Facebook animates photo-realistic avatars to mimic VR users’ faces

Facebook wants you to look and move like you in VR, even if you’ve got a headset strapped to your face in the real world. That’s why its building a new technology that uses a photo to map someone’s face into VR, and then sensors to detect facial expressions and movements to animate that avatar so it looks like you without an Oculus on your head.

CTO Mike Schroepfer previewed the technology during his day 2 keynote at Facebook’s F8 conference. Eventually, this technology could let you bring your real world identity into VR so you’re recognizable by friends. That’s critical to VR’s potential to let us eradicate the barriers of distance and spend time in the same ‘room’ with someone on the other side of the world. These social VR experiences will fall flat without emotion that’s obscured by headsets or left out of static avatars. But if Facebook can port your facial expressions in alongside your mug, VR could elicit similar emotions to being with someone in person.

Facebook has been making steady progress on the avatar front over the years. What began as a generic blue face, eventually got personalized features, skin tones, life-like features, and became a polished and evocative digital representation of a real person. Still, they’re not quite photo-realistic.

Facebook is inching closer, though, by using hand-labeled characteristics on portraits of people’s faces to train its artificial intelligence how to turn a photo into an accurate avatar.

Meanwhile, Facebook has tried to come up with new ways to translate emotion into avatars. Back in late 2016, Facebook showed off its “VR emoji gestures”, which let users shake their fists to turn their avatar’s face mad, or shrug their shoulders to adopt a confused expression.

Still, the biggest problem with Facebook’s avatars are that they’re trapped in its worlds of Oculus and Social VR. In October, I called on Facebook to build a competitor to Snapchat’s wildly popular Bitmoji avatars, and we’re still waiting.

Facebook seriously needs its own Bitmoji

VR headsets haven’t seen the explosive user adoption some expected in large part because they lack enough compelling experiences inside. There are zombie shooters and puzzle rooms and shipwrecks to explore, but most get tired quickly. Games and media lose their novelty in a way social networking doesn’t. Imagine what you were playing or watching 14 years ago, yet we’re still using Facebook.

That’s why the company needs to nail emotion within VR. It’s the key to making the medium impactful and addictive.

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Facebook engineer and ‘professional stalker’ reportedly fired over creepy Tinder messages

There’s no shortage of Facebook news this week on account of F8, but this creepy Facebook-adjacent event with a good outcome seems worth noting. An engineer accused of abusing his access to data at the company in Tinder messages has been fired, NBC News reported.

The issue arose over the weekend: Jackie Stokes, founder of Spyglass Security, explained on Twitter that someone she knew had received some rather creepy messages from someone she personally confirmed was a Facebook engineer.

The engineer (gender unspecified) described themselves as a “professional stalker,” which however accurate it may be (they attempt to unmask hackers) is probably not the best way to introduce yourself to a potential partner. They then implied that they had been employing their professional acumen in pursuit of identifying their new quarry.

I really, really hope I’m wrong about this. pic.twitter.com/NDkOptx8Hv

— Jackie Stokes (@find_evil) April 30, 2018

Note that the above isn’t the whole exchange, just an excerpt.

Facebook employees contacted Stokes for more information and began investigating. Alex Stamos, Facebook’s chief security officer, told NBC News that “we have strict policy controls and technical restrictions so employees only access the data they need to do their jobs – for example to fix bugs, manage customer support issues or respond to valid legal requests. Employees who abuse these controls will be fired.”

And fired he was, Stamos added in another statement. I’ve reached out to the company for confirmation and more details, including what those controls are that should ostensibly have prevented the person from accessing the data of a prospective date.

It’s disturbing that someone in such a privileged position would use it for such tawdry and selfish purposes, but not really surprising. It is, however, also heartening that the person was fired promptly for doing so, and while everyone was busy at a major conference, at that.

I'd like to thank the many Facebook employees who reached out to me personally to find out what they could do to help, and especially their CSO @alexstamos for deft handling of a dicey issue during a time when words and actions matter more than ever.https://t.co/W8Joe2Bc6e

— Jackie Stokes (@find_evil) May 2, 2018

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5 Digital Habits to Cleanly Separate Your Work and Personal Life

When you work online as a freelancer, the line between your personal self and professional self tends to blur.

The risk of identity mix-ups and misplaced data is a constant, and so is the temptation to play hooky from work. One email sent to the wrong address or one ill-advised post on your Facebook timeline could get you fired.

To reduce the potential for such disaster, it’s a good idea to disconnect your digital personal life from your digital work life. Let’s show you five basic ways to make that happen.

1. Separate Online Identities

Start with your email. Get a custom domain name and an email address to go with it. Don’t use this address to sign up for services that aren’t related to your work. Use your personal email address instead.

You can still read email sent to both addresses in the same place with a desktop email client or a webmail service that can handle multiple accounts.

Now for the most important bit: set up different profile pictures for your work and personal email accounts. For best results, use Gravatar to assign an avatar for either email account. Once you do this, whenever you use one of your email addresses online, the corresponding unique profile picture shows up with it.

What’s the benefit of doing this?

You’re always aware if you’re using the appropriate account for whatever online action you’re about to take. This helps when you’re sending a strongly worded email, leaving a comment on a website, or sharing sensitive files.

You might also want to have separate social media accounts for work and personal use. After all, professional networking on social media has certain dos and don’ts that may not apply to the personal sphere.

2. Separate Devices

If you limit your work-related tasks and personal ones to distinct devices, you don’t have to worry about any mix-ups of data or identity. You can turn one device into a productivity hub and the second one into an entertainment and admin zone.

You don’t have to go out and buy a new gadget to make this work. Try using your desktop or laptop only for work and your phone only for personal tasks and media consumption. A Chromebook also makes the perfect device for personal use.

It can get tedious to switch between the two devices, but that’s the idea. It’ll ensure that when you work, you work, and when you play, you play.

If procrastination is your nemesis, or workaholism is, having a dedicated device for work and a shutdown routine can help you fight it.

3. Separate User Accounts on Desktop

If you use the same device for both work and personal activities, it’s ideal to create separate user accounts or profiles for them.

You can use your personal account for day-to-day admin, blogging, watching movies and TV shows, and catching up on newsletters. You can also use it for casual web browsing and as a testing ground for apps.

But when you log into your work account, it’ll be like you have dressed up for work and entered “the zone”. By the way, actually dressing up is one way to be more productive when working from home.

4. Separate Browsers or Browser Profiles

Don’t want to switch back and forth between user accounts? Why not switch between browsers instead? You can use a combination of, say, Chrome and Firefox, or Safari and Opera, to split your digital activity.

With this approach, you can keep your work browser lean. All the resource-intense activity in your personal browser will stay limited to it.

You can play around with all kinds of interesting extensions in the personal browser without slowing down your work browser. You also don’t have to worry about mixing up bookmarks or leaving behind your search history in your work account.

If Chrome or Firefox is one of your primary browsers, you can set up different profiles for work and play instead of using separate browsers.

While you can have multiple user profiles in Opera also, the method to set them up is slightly roundabout. You’ll find it in this thread in the Opera forums.

It’s a pity that Safari doesn’t support multiple user profiles. You can’t even add them with an extension due to the security feature that’s System Integrity Protection (SIP). But don’t worry, you can quickly switch between user accounts from your Mac’s menu bar.

