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Cybercriminals Have a Weird New Way to Target You With Scam Texts

Cybercriminals have a new way of sending millions of scam text messages to people. Typically when fraudsters send waves of phishing messages to phones—such as toll or delivery scams—they may use a huge list of phone numbers and automate the sending of messages. But as phone companies and telecom services have rolled out more tools to detect scams in texts, criminals have started driving around cities with fake cell phone towers that send messages directly to nearby phones. Over the last year, t

WhatsApp for iOS gets message reminders

A few weeks ago, WhatsApp started testing a feature that would let users set reminders for incoming messages. This feature is now live. Here’s how it works. Preset or custom timers spanning 1 minute to 1 day Different users have different methods to avoid forgetting to reply to a text message. If you’re anything like me, you probably keep them unread until you can actually respond. Still, sometimes, a few important messages can fall through the cracks. With its latest update (via WABetaInfo),

OpenAI Reveals How (and Which) People Are Using ChatGPT

Large language models largely remain black boxes in terms of what is happening inside them to produce the outputs that they do. They have also been a bit of a black box in terms of who is using them and what they are doing with them. OpenAI, with some help from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), set out to figure out what exactly its growing user base is getting up to with its chatbot. It found a surprising amount of personal use and a closing “gender gap” among its frequent users.

Signal lets you back up your chats for free now - plus its first-ever paid feature

Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's takeaways Privacy-centric messaging app Signal has a message backup option. The free tier stores up to 45 days of messages. You can pay $1.99 a month if you want to store more than 45 days. Signal is offering its first-ever backup option. In a post Monday, the security-focused messaging app company announced a new feature that lets you back up your messages for free. In the past,

Signal adds secure cloud backups to save and restore chats

Signal has introduced a new opt-in feature that helps users create end-to-end encrypted backups of their chats, allowing them to restore messages even if their phones are damaged or lost. Secure backups are already available in the latest Signal beta version for Android users and will also be rolled out to iOS and desktop devices after this testing phase. "If you do decide to opt in to secure backups, you'll be able to securely back up all of your text messages and the last 45 days' worth of m

Signal Secure Backups

In the past, if you broke or lost your phone, your Signal message history was gone. This has been a challenge for people whose most important conversations happen on Signal. Think family photos, sweet messages, important documents, or anything else you don’t want to lose forever. This explains why the most common feature request has been backups; a way for people to get Signal messages back even if their phone is lost or damaged. After careful design and development, we are now starting to roll

GOP Cries Censorship Over Spam Filters That Work

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week sent a letter to Google’s CEO demanding to know why Gmail was blocking messages from Republican senders while allegedly failing to block similar missives supporting Democrats. The letter followed media reports accusing Gmail of disproportionately flagging messages from the GOP fundraising platform WinRed and sending them to the spam folder. But according to experts who track daily spam volumes worldwide, WinRed’s messages are getting b

GOP Cries Censorship over Spam Filters That Work

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week sent a letter to Google’s CEO demanding to know why Gmail was blocking messages from Republican senders while allegedly failing to block similar missives supporting Democrats. The letter followed media reports accusing Gmail of disproportionately flagging messages from the GOP fundraising platform WinRed and sending them to the spam folder. But according to experts who track daily spam volumes worldwide, WinRed’s messages are getting b

X’s encrypted DM feature, XChat, is rolling out more broadly

X’s long-awaited encrypted DMs feature, XChat, is becoming more widely available. Though the feature shipped in beta in May, XChat is now accessible for more users, including those who do not subscribe to X Premium. Separate from the existing DM inbox, XChat is end-to-end encrypted. The chat system supports media uploads, group chats, pinned messages, and the ability to mark messages as read or unread. Vanishing mode has been rumored to be in the works as well. Right now, users can only acces

Google was down in eastern EU and Turkey

Users across multiple Eastern European countries reported a significant and ongoing outage affecting a suite of Google services, causing widespread disruption to both work and daily life. #BREAKING Google services down in some countries, primarily felt across Southeastern Europe pic.twitter.com/cMYRYPHFi8 — Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) September 4, 2025 Reports began flooding into downdetector.com and social media platforms around from users in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and other Eastern Eu

