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The complicated calculus of taking Facebook’s venture money

Facebook is reportedly getting into the venture capital game, but for young entrepreneurs working in social media, ignoring or deleting that particular friend request could be the right call.

According to a report in Axios, the company is building up a corporate fund under the auspices of its “New Product Experimentation” team, which launched last year. The company posted a job opening looking for a “head of investments” for the new division and now has new job openings in the group for two “founder” positions in New York City and Menlo Park, California. 

Axios reported that the role would “manage a multimillion dollar fund that invests in leading private companies alongside top venture capital firms and angel investors,” according to a now-deleted post. The new hire will join Shabih Rizvi, a former partner at the Alphabet-backed corporate venture firm, Gradient Ventures, who began his career in venture at KPCB.

While Facebook said that the new investment arm would complement the work that the company already does to support startups through accelerators and hackathons, investors at some of Silicon Valley’s venture capital firms were skeptical. Perhaps with good reason, since the group that houses Facebook’s new investment team is hiring its own “founders” and has already developed a few apps that could compete with existing startups.

Facebook’s first experimental apps from its ‘NPE Team’ division focus on students, chat & music

“[Money] of last resort,” one investor wrote in a text. Another said it would be a way for Facebook to spot potential acquisitions early enough to avoid triggering antitrust concerns, which may be good for Facebook, but bad for startups. “[Facebook] can’t buy 100 million-user apps any more,” this investor wrote in a direct message. “It needs to buy them closer to 10 million.”

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2020’s 7 Most Secure Browsers Compared

It’s 2020, the internet is ALIVE, and you want to browse its worldly goodness. But you also know that being 2020, there is the potential for phishing attacks, malware, fake news, misinformation, and much more.

So, how do you stay safe online? The first thing to consider is your internet browser. There are many browser options, but which is the safest internet browser in 2020?

Here are 2020’s most secure browsers.

Security vs. Privacy in Internet Browsers

The following list has a strong focus on secure internet browsers. Hand in hand with security is privacy, something many people strive towards but find difficult in the online world. Your browser plays a key role in your privacy, as well as your online security.

Can you separate security from privacy?

For this article looking at the most secure browsers of 2020, we are going to talk about both features. As you’ll see, some browsers provide excellent internet security but are lackadaisical regarding your privacy.

1. Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a very popular secure browser that regularly beats out its other top-tier browser competitors for security and privacy.

First up, Firefox is the only major open-source browser. This alone sets it apart from the major browsers in terms of accountability. Adding to that, the development of Firefox takes direction from the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organization. The Mozilla Foundation also directs the development of the Thunderbird email client.

Firefox features an extensive set of security features. It advises users that the browser provides “strong privacy protection from the moment you install,” but there are more privacy and security options available.

For example, Firefox blocks cross-site tracking cookies as default, stopping social media and other trackers following you around the internet and building a user profile. You can also use the integrated tracking protections to view which sites and trackers are attempting to follow you.

Furthermore, there are numerous excellent security and privacy extensions available as Firefox Add-Ons.

Another excellent Firefox security and privacy feature is DNS-over-HTTPS, which encrypts your domain name searches before sending them over the internet. DNS-over-HTTPS was once the sole reserve of third-party DNS providers. Still, browsers like Firefox are making the technology and the security it affords easier for regular users to access.

Although Firefox doesn’t receive as many updates as some of the alternatives, it remains a very secure browser that actively encourages user privacy, and believes that “Privacy shouldn’t be relegated to optional settings.”

Good: Open source, extensive privacy features, tracker blocking as standard, Facebook container, highly customizable.

Bad: At times, the lack of in-house testing holds features and releases back, lack of funding could cause Firefox to cease development.

Download: Mozilla Firefox for Windows, macOS, Linux | Android | iOS

2. Tor Browser

What list of secure browsers would be complete without Tor Browser? None, that’s the answer. Tor Browser is a modified Mozilla Firefox browser that comes with extra functions allowing users to browse the dark web.