5. Separate Apps and Tools

Have you decided to go with a single user account after all? You can still keep your work and personal activities sorted with distinct apps, brands, app suites and ecosystems.

For example, if you use OneNote for work, you can save non-work stuff to Evernote. Or if you use iCloud apps or Microsoft apps for your personal data, you can use Google apps for work.

Setting things up this way might seem like a lot of work initially, but once you have everything in place, your workflows are more sorted. And thanks to import/export and cloud backup features in apps, moving your data is not as difficult as it used to be.

Dividing activities with digital and analog tools can also work. For example, you can use Trello, Google Calendar, and Evernote for work. And for personal use, you can go with an actual Kanban board, a paper planner, and a paper Bullet journal. You don’t have to go to extremes like swapping out personal emails for handwritten letters.

This last approach is working out pretty well for me. By using my laptop mainly for work, I have been able to reduce screen time to a considerable extent.

Dress Up Your Online Self for Work

In a traditional work setup, your work life is both physically and digitally removed from your personal one. As a freelancer, you can get the same physical space by setting up a home office. But you need a digital barrier too, and the onus to create it is once again on you.

If you protect your online reputation as a precautionary measure, in all probability, you won’t have to do it as a damage control tactic.

Image Credit: Olivier26/Depositphotos

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Watch Facebook’s F8 2018 Day 2 keynote right here

Facebook is hosting its F8 developer conference in San Jose this week. Yesterday, it kicked off with a keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who addressed the company’s latest scandals, including Cambridge Analytica, election meddling, and fake news. But he also spoke of his commitment to Facebook’s mission of connecting the world, and his optimism for the future. The company then introduced a number of new products across its platform, as well as on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.

We saw things like Facebook Dating, Instagram video calling, Oculus Go’s launch, a new Messenger, VR memories, 3D Photos, and more.

Today, live coverage of F8 2018’s Day 2 begins again at 10 AM PT, 1 PM ET, Wednesday May 2.

On the schedule is a second, less lengthy keynote address.

Typically the Day 2 keynote focuses more on research, like machine learning technology, and other forward-looking projects and developments. We may hear from Facebook’s research divisions and perhaps the Telecom Infra Project. (Details on the keynote’s speakers haven’t yet been provided, so these are just guesses for now.)

The full F8 schedule is here.

The keynote will stream to Facebook’s F8 website, though yesterday it experienced a lot of glitches. Even the F8 website was down for a while. If that happens again, you can just follow along the news via TC’s Twitter account or here on the site.

When the stream starts, we’ll also embed the video below.

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The 5 Best VPNs for Android

Google will start investing in early-stage startups that use the Assistant

Google is betting big on the Assistant ecosystem and it’s now putting its money where its mouth is. As the company announced today, it’s launching a new program that will provide investment capital and other resources to early-stage startups that build applications in the Google Assistant ecosystem.

Typically, companies announce these kind of program to kickstart an ecosystem around a new product. While developers have already launched plenty of services for the Google Assistant, the company says that it is launching this new program to “promote more of this creativity.”

Google VP for search and the Google Assistant Nick Fox echoed this. “With the Google Assistant, we’re focused on fostering an open ecosystem for developers, device makers, and content partners to build new experiences,” he told me. “We’re already seeing a lot of creativity from developers with the Google Assistant, and to help promote this, we’re opening a new investment program for early-stage startups.”

Investments are one part of this program, but Google will also work with these startups directly to provide them mentorship and advice from engineers, product managers and design experts. The startups in the program will also get early access to new features and tools, as well as access to the Google Cloud Platform and promotional support. That sounds a bit like an accelerator program, though that’s not quite what Google is calling it.

Fox tells me that Google won’t put a cap on the investments. “We’ll invest as much as we see fit, and are focused on helping startups succeed in this emerging space,” he said. “And we’re not just offering investment capital. We’re eager to partner with these startups and leverage our company’s strengths to help these products come to market poised for success.”

The first startups in this program include GoMoment, a concierge service for hotels and Edwin, a personal English tutor, as well as the developer tools BotSociety and Pulse Labs.

These startups are good representatives of what Google is after. Fox tells me that Google is looking for startups that are “pursuing an interesting space for Assistants, such as vertical industries like travel or gaming.” In addition, Google is also looking to deepen some of its partnerships, but for the most part, it’s simply looking for startups that are pushing technologies like the Assistant forward.

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How to Delete Your Facebook Account Once and For All

Ah, Facebook. A near-endless stream of privacy and security issues, a CEO who cares more about answering to Wall Street than to his users, a newsfeed that’s lost all semblance of what it once was, and a way of interacting that’s scientifically proven to make you miserable.

Are there really any good reasons not to delete your Facebook account?

If you want to unfriend Mark Zuckerberg forever, you’ve come to the right place. In this article we explain how to permanently delete your Facebook account, how to uncover any apps that rely on your Facebook credentials, and how to ensure you don’t get cut off from your family and friends in the process.

What It Means to Deactivate a Facebook Account

In simple terms, deactivating your Facebook account hides (almost) all of your data. It’s akin to a temporary deletion. If someone were trying to find you on the network, they would not be able to tell that you have—or ever had—a Facebook account.

Your profile will not show up in search results, and your status updates, photos, and other data will disappear from the public eye. The only trace of your account that might remain visible is the inbox messages you sent to other people. Facebook also says your image might still be available on other people’s friend lists, but in our experience, it never is.

However, Facebook retains your data. Which means you can reactivate your account in an instant and get back where you left off. All of your friends, statuses, photos, videos, and timeline content will immediately be available again.

Deactivating your account should only be used in certain situations. For example, perhaps you’re trying to boost your productivity and want to stop social networking for a month, or maybe you want to hide your life from a vindictive ex-partner until things cool down.

You should not deactivate your Facebook account if your main reason for wanting to end your association with Facebook is privacy-based. It will not solve any of the issues for which Facebook has recently been receiving bad press.

How to Deactivate a Facebook Account

Head to facebook.com and enter your login credentials. Once you’re looking at your Facebook home screen, click on the small arrow in the upper right-hand corner and choose Settings.

From the Settings menu, choose General in the panel on the left-hand side of the screen, then go to Manage Account > Edit.

Next, scroll down to the Deactivate your account section and click on Deactivate your account. Facebook will prompt you to enter your password.

On the final screen, you will need to choose whether you want to keep receiving emails from Facebook and whether to delete any Facebook apps for which you are the sole developer.

When you’re ready, hit Deactivate.

Note: Deactivating Facebook will not deactivate Facebook Messenger. That’s a separate process and beyond the scope of this article.

How to Reactivate a Facebook Account

If you change your mind and want to return to Facebook, just head back to the social network’s login page and enter your old credentials. The reactivation process takes a matter of seconds.

Note: Your account will also be reactivated if you use your Facebook credentials to log into a third-party app or service.

What It Means to Delete a Facebook Account

Whereas the various issues connected with deactivating your Facebook account are somewhat nuanced, what happens when you delete a Facebook account is much more clear-cut.

Quite simply, if you delete your Facebook account, all of your information will be gone for good. There is no way to retrieve the data, and there is no way to reactivate your account at a later date. If you decide you want to rejoin the social network, you’ll need to make a new account.

