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Google will blur NSFW photos soon

Turned on by default

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When I search for “food porn” in Google, I’m looking for enticing photos of food to whet my appetite for dinner. Sometimes, Google has other plans and shows me more than what I bargained for. Finally, the search engine is implementing a way to save us from those awkward moments. Google will soon blur explicit images from search results.

For Safer Internet Day, Google has announced the feature to help protect users from accidentally seeing graphic images — including both gore and pornography — from a search. The feature, which will start rolling out in the coming months, will turn on by default. Instead of showing the images directly, users will face the blurred version and a prompt to view the image despite the warning.

If you don’t mind an accidental shower of NSFW imagery, you can turn the feature off at any time. Alternatively, as always, users can also choose to filter out all explicit search results, blurred or otherwise.

Though the feature is easily adjustable, Google will not offer the same flexibility to supervised accounts. Any accounts supervised by a parent or a school will not be able to change how they view explicit content. Parents can add supervision to the accounts of their children.

SEE ALSO: Google is working on a ChatGPT competitor called Bard

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Twitter just had its source code leaked

Taken down now

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Twitter

Before Elon Musk acquired Twitter, he promised better transparency to show how the platform operated. Whatever Musk’s plan for this is, he probably wasn’t expecting someone else to do it for him. Over the weekend, a GitHub user reportedly leaked a significant portion of Twitter’s source code for public viewing.

A website’s source code is its biggest asset. Inside, users can delve into what makes a website tick, including portions that the developers don’t usually want others to see. For cybersecurity enthusiasts and hackers, gaining access can expose vulnerabilities to patch or exploit. For a competing website, it can provide a needed advantage. Needless to say, Twitter is worried about the recent leak.

Over the weekend, a GitHub repository published Twitter’s source code, exposing the inner workings of the platform for all to see. Right now, the company has already issued a takedown notice and shut down the repository, but not before others have seen and potentially downloaded the code.

Twitter itself has confirmed the authenticity by starting an investigation into the leak. The company is trying to figure out where the leak came from. Additionally, it is requesting GitHub to hand over the information — including real names and addresses — of any user who downloaded the code for themselves.

For Musk’s part, the Twitter owner remains committed to releasing bits of the platform’s code. The platform is scheduled to release the code for its recommendation algorithm soon — a welcome release but a far cry from what the leak revealed.

SEE ALSO: Twitter is working on a way to hide the blue checkmark

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Twitter is working on a way to hide the blue checkmark

May or may not launch

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A year ago, Twitter’s blue checkmark was a coveted piece of online identity making. Now, the once-prestigious marker has grown into somewhat of a meme. The blue checkmark doesn’t mean the same as it did a year ago. Now, Twitter is reportedly developing a way to hide the checkmark from your profile.

Last year, Twitter announced a much easier way to get a blue checkmark for themselves. Soon after Elon Musk purchased the platform, Twitter Blue offered the badge with the monthly subscription price. Users who earned the old checkmark without paying for the subscription had their badges converted into yellow legacy checkmarks.

With the change, the value of a blue checkmark changed drastically. It become associated with a joke mocking users who paid for Twitter, an otherwise free-to-use platform.

Now, as spotted by notable app engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, Twitter is developing a way to hide the blue checkmark altogether. Currently, the development is still just a leak. It remains possible that the app will not launch the feature after all.

That said, after several months reinventing verification, the platform is still struggling for the perfect way to blend the old with the new. Right around the same time the leak popped up, they also officially announced that it will retire legacy checkmarks starting April 1.

SEE ALSO: Twitter promises encrypted DMs this month

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PayPal slowly rolls out passkey support for Android

Coming to the app soon

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Big Tech has been pushing for an end to the password. However, the password-less future is taking a while to get off the ground. Only a few platforms can support passkeys. A big name is lending its hand to the technology, though. PayPal has announced that it is working on implementing passkeys for Android users.

Starting today, the digital payment platform is slowly rolling out support for the new security measure. With a passkey, users will no longer need a password or two-factor authentication. Instead, PayPal will install a passkey onto your device. That passkey will be exclusive to your devices. If PayPal recognizes the device you’re trying to log in from, then the platform will allow you in.

It’s not a grand rollout yet, though. PayPal will introduce the feature for mobile browsers first, rather than the app outright. Android users will need Chrome to access the feature. App integration will come in the future. In the meantime, Android users will start getting the feature from now throughout the year.

Passkeys are moving slowly across the tech space. Some time ago, Apple, Google, and Microsoft mutually pledged to help usher in the future of passkeys as a more secure alternative to passwords. Today, only a few platforms can support the technology. In a time when cybersecurity is quickly becoming a priority for everyone, the arrival of passkeys can’t come sooner.

SEE ALSO: Google Chrome can now go password-free

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