meta

Meta pauses plans to train AI using European users’ data, bowing to regulatory pressure

Government & Policy /

Meta has confirmed that it will pause plans to start training its AI systems using data from its users in the European Union and U.K. The move follows pushback from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta’s lead regulator in the EU, which is acting on behalf of several data protection authorities across the bloc. […]

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WhatsApp adds new features to the calling experience, including support for 32-person video calls

Social /

WhatsApp updated the video calling experience across devices on Thursday by introducing screen sharing with audio support and a new speaker spotlight feature. It’s also increasing the limit for video call participants to up to 32 people. In August last year, WhatsApp introduced screen-sharing support for video calls. The instant messaging app has now enhanced

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Meta rolls out Meta Verified for WhatsApp Business users in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Colombia

Commerce /

Meta on Thursday said it is rolling out its Meta Verified program for WhatsApp Business users in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Colombia, and eventually to more countries. Subscription plans for this service start from $14 a month. The company is also adding more features to its messaging service for businesses, and letting companies use their

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Meta adds AI-powered features to WhatsApp Business app

Apps /

Last year, during the Q3 2023 earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg talked about leveraging AI to have business accounts respond to customers for purchase and support queries. Today, Meta announced AI-powered features for WhatsApp Business apps, such as helping with the creation of click-to-WhatsApp ads and generating responses to frequent customer messages. Mark Zuckerberg announced these

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‘ThreadsDeck’ arrived just in time for the Trump verdict

Apps /

Yes, we’re calling it “ThreadsDeck” now. At least that’s the tag many are using to describe the new user interface for Instagram’s X competitor, Threads, which recalls the column-based format of Twitter’s old app TweetDeck (now X Pro). Two weeks after first testing the functionality that allows Threads users to pin columns to the home

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Instagram now lets teens limit interactions to their ‘Close Friends’ group to combat harassment

Apps /

In a bid to combat harassment on its platform, Instagram said on Thursday it is expanding the scope of its “Limits” tool specifically for teenagers that would let them restrict unwanted interactions with people. Once they turn the feature on, teens will only be able to see comments, messages, story replies, tags, and mentions from

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Scarlett Johansson brought receipts to the OpenAI controversy

Social /

Welcome back to TechCrunch’s Week in Review — TechCrunch’s newsletter recapping the week’s biggest news. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. OpenAI announced this week that it’s removing Sky, one of the voices used by its new GPT-4o model, after users found it sounded eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson’s AI character

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Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses now let you share images directly to your Instagram Story

Gadgets /

Meta is updating its Ray-Ban smart glasses with new hands-free functionality, the company announced on Wednesday. Most notably, users can now share an image from their smart glasses directly to their Instagram Story without needing to take out their phone. After you take a photo with the smart glasses, you can say, “Hey Meta, share

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