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Adobe Photoshop new "Harmonize" tool uses AI to blend images with pro-level realism

The big picture: As generative AI reshapes creative workflows across industries, Adobe has rapidly evolved Photoshop to meet the growing demand for advanced AI tools. Complex editing tasks once reserved for professionals are now accessible to casual users. These changes in Photoshop also reflect a broader shift in software capabilities and how creativity could be redefined in an AI-augmented design landscape. At the heart of this release is Harmonize, a compositing feature that streamlines a pr

Bitmapist: We built an open-source cohorts analytics tool that saved millions

At Doist, we love making smart bets. Sometimes, the smartest decision isn’t to pick the biggest or shiniest tool out there but to build a small tool that does exactly what’s needed. That’s how Bitmapist came to life—a powerful, open-source cohort analytics library that’s been quietly driving smarter decisions and saving us millions of dollars. Why We Built Bitmapist Several years ago, we faced a common startup challenge: we needed robust cohort analytics to gain a deeper understanding of how p

A Python dict that can report which keys you did not use

This can come in handy if you're working with large Python objects and you want to be certain that you're either unit testing everything you retrieve or certain that all the data you draw from a database is actually used in a report. For example, you might have a SELECT fieldX, fieldY, fieldZ FROM ... SQL query, but in the report you only use fieldX, fieldY in your CSV export. class TrackingDict ( dict ): def __init__ ( self, *args, **kwargs ): super ().__init__(*args, **kwargs) self ._accesse

YouTube is using AI to verify user age based on viewing habits

In brief: YouTube is expanding its use of AI to determine if someone is 18 years old or older in the US. The platform is using machine learning to assess user behavior and estimate a person's age based on the content they watch and search for. YouTube writes that it will use AI to determine if a signed-in user is over or under 18 based on the types of videos they search for, the categories of videos they have watched, or how long they have held an account – regardless of what birthday they put

5 browsers you should use instead of Chrome

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority Google Chrome dominates the browser market, holding an almost 70% market share globally, according to StatCounter. This widespread adoption is often attributed to its pre-installation on nearly every Android phone, leading to an effortless default for many users. Being a Google product also lends it a certain level of perceived trust – for better or worse. However, Chrome isn’t without its critics or its flaws. I’m not the biggest fan of the browser, as I thi

YouTube makes it easy for TV users to skip to the best bits of videos

It seems YouTube is finally giving its TV app the AI feature that lets you skip to the most interesting parts of a video. Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman reports that the Jump Ahead perk for YouTube Premium subscribers appeared on his Nvidia Shield TV yesterday, a feature that was previously exclusive to YouTube’s web and mobile platforms. Jump Ahead gives users an easy way to automatically get to the best bits of a video by using AI to analyze the most-watched segments that viewers typicall

Here’s how ChatGPT’s upcoming ‘Study Together’ tool could enhance learning (Updated: Rolling out)

Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority TL;DR OpenAI is working on a dedicated “Study Together” mode to help users grasp concepts better. Study Together is likely to help break down concepts into simpler terms and follow up with quizzes for more engaged learning. It is being tested with both free and paid users, suggesting non-paying users might also have access when it launches. Update, July 30, 2025 (03:10 AM ET): ChatGPT has officially announced Study Mode, which is available for free to logg

The Tea App Data Breach: What Was Exposed and What We Know About the Class Action Lawsuit

Tea, a women's dating safety app that recently surged to the top of the free iOS App Store listings, suffered a major security breach last week. The company confirmed Friday that it "identified authorized access to one of our systems" that exposed thousands of user images. And now we know that DMs were accessed during the breach, too. Tea's preliminary findings from the end of last week showed the data breach exposed approximately 72,000 images: 13,000 images of selfies and photo identification

Topics: app breach data tea users

The Tea App Data Breach: What Was Exposed and What to Know About the Class Action Lawsuit

Tea, a women's dating safety app that recently surged to the top of the free iOS App Store listings, suffered a major security breach last week. The company confirmed Friday that it "identified authorized access to one of our systems" that exposed thousands of user images. And now we know that DMs were accessed during the breach, too. Tea's preliminary findings from the end of last week showed the data breach exposed approximately 72,000 images: 13,000 images of selfies and photo identification

Topics: app breach data tea users

Lovense was told its sex toy app leaked users’ emails and didn’t fix it

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Lovense, the maker of internet-connected sex toys, left user emails exposed for months — even after it became aware of the vulnerability. In a blog post spotted by TechCrunch and Bleeping Computer, security researcher BobDaHacker found that they could “turn any username into their email address,” which they could then use to take over someone’s acco

