In 2022, Apple announced it was adopting a “new Home architecture” for its smart home ecosystem to improve its performance and reliability and make it possible to support different kinds of accessories. Although it was mostly an invisible update when it worked properly, some users who attempted to switch to the new architecture when it first rolled out in iOS 16.2 ran into slow or unresponsive devices and other problems, prompting Apple to pause the rollout and re-release it as part of iOS 16.4.

If you put off transitioning to the new architecture because of those early teething problems or for some other reason, Apple is forcing the issue starting today: You’ll need to update to the new Home architecture if you want to continue using the Home app, and older iOS and macOS versions that don’t support the new architecture will no longer be able to control your smart home devices. The old version of the Home app and the old Home/HomeKit architecture are no longer supported.

If you’re like me, you hit an “upgrade” button in your Home app years ago and then mostly forgot about it—if you open the Home app on a modern iPhone, iPad, or Mac and don’t see an update prompt, it means you’re already using the updated architecture and don’t need to worry about it.

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The UK’s Ministry of Justice has ordered the deletion of the country’s largest court reporting archive [non-paywalled source], a database built by data analysis company Courtsdesk that more than 1,500 journalists across 39 media organizations have used since the lord chancellor approved the project in 2021.

Courtsdesk’s research found that journalists received no advance notice of 1.6 million criminal hearings, that court case listings were accurate on just 4.2% of sitting days, and that half a million weekend cases were heard without any press notification. In November, HM Courts and Tribunal Service issued a cessation notice citing “unauthorized sharing” of court data based on a test feature.

Courtsdesk says it wrote 16 times asking for dialogue and requested a referral to the Information Commissioner’s Office; no referral was made. The government issued a final refusal last week, and the archive must now be deleted within days. Chris Philp, the former justice minister who approved the pilot and now shadow home secretary, has written to courts minister Sarah Sackman demanding the decision be reversed.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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For bass-heads and audiophiles, there’s arguably no more acceptable choice than bass-y over-ear headphones. They have superior immersive sound, larger drivers that produce richer sound, and bigger cups that avoid that dreaded ear-squishing feeling. Skullcandy is known for its wide range of over-ear headphones, and the Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless headphones are a mid-range option known for their bass. Right now, they’re 52% off, down to their lowest price ever of $99.99 (originally $209.99).

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The standout feature on these headphones is the extra bass drivers that beef up the dual 40mm drivers; it has a unique haptic bass slider that adds vibration to low frequencies, and you can crank it up if you want a more bass-heavy experience. Compared to on-ear headphones, which can lead to discomfort over time, the plush memory foam cups will let you comfortably game or listen to music and podcasts all day (or night) long. And despite the generous ear cups, they fold flat, making them fairly compact for over-ear headphones. 

They’re advertised as lasting an impressive 40 hours on a single charge; they take a little over three hours to fully charge, but just 10 minutes of charging will get you a solid four-hour top-up. They don’t offer premium features such as multi-device pairing or high-res codecs, and the lack of active noise cancellation may be a dealbreaker for some. However, if you’ve been on the hunt for comfy, long-lasting, bass-thumping headphones that deliver at around a $100 price point, the Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless headphones are less expensive than many alternatives, and have a bass-tuning feature that’s hard to come across.

Threads users have been complaining about its recommendation algorithm pretty much since the beginning of the platform. At some point, this turned into a meme, with users writing posts jokingly addressed to the algorithm in which they requested to see more posts about the topics they’re actually interested in.

Now, Meta is turning those “Dear algorithm” posts into an official feature that it says will allow Threads users to tune their recommendations in real time. With the change, users can write a post that begins with “dear algo” to adjust their preferences. For example, you could write “dear algo, show me more posts about cute cats.” You can also ask to see fewer posts about topics you don’t want to see, like “dear algo, stop showing me posts about sick pets.”

You can track your requests to the algorithm in the app’s settings in order to revisit them or remove them. You can also retweet other users’ “dear algo” posts to have those topics reflected in your feed. Importantly, “dear algo” requests are temporary and only last for three days at a time, which Meta says is meant to keep the algorithm feel fresher and more flexible.  

