Researchers will get access to TikTok data — pending company approval

Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok will let researchers at US-based nonprofit universities access public data, the company announced today, following earlier rounds of testing with subject matter experts.

The platform’s API will allow academics and researchers to access “public, anonymized” data like user profiles and content like comments, likes, and favorites on videos and search results in order to better understand TikTok trends and user activity. The research API was first announced last summer, and members of an advisory council were given access to the API in November.

Now, a wider range of researchers will be able to study TikTok more closely, but access to the API is still controlled by the company. Research proposals require approval by TikTok’s US Data...

Continue reading…

Microsoft and Sony square off in EU showdown over Activision and Call of Duty

Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft and Sony’s gaming chiefs are both preparing to meet with EU regulators today in a showdown over Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The closed-door hearing in Brussels will see Xbox chief Phil Spencer and other senior Microsoft executives argue the case for the $68.7 billion deal to proceed, with PlayStation chief Jim Ryan attending to voice Sony’s concerns over the deal.

It’s a pivotal moment for Microsoft’s proposed acquisition, which has already seen opposition from regulators in the UK and US. The FTC is suing Microsoft to block its Activision Blizzard purchase, while the CMA published its provisional findings of its investigation earlier this month, warning that the deal could harm UK gamers. The CMA...

Continue reading…

Tuesday’s top tech news: A new era (or two) for Sonos

The Sonos Era 300.

Plus an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, and more lobbying from Microsoft.

Continue reading…

Microsoft signs binding Call of Duty deal with Nintendo ahead of EU Activision hearing

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Call of Duty will be available to Nintendo players on the same day as Xbox with “full feature and content parity” under a 10-year agreement between the two platforms, Microsoft’s Brad Smith announced. The deal was announced in early December, but Smith is offering more details today ahead of a hearing in which Microsoft will argue its case with EU regulators to allow its $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard to proceed, Reuters reports.

As my colleague Tom Warren wrote back in December, the Nintendo deal is almost certainly part of Microsoft’s attempt to pressure Sony into accepting a similar offer and allay regulatory competition concerns. The PlayStation maker has emerged as one of the chief opponents of...

Continue reading…

HBO’s The Last of Us is skipping to the cut scenes, and it's for the best

This was a great moment adapted from a cutscene from the video game—and I didn’t have to fight a single zombie to see it. | Image: HBO

Sometimes you don’t need violence and zombies. Sometimes you just need human beings hanging out at the end of the world.

Continue reading…

Sure, why not let an airplane seat electrify my brain?

“Brain stimulation system to provide a sense of wellbeing.” | Embraer

Commercial air travel is a largely terrible experience, and aviation companies patent a lot of ways to make it either slightly less miserable or an even more dystopian hell. Where does reading passengers’ emotions to offer them transcranial stimulation therapy fall? I’ll leave that up to you.

Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer filed a patent application for a “brain stimulation system to provide a sense of wellbeing” back in 2016, and it was granted last year. But I only discovered it thanks to a more recent Mastodon post by attorney Jeff Steck, and I am fascinated. Embraer’s reasonable starting premise is that lots of people become anxious on long car, train, and airplane rides, “turning a short trip into a long one.” From there,...

Continue reading…

Social networks’ latest business model is charging for security

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Social networks have struggled with spam, scams, impersonation, and account hijacking for years. And over the past week, two of them unveiled a new plan for dealing with it: passing the cost to users.

The first move came from Twitter, which made SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) a premium feature late last week. After March 20th, users will need to either switch to an app-based authentication system, pay $8 to $11 a month, or turn off the basic security feature. The decision is part of a larger attempt to push people onto subscription-based Twitter, and Musk also agreed with a tweet saying that it’s also an attempt to cut down on carriers charging Twitter for spam SMS messages.

Soon after, Meta announced its own security...

Continue reading…

Exclusive: these are the new Sonos Era speakers

The Era 300 has a unique design and six drivers for immersive spatial audio.

Sonos is continuing to finalize details for a pair of new smart speakers set to launch in the coming weeks, and The Verge has now obtained marketing images of the products and learned roughly how much they will cost. The spatial audio-focused Era 300 is expected to be priced in the ballpark of $450, making it less expensive than the company’s flagship Sonos Five. As such, the Five will likely remain part of Sonos’ lineup after the pending hardware announcements.

But the same cannot be said for the Sonos One, which is all but certain to be replaced by the upcoming Era 100. Sonos has discussed pricing that speaker around $250, a slight price increase compared to the $219 One. But customers should be gaining several improvements for the...

