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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge FTC lawyers submitted a filing on Thursday that claims Amazon's top execs used Signal's disappearing messages feature to destroy evidence relevant to the agency's massive antitrust lawsuit. (You remember the one? The FTC accused Amazon of creating a secret Project Nessie" pricing algorithm that may have generated more than $1 billion in extra profits.)Now, The Washington Post (which is owned by Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos) reports that Amazon is just one of several companies recently accused of turning to encrypted messaging apps like Signal that can permanently erase messages automatically.You may recall the government making similar arguments about Sam Bankman-Fried's use of Signal during his trial for fraud and how... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google has spent the past year dealing with two of the biggest threats in its 25-year history: the rise of generative AI and the growing drumbeat of regulation. AI, in particular, has shaken the company to its core: it's made big search changes, realigned the Search, Android, and hardware teams around AI, and launched its own Gemini AI model to capitalize on the opportunity.Google execs cut projects and laid off employees to refocus, and yesterday, it announced its first-ever dividend and a $70 billion share buyback alongside its Q1 2024 earnings.Investors, at least, are eating it up: Google parent company Alphabet has finally officially hit and maintained a $2 trillion market cap for a whole day of trading after briefly touching $2... Continue reading...

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Think about everything you do across Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and everything else Google owns, and you get some idea of how much data you're giving up to the company each day. For most of us, it's... a lot.Whether or not you think the data collection and targeted advertising is a worthwhile trade for the free apps you get in return, Google does at least provide a comprehensive online dashboard you can use to see some of what's being gathered.You can use it to delete everything Google has already collected, stop it from collecting anything in the future, or automatically delete your data after a set period (like three months). You can also use these features to clear the records if you're planning to delete your Google... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google is testing its AI listening skills with a feature that lets people speak into their phones and practice English with a conversational AI bot. Google first rolled out the speaking practice experience in October 2023. Originally, the feature only provided feedback on spoken sentences. Now, users can practice having ongoing conversations in the language they're learning.TechCrunch reports that the feature is currently available for Search Labs users in Argentina, Colombia, India, Mexico, Venezuela, and Indonesia. Search Labs is Google's sandbox for potential new Search features; however, the feature may also pop up based on translating to or from English with Google on an Android device.For now, the feedback and conversation... Continue reading...

Photo by Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Tupac Shakur's lawyers warned Drake that they would take him to court if he did not take down his Taylor Made" diss track featuring AI-altered vocals made to sound like the late rapper. And it seems like the message was received loud and clear.Following Tupac's lawyers giving Drake 24 hours to pull Taylor Made" or risk being sued, the Canadian rapper has apparently chosen the former option and removed the song from his X profile. Drake first posted Taylor Made" on April 19th as the latest response in his ongoing beef with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, whose fondness for Snoop Dogg and Tupac is thought to be the reason Drake used recreations of their voices in his song.Because Taylor Made" was never officially released on any... Continue reading...

Art by Samar Haddad / Space Vacation A look at Samar Haddad's bold homages, from sci-fi to comedy. Continue reading...

Image: Android Headlines We've already seen a bunch of images revealing what Google's Pixel 8A might look like, but now, leaked marketing materials shared by Android Headlines give us an even better picture of what we can expect. The promotional images suggest that the budget-friendly Pixel 8A will come with seven years of security updates.But the materials don't indicate whether the phone will come with seven years of Android OS upgrades, something its flagship Pixel 8 and 8 Pro have. Still, the seven years makes a big difference from Google's previous policy for Pixel phones, which only provided five years of security updates and three years of Android OS upgrades. Image: Android Headlines There isn't a mention of Android OS upgrades.... Continue reading...

The first time I used the Light Phone 2's GPS, I drove to Los Angeles for a date. I ended up parked in a red zone, hyperventilating to the rhythm of my hazard lights. All I did was get lost, and yet, I was seconds away from puking all over myself. (I didn't, thank goodness.) I should have picked a lower-stakes event to test-drive the navigation feature, but I assumed it would work as well as Google Maps. I was wrong.The Light Phone's GPS was awful a year ago. It often thought I was on a surface street instead of the adjacent freeway, or vice versa, so it would incorrectly tell me to keep going or take an exit that didn't exist and not register my actual location until a few minutes later - if it registered that at all. It also took... Continue reading...

