Apps

Facebook now allows you to call others “ugly”

Or refer to transgenders as “it” and women as property

Published

January 8, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

Despite how old Facebook is, content moderation remains a thorny topic for those constantly online on the platform. Formerly just a place to share memes and connect with one another, the social media platforms is now a host to belligerent misinformation and conflict making. As the world of information evolves, Meta has updated its content policies going forward… but it might not be for the better.

No more fact-checking

Through a brief video message, Mark Zuckerberg enumerated a few changes coming to the popular platform. Citing the effects of the recently concluded U.S. presidential elections, Meta is loosening its policies regarding what you can and can’t post on Facebook.

Most importantly, Facebook will stop employing a fact-checking team. Instead, the platform will use Community Notes, identical to X’s new approach to censorship. For the uninitiated, X’s Community Notes system relies on user contributions to spot inconsistencies and errors. Think crowdsourced like Wikipedia.

For the most part, the system does work. Some even lead to humorous notes pointing out glaring mistakes easily rectified by a Google search. However, it almost feels like Facebook (and X, for that matter) washing their hands clean of any responsibility for misinformation on the platform.

As Zuckerberg says, “fact-checkers have just been too politically biased.” He claims that the old system caused more harm than good. Similar to X’s own statements, Zuckerberg refuses to become an “arbiter of truth,” instead choosing to democratize free speech. One has to wonder how Zuckerberg decided that the general populace is less politically biased than a fact-checking team he can personally vet for biases.

Free speech over censorship

Coinciding with the new Community Notes system, Zuckerberg also announced new content policies to moderate the platform. The generalities are the same: hateful conduct is still a no-no. However, the definition of what constitutes hateful conduct are less specific.

For example, while the policy continues to prohibit comparing minorities to animals, the changed form curiously deletes certain rules about comparing them to inanimate objects. Under the new policy, users can technically treat women as property or refer to transgender people as “it.”

Though one can argue that the general rule still covers these examples as hateful conduct, a recent addition to the policy is more damning. It reads:

‘We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like “weird.”’

The platform also allows discussions on whether military, law enforcement, and school applications should be limited based on gender. In the United States, gender-based discussions remain rampant with some states debating the legality of barring transgender people from institutions. Facebook’s latest additions are suspiciously contiguous with the new administration.

To be fair, some changes do make some sort of sense. The policy, for example, deletes a dedicated clause dealing specifically with COVID-19. More humorously, it also allows users to call each other ugly or hideous.

Apps

YouTube is getting a redesign

The update looks a bit like Liquid Glass.

Published

October 15, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

What’s your favorite YouTube design? I still hold a bit of nostalgia for the silver era, but the practicality of the current minimalist design is remarkable. Now, it’s time for a change. YouTube is refreshing its design starting this week.

Much like Apple with Liquid Glass, YouTube is going for a more transparent approach. The new design lets more content through the interface. It also features rounder buttons, in contrast to today’s blockier features.

The comments section is also getting a bit of an upgrade to allow for more structure between original posts and replies.

For engagement with actual videos, some videos will now have custom like animations. The update gives an example of a music video which puts out a musical note when liked. Adding a video to a custom playlist or the Watch Later list is also more natural.

YouTube is rolling out these updates starting this week. It will also be available for web, mobile, and TV users.

Apps

ChatGPT Go now available in the Philippines, more Asian countries

Access to more popular ChatGPT features for an affordable subscription plan

Published

October 9, 2025

GadgetMatch

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

OpenAI has officially launched ChatGPT Go in 16 Asian countries, including the Philippines. This is the most cost-friendly subscription option yet at just PhP 300 (~ US$ 5.15).

This development gives users in the serviced regions greater access to ChatGPT’s advanced capabilities at a more affordable price.

To get started, simply visit chat.openai.com or download the ChatGPT mobile app, then create an account and select ChatGPT Go as your plan. The payment process is simple.

On the other hand, those who already have accounts may simply upgrade to Go.

The launch comes amid strong growth adoption of OpenAI’s tools in the Philippines. In fact, the country ranks among the top five countries for weekly ChatGPT users in Asia.

In addition, the top five use cases locally are tutoring, editing, personal writing, “how to” advice, and creative ideation.

At PhP 300 a month, ChatGPT Go subscribers will gain access to ChatGPT’s most popular features, including higher message limits, image generation, file uploads, and memory.

These are all powered by GPT-5, OpenAI’s most-advanced model.

Specifically, here’s the perks for the Go plan compared to free:

10x higher message limits
10x more image generations per day
10x more file or image uploads per day
2x longer memory for personalized responses

ChatGPT Go will join existing subscription options Plus (PhP 1,100) and Pro (PhP 9,900).

Plus is for subscribers who need more advanced thinking models and features like deep research, agent mode, and Sora video creation.

Meanwhile, Pro is for professionals, researchers, or organizations who need enterprise-grade scale, pro-level reasoning, and the most advanced features.

16 countries in Asia get ChatGPT Go

The Go rollout builds on strong momentum for cost-friendly subscriptions in the region.

Since launching first in India, the number of paid subscribers has more than doubled in a month.

Other countries to get the Go tier subscription are:

Afghanistan
India
Myanmar
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Indonesia
Nepal
Thailand
Bhutan
Laos
Pakistan
Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Brunei Darussalam
Malaysia
Vietnam
Cambodia
Maldives

Apps

You can now connect your Spotify account to ChatGPT

Seamless integration for personalized picks, more

Published

October 8, 2025

GadgetMatch

Spotify is now available on ChatGPT, with users in 145 countries already able access the live feature. This gives listeners a new way to discover and enjoy music and podcasts.

With the integration, both Free and Premium users can bring Spotify into their ChatGPT chats to get personalized recommendations. That goes from playlists that match your mood to podcasts based on your interests.

To get started, simply mention Spotify in your ChatGPT prompt, connect your account, and start discovering.

From there, simply ask for songs, artists, playlists, or podcast episodes. ChatGPT will automatically bring up the Spotify app in your chat and use relevant context to accomplish the task.

Alternatively, ask for recommendations based on a mood, theme, or topic, and Spotify will surface personalized picks seamlessly within the flow of your conversation.

Tapping a track will open the Spotify app, allowing you to listen and watch directly from there.

Furthermore, you can also extend an existing ChatGPT conversation, like planning a weekend road trip, by asking Spotify to create the perfect soundtrack.

For best results, add details like genre, mood, or artist for music, or a topic, host, or guest for podcasts.

Save steps

The way it all looks, the integration saves mobile users a few taps and switching from one app to the other. That’s if they’ve initially opened the ChatGPT app and decided to listen to music or podcasts via Spotify.

And like the aforementioned example, it saves users thinking about a curated playlist.

Or, when people are driving, they can just talk to ChatGPT for specific commands. It’s about the Spotify account access. You can start connecting by opting in; and you can disconnect at any time.

Throughout the experience, artists and creators’ work stays protected. Spotify will not share music, podcasts, or any other audio or video content for OpenAI training purposes.

The feature is now live for all ChatGPT Free, Plus, and Pro users on web and mobile.

It’s in early days, and both parties will continue to build, refine, and improve the experience over the coming weeks and months.

It’s intriguing if Gemini will come up with its own version for the music streaming app’s Google counterpart, YouTube Music.