The rollout of the feature follows a limited test late last year. Now, “dear algo” posts will work for Threads users in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand with more countries coming “soon.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-turned-threads-algorithm-complaints-into-an-official-feature-180000236.html?src=rss

Like millions of Americans, I’ve been watching the news of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance with concern—so I was somewhat relieved when the FBI announced they were releasing new footage of a suspect. Finally, the case had something to go on, even if it was only doorbell video of a masked stranger.

When I saw the footage, I assumed this was something the FBI had in their possession since the beginning, and had finally decided to release to the public. But that’s not what happened at all. If you have been following this case closely, you may know that law enforcement had previously confirmed that Guthrie’s Google Nest camera was disconnected (presumably by the perpetrator), and that she did not have a subscription that would store video either on the doorbell or in the cloud. Yet despite the fact the doorbell should have been a dead end, the FBI has seemingly produced this video out of thin air.

If you have a Google Nest device in or attached to your home, this might give you pause. Sure, it’s one thing if law enforcement is able to obtain video from your subscription or from the device itself. But if you don’t keep video records on your Nest, it seems it is still possible to retrieve the footage. How did the FBI do this, and what does it mean for the privacy of your Nest devices?

The FBI likely pieced the video together from fragments

The short answer is that we don’t really know for sure how the FBI got the footage, but there are a few leads. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, the Google Nest footage was recovered “from residual data located in backend systems.” That’s pretty vague, though the FBI isn’t necessarily known for its transparency_.

According to experts that spoke to NBC News, however, it is possible to obtain data from the “complex infrastructure” of cloud-based cameras, including Google Nest devices. Retired FBI agent Timothy Gallagher told NBC News that Guthrie’s Nest camera might have sent images to Google’s cloud service, or at least stored data points locally throughout the hardware of the device, even though she wasn’t paying for a Nest subscription. The FBI could have obtained the footage from the cloud this way, or pieced together the video from those data points.

Both possibilities track, based on how Nest cameras work without a subscription: While you need to pay Google in order to save video clips from your Nest cameras, some Nest devices record event histories and store them on-device. The third-gen wired Nest Doorbell can save up to 10 seconds of clips, while the first and second-gen wired doorbells can save up to three hours of event history, all without a subscription. They also support live video feeds when motion is detected, which could impact the video data points saved to the device or cloud.

It’s entirely possible the subject walking up to the camera triggered the doorbell to save an event history. But since it took the FBI so long to produce the footage, and since the director claims it was obtained from “residual data,” my guess is it wasn’t readily available in Guthrie’s Google Home app. Maybe the event history saved to the cloud, but it wasn’t clear where it was located. Maybe it was overwritten, but the FBI was able to build it back up with recovered data points. My guess would learn toward the latter, as authorities did say the camera had been disconnected. Unfortunately, we don’t have a definitive answer at this time, even if the theory is sound.

I’ve reached out to Google for comment, and will update this piece if I hear back.

Should you get rid of your Nest camera over privacy concerns?

Based on what we know, it doesn’t really seem like your Nest doorbell or camera is a fourth amendment disaster waiting to happen—but I don’t blame anyone for being concerned. After all, if you don’t have a Nest subscription, you might have been comforted by the thought that none of your footage was being saved anywhere, meaning law enforcement or other authorities would have nothing to seize if you somehow popped up on their radar. That doesn’t necessarily appear to be the case.

That said, without a subscription, you don’t have access to a collection of all clips your Nest camera has ever recorded. You might have a limited event history saved, based on motion detection, but that will be limited to three hours of data. Your device might have data points that an organization like the FBI could theoretically use to restore footage, but that’s likely true for any camera or smart doorbell system—not just Nest.

Also, this is not a Ring situation—Google hasn’t partnered with organizations like Flock to help law enforcement request footage from users. Nest also lacks Ring’s “Search Party” feature, which can turn a neighborhood into a kind of surveillance state, and probably not just to search for lost dogs. I’m not dismissing every security and privacy concern, of course: By putting a commercially-available smart camera on your front door, you are placing your data in the hands of companies like Google or Amazon. If you want to eliminate the risk of the FBI obtaining your doorbell footage, you simply can’t have a doorbell with a camera. But barring a warrant, or a Nancy Guthrie-level situation, the chances of your Nest doorbell footage actually being used against you seem rather slim.