CarPlay is about to get the Messages feature I’ve been waiting for

It’s turning out to be a huge year for CarPlay, surprising many of us after years of middling updates. Among the host of new CarPlay features coming in iOS 26, there’s a key fix for what’s long been the most annoying Messages issue for me: the lack of tapbacks support. CarPlay in iOS 26 adds support for Messages tapbacks Ever since Apple unveiled the “next generation of CarPlay” in 2022, new updates for the standard CarPlay experience have been fairly underwhelming. But things are starting to

You Don't Need iOS 26 to Do Math in Your iPhone's Messages App. Here's How

Apple is set to release iOS 26 this fall -- I'm predicting in less than two weeks -- and it will bring Liquid Glass, call screening and more features to your iPhone. But iOS 18 upgrades your Messages app so that it can solve tricky equations without your Calculator app, and it doesn't need Google to look up conversion rates, either. Prior to iOS 18, if you wanted to figure out how to split a bill with your texting group from afar, you'd have to use your calculator app or Spotlight and then swit

Ever shared a Spotify link on the internet? Someone you don’t know can now message you

TL;DR Spotify recently introduced a new Messages feature that connects users via past song shares and activities. These connections can expose user identities through trackable URLs shared previously, including with strangers. You can opt out of the Messages feature in your app settings or remove the tracking parameters from URLs before sharing them. Spotify recently announced a new Messages feature, adding a layer of communication and social discovery to the music streaming app. Spotify Mess

PSA: Spotify Messages can reveal your profile to anyone you’ve ever shared music with

TL;DR Spotify recently introduced a new Messages feature that connects users via past song shares and activities. These connections can expose user identities through trackable URLs shared previously, including with strangers. You can opt out of the Messages feature in your app settings or remove the tracking parameters from URLs before sharing them. Spotify recently announced a new Messages feature, adding a layer of communication and social discovery to the music streaming app. Spotify Mess

Security Bite: My favorite privacy features in iOS 26

9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Making Apple devices work-ready and enterprise-safe is all we do. Our unique integrated approach to management and security combines state-of-the-art Apple-specific security solutions for fully automated Hardening & Compliance, Next Generation EDR, AI-powered Zero Trust, and exclusive Privilege Management with the most powerful and modern Apple MDM on the market. The result is a totally automated Appl

Samsung Messages rolls out ‘Bubble Emoji’ to put some personality into your texts

Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Samsung Messages has received a new feature. The new feature will automatically add emojis to your text bubble. The update has been released in South Korea. The funny thing about Samsung Messages is that the texting app was going to be sunset. Or at least that’s what Samsung said at the beginning of the year when it decided to instead promote Google Messages. Yet, the tech giant has continued to support the app with new updates. The most recent update ma

TikTok now lets users send voice notes and images in DMs

TikTok is giving users new ways to interact with others via direct messages (DMs), the company told TechCrunch on Friday. Users will now be able to send voice notes and share up to nine images or videos in one-to-one and group chats on the platform. With these new features, TikTok is positioning itself as more than just an entertainment platform, aiming to become a place where users interact regularly beyond simply sending each other TikTok videos. Additionally, the new capabilities bring TikTo

I unlocked 15GB more Gmail storage for free - without deleting a single email or file

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Every new Google email account comes with 15GB of free storage -- a solid offer at no cost. However, that space can fill up fast, especially since it also covers files in Google Drive and Google Photos. If your inbox is cluttered with unread newsletters and sneaky spam, there's a way to clean house without losing important messages. With the right approach, you can preserve what matters while giving yourself a

WhatsApp’s new AI feature lets you rephrase and adjust the tone of your messages

WhatsApp is launching a new AI feature that allows users to rephrase, proofread, or adjust the tone of their messages, the Meta-owned company announced on Wednesday. The new feature, called “Writing Help,” uses Meta’s Private Processing technology, which allows users to receive AI-generated responses without Meta or WhatsApp reading the original message or the suggested rewrites. This means that messages on the platform remain private even if people use the new tool. With Writing Help, users c

Gmail may finally alert you when someone reacts to your Chat messages (APK teardown)