The extra functions come in the form of extensions such as NoScript, HTTPS Everywhere, the TorButton, and TorLauncher, all of which are required to use the dark web safely. The setup of Tor Browser (and the content it allows access to) is usually seen as a major downside to its use. While access to nefarious content is, without doubt, a concern, Tor Browser has other issues.

Mostly, Tor Browser isn’t very useful as a daily driver for your internet browsing. Sure, it keeps you anonymous as you surf the regular internet, but due to extensive privacy settings, it also breaks a lot of stuff in the process. While the situation is much better than in the past, many websites won’t work.

Now, you can also argue that those websites shouldn’t use so much invasive tracking. I would agree with you. But reducing the amount of privacy Tor Browser provides to browse the regular internet also makes it much more dangerous to browse the dark web.

In that, Tor Browser is best suited to that purpose or for moments where you require extensive privacy as other secure browser options don’t make browsing the internet a chore.

Good: Integrated privacy features, open-source, and frequent updates.

Bad: Breaks websites potential for malicious exit nodes; painfully slow at times due to network configuration.

Download: Tor Browser for Windows, macOS, Linux | Android

I should also add that access to the dark web is both good and bad, depending on your take. Unsure what to think? Check our dark web explainer for everything you need to know.

3. Epic Privacy Browser

Epic Privacy Browser is a Chromium-based internet browser with a very strong focus on security and privacy.

Out of the box, the Epic Privacy Browser blocks a huge amount of advertising trackers and background scripts, drastically increasing your security and privacy. The script blocking ensures that malvertising and cryptocurrency mining scripts will fail to run. There’s also the integrated anti-fingerprinting, again protecting your privacy.

Meanwhile, Epic’s one-click encrypted proxy hides your IP address and routes your traffic securely.

Epic blocks the majority of browser extensions and add-ons. Although Epic is Chromium-based and could allow access to the extensive catalog of Chrome extensions, the developers believe this creates unnecessary risk. Extensions can come with security issues, create vulnerabilities, and, most of all, breach your privacy (for example, some extensions will reveal your IP address even while using other privacy features).

One issue is the update frequency of Epic in comparison to other secure browser options. At the time of writing, Epic uses the Chromium 80.2.3988 build, which was released sometime in February 2020. The latest version is actually 83.x, while version 84.x is close to release.

Good: Great privacy out of the box, extensive privacy options, blocks the majority of extensions and add-ons, and deletes all session data when you close the browser.

Bad: Sometimes falls considerably behind with updates; integrated privacy features don’t always work. Epic also provides a false sense of security.

Download: Epic Privacy Browser for Windows, macOS | Android | iOS

If you prefer Chromium-based browsers like Epic, check out the best Chromium-based browser alternatives.

4. Comodo IceDragon

Comodo IceDragon is a secure browser developed by security company, Comodo. The IceDragon browser is based upon Mozilla Firefox, so it carries a lot of the same security features as the main browser.

Comodo IceDragon integrates other Comodo security features. For example, Comodo’s SiteInspector tool scans for malware and other vulnerabilities before visiting the webpage. There is also the option to use Comodo Secure DNS to load webpages faster as well as decrease the chance of loading a malicious page. The Comodo Domain Validation double-checks website SSL certificates.

Another plus is that you can use the full array of Firefox’s extensions with Comodo IceDragon. This means you can extend the security and privacy functionality of the browser using tried and tested add-ons.

Good: Based on Firefox, access to Firefox extensions, integrated Comodo security features.

Bad: Infrequent updates, based on an older version of Firefox.

5. Dooble

Dooble is a unique entry on this list: it is powered by neither Chromium nor Firefox. Instead, Dooble is an independent development, which is impressive.

Out of the box, Dooble comes with a strong privacy focus. Default security and privacy options include ad and tracker blocking, script blocking, encrypted bookmarks and browsing history, encrypted user profiles, sandboxed tabs, and much more. You’ll also note that Flash and JavaScript are disabled as default.

