust investigation into Facebook could result in a preliminary injunction. A preliminary injunction by the FTC might happen as soon as next month, and would force Facebook from integrating any more apps. The FTC is reportedly considering taking action because of antitrust concerns.
Apple News and Twitter are co-hosting Democratic debates
Tech giants Apple and Twitter will be partners in separate Democratic debates scheduled for the first two months of 2020. Apple News will partner with ABC and WMUR-TV for the January 14 debate in Des Moines, Iowa, and Twitter will be a partner for the February 25 debate in Charleston, South Carolina.
Facebook’s long-promised Supreme Court for content won’t be here for a long time
Facebook’s Oversight Board that can overrule CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking longer than expected to come into existence. The board was supposed to deliberate its first cases early next year. However, Facebook is still working to source and review candidates as part of the selection process.
Twitter makes some notable changes for folks who like posting photos
Good news for anyone who likes posting photos on Twitter. The microblogging company says it has just introduced new compression software that enables JPEGs to retain their original quality. In addition, it also now supports the iPhone's Live Photos feature, allowing you to post the file as a GIF.
Hey @Jack Dorsey, decentralizing Twitter won’t solve hate speech problems
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has floated a compelling possibility: He wants to put together a team to explore decentralizing Twitter. But this could mean that Dorsey is simply trying to shunt off responsibility for Twitter’s persistent problems with harassment and abuse on the platform.
Facebook will protect your data — as long as no one’s paying them for it
Facebook pushed back against a request from three major world governments to halt plans to provide end-to-end encryption for its Messenger app. The move has been heralded by privacy rights groups over law enforcement objections, but Facebook still makes money off of your data.
Digital Trends Live: Decentralizing social media, Pirate Bay streams, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, hosts Greg Nibler and Drew Prindle discuss the biggest trending topics in tech, including Facebook denying backdoor access, Dorsey wants decentralized social media, Pirate Bay allows streaming, cow manure energy, a junk-collecting space robot, and more.
YouTube updates harassment policy and expands it to all creators on platform
YouTube updated its anti-harassment policy to include implied threats, as well as malicious insults based on a person’s race, gender, expression, or sexual orientation. The new policy has been extended to all users, including YouTube creators and public officials that use the platform.
Influencer’s bizarre plot to steal domain name results in hefty jail term
An Iowa man who took extreme action in order to secure a domain name for his social media business has been handed a 14-year jail term for his efforts. The offender also involved his cousin in the plot, but things took a turn for the worse when they visited the victim’s home to force him to give up the domain.
Snapchat Cameo will edit people’s faces into GIFs for harmless deepfakes
Snapchat is testing a new feature that will allow users to insert their selfies into a selection of premade GIFs to create customized content. The feature, named Snapchat Cameos, is a harmless application of deepfake technology, which has drawn criticism for its potential misuse.
YouTube Rewind 2019 is an improvement, but fans still hate it
YouTube Rewind 2019 is here, rounding up all of the most popular videos on the platform in 2019. Among them? Music from the likes of Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X, as well as entertainment from popular creators like MrBeast and PewDiePie, and content related to Fortnite and Minecraft.
Google Photos just made it easier to share one-off photos and videos
Google Photos has just launched a handy new feature that makes it much easier to send one-off photos and video clips. Sending content also initiates a chat-like messaging experience, with the recipient able to quickly save the photo or clip to their gallery, if they wish.
No kids allowed, for real this time: Instagram will begin enforcing age rules
Instagram will begin asking users for their birthdays in order to enforce legal age restrictions starting today, the company announced. Technically only people age 13 and older are allowed on Instagram’s platform, but the app had no way to check or confirm a user’s age until now.
From censorship to VCRs, these are the top Reddit posts of 2019
What were the most popular posts on one of the internet's most popular destinations? Behold, the top Reddit posts of 2019, which cover a variety of topics, from literal poop, to censorship, to VCRs. Reddit released the annual report highlighting a handful of significant trends over the past year.
Psh. Google’s top GIFs of 2019 capture all the facial expressions text can’t
These GIFs are so 2019. Google recently shared its list of the top GIFs of 2019 by comparing data from last year. The lists include the most-searched-for GIFs, as well as the most-shared. Thanks to the now Google-owned Tenor GIF keyboard, we know what GIFs will say it best when words just won't do.
TikTok lawsuit claims video app ‘vacuums up’ user data and sends it to China
A lawsuit has been filed in California against video social network TikTok, which claims the app collects user data and sends it to China, something the firm has denied in the past. Although owned by a Chinese company, TikTok says it operates independently, and stores U.S. user data on U.S. servers.
Twitter’s new Privacy Center lets you know what’s happening with your data
Twitter said this week there’s “room for improvement” when it comes to communicating with its users about how it protects their privacy. A new Privacy Center aims to change that. Twitter’s new offering provides information about privacy and data protection work, new privacy products, and news about security incidents.
Now that you can easily transfer photos out of Facebook, will you stay?
Facebook on December 2 announced a new data portability feature that will begin rolling out in Ireland before spreading elsewhere: The ability to transport your Facebook photos from Facebook to other platforms. Does this portend a new exodus from the social media platform?
You will soon be able to migrate your Facebook photos and videos to Google Photos
Facebook will soon let you easily migrate your photos and videos to other services like Google Photos. In a blog post, the social network said it’s rolling out a new tool in Ireland that allows you to transfer your Facebook media without having to manually download and upload it someplace else.
Best Cyber Monday smart speaker deals: Alexa, Google Home, Sonos, and more
Black Friday is over, but you can still save on the smart speaker you've been waiting for. More fantastic deals are on the way tomorrow with Cyber Monday. Digital Trends will keep this page updated with all of the best savings on Alexa, Google Home, Sonos, and more.
Finally, a chocolate iPhone case that you can actually eat
You won't see it in a Black Friday sale, but this iPhone 11 case would surely be a hit with chocoholics if it was up for grabs. The case can be made in the time it takes for melted chocolate to set, but let’s be honest, it won’t save your phone from scrapes and drops. Should taste darn good, though.
Twitter pauses plan to clear its platform of inactive accounts
After it emerged earlier this week that Twitter would soon start deleting inactive accounts, some users contacted the company to raise a point that it realized it hadn't considered — how to deal with the accounts of users who have passed away. Twitter has now hit pause on the deletion process until it finds a solution.
How to make money on YouTube
YouTube lets content creators the world over make a decent living from their videos. If you want to get in on that action, then learning how to make money on YouTube is the first step. We'll leave the creativity to you, but here's how to monetize your account and avoid the demonetization pitfalls.
Twitter is about to delete inactive accounts. Here’s how to keep yours
If you haven’t checked in on Twitter in a while, you might want to log in; otherwise, you risk your account getting deleted. Inactive Twitter users will soon be kicked off of the site as Twitter plans to remove all inactive accounts beginning next month. Here's what you need to do to keep your Twitter account.
Digital Trends Live: Alexa manages meds, Ford versus Tesla, robot police dogs
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, hosts Greg Nibler and Riley Winn tackle the top trending stories in tech, including Alexa managing your medications, a Twitter/Facebook data breach, Tesla v Ford v Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Boston Dynamic’s police dog robots, and more.
Private data of some Facebook and Twitter users leaked through malicious apps
Facebook and Twitter said private data of “hundreds of their users” was compromised through malicious third-party Android apps. The social media companies were tipped off by a team of security researchers who discovered a SDK allowed developers to access personal information of some of their users.