TheVerge

As we moved into the third day of the TikTokalypse, the app appears to have finally stabilized in the US, as we verified that it’s possible to consistently publish new videos and even have other people watch them. That hasn’t been a simple task since the service started having problems early Sunday morning, but on … Read more

Google is making Search less about links and more about AI. The company is upgrading its AI-powered search features, adding Gemini 3 to AI Overviews and letting users ask follow-up questions “seamlessly” to make sure Search can answer “whatever’s on your mind,” a move that feels closer to using an AI chatbot than a search … Read more

The routine is familiar by now. A new online shooter with bright, colorful graphics launches and rockets up the charts despite the fact that you maybe haven’t even heard of it. Or maybe it just has a really forgettable name. But everyone seems to be talking about it, and it’s free, so you figure you … Read more

The day Alex Pretti was shot 10 times in the street by federal agents, I was delivering a eulogy for my grandfather, who died the way we’re supposed to: old, asleep, surrounded by family. Because it’s my job to coordinate visuals for this website, I locked myself in a bathroom stall, watched a video of … Read more

Pornhub will soon begin restricting UK users from accessing its website in response to the country’s “failed” online safety regulations, according to an announcement on Tuesday. The site’s owner, Aylo, says it will block users who haven’t already verified their age on the platform starting February 2nd, 2026, as reported earlier by 404 Media. As … Read more

Removing or restricting access to Grok’s AI image editor might not be enough to stop the flood of nonconsensual sexualized images being generated by AI. A report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) released on Tuesday found dozens of AI “nudify” apps similar to Grok on Google and Apple’s platforms, as previously reported by CNBC. … Read more

The color-changing feature is only available for Nintendo’s $100 Virtual Boy Switch accessory. | Screenshot: YouTube Following the initial reveal last September, Nintendo has released a new trailer detailing which Virtual Boy games will be available to Switch Online subscribers starting on February 17th alongside revamped headsets, and which titles will launch later this year. … Read more

Tesla’s robotaxis are not robotaxis in the sense that they’re not fully driverless and still feature safety monitors with access to a kill switch in case anything goes wrong. But the automaker is shaking things up with its approach to pricing, according to a new analysis of the nascent market. Obi, an app that aggregates … Read more

Yahoo’s big AI play is, in many ways, actually a return to the company’s roots. Three decades ago, Yahoo was known as “Jerry’s guide to the world wide web,” and was designed as a sort of all-encompassing portal to help people find good stuff on an increasingly large, hard-to-parse internet. In the early aughts, the … Read more

Amazon is resolving claims that it incorrectly processed returns with a proposed settlement valued at over $1 billion, as reported earlier by Reuters and Bloomberg Law. The settlement includes $600 million in refunds, along with an additional $309.5 million in payments to affected customers. Initially filed in 2023, the class action lawsuit claims that while … Read more

Pinterest is making cuts to fund its AI plans. Pinterest is planning to lay off hundreds of workers and reduce its office space to reallocate resources for its artificial intelligence initiatives. In a regulatory filing posted Tuesday, Pinterest says the reduction is expected to impact “less than 15 percent” of its current workforce, and that … Read more

The phone that thinks it’s a tablet. Samsung’s much-anticipated Galaxy Z Trifold goes on sale on this Friday, January 26th, and the price is every bit as steep as we’d feared: $2,899, which gets you 512GB of storage and a phone that kind of wants to be a tablet all the time. The Trifold first … Read more

When federal agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning, video of the shooting – from lots of people, and lots of angles, with wildly varying levels of quality – immediately began to fly around the internet. This is what always happens in times like these, and there have unfortunately been a lot of … Read more

Google Photos users are no longer limited to using preset editing suggestions. Google is giving Photos users more control over the app’s generative AI photo-to-video feature. Google Photos now supports text prompts for video generation, according to the update announcement on Monday, allowing users to describe the specific movement, style, or effect they want to … Read more

This is actually tidier than my desk normally looks. It took way too long, but Roland finally caved and gave the people what they want: a proper analog successor to the iconic TR-808 drum machine. The 808’s sound, especially the kick drum, is embedded so deeply in the DNA of modern music that it would … Read more