Tushar Mehta / Android Authority TL;DR Strings in the latest Gmail update hint at some new Google Chat features in testing. Notification summaries in Gmail might work independently of Android 16’s system-wide version, bringing the feature to more devices. Gmail may also offer auto-generated conversation summaries and finally notify you when someone reacts to your Chat messages. Little by little, Gmail is slowly turning into more of a one-stop hub than an inbox. Google has been weaving Chat i

Spotify Introduces In-App Messaging for Sharing Music Recommendations With Your Friends

The subscribers spoke, and Spotify listened. This week, the 19-year-old Swedish music streaming service will begin rolling out Messages within the Spotify app for subscribers to share recommendations about music, podcasts and audiobooks. Messages will be available to Free and Premium members 16 and older on mobile devices in certain markets. Spotify says it will "continue building and refining the experience for more Spotify users around the globe in the months ahead." The company stressed th

Spotify's new DM feature lets you chat with friends in-app now - here's how

Spotify Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Spotify is adding a new in-app messaging feature. Conversations are one-to-one with people you know. The feature is available for users 16 and older. Spotify is getting a little more social. Since you're already talking with your friends about songs, audiobooks, and podcasts, the music streaming app is adding a new feature that lets you send private messages to other users within the Spotify app. The featu

Waiting for Spotify Hi-Fi? Spotify built Messages instead, because of course they did

TL;DR Spotify is rolling out a new Messages feature that allows users to chat and share content within the app. The feature is available for free and premium users aged 16 and older in select markets. Users can have one-on-one conversations, share Spotify content, and react with text and emojis. Spotify announced its “HiFi” lossless tier in February 2021. While there have been recent signs of progress, the feature still hasn’t launched. If you’ve been holding your breath for Spotify’s lossles

Spotify introduces an in-app messaging feature

My first thought when I heard Spotify had launched a messaging service was, "Why?" But, after looking into it a bit more, I'm intrigued at the idea of sharing recommendations within the app. So, what is Spotify's new Messages feature? Basically, like Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms, Spotify is creating a way for you to share content and thoughts from within its app. You can send playlists, songs and podcasts without having to use a link on another platform. You can see the M

Spotify is adding DMs

Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Spotify is introducing a direct messaging feature that allows users to share music, podcast, and audiobook recommendations with each other without leaving the app. Messages is rolling out in “select markets” this week, according to Spotify’s press release, and will be available on mobile devices for Free and Premium users aged 16 years and older. The messaging feature can be accessed by tapping the share ic

Spotify launches a messaging feature in a bid to become more social

Spotify is introducing a way for you to chat with your friends in a bid to become a more social content consumption app. Users have shared Spotify links for music and podcasts with others outside the platform for years. With this feature, Spotify wants users to do more within the app while also keeping the history of shared content, so users don’t have to search for a song. Messages are only one-on-one, and you can only start a chat with someone with whom you have previously shared content. Th

Leaving Gmail for Mailbox.org

This was a tough decision, having used Gmail since 2007/2008. However, I had to draw the line and stop giving Google my data for free. The problem with email is that everything is transmitted in plain text. Technically, Google can store every message you receive and know everything, and U.S. agencies can request access to that data (this include also EU citizens under the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks). For someone like me, who cares about privacy and runs as much as possible

Away from Gmail, Leaving Gmail for Mailbox.org

This was a tough decision, having used Gmail since 2007/2008. However, I had to draw the line and stop giving Google my data for free. The problem with email is that everything is transmitted in plain text. Technically, Google can store every message you receive and know everything, and U.S. agencies can request access to that data (this include also EU citizens under the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks). For someone like me, who cares about privacy and runs as much as possible

5 apps you should use instead of Messenger

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority Messenger is one of the most popular messaging services around, especially in the US, but it has its faults. Group chats, for example, are not end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning the company that runs it — Meta — can technically read your messages. And since Meta owns it, we can assume it collects a lot of user information that’s then used for targeted ads, just like most big tech companies do. Users also criticize the app for being bloated, as it has e

iPhone users may finally be able to send encrypted texts to Android friends with iOS 26

Lance Whitney / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways Encrypted text messages may finally reach iPhone users with iOS 26. Code in the beta version of iOS 26 reveals strings for RCS encryption. With encryption, texts between iOS and Android will be more secure. Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. With the release of iOS 18 in 2024, iPhone users were finally able to exchange rich text messages with their And