Crashes involving post-fix Tesla vehicles have prompted the NHTSA to look into how effective the Autopilot updates were. | Photo by Sebastian Gollnow / picture alliance via Getty Images Tesla can add yet another investigation into its Autopilot feature to what's already piling up to be a pretty bad year for the company.On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revealed it was opening a new probe to assess whether the recall fix Tesla implemented for over 2 million cars back in December actually did enough to address safety concerns surrounding its Autopilot driver assistance system.That recall was prompted by a previous investigation NHTSA raised in 2021 that reviewed hundreds of collisions and 13 fatalities allegedly involving Tesla's Autopilot feature. NHTSA has now closed that same probe following Tesla's recall notice, finding that the name Autopilot" may lead drivers to believe that... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Shein, one of the most popular online shopping platforms, will be required to comply with strict regulations under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission announced today.The fast-fashion company reported having more than 45 million average monthly users in the EU, earning it the designation of a very large online platform" (VLOP). The label applies to the biggest tech companies like Amazon, AliExpress, Meta, and TikTok and requires them to comply with rules around content moderation and user privacy and safety. In February, the European Commission handed down more general rules that apply to all platforms except the smallest.The European Commission specifically noted new requirements for Shein around illegal... Continue reading...

Illustration by Diana Young Consumers are already putting AI tools to use for both productivity and creativity. But what's next? Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Last year, on a perfect spring day that also happened to be my birthday, I took a car trip to a beautiful area of New York state. It was a lovely day. The new foliage was just coming out and flocks of migrating birds were flying overhead - just the right day for a bunch of photos and good memories.Unfortunately, my reason for traveling upstate wasn't for the flora and fauna, but to attend the funeral of my best friend. I took lots of photos on that day: of other friends who attended the service, of the river paths and local parks that my best friend and I used to walk together, and of the home she used to share with her parents, now empty. I took all of those photos because I knew it was probably the last time that I would visit that... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge A physical education teacher and former athletic director of a Baltimore County high school has been arrested and charged with using an AI voice cloning service to frame the school's principal.The Baltimore Banner reports that Baltimore County police believe a recording that circulated on social media in January with purported audio of Pikesville High School principal Eric Eiswert making racist and antisemitic comments was fake. Experts told The Baltimore Banner and police that the recording, which briefly resulted in Eiswert's suspension, has a flat tone, unusually clean background sounds, and lack of consistent breathing sounds or pauses."Baltimore County police traced the recording to Dazhon Darien, a former athletic director at... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge The reminders you've jotted down in Google Keep will soon show up in Tasks. Google says the long-requested integration is coming over the next year, allowing you to see, edit, and complete your Keep reminders across Tasks, Calendar, and Assistant.The change will make Tasks the central hub for all to-dos and reminders, hopefully making them far easier to manage. It's something my colleague David Pierce suggested when talking about Google's upgraded Keep app last year, saying, Now, Google, make Keep reminders show up in Tasks. It's right there!" Image: Google Even though Tasks doesn't support location-based reminders like Keep does, Google states (referring to Keep) that you can still add time or location-based... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.This is the second quarter in a row that Microsoft is including its additional revenue from its Activision Blizzard acquisition that briefly pushed gaming to be Microsoft's third-largest business. This time around, gaming is back into fourth place behind Windows thanks to stronger than expected Windows OEM revenue this quarter.Despite a strong quarter for Microsoft with Office revenue and Microsoft Cloud revenue up 23 percent year over year, Microsoft's overall gaming revenues are only up thanks to... Continue reading...

The Q6 isn't known for top-tier gaming specs and ultra-deep black levels, but it offers a lot of TV for just $450. | Image: TCL Here at The Verge, we spend a lot of time reporting on pristine, high-end TV sets - including the latest panels from Sony, LG, and Samsung. That said, not everyone is in the market for a picture-perfect OLED panel or one purpose-built to reduce glare. Thankfully, TCL's 65-inch Q6 QLED is a more economical option, one you can grab at Amazon and Best Buy today for $449.99 ($250 off), its lowest price to date.Despite being TCL's entry-level Q Class panel, the Q6 offers a lot for its budget-friendly price tag. The quantum dot-enabled 4K panel is bright and color-accurate, with solid black levels and vivid color that should shine no matter what you're watching. It features Google's terrific TV interface and built-in Chromecast functionality... Continue reading...

Photo by Joe Scarnici / Getty Images Blizzard has announced it will not hold BlizzCon, the publisher's annual fan convention, this year. After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024," Blizzard wrote on its website.Instead of BlizzCon, Blizzard wrote that it would be holding other, smaller events throughout the year and mentioned participating in other trade shows, such as Gamescom. Additionally, 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of World of Warcraft, with Blizzard stating that it's planning multiple, global, in-person events" as well as sharing updates for WoW's 10th expansion, The War Within, and Diablo IV's first expansion, Vessel of Hatred.Despite this year's cancellation, Blizzard says the event... Continue reading...

