Facebook’s ‘brain-computer interface’ could let you type with your mind
Facebook talked a couple of years ago about creating technology that lets you type with your mind. Aimed primarily at patients with speech loss due to paralysis or some other chronic condition, the company recently offered an update on how its ambitious project is progressing.
Sen. Josh Hawley wants to ban infinite scroll and autoplay videos
Sen. Josh Hawley introduced legislation on Tuesday calling for tech giants to curb deceptive techniques that fuel social media addiction.The Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology (SMART) Act would ban certain features that he says can be addictive to users like infinite scroll and autoplay.
In SEC filing, Facebook admits Libra cryptocurrency may not happen after all
Facebook’s drive to create its own worldwide cryptocurrency might have hit a brick wall. In a new SEC filing, the company said that Libra’s planned 2020 launch might be delayed – or it might not ever happen at all – now that government regulators have expressed concerns.
Pinterest aims to be more than just inspiration with its new shopping hub
Pinterest now has a dedicated home for your personalized shopping recommendations. Available from the home feed, the platform now collects products based on user interests in a single location. The company has also announced an update that expands the option to shop entire catalogs.
Slack is back up after being down worldwide. Here’s the latest on the outage
Popular work-chat program Slack went down on Monday morning -- just in time for the start of the work week. The company said that the outage began just before 8 a.m. PT, with users unable to see or send chat messages or even log in at all. Service was restored about an hour later
Why doesn’t Facebook help after your account gets hacked?
When your Facebook account gets hacked, the company offers little in the way of customer service reps to help you out. Users and consumer advocates say Facebook's customer support system unacceptably bad, and users whose accounts have been compromised get little help -- or none at all.
Privacy group sues FTC, says $5 billion Facebook fine is chump change
Earlier this week Facebook settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over privacy violations to the tune of $5 billion, the largest fine in the history of the FTC. While certainly huge, one privacy group thinks that the $5 billion fine doesn't go far enough to address consumer concerns.
Does Twitter’s new design make you grumpy? Use this extension to turn back time
Hating on Twitter's new app-like desktop platform with larger controls and a completely new layout? A new Firefox extension will take users back to the old design -- plus there's a built-in workaround for any browser, if you're patient enough. Here's how to go back to the old Twitter.com design.
The LaMetric Sky gives artistic meaning to smart lighting
The LaMetric Sky is based on ancient Chinese tangram puzzles and designed to fit together in a variety of ways with more than 16 million color combinations. The Sky takes the best parts of the LaMetric Time and improves on it. The lights are now available for pre-order.
If a $5 billion fine won’t get Facebook under control, what will?
Facebook will pay the Federal Trade Commission a $5 billion fine as part of a settlement over privacy violations announced on Wednesday, but don't expect the company to meaningfully change its behavior. The punishment seems huge, but is not a major hit to Facebook's bottom line.
Facebook to pay a historic $5 billion penalty in final settlement with FTC
The FTC has officially penalized Facebook a groundbreaking $5 billion, the largest in FTC history. Facebook will also have to submit to new restrictions, as well as a modified corporate structure that will hold the company accountable in decisions made about users’ privacy.
Mic drop, please: Reddit’s newest awards highlight specific communities
Reddit Community Awards, an addition to Reddit Coins, recognizes top posts and comments in the spirit of that community using inside jokes or pieces of the subreddits culture. The awards, purchased through Reddit coins, are exclusive and custom-designed within each community.
Facebook admits to Messenger Kids security flaw but insists it’s fixed
Facebook has confirmed that it missed a design flaw in its Messenger Kids app that meant children could have communicated with users who hadn’t been parent-approved. The error involved group chats, though Facebook says it has now fixed the issue and contacted those affected.
The FTC’s $5 billion privacy fine on Facebook could’ve been much, much bigger
The United States government almost fined Facebook tens of billions of dollars for privacy violations -- and nearly held CEO Mark Zuckerberg accountable -- instead of the eventual $5 billion settlement between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the social media giant.
Relax, new Pinterest tools promote mental health for stressed searchers
Need a confidence boost after a Pinterest fail or stressful workday? Stress-related searches will soon link to mental health exercises and resources on Pinterest. The resources include exercises such as deep breathing and expressing gratitude to help fight stress and sadness.
Instagram will give users chance to fix accounts in danger of being banned
Instagram will start issuing warnings for accounts that are in danger of being banned, to give users the chance to change how they post on the platform. People will also be able to appeal for the restoration of deleted content through the notifications, so they will not have to go to the Help Center.
FaceApp says it won’t hold on to your face photos. Should you trust it?
If you use FaceApp, you've given its parent company permission to use your face photos for pretty much anything -- even though the app-maker says it won't use them for nefarious purposes or sell them to a third party.