Facebook will wipe almost all your data from its servers. Once again, messages you’ve sent to other people will live on in their inboxes, and data such as log records will stay in Facebook’s database, though all personal identifiers will be removed.

When you delete your account, Facebook gives you a cooling off period. If you log back into your account within two weeks, it will automatically reactivate. It means if you’re determined to permanently delete Facebook, you’ll need to stay strong for a few days.

Once the cooling-off period passes, Facebook promises to all trace of your profile from its servers within 90 days. But don’t worry, during the 90 days, your data is not available to other Facebook users.

How to Delete a Facebook Account (Permanently)

Remember we mentioned at the start that it was intentionally hard to completely delete Facebook? This is where it becomes apparent.

Remarkably, there is no way to delete your Facebook account from within your account. Instead, you need to visit a dedicated page: facebook.com/help/delete_account.

Once the page has loaded, click on Delete my account. You will need to enter your password and pass the Captcha test. Once that’s done, click OK and the deletion process will be set in motion.

Before You Delete Your Facebook Account

Before you remove your Facebook account forever, there are a few steps you need to take to ensure that a) the process runs smoothly, and b) you don’t have a burning feeling of regret later on.

Download Your Facebook Data

Just because you’ve decided Facebook is no longer fit for purpose today, it doesn’t mean you should disregard all the content you have amassed on there over the years.

For many of the photos, messages, and videos on your account, Facebook is probably the only copy of the file available. Buried in those memes and cat videos are images of unforgettable trips, family moments, and great times with friends.

So, before you reach for the “Delete” button, you need to make sure you have a copy of it all.

To download all your personal data from Facebook, log into your account and go to Settings > General > Download a copy of your Facebook data.

You can choose which types of data you want to include. It ranges from the obvious (like photos and posts) to the obscure (such as the Wi-Fi networks you’ve used).

When you have made your selection, click on Create File. Depending on the amount of data you want to download, it could be several hours until the file is ready.

Check Your Third-Party Facebook Apps

Many apps and services give you the option to sign into their accounts using your Facebook credentials.

We’re not sure why anyone would choose this option; it’s a privacy nightmare. You’re willfully giving those companies access to all your Facebook data. But we digress. Plenty of people use this login method.

If you’ve used your Facebook login credentials for apps like Spotify or Feedly, you need to change your login details with them before you delete Facebook permanently. Failure to do so could leave you locked out of your account.

You can see which apps have access to your Facebook account by going to Settings > Apps and Websites.

Important: You need to approach the third-party app developer directly, you cannot make the necessary changes through Facebook.

Tell People You’re Leaving Facebook

Yes, we all know Facebook has its problems. That’s why you’re reading this article. But it remains unsurpassed as a way to keep in touch with friends and family far away. You might not speak to your Great Aunt Marge regularly, but the fact you’re there if needed is probably a comforting thought for her.

You need to give Marge—and all the other family and friends you’re connected to—plenty of warning. Vanishing without a trace will worry people.

Clearly, you can’t post the same “I’m leaving” message day-after-day, so why not change your Facebook profile picture to an image of your username on Instagram, Snapchat, or any other network you plan to keep using?

By doing so, you won’t be pestering people with spam, but they’ll learn that you’re planning to delete your Facebook account every time you pop up on their newsfeed. You can even crop your friends list back before posting your new details to prevent them spreading too widely.

Should You Delete Facebook?

Facebook is going through a rough patch. But, as much as the company is in the firing line at the moment, it’s hard to believe it won’t bounce back.

Therefore, don’t make any rash decisions. Make sure you really want to delete your account before committing. Remember, the process is irreversible after two weeks. Are you sure you want to throw away a decade of memories?

Perhaps it would make more sense to just trim your Facebook friends list or delete your newsfeed. Both steps can instantly improve your experience on the network without taking the nuclear option.

Image Credit: serazetdinov/Depositphotos

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The 10 Best Free Movie Streaming Sites

Although streaming movies for free might sound synonymous with piracy, there’s a bevy of free, legal streaming content on the internet. In fact, there’s almost an overabundance of streaming services.

Whether you’re looking for movies or television shows, finding streaming video is totally feasible. It just requires you to search in the right places. With that in mind, here are the best free movie streaming sites to check out.

What to Expect From These Streaming Sites

There’s a ton of free and legal video online, and as such you’ll find a real mix of content. A healthy portion of the movies available to stream for free are public domain works. Because these films have lapsed in ownership and fallen into common property, many sites host such video treasures. These are the sorts of films Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) used to watch and comment on.

But it’s not just B-movies available to stream online. Rather, many big budget releases can also be found. Often, these are ad-supported. Like watching a movie on television, you’ll have to sit through limited commercials. Nevertheless, movies are usually presented uncut. Just don’t expect to see the latest releases.

Instead, you’ll mostly see movies dating back anywhere from a few months to many years. Additionally, you can find some original productions, such as the Snatch TV series on Crackle. Need help figuring out what to watch next? These sites will help you find what to watch next.

1. YouTube

It’s no surprise that YouTube ranks among the best free movie streaming sites you can find. There’s a ton of free films to pick from, including many public domain films from channels such as the aptly titled Public Domain Films and Public Domain Cinema. Furthermore, sites such as Popcornflix host full movies via YouTube.

There’s a fantastic mix, from gems like Plan 9 From Outer Space, to action movies such as Recoil with Danny Trejo and Steven Austin, cult classics including Curse of the Puppet Master, and more. You may have to dig for what you most want to watch, but for those with patience, YouTube is a treasure trove of free, legal streaming cinema.

2. Crackle

Boasting a solid array of syndicated content and original productions, Crackle is a must for any film buff. Its rotating selection varies, but you’ll find quality movies such as action comedy Hot Fuzz, gothic horror flick Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the masterful 1988 remake of The Blob, Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School, and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Aside from films, Crackle features television shows such as Blue Exorcist, Seinfeld, and even original programming like its Snatch original series. With its robust lineup of movies and shows, we think Crackle is one of the best free Roku channels.

3. Viewster

Although it’s anime-centric, there’s a mix of movies you can find on Viewster. Notably, Viewster features a robust line up of documentaries, films like Street Fighter II, and Lily C.A.T. Plus, you can legally stream shorts and television series including Murder Princess.

4. Vudu Movies on Us

While Vudu is best known for its digital video rentals and sales, the Vudu Movies on Us section makes it one of the best free movie streaming sites. With a comprehensive array of movies such as Bull Durham, Showgirls, and Return of the Living Dead, it’s a fantastic service.

Vudu Movies on Us operates in a similar way to Crackle by providing full, uncut movies with limited commercials. Through hosting films with ads, Vudu is able to offer free movies and TV shows.

You still need to register for a Vudu account to use this service, but it’s totally worth doing so. Moreover, you can use your account to activate digital copies of movies and shows, as well as buy and rent movies from Vudu.

5. SnagFilms

For a free Netflix alternative, check out SnagFilms. With unique categories such as “Before they were stars” and “Athletes & their triumphs,” SnagFilms specializes in fresh content. The library of more than 2,000 videos includes films, shows, and documentaries. Additionally, there’s a portion of original comedy shorts.

There’s a fantastic classic movies category as well. Don’t expect a ton of well-known fare, but for under the radar movies and more, SnagFilms is a gem.