Bridget McCormack is used to correcting judges’ work. As the former chief justice on the Michigan Supreme Court, it was her job to review complaints about how judges at the lower courts failed to consider key evidence or rule on certain aspects of a case. In her current job, McCormack is working on a new … Read more

Microsoft has started testing a refreshed web experience for Xbox Cloud Gaming that looks even more console-like. Xbox Insiders can now try out the preview UI, which includes updated navigation features, plenty of new animations, and a refreshed design. It all feels like a teaser of what’s to come for Xbox consoles in the years … Read more

Instagram’s premium subscription may include unlimited audience lists and the ability to see which accounts you follow aren’t following you back. Meta is gearing up to trial new premium subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in the coming months that will allow users to access expanded AI capabilities and additional features. TechCrunch reports that the … Read more

Komoot offers more features to all users for free, including turn-by-turn navigation. | Image: Komoot Strava and Komoot – two of the most popular apps for cyclists, hikers, and runners – are each bringing offline maps to the Apple Watch, ending a major source of frustration for many. Now you can easily see routes and … Read more

While social media rumors have suggested the errors are examples of censorship, more than a day after the issues began, TikTok USDS says the problems are the result of a power outage at a data center that it is working to resolve. Rumors of censorship targeting anti-ICE protesting or attempting to block discussion of Jeffrey … Read more

X is facing an investigation from the European Commission over the sexualized deepfakes generated by its Grok AI chatbot. In its announcement, the Commission says it will evaluate whether X “properly assessed and mitigated risks” associated with Grok’s image-generating capabilities in the EU, as reported earlier by The New York Times. Advocacy groups and lawmakers … Read more

OpenAI’s co-founder and longtime president, Greg Brockman, didn’t just make a run-of-the-mill donation to the main pro-Trump super PAC – together, he and his wife Anna’s September 2025 donations equaled the largest of them all, totaling $25 million to “MAGA Inc.,” per a recent filing. The Brockmans’ donations made up nearly one-fourth of the six-month … Read more

Google could owe you some money, now that it’s moving to settle a class-action lawsuit over how it handled recordings captured when its devices were activated by something other than Google Assistant’s actual trigger word, “Ok Google.” German outlet VRT NWS‘s 2019 report exposed the issue, and court filings from last Friday say the proposed … Read more

All colors are on sale right now, including the attractive blue shade. If you prefer over-ear headphones to earbuds and own an iPhone or another Apple device, the AirPods Max with USB-C are worth a look, especially now that you can buy them at Best Buy as part of a flash deal for $429.99 ($120 … Read more

“Fuck ICE first, second, third, and fourth. Then worry about fucking me,” a Reddit post reads. “Immigrants of any status are my friends, neighbors, and colleagues.” Across the internet – and in the streets – the sentiment is unavoidable, especially after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, in Minneapolis … Read more

Most vertical video microdrama apps have been focused on putting out newly produced series meant to be watched on your phone. But Tattle TV thinks that people might also be interested in checking out bite-size pieces of cinematic history. Though Tattle TV – a UK-based streaming platform created by filmmakers Philip McGoldrick and Marina Elderton … Read more

Anthropic’s Claude got a bit livelier today thanks to a new extension to MCP, the open-source protocol that allows AI agents to easily access tools and data across the internet. Users will now be able to interact with apps directly inside the Claude chatbot, letting you draft and format Slack messages to colleagues and create … Read more

TikTok’s takeover in the US has prompted users to join an alternative social platform called UpScrolled. The app, which is available on Android and iOS, currently holds the 12th spot in Apple’s App Store, and it’s struggling to keep up with an influx of new traffic. “You showed up so fast our servers tapped out,” … Read more

Recently released documents show the big business opportunity that social media companies saw in recruiting teens to their platforms and how they discussed risks that heavy digital engagement could pose. The documents were released last week as part of a major set of trials brought by school districts, state attorneys general, and others against Meta, … Read more

OpenAI is reportedly asking a high price to advertise on ChatGPT, around $60 per 1,000 views, or triple what ads on Meta’s platform usually cost, according to The Information. Despite the higher price, OpenAI won’t be offering advertisers the same level of detailed information that Google and Meta do, such as whether users took any … Read more