Continue reading…

Google Chrome’s latest version includes tools to address its memory hog problem

Google Chrome’s Memory Saver and Energy Saver modes can extend battery when a device is low on power and reduce memory being hogged by tabs. | Image: Google

Google has released optimization features designed to improve battery life and memory usage on machines running the latest version of its Chrome desktop web browser. Chrome’s new Energy Saver and Memory Saver modes were first announced in December last year alongside the release of Chrome 108, and now as noted by Android Police, the two optimization utilities are starting to roll out globally onto Chrome 110 desktops for Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks.

Memory Saver mode essentially snoozes Chrome tabs that aren’t currently in use to free up RAM for more intensive tasks and create a smoother browsing experience. Don’t worry if you’re a tab hoarder though, as these inactive tabs are still visible and can be reloaded at any time to pick up...

Continue reading…

Shigeru Miyamoto is working with his hands again

Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

As Super Nintendo World opens up in Los Angeles, the creator of Mario talks about getting back to his roots, and exploring new creative fields.

Continue reading…

Ubisoft will mess with XIM cheaters in Rainbow Six Siege

Image: Ubisoft

Ubisoft will start messing with Rainbow Six Siege players that cheat by using XIM or similar devices to spoof controller inputs by using a mouse and keyboard on console. In an update to Rainbow Six Siege, players that cheat by using third-party devices like XIM will soon start to notice more input latency that will mess with their aim.

Devices like XIM, Cronus Zen, and ReaSnow S1 are often used in online competitive shooters to allow mouse and keyboard users to get the benefits of aim assist from controller mixed with the benefits of movement from mouse and keyboard. They’re steadily becoming a problem across Overwatch, Call of Duty, Destiny 2, Rainbow Six Siege, and other online shooters.

“This is a problem that all console shooters...

Continue reading…

Nobody can stop you from printing circuit boards

It’s really not that hard. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Getting PCBs made is fun and cheap, they’ll let you draw whatever you want on there, and the cops can’t stop you.

Continue reading…

Here’s how to secure your Twitter account without paying for Blue

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

If you’ve been on Twitter lately, you might’ve seen a message prompting you to switch away from text message two-factor authentication (2FA). That’s because Twitter’s putting the feature behind a paywall, which means you either have to pay $8 per month for Blue or switch to another authentication method — and I think most of us would choose the latter.

Fortunately, SMS 2FA isn’t the only way to secure your Twitter account, with other methods still available for free. The platform’s shutdown of the feature — at least for non-Blue subscribers — is actually a good reminder that we shouldn’t be using it in the first place.

SMS 2FA leaves you vulnerable to SIM-swapping attacks, which usually happen when a bad actor uses social engineering or...

Continue reading…

TikTok wants longer videos for its new creator fund

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok is testing a new way for creators on the platform to get paid — and posting longer videos is a requirement.

The new fund announced today, called the Creativity Program, is in beta testing in the US, France, and Brazil and confirms earlier reporting by The Information about tactics TikTok is employing to boost lagging growth in the US. The new program is open on an invite-only basis for now but will expand to include all eligible users in the future, the company says.

To be eligible for the program, users will need to be over 18, hit follower and video views benchmarks, and, most interestingly, make “high-quality, original videos that are longer than one minute.” The focus on longer videos might come as a surprise for some — after...

Continue reading…

Are those… light strips on the back of OnePlus’ new concept phone?

The “blue pipelines” sure look a lot like light strips. | Image: OnePlus

OnePlus is teasing a new concept phone in a pair of images released today. It’s called the “OnePlus 11 Concept,” and while the company is refusing to confirm exactly what the images are showing (this is meant as a “sneak peek,” after all), it looks like the device might come equipped with light strips similar to last year’s Nothing Phone 1.

An official announcement isn’t expected until next week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, but for now here’s how OnePlus describes the “flowing back” teased today:

“The images show the engineering breakthroughs of the OnePlus 11 Concept by highlighting the icy blue pipelines which run through the entire back of the phone, almost like OnePlus 11 Concept has its own series of blood vessels....

Continue reading…

‘Bending physics’: inside Rimac’s plan to make the fastest EV on the planet

How did Mate Rimac build a company like Rimac Automobili in a place like Croatia? It has meant redefining the country’s dated concepts of power and success and a willingness to take on inconceivable projects, like taking over Bugatti.