6. PopcornFlix

Like Crackle, PopcornFlix presents full movies with limited ads. Here, you’ll find a range of movies in a rotating selection, from Sunset Boulevard and A Clear and Present Danger to Murder on the Orient Express and There Will Be Blood.

Flicks are segmented into categories such as popularity, genre, new arrivals, and staff picks, making PopcornFlix easy to use. With a beefy lineup and excellent navigation, PopcornFlix is an awesome choice for free, legal movie streaming.

7. Tubi TV

Providing free movies and shows, Tubi TV is a fantastic service. Here, you’ll be able to view newer movies including Lords of Salem, A Most Wanted Man, and Bulletproof Monk, as well as older titles such as sci-fi cult classic The Running Man.

Helpfully, Tubi TV offers a “Leaving Soon” category so you can stream movies and shows before they become unavailable, and thus prioritize your streaming queue. You will need to register to watch mature content, but creating an account is painless enough.

8. Pluto TV

Because Pluto TV features a live TV section, it’s easily one of the best free movie streaming sites. You can stream from the likes of Pluto Movies, Fox Sports, and specialized channels like Classic Movies and Horror 24/7. Plus, there’s an on-demand video library for instant movie watching.

With the live television aspect, Pluto TV is a must-have for cord-cutters.

9. Classic Cinema Online

As the name suggests, Classic Cinema Online focuses on older, classic content. Even its website aesthetic captures a decidedly retro vibe with a backdrop of red theater curtains. You can find classics such as Casablanca, Jane Eyre, and The Wasp Woman.

However, the inclusion of movies such as Muscle Beach Party does call into question the definition of “classic cinema.” Nevertheless, Classic Cinema Online is pure gold for old school movies.

10. Veoh

On Veoh, you’ll be able to stream tons of movies and shows. There are a lot of older films, such as Nosferatu. It’s akin to YouTube in that Veoh hosts user-submitted content and videos from established sources like CBS.

Since Veoh boasts a solid filtering system, you can select options such as language and video length to find what you want to watch. Veoh ranks as one of the alternatives to YouTube. Just beware of the popups.

You Just Need to Know Where to Look

If you know where to look, you can find loads of sites for (legal) free movie streaming. And if you’re looking to watch on something other than your computer these are the best media streaming devices worth considering.

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LG adds more AI camera features and a notch for the G7 ThinQ

LG has done a really terrible job keeping the G7 ThinQ under wraps. But clearly the company doesn’t mind. Building up the hype cycle is clearly more important to the handset maker than any kind of big reveal. In addition to leaked images from nearly every angle, the company has already issued several official press releases ahead of today’s big unveil in New York.

As numerous photos have already suggested, LG’s the latest company to go all in on the notch. There’s a big one up top that will no doubt evoke Apple’s new flagship for many users — though the G7’s cutout is smaller than the iPhone’s, and the curved bottom bezel is a bit larger.

In a prebrief ahead of today’s announcement, a spokesperson for the company said LG anticipates that the notch will be a fact of life on high-end handsets for the next one and a half or two years, as phone makers work to figure out the ideal solution for going full screen. A display manufacturer itself, the company floated its own flexible display tech as a potential workable solution.

LG’s settling on this as the latest iteration of the “second screen” feature found on the V20. Here, however, that refers to FullVision — essentially an optional black bar that sits on either side of the notch, creating the appearance of a flush top bezel.

Notch aside, the screen is a 6.1-inch QHD+, which works pretty well in sunlight, courtesy of a boost button. LG’s also put some effort into the phone’s speakers, which, until recently, have been one of the most overlooked pieces of most phones. These get really loud — in a demo, we were able to hear music pretty clearly played across the room.

The real centerpiece is, as the name suggests, ThinQ. That’s the AI camera the company introduced at MWC with the latest iteration of the V30S. It’s a neat feature that’s some combination of flashy gimmick and genuinely useful feature. Essentially the system utilizes AI features to identify what it’s shooting and adjust accordingly. It also shows its work in the process, flashing seemingly random words on screen as it attempts to figure out what it’s looking at.

I didn’t get to spend much time with the device this time out, but it did a pretty admirable job figuring out when people were in the room. In all, the system has 18 shooting modes — around double the amount rolled out on the V30S. New additions include:

• Baby
• Pet (In addition to Animal)
• Beverage
• Snow
• Sky

Of note is the low-light camera, which “increases the brightness of each shot.” It’s not really on the level of Huawei’s latest offering, and does appear to still include a fair amount of noise on dark shots, however. The handset also gets a Portrait Mode, which brings a familiar approximation of the bokeh effect, introducing blur in the background to help frame the subject. Like Samsung’s offering, the effect can be adjusted after the fact.

The handset has a devoted side button, dedicated to Google Assistant. LG has no plans to let users assign different features, but will do so if enough users request it. Built-in far-field voice technology also helps Assistant hear voices in a noisy setting.

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The 3 Types of Antivirus Scans and When to Use Each One

Regularly scanning your system with an antivirus program is one of the easiest ways to keep your system secure. Along with an antimalware suite, your antivirus is a core feature of your system security.

But what type of antivirus scan should you run? Are there differences between a Full scan, a Quick scan, and a Custom scan? Let’s take a look at what happens when you hit that “Scan” button.

How Does Antivirus Work?

Before considering exactly what each antivirus scan type does, let’s brush up on antivirus general role.

Your antivirus primarily works in the background of your system. It diligently notes your system files. When a file is modified, your antivirus scans it to ensure those changes aren’t harmful to your system.

The antivirus checks the properties of the file to make sure it isn’t part of a malicious program. Similarly, your antivirus suite has a long list of known malicious file signatures. If you download a file with a known signature, your antivirus should take care of it—but mishaps do happen occasionally.

Another antivirus trick is using behavioral analysis to assess unknown viruses. In this case, the antivirus doesn’t have a signature in its database to compare a file against. Instead, the antivirus monitors the actions of the file, inspecting the interactions on your system. If the file attempts certain activities on your system, the antivirus will quarantine the file.

Antivirus suites combine these two defense tactics and many others to keep your system free of malicious programs.

The Different Types of Antivirus Scans

Most antivirus programs have two or three different scanning options. In general, these options are usually a “Full” system scan, a “Custom” system scan, and a “Rapid/Hyper/Quick” scan option. This option is sometimes referred to as a “Smart” scan. The scan names are seemingly self-explanatory.

Full Scan

A full scan performs a thorough check of your entire system, inside and out. Depending on the antivirus program, the antivirus will scan the following objects:

• All hard drives, removable storage, and network drives
• System memory (RAM)
• System backups
• Startup folders
• Registry items

A full system scan takes several hours, depending on how much data you have stored. In that, a full system scan is a thorough, in-depth analysis of everything on your system.

When to use? Use a full scan when you need to check your entire system. Some security experts advise completing a full scan every two weeks. But for most people, a single full scan per month is usually enough.

Custom Scan

The custom scan, then, allows you the same in-depth scanning functionality as a full scan, but you choose the locations to scan. For instance, my system has an SSD and three HDDs. Using Microsoft’s Windows Defender, a full system scan takes hours to complete.

However, if you switch to a custom scan, you can tell the antivirus to avoid specific drives. If your system uses C: for your operating system and download folders, focus the scan there. At other times, if you encounter suspicious behavior, set your antivirus to scan the specific folder.