TikTok US just launched a local feed for users to “get the inside scoop on must-try restaurants, shops, museums and events.” This is done by leveraging the exact location of people that are using the app and comes after a change in the platform’s terms of service that says the app can do just that. The platform’s terms of service used to note that it could collect approximate locations, but the sale to US investors looks to have changed that to precise locations.

This is an opt-in feature, despite the app potentially collecting this data whether the feed is activated or not. The feed is set to “off” by default, but can be changed via a trip to settings.

The local feed doesn’t show your neighbors or people you might vibe with to help solve that pesky loneliness epidemic. Instead, it prioritizes local businesses and will highlight nearby events, shopping suggestions and restaurants to try.

TikTok

This looks to be part of a broader push to attract small businesses to the app, both as content producers and as advertisers. As TechCrunch notes, this could also help insulate the company from future regulation and increased scrutiny, as it could point to the many small businesses that rely on its services. 

TikTok states that over 7.5 million businesses use the platform in the US to reach customers. However, this data is sourced from an Oxford Economics report from before a group of investors finalized a deal for the US version of the app.

Supporting local businesses is a noble goal, but users will have to consider whether or not the value of a dedicated feed is worth the privacy risk. Oracle is a prominent investor in the new American TikTok, and company founder Larry Ellison once said “citizens will be on their best behavior” when they are being constantly surveilled.

This local feed isn’t exactly a new idea. TikTok has been trying something similar in Europe since the tail-end of last year. It has shown up in the UK, France, Italy and Germany.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/tiktok-us-launches-a-local-feed-that-leverages-a-users-exact-location-170651916.html?src=rss

Microsoft’s February security update is a big one. This latest “Patch Tuesday” fixes 58 vulnerabilities in total, six of which are zero-day flaws. As a reminder, a zero-day is a vulnerability that has been either actively exploited in the wild or publicly disclosed before an official fix is released by the developer.

As BleepingComputer reports, security flaws were found in the following categories: 25 elevation-of-privilege vulnerabilities, five security feature bypass vulnerabilities, 12 remote code-execution vulnerabilities, six information disclosure vulnerabilities, three denial of service vulnerabilities, and seven spoofing vulnerabilities. Three of the elevation of privilege vulnerabilities and two of the information disclosure vulnerabilities are considered “critical.” (These numbers do not include the three Microsoft Edge vulnerabilities patched earlier in February.)

Patch Tuesday updates are typically released around 10 am PT on the second Tuesday of every month, and your device should receive them automatically. BleepingComputer reports that this month’s release also includes Secure Boot certificate updates for 2011 certificates that are expiring in June.

Six zero-days patched in February

Three of the six actively exploited zero-days fixed in February are security feature bypass vulnerabilities:

• CVE-2026-21510: This is a flaw the Windows Shell that allows an attacker to execute content without warning or gaining user consent, though the user does need to open a malicious link or shortcut file.

• CVE-2026-21513: This MSHTML Framework vulnerability allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature over a network. Microsoft has not released details on how this flaw was exploited.

• CVE-2026-21514: This vulnerability in Microsoft Word allows an attacker to bypasses OLE mitigations in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Office once a user has opened a malicious Office file.

All three of the above flaws have been attributed to Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC), Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), Office Product Group Security Team, and Google Threat Intelligence Group along with an anonymous researcher for CVE-2026-21510 and CVE-2026-21514.

Two of the zero-days are elevation of privilege vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-21519 is a Desktop Windows Manager flaw that allows an attacker to gain SYSTEM privileges, while CVE-2026-21533 is a Windows Remote Desktop Services flaw that allows an attacker to elevate privileges locally. The former has been attributed to MSTIC and MSRC, while the latter was discovered by the Advanced Research Team at CrowdStrike.

Finally, CVE-2026-21525 is a denial of service vulnerability in the Windows Remote Access Connection Manager that allows an unauthorized attacker to deny service locally. This flaw was discovered by the ACROS Security team with 0patch—it was reportedly found in a public malware repository in December 2025.