Continue reading…

Microsoft’s Outlook spam email filters are broken for many right now

Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

Microsoft’s Outlook spam filters appear to be broken for many users today. I woke up to more than 20 junk messages in my Focused Inbox in Outlook this morning, and spam emails have kept breaking through on an hourly basis today. Many Outlook users in Europe have also spotted the same thing, with some heading to Twitter to complain about waking up to an inbox full of spam messages.

Most of the messages that are making it into Outlook users’ inboxes are very clearly spam. Today’s issues are particularly bad, after weeks of the Outlook spam filter progressively deteriorating for me personally.

Outlook spam filter is garbage pic.twitter.com/3SwwP1X9SE

— Brett Lemoine (@bremic9188) February 20, 2023

If you’re also getting inundated with...

Continue reading…

Microsoft Teams is getting big performance improvements next month

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is preparing to launch a new version of Microsoft Teams next month that has been rebuilt from the ground up to significantly improve its system resource usage on PCs and laptops. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the software giant has recently started testing this new Teams client broadly inside Microsoft, with plans to roll out a preview to Microsoft Teams users in March.

Known as Microsoft Teams 2.0 or 2.1 internally, Microsoft has been working on this new Teams client for years. The app should use 50 percent less memory, tax the CPU less, and result in better battery life on laptops.

While Microsoft shipped some of this early work in the built-in Teams experience for consumers in Windows 11,...

Continue reading…

NBA star Paul Pierce fined $1.4 million for promoting Emax cryptocurrency

Pierce agreed to pay the settlement “without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings.” | Image: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Former NBA champion Paul Pierce has agreed to pay over $1.4 million in penalties after unlawfully promoting the EthereumMax (EMAX) cryptocurrency to his Twitter audience. In a statement published on Friday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against the former Boston Celtics player — nicknamed ‘The Truth’ — for making “false and misleading” statements about EMAX and failing to disclose that he was paid more than $244,000 worth of EMAX tokens to promote the cryptocurrency to his social media following.

In one example of his illicit activity, the commission claims that Pierce tweeted a misleading screenshot of an account displaying significant EMAX holdings and profits without disclosing that the image did not...

Continue reading…

Monday’s top tech news: Paid verification comes to Meta

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

While Twitter removes a key security feature for non-paying users.

Continue reading…

A second Hellboy reboot is officially on the way

David Harbour as Hellboy in the 2019 reboot. | Image: Lionsgate

Almost two decades after the release of the Guillermo del Toro-directed Hellboy, the character is getting yet another reboot. Millennium Media has confirmed that Hellboy: The Crooked Man will enter production next month in Bulgaria, Deadline reports. Casting for the titular character (originally played by Ron Perlman and then David Harbour) is yet to be announced, but the new film will be directed by Brian Taylor, best known for the Jason Statham action movie Crank.

Perhaps most interesting is that the comics’ original creator Mike Mignola has written the script for the upcoming film alongside Chris Golden. Both were reported to have worked on the script for the 2019 reboot by The Hollywood Reporter, though Andrew Cosby ultimately ended...

Continue reading…

The Steam Deck now supports game transfers from PCs

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The Steam Deck now supports game transfers on your local network, allowing you to copy installed games from your PC to the Steam Deck without having to redownload them over the internet. This feature, which comes bundled with the Steam Deck beta update released last week, should help reduce the amount of internet data you use, especially if you find yourself frequently redownloading hefty games to your handheld.

To gain access to the feature, you first have to enable Steam’s beta on both the Steam Deck and the Steam client on your PC. From there, select the game you want to install on your Steam Deck, and Steam will automatically check to see if any PC on your network already has the game. If it finds one, Steam will begin the game...

Continue reading…

Facebook and Instagram are testing selling you blue checks for $12 a month

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Meta’s testing paid verification for Instagram and Facebook for $11.99 per month on web and $14.99 per month on mobile. In an update on Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that a “Meta Verified” account will grant users a verified badge, increased visibility on the platforms, prioritized customer support, and more. The feature’s rolling out to Australia and New Zealand this week and will arrive in more countries “soon.”

“This week we’re starting to roll out Meta Verified — a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support,” Zuckerberg writes. “This new feature is about...

Continue reading…

Google Meet rolls out 360-degree virtual backgrounds for video calls

Illustration: The Verge

Google Meet’s launching new 360-degree virtual backgrounds for video calls on mobile. While Google first announced the new feature last month, now it’s rolling out on both iOS and Android and uses your device’s gyroscope to move with you.