Some antivirus suites add a “Scan from this location” function to the right-click context menu within Windows. Similar functionality exists for macOS and numerous Linux distributions. (Check out these free Linux antivirus programs.)

When to use? Use a custom scan to quickly analyze individual drives. A custom scan is a reliable way of checking external storage and other removable media for issues, too.

Hyper/Smart/Quick Scan

Finally, some antivirus tools have the option for a quick scan. This type of rapid system scan comes under different names, depending on the antivirus suite. So, how does a quick scan vary from a full scan?

• Commonly infected files and folders
• Running processes and threads
• System memory (RAM)
• Startup folders
• Registry items

The quick scan item list looks very similar to the full scan list, right? That’s because it is. However, it has two major differences (again, these differences do vary slightly by antivirus suite).

First, a quick scan only analyzes locations where malware is likely to lurk, rather than every single file on your system. This alone drastically reduces the scan time. Second, some antivirus programs only scan for files that have been modified since the last scan. In this, the antivirus is skimming through data until it finds something worth notification.

In most cases, a quick scan should at least discover a virus, even if it doesn’t directly identify the variant or even the root directory of the infection. If your quick scan detects something serious, you can always switch to a full scan to try and uncover more infected files and information about what you’re dealing with.

When to use? The quick scan is a handy day-to-day tool. While a full scan is very resource heavy and time-consuming, a quick scan shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete. It gives you a great overall picture of your system health as well as whether you need to take further action against any lurking nasties.

Do Antimalware Suites Use Different Scans?

In a word, no.

Antimalware suites by and large use the same scanning criteria (startup folders, processes, registry items, and so on) as your antivirus. The difference comes in what the antimalware program is scanning for. Malwarebytes uses a different set of malicious signatures and behavioral analysis triggers than Windows Defender, for instance.

In that, using an antimalware tool alongside your antivirus is worthwhile. Malwarebytes Premium is an excellent antimalware solution for real-time protection (the free version is a scan-only tool). However, there are some excellent free combined antivirus and antimalware tools. If you want a well-rounded free tool, check out the latest version of Avast Free Antivirus. Avast bought competitor AVG last year, and the merger has drastically improved the malware detection rate for Avast’s free offering.

Scan Your Computers for Safety

You now know the differences between antivirus scan types, as well as when you should use each one. Despite what some people say, you need to install and update your antivirus tool.

Unsure what you need? Check out our fantastic list of the best computer security and antivirus tools.

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How to Write a Privacy Policy for Your Website

If you’re running a website on the internet, the odds are good that you’re collecting some form of information about your visitors. There are both legal and ethical requirements that make it important to publish a privacy policy on your website.

A privacy policy will protect you from many legal liabilities. At the same time, sharing privacy information with your users is just the right thing to do whether or not it’s required by law.

In the following article, you’ll learn what elements you should include in a privacy policy, what to add to those elements, and a few sample website privacy policy templates and examples to get started.

5 Key Elements of a Website Privacy Policy

According to the US Better Business Bureau, there are five important elements you need to include in your website privacy policy.

1. Notice: Tell your readers all of the personal information you’re collecting about them throughout the site.
2. Choice: Explain whether the visitor can opt-out of their information being collected and used, and how to do so.
3. Access: Provide any links where readers can see the data you’ve collected and correct it if they want to.
4. Security: Detail the security measures you have in place to protect any user data you’ve corrected.
5. Redress: Give your visitor options they have available if the privacy policy isn’t adhered to.

You don’t need to include an entire section for each of these topics in your policy, but you should try to make sure all of the information is included in some format.

Let’s explore each of these website privacy policy elements in more detail.

Website Privacy Policy: Introduction

Your privacy policy should start with an introduction detailing what the policy is for.

It should also detail what information the reader will learn from reading it. Insert the name of your service or website wherever you see “(website)” in the text.

You may start with an introduction based on this privacy policy template:

“Here at (website) we take personal privacy very seriously. As a general rule (website) does not collect your personal information unless you chose to provide that information to us. When you choose to provide us with your personal information, you are giving (website) your permission to use that information for the stated purposes listed in this privacy policy. If you choose not to provide us with that information, it might limit the features and services that you can use on this website.

Generally, the information requested by (website) will be used to provide a website feature or service to you, such as commenting, support, or providing future content better tailored to your interests. A description of (website)’s intended use of that information, how that information is collected, security measures (website) takes to protect that information, and how to grant or revoke consent for collection and use of that information will be fully described the ‘Privacy Notice’ section of this privacy policy.”

With the introduction out of the way, it’s time to put together the Privacy Notice section of your privacy policy.

Website Privacy Policy: Notice

To complete the notice section of your privacy policy, you’ll need to do a full audit of your website to determine what information you’re collecting from visitors. Usually, this could include any of the following sources.

• Forms (contact info)
• Login or signup information (names and passwords)
• Ad scripts running on any pages of your site (demographics)
• Cookies (web browsing history)
• Commenting scripts (IP address and location)
• Social media integration (friends and family)

Most blogs, forums, and even larger websites use ad networks, commenting plugins, and other scrips that either directly or indirectly collect information about users.

For example, if your site uses Disqus, it requires visitors to type in their email address. But what many users are not aware of (unless you let them know) is that it also logs the IP address of the computer they’re using to leave a comment on your site.

It’s important that you understand the information your site is actually collecting from users. You should make sure to let them know about it in the notice section of your website privacy policy.

It’s best to create a separate section for each form of data collection that exists on the site. Describe how that tool collects information and what information it collects.

Tailor the text of each example below to match the information that your own site is collecting.

Email Addresses

Most websites today provide visitors a link to send an email or a contact form visitors can fill out to send you a message.

This is a form of personal information that you’re collecting, so disclose this to your visitors with privacy notice text like the following example:

“Some of the services on this website allow you to send us an email. We will use the information you provide, such as email address or phone number, only to respond to your inquiry. Keep in mind that email transmissions are not encrypted by default, so we suggest you do not send sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or bank account information via such contact forms.

If such information is required, it will be via a web page that clearly states the page and its transmission of information is secure and encrypted. All electronic messages received from visitors are deleted when no longer needed.”

As you can see, the statement describes exactly what information you’re collecting, and how it will be used.

Third-Party Websites and Applications

Any plugin or service you use to add features to your website may give you access to your visitor’s personal information.

Some examples are commenting services (like Disqus) or social media plug-ins that integrate with a visitor’s social account.

Even if you don’t directly receive that information, if that service lets you log into an account that lets you see or collect that information, you need to disclose that to your visitors.

Here is an example of privacy policy text you can use for this section:

“(website) uses commenting and social media plug-ins and third-party websites. We use those third-party services to interact with visitors and to build our community on social media. We also uses these third-party services to measure the number of visitors to our website, to interact with visitors on the site, and to make our website more useful to visitors.

In such cases, the third-party application may request an email address, username, password, internet protocol (IP) address, and geographic location for account registration or sign-in purposes. (website) does not use those third-party websites or services to collect personal information from individuals. Any personal information collected by the third-party website will not be stored or transmitted by (website). (website) has no control over or access to specific login information or any other sensitive personal information provide to third-party websites.”

The last section of this statement is important because third-party sites or services may have a different privacy policy than you do. It’s important to make it clear that your website has no control over, or access to, that information.

Ultimately if that third-party service gets into legal trouble for misuse of information, like Facebook’s recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, you will be protected from any of those issues.

