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Tech News
Apple's iOS 27.2 update, released last week, adds a Siri 'Excluded Apps' setting that removes chosen apps from Siri, Search and suggestions. It also introduces customizable Messages Suggestions—contextual prompts like adding events to Calendar or Reminders—and brings Apple TV user profiles to iPhone for the first time, matching a feature long available only on tvOS.
Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman announced the platform will shift toward becoming a 'logged-in service,' limiting what logged-out visitors can see. A pilot program testing mandatory logins will launch in select markets outside the US in the coming months, though specific countries, restricted content, and timelines remain undecided. Reddit says the front page and pages reached via external links or search will likely stay accessible without an account.
Reddit announced a new homepage experience with two tabs: a Following feed showing posts from subscribed subreddits, and a For You feed that mixes those posts with recommendations based on user interests. The rollout follows Reddit's earlier move to deprecate r/all as part of its push to simplify and personalize the Home feed.
Google revised its privacy policy on October 16, softening language that previously guaranteed Gmail, Drive, and Photos content would never personalize ads. The new wording leaves room for that data to influence ads once it's shared with other Google services through the opt-in Personal Intelligence feature, which feeds personal data into Gemini, AI Overviews, and AI Mode search.
A business consultant writing for Entrepreneur argues that companies often confine personalization to marketing efforts like birthday emails and loyalty tiers, while customer service reps remain blind to who they're speaking with. The author calls this approach 'Customer ME Experience' and recommends mapping customer journeys based on actual behavior rather than internal org charts, pointing to workarounds like screenshotted emails or shadow spreadsheets as signals of where systems fail customers and employees alike.
A commentary argues that companies deploying multiple AI tools often fail to share customer context between them, leading to irrelevant follow-up recommendations. It cites the example of a customer being offered another dishwasher shortly after buying one as a sign of disconnected systems.
A commentary on B2B marketing contends that AI tools now give marketers far greater capacity to produce content, personalization, audience segments and campaign variations across more channels. The author cautions that this expanded access comes with a need for marketers to be more discerning about how much they trust AI-generated outputs.
Meta is rolling out a feature letting Facebook users open a new 'your algorithm' panel on posts and Reels to mark topics as interests or 'not interested,' plus a text box to describe in their own words what they want to see. Meta says the tool works because it now uses large language models in its ranking systems, allowing it to interpret natural-language requests rather than just inferring interests from engagement. The feature follows a similar rollout on Instagram earlier this year.
A Threads user discovered that Amazon's account settings include a page of behavioral assumptions based on purchase history, among them a note suggesting she 'has flat buttocks.' The post went viral, prompting other users to check their own Amazon profiles for similarly personal inferences, which can be found under 'Your Shopping preferences' in account settings.
Amazon maintains a customer-facing page called 'About You' that compiles inferred personal details about shoppers, including physical characteristics, hobbies, favorite brands, and even behavioral quirks drawn from shopping and browsing activity. Users can access this page to see what assumptions Amazon has built about them based on their purchase and interaction history.
A tech guide outlines specific Windows 11 settings menus where users can turn off promotional content, including Start menu app recommendations, lock screen tips, search highlights, and personalized offers found under Settings > Recommendations & offers. It also suggests adjusting notification settings to remove 'Suggested' items and checking Installed Apps for manufacturer bloatware that can be uninstalled.
Spotify has introduced a feature called Taste Profile that allows users to type everyday phrases requesting more or less of specific artists, genres or moods. The tool is designed to give listeners direct input into how the platform's recommendation algorithm shapes their feed.