Google is rolling out a fix for Home smart light voice control

TL;DR Google Home has been suffering from multiple connectivity issues going back about a week. Users have complained in particular about not being able to control smart lights via voice command. Google is currently deploying a fix for that smart light issue, but it sounds like others might remain. Google has a smart home problem. When you’ve got an entire household of smart devices all configured and running through Google Home, it’s no surprise that glitches will occasionally pop up. Any wh

Crippling Google Home issues spark potential class action response

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR A US law firm is investigating a possible class action against Google. The class action would be focused on the deteriorating performance of Home and Nest devices. Recently, users have reported that their smart home devices are increasingly misunderstanding commands or failing to respond. It’s been rough for Google Home users as of late. A growing number of them have been experiencing issues with their smart home devices, ranging from misheard comman

YouTube Will Start Guessing Your Age

YouTube will no longer take your word for it when you enter your birthday. On Tuesday, the platform announced that it will be rolling out new age-estimation tools that will attempt to verify a person’s age based on a variety of indicators as part of an attempt to keep younger users from accessing more adult content and deliver “age-appropriate product experiences and protections.” According to YouTube, the age inference system, which will be used on a “small set of users in the US” in the comin

People Are Becoming "Sloppers" Who Have to Ask AI Before They Do Anything

Power users of OpenAI's ultrapopular AI chatbot ChatGPT have picked up a brand new nickname, and it's unflattering. As spotted by media critic and writer Rusty Foster on his excellent Today in Tabs newsletter, people who constantly use ChatGPT to do virtually anything have garnered the moniker of "sloppers." (And no, we're not talking about a cheeseburger that's smothered in a red or green chile.) "A friend of mine has coined the word 'Sloppers' for people who are using ChatGPT to do everythin

Retroid Pocket Flip 2 owners are spotting the return of a familiar problem (Update: Response)

Nick Fernandez / Android Authority TL;DR Retroid Pocket Flip 2 users are reporting early hinge cracks, sometimes just weeks after purchase. Users claim the cracks appeared even though they’ve handled the device carefully. The first Flip model had similar problems, and the Flip 2’s redesigned hinge was meant to address them. Update, July 29, 2025 (14:15 PM ET): Retroid acknowledged the hinge cracking issue in a Reddit post shortly after we published the article below. Affected Pocket Flip 2 u

YouTube is turning over age verification to AI

YouTube will start using machine learning to determine whether viewers should be on a teen account. The company said it plans to start using this AI application on a subset of US users in the coming weeks for a trial before rolling it out to the rest of the market. The tool will assess user behaviors including the types of videos being searched for, the categories of videos watched and how long the account has existed. When an account is deemed by machine learning to belong to a teen, YouTube wi

Playing with more user-friendly methods for multi-factor authentication

When I tell people I work on authentication software, I nearly always hear some version of the same story: I hate multifactor authentication. No, really. People hate this stuff. So I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can make MFA a better user experience. We don't always need MFA to be airtight, after all. Sometimes, the Google match-a-number MFA flow is good enough. I thought I'd share here my best ideas for the future of multi-factor authentication. Here they are. The big blind We

Topics: auth chess just like user

Futurehome smart hub owners must pay new $117 subscription or lose access

Smart home device maker Futurehome is forcing its customers’ hands by suddenly requiring a subscription for basic functionality of its products. Launched in 2016, Futurehome’s Smarthub is marketed as a central hub for controlling Internet-connected devices in smart homes. For years, the Norwegian company sold its products, which also include smart thermostats, smart lighting, and smart fire and carbon monoxide alarms, for a one-time fee that included access to its companion app and cloud platfo

YouTube will identify and restrict minors’ accounts with AI

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. YouTube will soon begin using AI-powered age estimation technology to figure out which users are under the age of 18. Starting August 13th, YouTube will detect underage users in the US based on their activity and the age of their account, allowing the platform to automatically apply restrictions. These accounts will get the same protections YouTube

YouTube rolls out age-estimation tech to identify US teens and apply additional protections

YouTube on Tuesday announced it’s beginning to roll out age-estimation technology in the U.S. to identify teen users in order to provide a more age-appropriate experience. The company says it will use a variety of signals to determine the users’ possible age, regardless of what the user entered as their birthday when they signed up for an account. When YouTube identifies a user as a teen, it introduces new protections and experiences, which include disabling personalized advertising, safeguards

