Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Like email, SMS, and just about every other method of communication, WhatsApp suffers from spam. There are certainly things that can be done by users to stem the flow of spam that makes its way to their inboxes, but WhatsApp is also trying to help.

The platform has already introduced a system designed to automatically detect and block spam, but it is not perfect; no system is. And so, WhatsApp is trying another approach that will apply to businesses and individuals alike.

Privacy Sandbox was Google’s vision for replacing third-party cookies, but now the company is giving up and moving on from the idea. First launched six years ago, Privacy Sandbox suffered with low-adoption, and Google has gradually snuffed out various technologies relating to the system. Now it has taken things further.

Google says that “after evaluating ecosystem feedback about their expected value and in light of their low levels of adoption”, it has taken the decision to retire more Privacy Sandbox technologies. But this does not really paint a true picture of what is happening.

It has been known for a little while that Meta has been working on a username system for WhatsApp. The popular messaging app is slightly unusual in not offering people a way to choose a username, but this is going to change at some point in the future.

Recent beta builds of the iOS and Android apps show that work is gathering paced, and the most recent development is a username reservation system. This will serve as a way for users to try to pre-select their preferred username even before the username system rolls out to everyone.

New versions of PowerToys are always eagerly received, especially when there are new utilities to explore. This was certainly the case with the release of PowerToys v0.95 last week, but in addition to the excitement there has also been confusion.

With PowerToys v.0.95, Microsoft added a new module called Light Switch. Designed to automatically switch Windows between Light Mode and Dark Mode, it is a tool that addressed an issue for many people. So where does the confusion come from? Light Switch is enabled by default.

In what feels like something of a case of history repeating itself – Cortana, anyone? – Microsoft is furnishing Windows users with voice activated access to the operating system’s digital assistant.

While being able to call up the AI powers of Copilot by uttering Hey Copilot to your computer may not seem revolutionary, Microsoft has a different idea. The company says that it sees a “shift to conversational input [being] as transformative as the mouse and keyboard in terms of unlocking new capabilities on the PC for the broadest set of people.

Getting locked out of an account because of a forgotten password can be a very troubling experience – and it is something that always seems to happen at the most stressful and inconvenient moments imaginable.

To help with this, Google has just announced a series of security related tools, including new account recovery options. Among these is the ability to create recovery contacts so you can “phone a friend” if you get locked out.

Microsoft may have all but abandoned Windows 10, but this is not true of its users. There are still millions of Windows 10 systems in use around the world, causing security concerns for many. But not all software developers are turning their backs on Windows 10 – Mozilla included.

The company has announced that “Firefox will continue to support Windows 10 for the foreseeable future”.

Microsoft has unleashed PowerToys v0.95, and it is an impressive one. This is a release cycle which is billed as offering “new features, stability, optimization improvements, and automation”, and that’s very much what this particular release is about.

The first thing to ask about any new PowerToys release is whether there are any new modules. And this time around the answer is a resounding “yes”. In addition to a raft of changes, improvements and optimizations across the suite of utilities, there is also the new Light Switch module.

Meta has confirmed that the Windows and Mac versions of its Messenger desktop app are to be discontinued. While no reason has been given for the deprecation, the company is probably trying to cut back on the number of products it has to develop and support.

There are just two months to go until the Messenger desktop apps cease to function, and users should start to see notifications to this effect when they log in.

With the most recent security updates released this month, Microsoft has introduced an issue for some Windows Server users. The KB5065426 update was released a few days ago, including not only security fixes, but also new features.

The unexpected payload, however, is the appearance of a problem with active Directory. Microsoft summarizes the problem in an advisory notice entitled “Directory synchronization fails for AD security groups exceeding 10,000 members”.

The day has come and gone: Microsoft no longer supports Windows 10 for users who are not signed up for Extended Security Updates. Much has been made of the price and availability of these updates, including the difference between the EU – where they are free – and the rest of the world.

There are various ways to access and sign up for Extended Security Updates (ESU), and Microsoft has just added a new one. It is now possible to access the ESU program via the Microsoft Store – but there is no change to pricing.

Meta has announced major changes to Instagram that it will be hoping will keep regulators satisfied. Like all social media platforms, Instagram has long been under pressure to do more to protect younger users from seeing inappropriate content; with this in mind, Meta says Teen Accounts will be guided by the PG-13 movie rating.

What this means in practice is that teenagers should only be able to “see content that’s similar to what they’d see in a PG-13 movie, by default”. Acknowledging that this will not be enough to keep everyone happy, parents will also have the option of making controls stricter if they feel it necessary or preferable.

Google has announced a series of updates and changes for YouTube, kicking off with a new-look user interface. The updated UI sees various buttons and control elements getting a visual refresh, but there are changes beyond the aesthetic.

An addition that will please many YouTube users is threaded replies. It is now not only possible to reply to comments on a video, but also to reply to those replies and have these comments visible in a tree structure. But there is still more.

With Google Wallet, Google has helped to lighten our load by reducing the number of physical cards and tickets we need to take out with us. Debit and credit cards, loyalty cards, boarding passes, travel tickets and more can be stored electronically and accessed instantly.

But with the widespread switch from physical tickets, passes and cards, there comes a new problem – identifying individual things contained within Google Wallet. With a new update, Google is taking steps to try to address this by adding a new nickname option.

Following an investigation that started back in June, UK regulator Ofcom has issued 4chan with a fine for failure to comply with two requests for information under the controversial Online Safety Act.

Ofcom’s investigation had multiple threads, including looking into whether the site was protecting users from illegal content. After several months, only concerns about failing to respond to information requests were upheld. The fine? Just £20,000 – or a little over $26,500.