Image: Facepunch Studios The popular physics sandbox game Garry's Mod is pulling all of its Nintendo-related add-ons following copyright takedown requests from the gaming giant. On Wednesday, the developers of Garry's Mod made a post on Steam saying users may have noticed that certain Nintendo related workshop items have recently been taken down," adding that this is not a mistake," as the takedowns came from Nintendo.Honestly, this is fair enough. This is Nintendo's content and what they allow and don't allow is up to them," the post reads. They don't want you playing with that stuff in Garry's Mod - that's their decision, we have to respect that and take down as much as we can. This is an ongoing process, as we have 20 years of uploads to go through."

Megatron. | Image: Robosen Three years later, Hasbro's self-transforming, dancing, driving, talking, and attacking Optimus Prime finally has a villain to fight. Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, is about to arrive. For $1,200 - $899 through May 25th - its robot partner Robosen has created what could be the best auto-converting Transformer yet.Just to make sure you're getting it: this bot automatically transforms itself into a badass remote-control tank with a gigantic auto-extending cannon that can actually fire projectiles - then stands up and speaks over 270 phrases from original Megatron voice actor Frank Welker while doing all sorts of tricks.Here, bask in the glory of childhood imagination become real:

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Google is working on a fix to block crafty individuals from gaining access to the emails of accounts logged in to some Android TV units. The Android TV operating system, which is preloaded on many smart TVs on the market, could allow people with physical access to get into Gmail and other services associated with the owner's account, as reported by 404 Media.Since Android TV is just Android under the hood, it treats the owner's Google account login as a persistent one, allowing them to automatically log in to allowed apps from the Play Store. Chrome is not allowed by Google to install on Android TV, but there's a workaround that could get it installed, allowing easy access to Gmail, Drive, and other services - as demonstrated by... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Chicago and Mobile, Alabama, are cutting ties with ShotSpotter, the controversial gunshot detection company - but the sensors that notify police about shootings probably aren't going anywhere, according to a new report from Wired and South Side Weekly.Internal ShotSpotter emails reviewed by Wired and South Side Weekly reveal that the company hasn't removed its sensors from other cities that have ended their contracts, including San Diego, California, and San Antonio, Texas. Per the report, ShotSpotter doesn't sell its sensors but instead the software that alerts police that a shooting may have taken place. After a city's contract with ShotSpotter lapses, the sensors occasionally remain installed. In some instances, police continue... Continue reading...

Image by Alex Castro / The Verge Reddit stopped working for most users this afternoon. For nearly an hour, the site didn't load and displayed an error message reading, Oops, something went wrong, please try again later."At 12:52PM ET, the platform made an update on its status page, saying, An issue with a Reddit backend has impacted many users on our site." The site later said it had identified the issue" and is remediating it." The outage appears to have started around 12:45PM ET, with Downdetector recording a massive spike of outage reports at that time. Screenshot by Emma Roth / The Verge Reddit seems to have dealt with issues earlier today as well. Its status page says it resolved another issue at around 12PM ET. Now that Reddit's back... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Just like Instagram, Threads will now automatically filter out potentially offensive words, phrases, or emoji by default. In a post on Thursday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced that the new Hidden Words feature will apply to both your Following" and For You" feeds, along with search results, profiles, and replies to your posts.If you want to cast a wider net over the content Threads filters out, you can add specific words, phrases, or emoji to hide by tweaking the option inside the app's settings. Meta notes that you can turn Hidden Words on or off at any time. Instagram started letting users filter out abusive words from their comments in 2016 before extending the feature to DMs. Image: Threads A... Continue reading...

EPA administrator Michael Regan during the EPA's Journey to Justice" tour on November 16th, 2021. | USEPA photo by Eric Vance The Verge spoke to EPA administrator Michael Regan about the agency's new rules for power plant pollution. Continue reading...

