Image by Alex Castro / The Verge Reddit’s moderator purge could have real impacts on reliability and information safety as it rushes to replace mods with inexperienced, poorly vetted volunteers, according to Ars Technica. With testimony by both expelled former moderators and some of those who replaced them, Ars Technica’s report shows the trouble with the company’s push to quickly replace the mods who sent their subreddits dark, marked them NSFW, or turned them into jokey John Oliver fan forums earlier this year.Reddit began removing protesting moderators in June and said it would continue doing so until morale improves unless subreddits opened back up. Since then, Reddit has been trying to replace those it’s expelled. The Ars Technica piece lists several examples... Continue reading…

A lot of smartphone users don't typically give much thought to the many software releases rolled out to their devices. Some prefer to set their iPhones to automatically update, so they don't have to worry about doing it manually, while others prefer to just keep the same software version their device shipped with. A select few pick and choose when to update. Regardless of how you prefer to update your device, you may have noticed a new type of software release called a Rapid Security Response. But what does this really mean, and how does it compare to the other types of software releases seeded out to great iPhones?

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge This summer, Google began rolling out its new Topics API, which “allows a browser to share information with third parties about a user’s interests while preserving privacy.” A part of Google’s new Privacy Sandbox, the API is supposed to replace the third-party cookies that have been following us around for many years now, reporting where we go and what we buy, among other info. The Topics API was included in July’s Chrome 115 release. If the idea of sharing information about your interests with third parties doesn’t thrill you, you can easily turn it off. Here’s how:In Chrome, start at the three dots in the upper-right corner and go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Ad privacy. (Or just type chrome://settings/adPrivacy into your... Continue reading…

Bluetooth trackers come in all shapes and sizes. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge For those of us who can’t ever seem to know where our keys, wallets, and remote controls have disappeared to. Continue reading…

Headphones offer a unique experience that gives you the power to immerse yourself in music, movies, or games, while blocking out the rest of the world. This experience is amplified with headphones that offer robust sound and powerful ANC capabilities like the Philips Fidelio L3 headphones.

Photo illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge From simple fitness bands to rugged sports watches to rings, these are the best trackers you can get. Continue reading…

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge A number of Spotify users began to notice something strange over the last day or so: the in-app lyrics, which typically pop up under the currently playing song, were suddenly locked away under a paywall. Instead, they saw only a notification bubble saying, “Enjoy lyrics on Spotify Premium,” with a link to sign up. Many Spotify listeners were not enthused.Spotify tells us that the feature is only a test. “At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests, some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning,” says CJ Stanley, Spotify’s co-head of global communications. “We don’t have any further news to share at this time.” Blud now they even added lyrics to... Continue reading…

Meta didn’t build those massive offices in the Bay Area just for them to sit empty, you know? | Photo by Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Starting today, Meta’s offices are going to be full again. The company has been saying since June that any employee assigned to an office — which means anyone not formally designated as a remote employee — will be required to be in that office at least three days a week. Now, CNBC reports that the mandate has gone into effect.Over the last three years, Meta went through the same cycle of remote work as an increasingly large number of other tech companies. When the pandemic began, the company found it was surprisingly productive even with everyone at home, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and others began to wax poetic about the remote and distributed future of work. Zuckerberg himself estimated that in the next decade, “we could get to about... Continue reading…

Whether you just purchased a new Chromebook to move away from a Windows laptop or are just a fan of ChromeOS, we have one piece of advice: You don't have to use Google Chrome all the time.

Image: Larian Studios You’re gonna be spending a lot of time down, down, down by the river. Continue reading…

The smartphone world might be fast-paced, but OnePlus is a brand that consistently delivers innovative technology, exceptional performance, and stylish designs. While the brand started by providing some of the best cheap Android phones, it is now among the upper echelons of the market, producing impressive flagship devices without compromising the quality of its more affordable phones. Thanks to its catalog of excellent devices, such as the OnePlus 11 and Nord N30, choosing the ideal phone for your needs can be tricky since they come in different price ranges and features. Fortunately, Amazon and Best Buy are offering irresistible discounts, making it easy to grab your favorite models at a fraction of their original prices. Check them out below to choose the one that suits your needs.

Larian Studios The companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 have redefined the term “player-sexual,” or the idea that a character’s romantic and sexual orientation are firmly and solely fixed on the player. Usually, in a game that allows you to romance other characters, it takes a moment for the sparks to really start flying. There’s a general buildup of flirtations before you get to have a romantic interlude with your chosen somewhere around a game’s climax. (See what I did there?) In Baldur’s Gate 3, there is so little time between the initial “I like you” and visiting Boning’s Gate that a whole speedrun category has been developed around getting to a sex scene as quickly as possible, with the world record currently sitting at two minutes and four seconds.... Continue reading…