This can also build trust with your readers that even if other websites aren’t good at protecting their privacy, you can still be trusted.

Information for Tracking and Customization (Cookies)

Almost every website online uses some form of analytics or advertising script to measure users session information.

These scripts collect a lot of personal information about the visitor, even though they don’t specifically identify those users by name.

If you run these scripts or display those ads, it’s very important that you disclose the information collected to your visitors. Here are some sample privacy policy statements to do that:

“(website) uses cookies to provide a customized user experience on the site. A cookie is a small file that a website transfers to your computer to allow your browser to remember information about your last session on that website. Your computer only shares information in the cookie with the specific website that provided it, and no other website can request that information. (website) also uses third-party analytics services (like Google Analytics) to gather this information for anlysis.

(website) collects and temporarily stores certain information about your visit to help us to better align our content and the website design with your needs. The information these cookies collect includes:

1. The domain you access our website from
2. Your computer’s IP address
3. The date and time you accessed the site
4. The operating system of your computer
5. The browser you’re using to access our site
6. The Universal Resource Locators (URLs) of the pages you visit on our website
7. Your username, if you’ve logged into the site
8. The URL of site you came from, if you clicked a link there that brought you to our website

We may share this information internally with (website) employees or third-party contractors as needed. This information is only used to to improve the website and enhance our visitors’ experience. Raw data logs are only retained temporarily site management purposes.”

This will likely be the largest section of your privacy policy because its usually the kind of service most websites use and it collects so much information about the user.

It’s important (and legally required) to be transparent about that information and how you use it.

Website Privacy Policy: Security

Now that you’ve detailed the information you collect through your website, it’s time to add another section that should put your visitors’ minds at ease.

This is where you detail all of the security steps you’ve taken to protect your visitors’ information

Here’s a sample of what that section might look like. Again, replace “(website)” with the name of your own site, and tailor this template text to fit your situation:

“(website) takes the security of your personal information very seriously. We take many precautions to ensure that the information we collect is secure and inaccessible by anyone outside of our organization. These precautions include advanced access controls to limit access to that information to only internal personnel who require access to that information. We also use numerous security technologies to protect all data stored on our servers and related systems. Our security measures are regularly upgraded and tested to ensure they are effective.

We take the following specific steps to protect your information:

(1) Use internal access controls so only limited personnel have access to your information.
(2) Anyone with access to user information is trained on all relevant security and compliance policies.
(3) Servers that store visitor information are regularly backed up to protect against loss.
(4) All information is secured through modern security technologies like secure socket layer (SSL), encryption, firewalls, and secure passwords.

All access safeguards described above are in place to prevent unauthorized access by outsiders to information stored on or transmitted by our systems.”

The important thing when explaining security to your visitors is that you don’t go into too much detail. Remember, not all of your visitors are tech-savvy. They only need to know the general security measures you’re taking to protect their information.

Website Privacy Policy: Choice, Access, and Redress

The control that visitors have over the information you collect is usually addressed in a single section of the website privacy policy, toward the end.

It covers what options the visitor has to access the information and to opt-out of you collecting their information. It also covers filing a complaint if they ever discover you’ve violated your own privacy policies.

All three of these are usually covered by offering visitors an option to contact you via email. You might craft this statement as follows:

“You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

(1) Ask for a list of personal information we have about you, if any.
(2) Request a change, correction, or deletion of your personal information.
(3) Request that we avoid collecting anything in the future (opt-out).

If you do not wish to have cookies stored on your machine, you have the option to turn cookies off in your browser. However, keep in mind that turning off cookies may impact how this website functions. Disabling browser cookies will also impact how other websites you visit store browser cookies as well.

Whenever we collect any sensitive information (such as social security numbers or credit card information), the information is encrypted and securely transmitted. You are able to confirm this by looking for the ‘lock’ icon in the browser address bar, and also confirm that the URL link starts with ‘https.’

If you believe at any point that we are not following this privacy policy as stated, please contact us immediately via email (myaddress@mybusiness.com), or via telephone (415-555-1212).”

As you can see, this entire section handles how to access personal information, as well as how to opt-out, and how to seek out redress if there are any problems.

The contact sentence at the end of this section is usually a good place to end your privacy policy.

However, if you prefer to end on a more personal note, you could always add another paragraph welcoming feedback or comments. Also consider providing your physical mailing address.

The Importance of a Website Privacy Policy

Providing a website privacy policy isn’t just important because it’s legally required.

It’s good practice to make your website visitors feel confident that you have their best interests in mind. A thorough and detailed privacy policy provides visitors with a sense of transparency. It also helps new visitors to your site feel safe enough to use the site, and hopefully return again in the future.

Running a website is hard work. We’re here to help, with plenty of articles on topics like setting up a website, using WordPress, and properly securing your website.

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Facebook denied a stay to Schrems II privacy referral

Facebook’s attempt to block a series of legal questions relating to a long-running EU privacy case from being referred to Europe’s top court has been throw out by Ireland’s High Court.

Earlier this week the company’s lawyers had asked the Irish High Court to stay the referral to the CJEU of a number of key legal questions pertaining to existing data transfer mechanisms that are being used by thousands of companies (Facebook included) to authorize flows of personal data outside the bloc.

Both the lawfulness of Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU-US Privacy Shield mechanism are now facing questions as a result of this challenge.

However in a ruling today the Irish High Court denied the company’s request for a stay on the CJEU referral — with the judge ordering the referral to be immediately delivered to the Court of Justice, and emphasizing the risk that “millions” of EU data subjects, including privacy campaigner and lawyer Max Schrems whose complaint triggered the court case and subsequent referral, could be having their data processed unlawfully.

“In my opinion very real prejudice is potentially suffered by Mr Schrems and the millions of EU data subjects if the matter is further delayed by a stay as sought in this case,” writes Ms Justice Costello.

She also criticizes Facebook for delaying tactics, and for not making it clear that its appeal against the referral — which Facebook still intends to pursue in the Irish Supreme Court — relates to a time-bound argument that the decision is moot because of an incoming update to EU privacy law (the GDPR).

“The fact that the point is only now being raised gives rise to considerable concern as to the conduct of the case by Facebook and the manner in which it has dealt with the court,” writes the judge in a withering critique.

Irish #HighCourt slaps @Facebook badly in judgment throwing out their application for a stay for the reference to the @EUCourtPress – accusing them of deliberately delaying the procedure to make it moot (which it wouldn't be under #GDPR)..
FULL JUDGEMENT: https://t.co/CF8MaaMmGR pic.twitter.com/4D7WynuMrb

— Max Schrems (@maxschrems) May 2, 2018

In a statement on the latest developments in the case, a Facebook spokesperson told us: “We are disappointed not to have been granted a stay on the preliminary reference being made to the CJEU. We intend on continuing with seeking leave to appeal the High Court’s decision to the Irish Supreme Court.”

Schrems’ view is there’s no case for Facebook to make that the legal questions involved here are moot under GDPR, just as he says “no such appeal exists in Ireland” for Facebook to try to appeal against a referral to the CJEU via the Irish Supreme Court — even though the company is trying to do both. (But, as the judge has pointed out, it appears to like trying to buy itself time.)

Depending on how quickly the CJEU rules we’ll soon know for sure — perhaps in a little over a year’s time.

