Technology

Pinterest said Thursday it is updating its ad policies to “prohibit all ads with weight loss language and imagery.” The company said in a blog post that it developed its new policy with guidance from the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), whose research shows there has been a rise in eating disorders and unhealthy eating habits in young people during the pandemic. “Pinterest is the place people come for inspiration to create life they love,” the blog post reads. “It’s where everyone belongs—regardless of body shape or size. We’re empowering Pinners to plan for a summer and beyond without weight loss ads, so they can focus on what matters most.” The company claims it is the “only major platform to prohibit all weight loss ads,” and that the new rules build on the company’s existi...

The Windows 11 preview only got released earlier this week, but a student has already managed to get Microsoft’s latest operating system running on a Windows Phone. Engineering student Gustave Monce has created a brief video demonstrating Windows 11 running on a Lumia 950 XL, one of the first devices to ship with Windows 10 Mobile. It was also one of Microsoft’s last Windows-powered phones before the company ended support for its mobile OS. Windows 11 adapts surprisingly well for the 5.7-inch display, but the same can’t be said for the speed of animations. While Windows 11 is usable on the Lumia 950 XL, it doesn’t look like something you’d want to pull out of your pocket every day. But that’s not really the point. This is the latest achievement in a five-year hobby of tinkering with gettin...

Images of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 Classic have leaked online, giving us our first look at what could be the more traditionally-styled entry in Samsung’s upcoming smartwatch lineup. The images, published by Android Headlines, show a smartwatch with a rotating bezel and two buttons on its right-hand side, available in white, gray, and black. The watch will reportedly be available in three sizes in total: 42mm, 44mm, and 46mm, and will run on the smartwatch platform co-developed by Samsung and Google. The watch will also reportedly be available in either stainless steel or aluminum, will be water resistant up to a depth of 50 meters (thanks to a 5ATM rating), and should be rugged thanks to a MIL-STD-810G certification. The watch is shown with a rotating bezel and two side buttons.Image: Andr...

Messaging app Discord has added the ability to customize your profile just a little bit more than you could before: on the desktop version of the app, you can now fill in a short “About Me” blurb, and, if you have Discord’s premium Nitro subscription, you can add a banner image to your profile. Discord says it added these custom profiles on June 24th. I first noticed the change on Wednesday, but I haven’t opened the app for a little while. To make the changes, at least on the Mac version of the app, click on the User Settings gear, then the “User Profile” section. (That section had a bright red “New!” alert on it when I first opened up Discord settings.) From there, you can write a 190-character blurb about yourself (which can include markdown and links if you want), and Nitro subscribers ...

Instagram is no longer a photo sharing app, according to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram. In a video posted to his Instagram and Twitter accounts, Mosseri said the company is looking to lean into entertainment and video after seeing the success of competitors like TikTok and YouTube. He describes some upcoming changes and experiments that Instagram will be doing, including showing users recommendations for topics they’re not following and making video more immersive by offering a full-screen experience. Changes are coming to video on Instagram At Instagram we’re always trying to build new features that help you get the most out of your experience. Right now we’re focused on four key areas: Creators, Video, Shopping and Messaging. pic.twitter.com/ezFp4hfDpf — Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) Jun...

Instagram appears to be exploring a new feature that shares some similarities with Twitter’s Super Follows, according to TechCrunch. Called “Exclusive Stories,” the possible future feature, spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi, allows creators to post exclusive content to their Instagram story that’s presumably only available to subscribers. Based on the screenshots Paluzzi shared, exclusive stories are differentiated in your feed with a purple tag (similar to how Close Friends posts have a green one). When you try to watch an exclusive story without being a fan of the person sharing, you’re prompted with a pop-up that says only fans can watch. It’s a very early look at what Instagram could be considering — so much so that the company says it’s unable to share more, other than confirm t...

Google is opening up Android’s built-in passes system to let Android users store a digital vaccine card, which it calls a COVID Card, on their phone. The feature will initially roll out in the US, and it will rely on support from healthcare providers, local governments, or other organizations authorized to distribute COVID vaccines. The feature will also support storing COVID test results. For vaccinations, your COVID Card will show info on when you were vaccinated and which vaccine you received, according to a Google support page. The card can be saved from your healthcare provider’s app or website as well as from texts or emails sent to you. Google recommends that you add a shortcut to the card on your home screen and will offer the option when you save your card to your device. Google s...

A Florida internet law is on hold while a lawsuit contesting it continues. Judge Robert Hinkle has issued a preliminary injunction blocking nearly all of SB 7072, a controversial and sweeping regulation of social media platforms. “The legislation now at issue was an effort to rein in social-media providers deemed too large and too liberal. Balancing the exchange of ideas among private speakers is not a legitimate governmental interest,” Hinkle wrote his order. Moreover, the law “discriminates on its face among otherwise identical speakers,” partly thanks to an eyebrow-raising exemption for companies that operate a theme park. That raises the bar for evaluating whether the law violates the First Amendment — and in Hinkle’s estimation, it probably does. “The legislation compels providers to ...

Beta versions of new software are great to try out, but sometimes you realize that they’re not so good for day-to-day usage. If you’ve upgraded your iPhone to the iOS 15 beta, which is now available to the public, and you realize that you need to go back to the stable world of iOS 14.6, you can do that. The simplest way to go back to a stable version is to delete the iOS 15 beta profile and wait until the next update shows up: Go to “Settings” > “General” Select “Profiles and & Device Management” Select “Remove Profile” and restart your iPhone Unfortunately, you won’t be able to return to a non-beta version of iOS until a new update is available. (You can check if one is available by going to “Settings” > “General” > “Software Update.”) If you don’t want to wait, you can do a ...

Way back in 2005, Apple released Mac OS X Tiger, and with it, the original implementation of widgets on the Mac through its Dashboard software. One of those widgets was a now-defunct iTunes media player — but thanks to the efforts of programmer Mario Guzman, who’s recreated an exact replica of the widget for modern Macs, you can once again enjoy your music in retro OS X style. Ironically, the new Music Widget isn’t actually a widget (at least, not in the current style of widgets introduced in last year’s macOS Big Sur,) but rather a standalone app that mimics the look of the original iTunes widget from 2005. The app is fully functional, offering the same controls as the original. Music Widget only works with the Apple Music app, though— Spotify (or other music apps) won’t work with the wid...

Netflix has shared the first five minutes of its upcoming horror movie trilogy Fear Street, inspired by R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series of young adult novels. The film trilogy, which will be released over three Fridays starting on July 2nd, is also split across three separate time periods: 1994, 1978, and 1666. Teens fleeing for their lives is universal, regardless of the year, it seems. Here’s Netflix’s synopsis for the films: In 1994, a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations ​may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets. As someone who grew up on Goosebumps and marathoned the made-for-TV movie adaptations of the books every Halloween, Fear Street seems like a pretty great update on that vibe. These first five m...