Messaging apps need to play by Iran's rules to operate in the country
Privacy concerns have been voiced after Iran announced plans to force messaging apps and social media services to store all data about Iranian users on Iranian soil. It is common practice for user data to be stored in other counties, but the government in Iran continues to exert its authority over the internet.
Any company who wants to operate a message service in Iran has a year to comply with the data relocation requirement. With Iran already blocking access to the likes of Facebook and Twitter, privacy and security advocates have expressed worries about the implications of the new rules.
Putting the 'twit' in Twitter? Will changes flood your feed with unwanted messages?
Over the decade since it launched, Twitter has evolved from simple 140 character text messages to incorporate photos, videos and more. It can also justifiably lay claim to introducing and popularizing the hashtag.
In an effort to keep the service up to date the company is rolling out some changes in the coming months. While some of these are useful, others are set to prove unpopular, especially for those who follow business accounts.
Celebrity threesome injunction sees Twitter send warning emails to those who name PJS and YMA online
People who have named the celebrities known by the initials PJS and YMA have received warning emails from Twitter.
A superinjuntion is in place that prevents the naming of the couple, one of whom is said to have been involved in a threesome with two other people known as AB and CD.
GCHQ arrives on Twitter to give a more public face to the spy agency
The UK's GCHQ -- like its US counterpart the NSA -- is an agency traditionally shrouded in secrecy. Tasked with the job of spying on all and sundry in the name of intelligence gathering, the agency has just joined Twitter, greeting other users with an unoriginal "Hello, world".
With the concerns about privacy and security that blew up in the wake of Edward Snowden's NSA surveillance revelation, spy agencies around the world have been on a mission to boost their public image. GCHQ -- complete with the blue tick reserved for verified accounts -- will use Twitter to "provide news, updates, and opinions".
After the death of @MagicRecs, Twitter Connect makes it easier to find people to follow
It was a sad day on Twitter when one of most useful accounts, the @MagicRecs bot, was closed down. The experimental service had been firing account recommendations at users based on who they follow, but the experiment came to an end.
As something of a replacement, Twitter is introducing a Connect tab to its iOS and Android clients. The company says it will make it easier to find people to follow, and will come up with recommendations based on who you already follow, how you use Twitter, and what's proving popular with other people.
Apple: You're saying it wrong -- iPhones is not a word!
Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller has taken to Twitter to set the record straight about the nomenclature of the company's product names. Specifically, he takes umbrage with just sticking an 's' onto the end of product names to pluralize them.
Yep -- iPhones is, apparently, not a word. Someone might need to speak with Tim Cook to get him on the same page though, as he doesn't seem to have seen the memo.
Twitter's unfair token system gives it far too much control over rival apps
In recent days you probably heard about the demise, and subsequent resurrection, of the Twitter client Fenix. Earlier this week, the app became a victim of its own success, succumbing to what it described as "the infamous Twitter tokens limitation". It's now back in the Google Play Store having carved out some sort of deal with Twitter, but the debacle highlights an important issue.
If you want to create a Twitter client -- and why wouldn’t you? -- you'll need access to the Twitter API. This is not something Twitter wants, or permits, to just be a free-for-all, and it limits developers' use of the API through a token system. Simply put, one token equals one user, and Twitter decides how many tokens each developer has, in turn dictating the maximum number of users any rival Twitter client may have. Anyone spot a problem?
Twitter makes it easier to report abusive tweets en masse
There has been a lot of interest in online abuse in recent months, and social networks are taking steps to weed out the trolls and abusers. Twitter has already introduced a number of measures to help tackle trolls, and today announces the availability of a new reporting tool for users.
Now rather than having to report a number of abusive tweets individually, it is possible to report up to five tweets simultaneously. As well as reducing the workload for someone who feels the need to report content, the new tool also makes things easier for Twitter as it allows for additional information to be gathered.
Twitter now offers an easier way to share public tweets privately
While Twitter is designed to provide an open forum for your thoughts, occasionally you might want to have one-to-one discussions in private, and that’s where the Direct Message option comes in.