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How to Snooze Emails in the New Gmail (Both Web and Mobile Apps)

Badoo adds Live Video chat to its dating apps

European dating giant Badoo has added a live video chat feature to its apps, giving users the chance to talk face-to-face with matches from the comfort of their own home — and even before agreeing to go out on a first date.

It’s claiming it’s the first dating app service to add a live video feature, though clearly major players in the space were not holding back because of the complexity of the technical challenge involved.

Rather live video in a dating app context raises some immediate risk flags, including around inappropriate behavior which could put off users.

And for examples on that front you only need recall the kind of content that veteran Internet service Chatroulette was famed for serving straight up — if you were brave enough to play.

(“I pressed ‘play’ last night at around 3:00 am PST and after about 45 clicks on ‘Next’ encountered 5 straight up penis shots,” began TechCrunch’s former co-editor Alexia Tsotsis’ 2010 account of testing the service — which deploys live video chat without any kind of contextual wrapper, dating or otherwise. Clearly Badoo will be hoping to achieve a much better ratio of quality conversation to animated phalli.)

But even beyond the risk of moving dick pics, video chatting with strangers can just be straight up awkward for people to jump into — perhaps especially in a dating context, where singles are trying to make a good impression and won’t want to risk coming across badly if it means they lose out on a potential date.

Sending an opening text to a dating match from a cold start can be tricky enough, without ramping up the pressure to impress by making ‘breaking the ice’ into a video call.

So while dating apps have been playing around with video for a while now it’s mostly been in the style of the Snapchat Stories format — letting users augment their profiles with a bit of richer media storytelling, without the content and confidence risks associated with unmoderated live video. And it’s a big step from curated and controlled video to the freeform risk and rush of live video.

Regardless, Badoo is diving in — so full marks for taking the plunge.

The feature has been introduced with some prudent limits too though. Badoo says video chat will only be switched on once both parties have matched and exchanged at least one message each.

And on the inappropriate content front, it has this guidance: “If a user is not what you expected, you can easily block or report that person so they will no longer be able to contact you again.” So basically if you get flashed, you can block and report the flasher.

To start a video chat with a match they’ve messaged with a user taps the icon in the top right corner of the chat screen — then they have to wait (and hope) for their call to be accepted.

While there are risks here, there is the potential for the feature to be really useful in an online dating context — if enough users can get over the confidence bump to use it.

Video chats could help to solve the core problem for online daters of how to know whether there’s any chemistry with a match before you actually meet them. Because while two people can aesthetically appreciate each other’s Instagram portraits from afar, and even like the cut of each other’s textual jib remotely, they still can’t know for sure ahead of time whether there’s any chemistry until they meet. And by then it’s too late — hence all those awkward first date stories.

Live video chatting isn’t as informative as meeting in person, of course, but it’s the next best thing technology can deliver for now — hence Badoo couching the feature as a way to “audition your date” before you meet. Though that phrasing does risk amping up the pressure.

The company also says live video can help enhance dating app safety — saying the feature can be a way for users to suss out a stranger to see whether seem trustworthy before risking meeting in person, and also help to weed out fake profiles and catfishing attempts — arguing: “It’s a safe way to have clarity on exactly who you’re talking to.”

So it may help to figure out if that stunner you matched with really is a Russian model wanting to date you or some Kremlin-backed scammer. (Though Badoo does already have some features aimed at thwarting catfishing, such as a request a selfie feature and a photo verification option; and, well, fake Russian models are unlikely to ever pick up your incoming call — unless it’s a very sophisticated scam indeed. Or, well, you’re actually talking to a professional dating service who your match has paid to carry out their dating ‘grunt work’ — in which case they’ll make you schedule in a live video hours or days in advance.)

On the flip side, live video chatting will inevitably be more daunting for less confident singles to use, so certain users may end up feeling disadvantaged and/or falling to the back of the dating queue vs more extroverted types who relish the opportunity to express themselves in the moment and in front of a lens.

Or it could just end up being a feature that attracts only a subset of likeminded users and the rest carry on as normal.

Now that Facebook has decided to take inspiration from Bang With Friends and directly cater to date-seekers inside its walled garden — announcing a forthcoming matchmaking service at its f8 conference yesterday — it’s clear that dedicated dating/matchmaking services like Badoo are going to have to up their game to stave off the competitive threat. So offering richer feature sets to further engage their communities of singles is going to be important.

Facebook’s dating foray has been given the unfortunate name of ‘FaceDate’ but will nonetheless benefit from the massive leg over of Facebook’s gigantic reach combined with the gravitational network pull of it owning and operating multiple popular social services.

The company also has oodles of data — thanks to its pervasive snooping on people’s online activities — so if you buy into the theory that love can be algorithmically reverse engineered then Facebook certainly has enough data-points to play at being Emma.

It does not yet have the direct community of daters though — so it’s coming from behind in that sense. And young users have been less engaged on Facebook itself for a while — preferring other social apps like Instagram, for example.

Even so, dating apps like Badoo can’t afford to get complacent and will need to work hard to keep their communities engaged — or risk Facebook spinning up another gravitational blackhole to suck out their USP.  This is why investors punished Match’s stock yesterday.

Right now, Badoo has around 380M users, and names its best markets as Europe and South America. It also says it sees 300,000+ daily sign-ups, along with 60 million swipes and six million matches each day — running a live tracker of usage here. It’ll be hoping the new live video feature keeps those numbers tracking up.

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Want to Be an Astronaut? Start Training Like One With This App

Is it safe to say that the first man or woman to set foot on Mars has already been born? It is definitely okay to assert that the dream of a career as an astronaut has got new wings with renewed interest in space exploration.

So, why not start training like an astronaut right now… or at least inspire your kids to start thinking like one?

Learn the Skills You Need to Be an Astronaut

Space Nation Navigator is described as an astronaut training app. It is an educational tool that uses a mission-based approach to teach the essential skills needed to succeed as an astronaut. Developed with the help of knowledge inputs from NASA, you get to work on three core areas: body, mind, and social skills.

Astronaut training is rigorous and you will probably need to get a few degrees before you can strap yourself on top of a rocket. But the app is a good place to start and to start early. The essence is fun with a lot of education in the background.

Here are some key points:

1. The activities fall into four areas: Base, Missions, Profile, and Shop.
2. The Base section gives you the education through articles and podcasts.
3. The Missions section is filled with space-themed minigames and quizzes.
4. Go through the activities and collect points to improve your score on the leaderboard.
5. The Profile section helps you track your badges, weekly points, weekly rank, and all-time rank.

Why are the points you collect so important? They will inspire you to complete the daily and weekly missions and unlock achievements. You could be one of the hundred trainees to be picked for a training camp in Iceland. The Finish startup behind the Space Nation Navigator app also says that they will ultimately pick up one candidate from a global competition for a trip to space.

Download: Space Nation Navigator for Android (Free, in-app purchases)
Download: Space Nation Navigator for iOS (Coming soon)

Even without the race to the podium, the app throws up mental and physical challenges. The puzzles and quizzes aren’t a cakewalk. The workouts (for example, GPS based runs) can help you meet your fitness goals. Think of it as roleplay for a future career in space that starts the second you download the app.

