Twitter users who have had the scarlet letter of a checkmark pinned to their profile against their wishes may soon be able to have it removed. They may soon see a page telling them how to cancel the subscription.

According to researcher Nima Owji, the company is set to add a page to its app that tells affected users they can contact Twitter support to cancel Blue. Twitter no longer has a communications team that can be reached for comment.

As it had long been promising, Twitter last week finally removed checkmarks from all of the accounts that were verified through the previous system because of their notability if they hadn’t already subscribed to Blue. However, Twitter and its owner Elon Musk added blue checkmarks back to certain accounts anyway, namely ones that belong to celebrities (including some dead folks) or have more than a million users.

The likes of Lil Nas X, Bette Midler and Stephen King said they didn’t pay for Blue even though they had a checkmark. The icon appeared on the accounts of several dead celebrities as well. Musk suggested that he was trolling some users by putting the checkmark back on their accounts.

However, some users suggested that, in doing so, Twitter and Musk may have violated the Lanham Act, a US federal law that prohibits false endorsement. It could be argued that by having a checkmark on their account without paying for Blue, users may tacitly appear to be endorsing it.

Offering clear directions to users who never wanted Blue in the first place on how to cancel their subscription may come as small comfort, especially for those who’ve found themselves on the wrong side of the #BlockTheBlue trend. Still, it remains unclear how deceased celebrities like Norm Macdonald, Chadwick Boseman and Kobe Bryant are supposed to have the checkmark removed, unless their families check their Twitter account settings on the regular.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitter-may-soon-tell-users-with-a-free-blue-subscription-how-to-cancel-it-200455042.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Twitter may soon tell users with a free Blue subscription how to cancel it

Amazon is shutting down its Halo division. In an email the company sent to users on Wednesday, it said it would stop supporting all devices under the health brand, including the recently released Halo Rise sleep tracker, on July 31st, 2023. As part of the shutdown, Amazon is also laying off an unspecified number of employees. The company did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request.    

“We have made the difficult decision to wind down the Halo program, which will result in role reductions,” Melissa Cha, the company vice-president of smart home and health, told staffers in a memo obtained by The Verge. “More recently, Halo has faced significant headwinds, including an increasingly crowded segment and an uncertain economic environment. Although our customers love many aspects of Halo, we must prioritize resources and maximize benefits to customers and the long-term health of the business.”

In its email to Halo users, Amazon said it would fully refund all Halo device and accessory purchases made in the last 12 months. The company will also refund any unused prepaid Halo subscription fees. If you were paying month-to-month for service, you won’t be charged any additional subscription fees. Come August 1st, the Halo companion app will stop functioning, as will all Halo devices. If you wish to download or delete your data, you can do so from the software’s Settings menu. Amazon will erase all remaining data on August 1st. You can send your soon-to-be potatoes to the company for disposal through the Amazon Recycling Program. 

The demise of the Halo brand shouldn’t come as a surprise. Last month, Amazon announced it would lay off 9,000 employees. That’s in addition to the 18,000 jobs it cut at the start of the year. Amazon was also late to the health and fitness segment. It announced the first product in the family, the Halo Band, in mid-2020, and it arrived without much fanfare, in part due to the fact some of its features were controversial. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-will-shut-down-its-halo-health-service-on-july-31st-195652188.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Amazon will shut down its Halo health service on July 31st

Acclaimed developer Young Horses just dropped four free games on Steam as part of a collection it’s calling the Free Range initiative. The team behind the beloved PS5 launch title Bugsnax is known for making off-kilter takes on traditional game formulas, and these four titles look like they carry on that proud tradition.

These are not bigwig releases, as they were mostly developed as side projects and at various game jam events. The strangest one of the four, and therefore the most intriguing, is called Antbassador, which was originally developed for the Ludum Dare game jam. Have you ever wanted to control a giant finger in a tophat as you try to accommodate the needs of a bustling ant colony? Now’s your chance.

If you haven’t had your fill of picnic ruiners, there’s IndependANT. The 3D open-world platformer casts you as an ant trying to locate a missing queen. This is a new and original title that did not begin life as a game jam, but rather as a tech demo to show off the newly-implemented Unreal 5 engine.