Today, as part of its quest to make DM conversations "richer", Twitter introduces a feature to make it much easier to share public tweets privately with friends and followers.
New Start Menu features on the way in Windows 10 Anniversary Update
Windows Insiders will soon be able to try out a new Start Menu when preview builds of Windows 10 Anniversary Update begin to roll out. We already know some of what to expect from this big update to Windows 10 -- such as badge notifications in the taskbar for UWP apps -- and now we can see what the updated Start menu looks like too.
The same Microsoft software engineer who shared details of badge notifications -- Jen Gentleman -- has posted an animated GIF to Twitter that shows the Start Menu in action. There are a few notable changes in the updated version, including a nested hamburger menu.
Instagram follows Twitter in embracing non-chronological algorithmic timelines
Any time a social network makes a change, it upsets a lot of people. Facebook has done it countless times -- just look at the vocal outpourings that followed the launch of reactions, for instance -- and Twitter recently irked many users with a new algorithm timeline, albeit one that can be disabled. Now it's the turn of Instagram.
The image- and video-based social network is currently testing an algorithm-driven timeline, much like Twitter and Facebook. Instagrammers are not happy. Not one bit (hence the appearance of the #boycottinstagram hashtag). The primary concern among users -- the narcissistic blighters! -- is that their posts will not be seen and will instead be buried in the noise of their followers' timelines. But all is not lost.
Instagram is taking advantage of Twitter's weakness
A new report on the global state of social media confirms what everyone’s been talking about lately -- Twitter is struggling and Instagram is taking full advantage of it.
The report, entitled simply "Social", is the product of GlobalWebIndex, and it is a compilation of the latest trends in social networking.
Microsoft says sorry for AI bot Tay's 'offensive and hurtful tweets'
Microsoft's first tentative steps into the world of artificial intelligence outside of China did not go well. Less than 24 hours after being unleashed on Twitter, the AI chatbot Tay was pulled offline after people quickly learned that it was possible to train the bot to post racist, sexist, and otherwise offensive material. Great fun was had by all!
All except Microsoft, that is. The company was not only forced to pull the plug on Tay, but today was compelled to issue an apology for "unintended offensive" caused. Twitter users treated Tay as some people would treat an infant -- taking great pleasure in teaching it swearwords and other inappropriate things to say. Maybe it was when Tay was talked into becoming a Trump supporter, but Microsoft is now seeking to distance itself from tweets sent out by the bot that "conflict with our principles and values".
Microsoft kills Tay, its racist, sexist, Holocaust-denying, Trump-loving AI bot
Proving that artificial intelligence has the potential to go horrendously wrong, Microsoft has been forced to pull the plug on Tay, its artificial intelligence-powered chat bot that had been unleashed on Twitter. Initially designed as an exercise in engaging millennials, it didn’t take long for Tay to go rogue -- albeit with a little help from a number of hardcore users.
Microsoft was almost certainly proud of bagging itself a verified account on Twitter for Tay, but it really didn’t take long for things to turn sour. Twitter users quickly learned that the very nature of an AI bot meant that it was ripe for moulding, and it was a mere matter of hours before the bot had been transformed from a mild-mannered female Twitter user into a Nazi-loving racist who hates feminists and loves Hitler... and Donald Trump.
Stickers, Stamptags, Taptags or Stickits... Twitter is testing a new image editing tool
Sometimes sharing a plain old image just isn't enough. Sometimes you might feel the need to adorn an otherwise dull image with clipart-style graphics. Sound like you? If so you're going to love the sound of a new image tool Twitter is testing... if not, brace yourself for an influx of irritation in you timeline.
Currently being referred to as Stickers (sound familiar?) -- although names including Stamptags, Taptags or Stickits are also in the running -- the tool is undergoing testing with a select group of tweeters. It allows users to add graphic overlays to photos and also introduces some extra social features in a bid to stand out from other tools available elsewhere. Meme creator, anyone?
Recent Headlines
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.