Study suggests using emojis makes you appear more friendly — even at work
Can emojis be a clue into your personality? A recent survey suggests that emojis make a person seem friendlier and more approachable, even when used within a professional environment. The Adobe Emoji Trend Report highlights several trends in emoji use for World Emoji Day.
Instagram is crashing repeatedly for some users. Here’s the latest on the outage
Thousands of Instagram users said Tuesday that the social media app was repeatedly crashing or not opening at all, the third time in just over a month that the social network has experienced issues.
The U.S. Senate really doesn’t like Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency plans
Facebook Libra had its first big regulatory test on Tuesday when Calibra head David Marcus appeared before the Senate Banking Committee. It didn’t go well. Senators of both parties had major concerns about Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency. It’s looking increasingly likely that Libra might be delayed.
Digital Trends Live: Twitter’s redesign, Libra’s possible delay, Neuralink
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, host Greg Nibler and DT Content Manager Hanif Jackson discuss the biggest trending stories in tech, including a Twitter redesign, Facebook may delay Libra, Neuralink gets its first public event, growing food in space, and the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.
Twitter’s mobile-inspired dark mode desktop makeover isn’t just about looks
Twitter.com may have a new look, but it's one that already feels familiar. On July 15, Twitter began rolling out a new design for desktop that borrows heavily from the platform's mobile apps with a sleeker look, a new dark mode, and easier navigation. Explore and bookmarks also arrive with the update.
Facebook says it won’t launch Libra until regulators are happy
Facebook says it won’t roll out its Libra cryptocurrency until it’s fully addressed regulatory concerns – though it added that regulation of the currency itself would largely happen in Switzerland, not the U.S. Lawmakers will likely have lots of questions about how it will be regulated in the U.S.
Lua uses animated emotions to help you keep your plants happy and healthy
The Lua Smart Planter is currently seeking funding on Indiegogo to make this smiling plant pot a reality. The device helps you take care of your plants by showing the plant's needs through a series of animated faces. Who doesn't want a plant that uses a vampire face to show a lack of sunlight?
The FTC will hit Facebook with a $5 billion fine over privacy violations
Facebook has agreed to a $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its numerous “privacy missteps." Once it goes through, this would be the largest FTC fine for a major technology company – and a huge chunk of cash for the world’s biggest social network.
President Trump attacks Facebook Libra, says it’s not dependable like the dollar
President Trump attacked Facebook's new Libra cryptocurrency on Thursday, claiming it will have "little standing or dependability" and that Facebook would need to seek a banking charter if it wanted to move forward.
YouTube offers creators more ways to boost their bank accounts
YouTube has unveiled several new features aimed at helping creators to monetize their channel outside of the usual ad-based system. Super Stickers, for example, lets fans buy animated stickers to drop into livestream chats, while Channel Memberships now lets you offer various price points for different perks.
How to opt out of targeted ads on Facebook
Facebook tracks just about everything you do, from what pages you like to what political affiliation you may be. It even tries to guess what race you are. All of this is done so that it can target you with relevant ads. Here's how to opt out of targeted ads on Facebook.
Facebook now allows you to opt out of those ads that target your tastes
Tired of seeing Facebook ads that aren’t relevant to you? Now you can not only opt out of ads from that company, but you can also see why the ad was shown to you in the first place. However, there's still no "opt out of all ads" button quite yet.
Here’s why Twitter went down for an hour earlier on Thursday
Twitter is finally back online after going down for users around the globe late Thursday morning. The hour-long disruption made Twitter the latest major social media network to go offline over the past month. You can blame your lack of tweets on an "internal configuration change," Twitter said.
Reddit is finally back online after an hours-long desktop outage
Reddit is back online for desktop users after an hours-long outage early Thursday morning. Reddit's status page said it was still investigating some residual issues, so users may still have some trouble accessing the site.
Digital Trends Live: Nintendo Switch Lite confirmed, HBO Max, and more
On today’s episode of Digital Trends Live, we talk the biggest trending stories in tech, including confirmation of the Nintendo Switch Lite, HBO Max, India may ban Facebook’s cryptocurrency, Jim Carrey’s deepfake of The Shining, and more.
Facebook no longer lets you save your friends’ birthdays to your own calendar
Facebook quietly removed a feature that allowed users to export and sync their friends’ birthdays to an external calendar like iCal or Google Calendar. While you can still export upcoming events -- parties, get-togethers, and the like, the ability to save birthdays was gone as of Sunday, July 7.
Twitter finally banned hate speech against religious groups. Will it help?
Twitter will expand its rules to ban hateful conduct made against religious groups, the social network announced Tuesday. The new rules will require the company to remove any tweet which “dehumanizes whole religious groups,” but it's not clear whether it will solve Twitter's hate speech problem.