Tea app disables DMs after second data breach exposed over a million private messages

Last week, the dating safety app Tea experienced a data breach, exposing 72,000 sensitive images containing selfies and photo IDs for account verification, as well as images from posts and messages. The personal data was reportedly shared by users on 4chan. As now reported by 404 Media, a second security issue exposed more user data, prompting the app to disable its direct messaging feature on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier this week, 404 Media received a tip from independent security researcher K

Google’s NotebookLM rolls out Video Overviews

Google announced on Tuesday that it’s rolling out Video Overviews to NotebookLM, its AI-based note-taking and research assistant. First introduced at Google I/O in May, Video Overviews allow users to turn dense multimedia, such as raw notes, PDFs, and images, into digestible visual presentations. Previously, the service took an audio approach to helping users understand materials with Audio Overviews, a feature that gives users the ability to generate a podcast with AI virtual hosts based on do

Cash App users can now pool money for group payments — even with non-users

Cash App launched a new peer-to-peer payment feature on Tuesday called “Pools” that allows users to pool money with friends or family members to pay for expenses like grocery bills, restaurant checks, vacations, and group gifts. Initially available to select users, it will expand more widely in the coming months. Users can create Pools through the payment tab by setting a target amount and inviting contributors via their $cashtag or texting a link to non-users to pay through Apple Pay or Google

Topics: app cash money pay users

The Convenience Trap: Why Seamless Banking Access Can Turn 2FA into 1FA

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the bedrock of modern digital security. Its principle is simple and powerful. As Wikipedia defines it, MFA is: an electronic authentication method in which a user is granted access to a website or application only after successfully presenting two or more distinct types of evidence (or factors) to an authentication mechanism. The key phrase here is distinct types of evidence. These factors are typically categorized as something you know (a password), someth

Google’s AI Mode update adds even more tools for students

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Google is bringing a bunch of new features to AI Mode, and is positioning the update as a way to help students study for tests or dig deeper into what they’re learning. Today, the company announced that it will now let users upload images to AI Mode on desktop, allowing them to ask questions about what they’re seeing, whether it’s a homework math pr

Topics: ai ask google mode users

YouTube rolls out age estimation tech to identify US teens and apply additional protections

YouTube on Tuesday announced it’s beginning to roll out age estimation technology in the U.S. to identify teen users in order to provide a more age-appropriate experience. The company says it will use a variety of signals to determine the users’ possible age, regardless of what the user entered as their birthday when they signed up for an account. When YouTube identifies a user as a teen, it introduces new protections and experiences, which include disabling personalized advertising, safeguards

Tea app’s second data breach exposed over a million private messages

In Brief Last week, the dating safety app Tea experienced a data breach, exposing 72,000 sensitive images containing selfies and photo IDs for account verification, as well as images from posts and messages. The personal data was reportedly shared by users on 4chan. As now reported by 404 Media, who received a tip from independent security researcher Kasra Rahjerdi, a second security issue exposed more user data, including messages between users sharing phone numbers, and discussing abortions

Retroid Pocket Flip 2 owners are spotting the dreaded return of a familiar problem

Nick Fernandez / Android Authority TL;DR Retroid Pocket Flip 2 users are reporting early hinge cracks, sometimes just weeks after purchase. Users claim the cracks appeared even though they’ve handled the device carefully. The first Flip model had similar problems, and the Flip 2’s redesigned hinge was meant to address them. Although the Retroid Pocket Flip 2 launched only a few months ago, users of the Android handheld are already reporting the worrying return of a familiar flaw: cracked hin

Cash App opens up to Apple Pay and Google Pay with a group payment option

Cash App has debuted a new group payment feature that allows folks who don't even use the app to contribute to a kitty. Pools enables Cash App users to invite folks to chip in for a large purchase (such as a group vacation) via Apple Pay and Google Pay. A small number of users have access to Pools at the jump, though Cash App owner Block expects to offer it to all of the service's customers in the coming months. Block told CNBC this is the first time that Cash App is opening up to external payme

Topics: app block cash pay users

Xbox adds age checks in UK to comply with Online Safety Act

Recap: Digital platforms across the United Kingdom are adjusting their operations after the country's new Online Safety Act came into force, with Microsoft's Xbox gaming service among the latest to announce compliance measures. The legislation, aimed at making digital spaces safer for children and young people, has set off a wave of new regulations that require internet companies to verify users' ages if their platforms could potentially host explicit or harmful content. Microsoft confirmed thi