The browser receives frequent security and feature updates, too. Interestingly, you can also use Dooble as an FTP client to transfer files to a server or otherwise. Dooble also features on our list of the best open-source browsers, which is worth checking out for other browser options.

Good: Open source, free from Google and other development influence, lightweight, and fast.

Bad: Can feel outdated in comparison to other modern browsers; difficult to find add-ons. Has a very small userbase which means easy identification.

Download: Dooble for Windows, macOS, Linux

6. Vivaldi

Vivaldi is a free secure browser based on Chromium. Vivaldi aims to replicate some of the features users felt were lost when the Opera browser switched to a Chromium-based development model. While Vivaldi is also Chromium-based, it includes numerous modifications to replicate the older style of Opera.

Vivaldi is considered a very secure internet browser. It receives frequent updates, keeping it in line with the main Chromium releases, which is important for user security. The browser protects against phishing sites and malware and will prevent you from downloading files from a malicious site. Another cool feature is the encrypted bookmarks and passwords, which you can sync between your devices.

Furthermore, recent updates to Vivaldi have introduced better script and tracker blocking, although these features are somewhat lacking in the fine detail you find with alternative browsers.

Good: Frequent updates, access to Chrome extensions and add-ons, easy to use, highly customizable, with great tab management options.

Bad: Closed-source. Meanwhile the tiny market share makes users with the Vivaldi browser easy to identify without a VPN. Performance issues at times especially with resource-heavy tabs.

Download: Vivaldi for Windows, macOS, Linux | Android

7. Google Chrome

Google Chrome consistently features on lists of the most secure browsers. Now, some will take issue with the idea that Google Chrome is secure. That’s because while Chrome works well to keep attackers and other intruders at bay—but is also very lax on personal privacy.

Chrome has regular updates, performs well in hacking tests, comes with integrated security features, and has won the “Most Secure Browser” section at the annual Pwn2Own hacking competition on multiple occasions (as well as other security awards).

Still, Google Chrome’s privacy intrusions and data-hoovering practices are well known at this point. It should come as no surprise that the browser developed by a company whose primary income source is advertising would use the opportunity to collect data.

That’s why as good as Chrome is on actual security, it scores poorly for privacy. Of course, you can add privacy-focused Chrome extensions to increase your privacy. Some of these extensions also increase your security, too. But when there are equally secure options that come with better privacy features, Chrome shouldn’t become your automatic choice.

Good: Award-winning security, frequent updates, invites outsiders to stress check browser, and extensions make browser more secure.

Bad: Major privacy issues, browser extensions can cause security issues, closed-source code (based on open source project, Chromium), and as many have found out, very resource hungry and prone to hanging.

Are Lesser-Known Browsers Secure?

In a world where privacy and security are vital, finding the most secure browser is difficult. As you can see, you have to make compromises, choosing between security, privacy, and functionality. Mozilla Firefox ticks all three boxes and is one of the most secure browser options in 2020.

There are many alternative browsers out there. The major issue facing these browser alternatives is funding. How can you attract enough users to warrant continuing development without succumbing to some form of privacy-invading technology, or before update frequency creates a serious security issue?

Even if you don’t trust Google, Chrome receives frequent updates and is generally secure. But those Chromium-based browsers take longer to implement security features and updates, potentially leaving you exposed. The same issues are apparent for those using Firefox as a starting point, too.

So, yes, lesser-known browsers can absolutely be secure. But before committing to one, make sure to check the version history, update frequency, and the overall reputation of the browser.

Another thing to consider is speed. Have you ever wondered why some browsers are faster than others?

Read the full article: 2020’s 7 Most Secure Browsers Compared

Extracting Structured Data from Templatic Documents

Posted by Sandeep Tata, Software Engineer, Google Research

Templatic documents, such as receipts, bills, insurance quotes, and others, are extremely common and critical in a diverse range of business workflows. Currently, processing these documents is largely a manual effort, and automated systems that do exist are based on brittle and error-prone heuristics. Consider a document type like invoices, which can be laid out in thousands of different ways — invoices from different companies, or even different departments within the same company, may have slightly different formatting. However, there is a common understanding of the structured information that an invoice should contain, such as an invoice number, an invoice date, the amount due, the pay-by date, and the list of items for which the invoice was sent. A system that can automatically extract all this data has the potential to dramatically improve the efficiency of many business workflows by avoiding error-prone, manual work.

