How an umbrella locked tech workers out of their WeWork office for two days
A team of tech workers was locked out of their WeWork office for two whole days recently after one of their umbrellas fell in front of the entrance door, preventing it from opening. Twitter users stepped up to the challenge of solving the conundrum ... but all failed.
Instagram restricts influencer posts for diet and cosmetic surgery products
Instagram is now placing age restrictions on posts linked to particular diet products and cosmetic surgery procedures, and in some cases will remove them entirely. The new rules, which also affect Instagram's parent company, Facebook, come amid concerns that such posts can affect the mental health of its younger users.
Reddit is back online after a two-hour outage. Here’s what happened
Reddit, one of the web's most popular time-wasting sites, went down for nearly two hours on Wednesday afternoon, leaving tens of thousands of people unable to access their favorite subreddits. The outage affected users worldwide, with both the website and the site's app not working.
Stop laughing! Trademark application suggests Apple was serious about ‘Slofie’
Apple wasn't just making a joke when they coined the term "Slofie" for a slow-motion selfie -- the company has already filed a trademark application to keep other companies from donning the name. But just how often do you need to record yourself in slow-motion at arm's length?
Facebook’s new oversight board could overturn Mark Zuckerberg’s decisions
Facebook gave more details about its Supreme Court for content decisions -- an oversight board that would have the ability to overrule CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The board would have the final say on taking down content and recommendations for further changes.
Facebook hopes its new Ray-Ban smartglasses will replace your smartphone
Move over Snap Spectacles: Facebook is reportedly entering the smartglasses market with its version of augmented reality eyeware. According to reports, Facebook has partnered with Luxottica, Ray-Ban’s parent company, to develop a pair of glasses that would permanently replace smartphones.
Pinterest Lens update keeps inspiration flowing beyond the first search
Pinterest Lens can help you find an object that you can't quite describe, and now that search is faster. An update to Pinterest Lens simplifies the search, while also allowing users to add an original photo to a Board. Pinterest can then continue to find suggestions based on that initial image.
Selfies just went 3D with Snapchat’s new camera mode that responds to movement
Snapchat's newest camera mode makes you selfie pop out of the smartphone screen. After debuting in Spectacles, the Snapchat 3D Camera Mode is launching in-app this week for certain devices, mixing 3D selfies with dimensional Lenses and filters. The 3D selfies can be sent in Snaps or used in Stories.
Travel vloggers detained in Iran for flying a drone without permission
Two vloggers who gave up their jobs in Australia to travel the world have been detained in Iran for flying a drone without a permit, according to reports. Jolie King and Mark Firkin were detained a couple of months ago, though the news has only come to light in the last few days.
Kodak Smile Instant Digital Printer review
A $100 mobile printer, the Kodak Smile can spit out physical copies of the photos on your phone, but it doesn't end there. It can also “print” videos, thanks to a clever augmented reality system that scans a print and plays the associated video on your mobile device.
How to go from lonely to loved with Facebook’s new dating feature
Facebook Dating isn't a seperate app, it's built right into the site, and may be the next Tinder. The feature will generate a dating profile automatically and match you with other singles looking for love. Want to know how to score a date using this new service? Here's how to use Facebook Dating.
Taylor Swift reportedly threatened to sue Microsoft over racist Twitter bot
When Microsoft re-named and reprogrammed the chatbot TayTweets, the company was doing more than trying to get away from the bad publicity over the bot's racist remarks. Taylor Swift threatened legal action over the company's name, the Microsoft president recently revealed.
On World Suicide Prevention Day, Facebook announces it will ban self-harm images
Facebook announced changes to its policies that are geared toward improving how it handles suicide and self-injury content. Steps include banning self-harm images and making it harder for people to search for this type of content. There's also a new Suicide Prevention page that provides resources.
Private Instagram posts turn out not to be as private as you thought
Instagram accounts set to private aren't as private as you might think. Researchers have found that web links to images and videos in private posts can be located by followers who delve into the page’s source code. The links could then be shared — or the content downloaded — without the account owner’s knowledge.
Instagram and Snapchat are down again. Here’s the latest updates on the outage
It's not just you: Instagram and Snapchat both went down on Monday afternoon. Users started to experience problems loading Instagram's app and website just after 2 p.m. PT on Monday, at around the same time Snapchat users reported issues sending snaps to their friends.
Period-tracking apps are sharing people’s intimate data with Facebook
Some period-tracking apps are reportedly sending Facebook personal information about the women who use them. The apps MIA Fem and Maya sent information about contraception use, when women's monthly periods were, and whether or not they experienced symptoms like cramps swelling to the social network.
Does Facebook have a monopoly over your data? Network faces antitrust scrutiny
Facebook's family of apps have more than 2.7 billion monthly active users -- but did the network's efforts to gain those users violate antitrust laws? An investigation from the attorneys general of eight states and the District of Colombia aims to find out if Facebook has a monopoly on data and ads.