Reports of the compact disc’s death may have been slightly premature, according to a new analysis from Stat Significant that finds CD sales as a share of U.S. music industry revenue have quietly stabilized after years of steep decline. RIAA data shows CD revenue share fell from 7.15% in 2018 to 3.04% in 2022 but has since flatlined at roughly 3%, coming in at 3.14% in 2023 and 3.06% in 2024.

Google search traffic for “CD Player” has ticked upward over the past 16 months after two decades of near-continuous decline, and a May 2023 YouGov poll found 53% of American adults willing to pay for music on CDs — ahead of vinyl at 44% and online streaming at 50%. Respondents under 45 were more likely to express interest in buying physical formats than older cohorts. But on the supply side, Discogs data shows vinyl remains the dominant format for new physical releases; artists have not meaningfully shifted back toward CD production.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Though the original series is very much done, Netflix is going to squeeze as much juice out of Stranger Things as it can. The company is said to be filming the Broadway production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow so it can offer up a recording on its streaming service.

Several public performances were canceled this week to accommodate filming, according to The Hollywood Reporter. They’ll recommence on February 15. Filming is taking place before the original Broadway cast leaves the production next month. 

Stranger Things: The First Shadow opened in New York City last year after debuting in London in 2023. It’s been a critical and commercial success, and it has won multiple Tony Awards. The play is a canonical prequel to Stranger Things and it fills in more of the backstory of Henry Creel, who becomes Vecna. The show’s final season digs into his past too.

Netflix hasn’t indicated when it will start streaming a recording of the play. This was inevitably going to happen at some point, though. Netflix has been busy expanding the Stranger Things universe with spin-off shows, such as the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 (which will start streaming on April 23). A documentary that shows how Stranger Things: The First Shadow came together hit the streaming service last year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/netflix-is-reportedly-filming-the-stranger-things-broadway-show-this-week-165243046.html?src=rss

Live translation is probably the most genuinely useful thing to come out of the AI boom, but if you want to use it during a phone call, you usually need to use a specific device or a separate app. T-Mobile is looking to change that. The carrier announced today that it will soon introduce live translation to all phones connected to its 5G or 4G networks, and to get in on the action, you’re going to want to sign up for the beta now.

According to a press release sent to journalists today, the new feature will kick in for you automatically once you’re selected for it, no matter what phone app or device you use. All you’ll need to do to access it is type in “87” on the keypad during a phone call. Which means that, yes, it will also be compatible with feature phones, aka classic-style flip phones with physical buttons.

How T-Mobile live translation works

The device you use doesn’t matter because all of the computing for the translation will happen on T-Mobile’s end, rather than on your device. The downside is that you won’t get to pick which AI model the translation uses, and T-Mobile hasn’t yet to provide any indication of which one it will use. You’ll also just have to trust T-Mobile’s servers with any audio recorded from your conversation. T-Mobile spokesperson Mason Miller told Lifehacker’s sister site PCMag via email that, “[T-Mobile does] not save call recordings or transcripts,” but the company will certainly ave to run your data through its servers at some point to make the feature work. By comparison, competing translation apps often rely on downloaded language packs and on-device models.

Still, I see where T-Mobile is coming from with this offering: When live translation is limited to specific devices or apps, it vastly impacts its usability, since both callers need to have a compatible device for it to work. Processing translation over the cloud makes it more likely you’ll be able to use it exactly when you need it—and as a bonus, only one caller will actually need to be on T-Mobile’s 5G or 4G network to pull this trick off.

While T-Mobile’s press release focuses on 5G, the carrier confirmed availability for the feature on 4G to The Verge earlier today. The Verge also reports that, in addition to dialing 87, beta participants will eventually be able to trigger live translation by saying “Hey T-Mobile” instead.

When T-Mobile live translations will go live

Testing for T-Mobile’s live translation will begin “for selected users” this spring, with more general availability planned for “later this year.” The feature will be free during the beta, although a surcharge might be added after it goes into wide release. “We will share more on pricing and plan details closer to commercial launch,” Miller told PCMag.

To sign up for the beta and put your hat in the ring for selection, head over to t-mobile.com/benefits/live-translation.