Google Ads has steadily automated more of the decisions advertisers once managed directly. Bidding is an obvious example, but the shift has gone much further. Google now has more influence over which searches ads can match to, where ads appear, how budgets get allocated, and even which creative combinations users see. For advertisers, that changes…
New allegations surfaced that the Rank Math WordPress plugin has introduced a functionality that silently gives the company administrator-level permissions over WordPress sites. The access is triggered when a user is connected to a free Rank Math account and the user opens the plugin’s Help & Support section. Allegedly There Is Zero Consent Or Notification…
The Hamptons’ most talked-about dinner party of the summer will have to wait a little bit longer. Gwyneth Paltrow’s closely watched dinner honoring OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been postponed, according to The New York Times. The private gathering was originally scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 29, at Paltrow’s home in Amagansett, New York. This Tweet…
Google’s new Preferred Sources embed removes one action from the process of adding a publication as a Preferred Source. With the embed, a reader adds the site and returns to the article. A deeplink sends the reader to Google’s source preferences tool, where the site still has to be selected and confirmed. This simple guide…
First, TikTok wanted to know whether your boyfriend would peel an orange for you. Then, whether he cared that you saw a bird. Now, users on the app have arrived at a more fundamental question: Can your boyfriend read? In the latest relationship trend spreading across TikTok, women hand their boyfriends or husbands lists of…
Bluesky, one of the more successful alternatives to Elon Musk’s X, has just added a brand new feature that sets it apart from other social media platforms. On Thursday, the official Bluesky account on the platform announced that an opt-out option has just gone live that prevents a user’s post from being included in algorithmic recommendations. Now…
More than 100 technology, cybersecurity, financial, and infrastructure organizations have signed an open letter warning that AI-enabled cyberattacks will become “far more widespread and sophisticated” in the coming months. OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, Hugging Face, and other companies that build or defend much of the modern web are among the signatories.…
Mick Tobin, 23, vividly remembers beating himself up as a teen for losing hours of time to social media in one sitting. He blamed himself for scrolling endlessly. He compared himself to others, felt anxious, and could sense his attention span growing shorter. He blamed himself some more for not knowing how to use social…
Google has started rolling out hotel booking through AI Mode in Search for U.S. users in English. Users can complete eligible reservations through a “Continue on Google” flow that uses Google Pay. Google lists 10 hotel chains and online travel sites for the initial rollout. Google is also adding flight price alerts and points or…
In June, a new law went into effect in New York state that requires companies to disclose when they use AI-generated models or actors in advertisements. And now, just a few months after it went into effect, the state is seeing its first complaints reporting advertisers for allegedly running afoul of the law. In total,…