YouTube struts onto the runway with a new hub for fashionistas
Fashionistas have a new online destination with the launch this week of a YouTube hub featuring a huge range of style and beauty content gathered from right across the platform. Contributions come from major brands and top models to industry insiders and YouTube creators.
Facebook will spend $10 million and offer a cash prize to detect deepfakes
Facebook will offer a cash prize to the person or group that can build a next-generation way to detect deepfakes -- and it's even creating its own original deepfakes for participants to work with as part of the new Deepfake Detection Challenge. The deepfakes will feature paid actors, so no user data will part of the program.
Recycled Asokee case adds filters, mic, grip, and more to a simple GoPro
The Asokee is a GoPro case that gives the camera a filter mount, mic mount, strap, and grip, while leaving the camera's controls and screens easily accessible. The case, now on Kickstarter, is inspired by YouTube creators. With the recycled materials and promise for planting trees, the Asokee is green too.
Facebook Dating launches in the U.S. and will link to Instagram
If you’re sick of continuously swiping, there's a new addition to online dating: Facebook Dating. Facebook users who are at least 18 can create a separate Dating profile from their regular Facebook profile within the mobile app. You can even integrate photos from your Instagram profile.
Twitter disables tweeting via SMS after CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked
Twitter announced that its temporarily disabling users’ ability to tweet via SMS. In a series of tweets, The official Twitter Support account made the announcement in a series of tweets, citing “vulnerabilities” that need to be addressed. . The move comes after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account was hacked last week.
Hackers who hijacked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account claim another victim
The hacker group that took over Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account has seemingly claimed another victim: this time, they've stolen actress Chloe Grace Moretz’s account. Her account was taken over Wednesday morning, though tweets by the hackers have since been deleted.
Millions of phone numbers linked to Facebook found in exposed database
Millions of phone numbers associated with Facebook accounts have been discovered in an exposed database. A server that wasn’t protected by a password was found to contain over 419 million records from Facebook users worldwide, including 133 million from the United States alone.
No, the government can’t go undercover with fake profiles, Facebook says
Review of social media accounts are now part of the U.S. visa application -- but while the Department of Homeland Security says officers can use fake accounts to vet those applications, Facebook says they can't. The network says fake accounts violate the company's policies and will be removed.
YouTube slapped with $170 million fine for violating children’s online privacy
The FTC has fined YouTube $170 million as part of a settlement for the video platform’s treatment of kids. YouTube allegedly collected personal information used to track internet users from viewers on channels aimed at children. The FTC alleges YouTube collected this information without notifying parents.
YouTube deletes 30,000 videos for hate speech and promises new harassment policy
YouTube said that it removed more than 30,000 videos last month that contained hate speech content. According to YouTube, the videos containing hate speech content that were removed over the last month represented only about 3% of the views that videos about knitting had during the same time frame.
Facebook will stop using facial recognition by default on your photos
Facebook announced on Tuesday that it will stop using facial recognition by default when it suggests who you should tag in photos. The move comes after the social media company was issued a $5 billion fine by the Federal Trade Commission, partially over how it deployed facial recognition technology.
Hackers used scarily simple way to take over Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account on the social media platform fell victim to an old hacking method named SIM swapping. The attackers, who call themselves the Chuckling Squad, were able to acquire his phone number, which allowed them to tweet out offensive messages before Twitter took back control.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked and used to tweet racist messages
A group of hackers calling itself the Chuckling Squad hacked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's own Twitter account on Friday afternoon, using the account to tweet out racist messages and other offensive tweets. The messages were promptly deleted and Twitter is investigating the cause of the hack.
Any child who can do basic math can hack YouTube Kids’ parent controls
YouTube Kids officially launched Friday on the web. The website offers a similar experience to the YouTube Kids mobile app and allows parents to set limits on what content their children are able to watch on the platform. But those limits are only protected by math questions most kids can answer.
Skype ups its messaging game with drafts, bookmarks, previews, and more
Skype has launched a bunch of new features for mobile and desktop, including drafts, bookmarks, and previews. Also, the split window feature (showing contacts and conversations) that launched recently for Windows 10 has now landed for Windows, Mac, and Linux running the latest version of Skype.
How to use TikTok
TikTok is the free entertainment app that focuses on short, musical videos created by users. You can scroll through millions of videos uploaded by other users, or you can get creative and make your own videos. Here's how to use TikTok to make awesome videos, or to just get some laughs.
Facebook has strict new rules for political ads ahead of the 2020 election
Ahead of the 2020 election, Facebook announced changes to its ad policies that will require new disclosures for political ads that appear on the site and Instagram. Facebook said that they will ad “confirmed organization” disclaimers beginning mid-September.