As you can see in the embedded GIF, the 360-degree background will change depending on where your phone or tablet’s positioned. So, if you move your phone left or right, your background will adjust to show different scenery. Google says users can apply “several” new 360-degree backgrounds during video calls, including one that shows a beach and another with a temple.

Image: Google

While the feature does look pretty cool, I can see how these backgrounds might get distracting if...

Continue reading…

Diablo IV’s open beta starts next month

Get ready to slay some demons. | Image: Blizzard

The open beta for Diablo IV is just weeks away. At _IGN’_s Fan Fest on Saturday, Blizzard announced that the open beta will kick off on March 24th and last until the 26th, while those who pre-ordered the game will get early access to the game from March 17th to 19th.

During the beta, you’ll get to “intimately explore” the early game of Diablo IV, including the game’s prologue and all of Act 1, which takes place in the Fractured Peaks. As you traverse the snowy landscape, you’ll get to complete quests and slay demons for as long as you want, but your level will be capped at 25.

Blizzard also gave us a glimpse at Diablo IV’s opening cinematic during IGN’s Fan Fest, giving us a closer look at the game’s first zone, as well as the game’s...

Continue reading…

Starlink’s testing a ‘Global Roaming’ internet service for $200 per month

Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge

Starlink’s testing a new satellite internet service it says will let you “connect from almost anywhere on land in the world,” according to a message some Starlink users have received. The SpaceX-owned company calls it “Global Roaming Service” and says it’ll cost $200 per month in addition to the base $599 Starlink Kit.

The service, which uses “Starlink’s inter-satellite links (aka space lasers) to provide connectivity around the globe,” comes with a pretty big caveat. In its message to users, Starlink notes that you should expect “Starlink’s typical high speed, low-latency service intermixed with brief periods of poor connectivity, or none at all” but that this will “improve dramatically over time.”

NEWS: Starlink is testing a new...

Continue reading…

Garmin Vivomove Trend review: trending smarter

These days, Garmin devices aren’t just beefy fitness watches. The company’s done a lot to shore up its hybrid smartwatches, too.

Continue reading…

WhatsApp’s latest iOS update adds picture-in-picture for video calls

Illustration: The Verge

WhatsApp has finally started to roll out picture-in-picture mode for video calls on iOS, as spotted earlier by 9to5Mac. The feature, which WhatsApp first started testing last year, should let you open up other apps during video calls without any disruptions.

Just like picture-in-picture mode on FaceTime, WhatsApp will shrink your video call to a small window that sits atop whatever app you switch to. This allows you to partake in the call while reading a relevant document, surfing the web, or perhaps even playing a game.

You can gain access to picture-in-picture mode in the latest WhatsApp update on iOS (version 23.3.77), but you might have to wait a bit to use it. WhatsApp says it will roll out the feature “over the coming weeks” and...

Continue reading…

The AI-powered Seinfeld spoof is set to return to Twitch with new guardrails in place

Image: Nothing, Forever / Twitch

Nothing, Forever, an AI-powered Seinfeld spoof show on Twitch, was quickly becoming the next big thing on the platform. During the always-on stream, a cast of Seinfeld-adjacent characters had befuddling conversations, made weird jokes, and moved through a world of crude, blocky graphics, all backed by a laugh track and directed by AI.

But then it was suspended for two weeks after the Jerry Seinfeld-like character made transphobic remarks. That suspension is set to lift on Monday, and while its creators at Mismatch Media have been working to make sure transphobic comments won’t happen again, they can’t guarantee it.

The transphobic remarks happened after Mismatch changed the AI models underpinning the stream. “We started having an outage...

Continue reading…

Apple, please don’t take all of the buttons away

Take a good, long look at these buttons. It might be the last time you see them. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Look, I know it’s probably too late, but since reports have been surfacing for a while now that Apple is planning to remove the physical buttons from the iPhone 15 Pro, replacing them with solid-state “taptic” buttons. Some new, alleged renders of the iPhone 15 published by 9to5Mac seem to confirm the news: it’s time to bid the physical volume rocker and power switch goodbye, at least on some upcoming models. Surely it is too late to change anyone’s mind in Cupertino, but I’m going to make the case anyway. Please don’t take the buttons away, Apple.

For starters, there’s just no haptic button that feels as good or reassuringly clicky as a physical button. This is a completely objective observation based on data gathered by one individual:...

Continue reading…