Image: Wacom Wacom has thrown a tablet-shaped curveball at digital creatives waiting on Apple's highly anticipated OLED iPads. The company introduced the Wacom Movink 13 on Wednesday, its own OLED-based offering that targets creatives in need of a highly portable display drawing tablet.Available now for $750 via the Wacom web store, the Movink features a full HD 13.3-inch Samsung OLED display that gives it several advantages over comparably midrange LED-based tablets. The most notable is the lack of a backlight - not only does that prevent light leakage and excess heat, according to Wacom (the latter being a familiar nuisance for display tablet users), but it also allows the tablet to be more compact.Wacom says the Movink is the thinnest and... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google is making it a lot easier to move between devices during a meeting. The new Switch here" feature allows you to move an active Meet call from your computer to your smartphone or vice versa. This means you can swap devices as you sit down at your desk or get up to go somewhere during a full group session without your tile bouncing in and out of the window.There's also a new function that allows you to join a call in two places. So, you can have your call active on the kitchen tablet and office computer while you run back and forth, flipping an egg and pulling an espresso shot (note for boss: I do not do this). GIF: Google While another call is active, the same meeting window on another device now has a... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Spotify submitted a new version of its iOS app with in-app pricing information for users in the European Union about how much they'll pay for subscriptions made outside of Apple's payment system - but Apple has stonewalled it again.Spotify says Apple rejected the request because it won't request an entitlement and pay Apple the commission it takes from purchases made from external links. As part of an EU ruling from earlier this year, Apple must allow music streaming apps to include external purchase links. However, Apple's updated rules say app developers will need to use the Music Streaming Services Entitlement and that it's still taking a commission from these purchases.Apple spokesperson Hannah Smith provided the message sent from... Continue reading...

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge It was going to happen, and then it wasn't going to happen, and then it happened. The United States Congress passed a bill that would either ban TikTok or force it to be sold, and President Joe Biden signed it.So... what now? TikTok could sue, and win, and go back to normal. TikTok's owner, ByteDance, could just decide to shut it down and move on. Or it could sell TikTok US. Those are really the only three outcomes, and we have a year or less to figure out which it's going to be.On this episode of The Vergecast, we discuss all the possible outcomes for TikTok. Then we try to figure out which companies might buy the platform - and which definitely won't, despite desperately wanting to. There's no easy, obvious choice, but there are a... Continue reading...

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images The world's largest tech company has a security problem. A series of high-profile security incidents have rocked Microsoft over the past few years, and a scathing report from the Cyber Safety Review Board recently concluded that Microsoft's security culture was inadequate and requires an overhaul." Inside Microsoft, there is concern that the attacks could seriously undermine trust in the company.Sources tell me that Microsoft's engineering and security teams have been scrambling to respond to new attacks from the same Russian state-sponsored hackers that were behind the SolarWinds incident. Known as Nobelium or Midnight Blizzard, the hacking group was able to spy on the email accounts of some members of Microsoft's senior leadership... Continue reading...

Image: Supercell Supercell doesn't release a lot of games, but the studio's mobile releases tend to be big hits. Think Clash of Clans, Brawl Stars, and Clash Royale. Now, the developer is gearing up for its next major release: Squad Busters, which will be out globally on both Android and iOS on May 29th.It's a competitive multiplayer game, but one on a larger scale than a typical mobile release. In each match, 10 players compete to collect the most gems while building up a squad of computer-controlled characters. It's sort of like a simplified MOBA: you move your team around fighting minions, earning cash that lets you improve and grow your squad before you eventually start fighting other players and going for the big gem pile in the middle of the map.... Continue reading...

A power plant in Thompsons, Texas, that's home to the Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project. | Image: Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just finalized rules aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. But it still doesn't crack down on the nation's fleet of gas-fired power plants. That's a big omission considering the US gets 43 percent of its electricity from gas, more than from any other source of energy.EPA administrator Michael Regan says the agency is taking more time to strengthen rules for today's existing gas power plants. But waiting too long risks leaving the decision up to a possible forthcoming Trump administration, which tried to gut environmental protections the last time. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for the US to meet climate commitments it set under the Paris agreement. The Biden... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Threads is testing the option to automatically hide your old posts. Instagram head Adam Mosseri says the feature is only available to a small number" of users for now, but it will let you choose to archive individual posts manually or have them automatically archived after a certain amount of time.You can see an example of how the feature might look in Mosseri's post on Threads. Users with access to the test should be able to manually archive their content by hitting the three dots in the top-right corner of a post and selecting Archive now." This will give users the option to hide certain posts on their profiles, similar to the archive option on Instagram.Mosseri says that users can make their posts public again at any time. He... Continue reading...

Photo by Prince Williams / Wireimage While Drake's fans have been having a ball with the Canadian rapper's recently released track dissing fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, the legal team representing Tupac Shakur is threatening to take legal action if the song isn't pulled off the internet.Billboard reports that late rapper Tupac's legal team is ready to take Drake to court over the release of Taylor Made," Drake's recently released song featuring the AI-generated voices of Shakur and Snoop Dogg. In a statement about Drake's creation of Taylor Made," litigator Howard King called the song a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time" and said the Shakur estate never cleared the use of Tupac's voice.The Estate is deeply dismayed and... Continue reading...