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How to Share Large Blocks of Text With Someone Over the Internet

Sometimes you need a quick way to share a piece of content with someone online. Uploading the files to cloud storage like Dropbox and getting a publicly shareable link is one way, but it’s not always the fastest. We’ve discussed the quickest ways to share files without cloud storage that are better.

But what about quickly sharing text? You might want to make it easy for someone else to read an error code, snippet of programming code, or other piece of information they’ll want to refer to. Uploading a file is overkill, and you don’t want to paste a massive wall of text—that’s when you should use one of these easy text sharing services.

1. Pastebin

Pastebin is one of the most popular online services for sharing text. It couldn’t be any easier to create a new paste: just add your text in the box and click Create New Paste, then share the resulting link. If you’d like, you can configure a few options like syntax highlighting, setting an expiration date, and whether the paste is unlisted or public.

You don’t need to create an account to upload, but signing into a free account allows you to edit or delete what you paste later. Pastebin also offers a premium subscription, which all but the most dedicated pasters should be fine without.

2. Paste.ee

If Pastebin is too mainstream for you, Paste.ee is worth a look. This alternative doesn’t have any advertisements or offer a subscription for extra features. It was created by a Pastebin user, and offers a few advantages over that service, including a larger cap on paste size.

Paste.ee allows you to encrypt your pastes, great for those containing potentially sensitive information (though you shouldn’t share anything like your credit card number over a service like this). It also permits multiple pastes in one upload and supports expiration after a certain amount of views instead of a set time.

You’ll find lots of other sites like these, but one of these two should serve you fine. If you need more collaboration, check out the best free online meeting tools.

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How to Find Out Which iPad Model You Own

Do you remember the good old days when there was only one version of the iPhone and one version of the iPad? It was easy to recall what model your device was. That’s not the case anymore.

Apple sells a broad variety of iPhones and iPads, each of which offers different specs. Indeed, there are so many models available that it’s easy to forget which device you own, especially after a couple of years.

You’d like to think the answer would be as simple as looking on the back of the device to see what was printed there. But this is Apple we’re talking about—it was never going to be that simple. So, here’s how to find out which iPad model, or generation, you own.

How to Find Out Which iPad Model You Own

Every iPad has two model numbers. There’s one on the back that starts with “A” followed by four numbers, and there’s one in General > About > Model. The former is often called the A-number, the latter is just an internal Apple SKU identifier.

The easiest way to find out which model you have is to use a third-party web app. EveryMac offers one of the best; just enter the A-number into the box and hit Enter.

Alternatively, you can use the list below:

• iPad 1: A1219 (Wi-Fi version), A1337 (Wi-Fi + cellular version)
• iPad 2: A1395 (Wi-Fi), A1397 or A1396 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad 3: A1416 (Wi-Fi), A1430 or A1403 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad 4: A1458 (Wi-Fi), A1459 or A1460 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad 5: A1822 (Wi-Fi) A1823 (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
• iPad Air 1: A1474 (Wi-Fi), A1475 (Wi-Fi + cellular version)
• iPad Air 2: A1566 (Wi-Fi version), A1567 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad mini 1: A1432 (Wi-Fi), A1454 or A1455 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad mini 2: A1489 (Wi-Fi), A1490 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad mini 3: A1599 (Wi-Fi), A1600 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad mini 4: A1538 (Wi-Fi), A1550 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad Pro 1 12.9in: A1584 (Wi-Fi), A1652 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad Pro 1 9.7in: A1673 (Wi-Fi), A1674 or A1675 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad Pro 2: A1701 (Wi-Fi), A1709 (Wi-Fi + cellular)
• iPad Pro 2: 12.9in: A1670 (Wi-Fi), A1671 (Wi-Fi + cellular)

And remember, if this list has made you realize that you own an old iPad, don’t throw it away. There are lots of ways you can speed it up.

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In-app purchases are coming to Facebook’s Instant Games on Android and the web

Facebook is adding support for in-app purchases to its Instant Games platform, the company announced during a session on gaming at its F8 developer conference this afternoon. The feature will allow game developers to add another form of monetization beyond advertising to their games on select platforms, but not on iOS.

Instead, support for in-app purchases will be available to Instant Games on Android and on Facebook.com on the web.

First launched in 2016, Facebook opened up Instant Games to all developers last month. The platform allows developers to build mobile-friendly games using HTML5 that work across both Facebook and Messenger. The idea is to give game developers access to another sizable platform for their work, in addition to the existing app stores run by Apple and Google.

Facebook has had in-app purchases on its roadmap for Instant Games for some time, and began testing the feature with select developers around six months ago.

Similar to the app stores, the revenue share model for Instant Games is 70/30 on Facebook.com. However, on mobile, the games will follow the in-app billing terms from each platform, the company notes. That means purchases made in games running on Android devices, the 30 percent revenue share will apply after the standard mobile platform revenue share – aka Google’s own 70/30 cut.

That’s not ideal, of course. And all the hands in the pie may lead to game developers pricing their in-app purchases higher, as a result.

Facebook seems to acknowledge this concern in its blog post announcement, saying: “Our primary goal is to build [in-app purchases] in a way so that our developer partners can sustain and grow, and we’ll continue to evaluate rev/share with that goal in mind.”

Facebook wouldn’t confirm if or when support for in-app purchases is coming to iOS.

In addition to helping developers generate revenue outside of using ads in their games, in-app purchases in games could prove beneficial to Facebook as well. The company’s payment revenue has dwindled over the years, with things like Messenger payments never really seeing significant attention. Plus, Facebook made it possible for third-parties like PayPal to operate over Messenger, which signaled its disinterest in the payments space in general.

In-app purchases in games turns things around, a bit.

The submission process for in-app purchases will open up to developers on May 7, allowing them to implement the monetization features on Android and the web. In the meantime, Facebook is offering documentation about the feature here.

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Alexa can remember birthdays and other things for you now

Last week at a conference in France, Amazon announced a new Alexa feature that makes it possible to use the smart assistant as a repository for small bits of information. That feature is starting to roll out today to users in the U.S. as “Remember This.”

The skill goes like this: say, “Alexa, remember Brian’s birthday is May 11,” and Alexa will respond, in kind, “Okay. I will remember that Brian’s birthday is May 11.” Then, when you need to remember Brian’s birthday (May 11), you say, “Alexa, when is Brian’s birthday,” to which Alexa will respond, “This is what you told me: Brian’s birthday is May 11.”

Not exactly a vote of confidence, but listen, Alexa is still learning here. For posterity, here are a bunch of other Remember This functions Amazon suggested in an email to TechCrunch earlier today,

Alexa, remember that my niece’s T-shirt size is a medium.

Alexa, make a note that Amy is going to China in October.

Alexa, remember that Laura’s dog’s name is Bruno.

Alexa, remember that I kept the extra blankets in the attic.

Alexa, remember Matthew’s teacher’s name is Ms. Sally.

The feature is a bit of catch up for Amazon’s smart assistant — Google Assistant has had a similar feature for a while now. But it’s a handy one, nonetheless, and beats sending emails to yourself or writing stuff down on scraps of paper you’ll inevitably lose — both of my own preferred methods.

Birthdays/t-shirt sizes are one piece in a big push to make Alexa smarter and more conversation that also includes context carryover, which uses recently asked questions to inform answers on new ones. It’s all part of Amazon’s work to compete on context, which has been an advantage for Google’s offering. 

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