In “Representation Learning for Information Extraction from Form-like Documents”, accepted to ACL 2020, we present an approach to automatically extract structured data from templatic documents. In contrast to previous work on extraction from plain-text documents, we propose an approach that uses knowledge of target field types to identify candidate fields. These are then scored using a neural network that learns a dense representation of each candidate using the words in its neighborhood. Experiments on two corpora (invoices and receipts) show that we’re able to generalize well to unseen layouts.

Why Is This Hard?
The challenge in this information extraction problem arises because it straddles the natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision worlds. Unlike classic NLP tasks, such documents do not contain “natural language” as might be found in regular sentences and paragraphs, but instead resemble forms. Data is often presented in tables, but in addition many documents have multiple pages, frequently with a varying number of sections, and have a variety of layout and formatting clues to organize the information. An understanding of the two-dimensional layout of text on the page is key to understanding such documents. On the other hand, treating this purely as an image segmentation problem makes it difficult to take advantage of the semantics of the text.

Solution Overview
Our approach to this problem allows developers to train and deploy an extraction system for a given domain (like invoices) using two inputs — a target schema (i.e., a list of fields to extract and their corresponding types) and a small collection of documents labeled with the ground truth for use as a training set. Supported field types include basics, such as dates, integers, alphanumeric codes, currency amounts, phone-numbers, and URLs. We also take advantage of entity types commonly detected by the Google Knowledge Graph, such as addresses, names of companies, etc.

The input document is first run through an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) service to extract the text and layout information, which allows this to work with native digital documents, such as PDFs, and document images (e.g., scanned documents). We then run a candidate generator that identifies spans of text in the OCR output that might correspond to an instance of a given field. The candidate generator utilizes pre-existing libraries associated with each field type (date, number, phone-number, etc.), which avoids the need to write new code for each candidate generator. Each of these candidates is then scored using a trained neural network (the “scorer”, described below) to estimate the likelihood that it is indeed a value one might extract for that field. Finally, an assigner module matches the scored candidates to the target fields. By default, the assigner simply chooses the highest scoring candidate for the field, but additional domain-specific constraints can be incorporated, such as requiring that the invoice date field is chronologically before the payment date field.

The processing steps in the extraction system using a toy schema with two fields on an input invoice document. Blue boxes show the candidates for the invoice_date field and gold boxes for the amount_due field.

Scorer
The scorer is a neural model that is trained as a binary classifier. It takes as input the target field from the schema along with the extraction candidate and produces a prediction score between 0 and 1. The target label for a candidate is determined by whether the candidate matches the ground truth for that document and field. The model learns how to represent each field and each candidate in a vector space in which the nearer a field and candidate are in the vector space, the more likely it is that the candidate is the true extraction value for that field and document.

Candidate Representation
A candidate is represented by the tokens in its neighborhood along with the relative position of the token on the page with respect to the centroid of the bounding box identified for the candidate. Using the invoice_date field as an example, phrases in the neighborhood like “Invoice Date’” or “Inv Date” might indicate to the scorer that this is a likely candidate, while phrases like “Delivery Date” would indicate that this is likely not the invoice_date. We do not include the value of the candidate in its representation in order to avoid overfitting to values that happen to be present in a small training data set — e.g., “2019” for the invoice date, if the training corpus happened to include only invoices from that year.

A small snippet of an invoice. The green box shows a candidate for the invoice_date field, and the red box is a token in the neighborhood along with the arrow representing the relative position. Each of the other tokens (‘number’, ‘date’, ‘page’, ‘of’, etc along with the other occurrences of ‘invoice’) are part of the neighborhood for the invoice candidate.

Model Architecture
The figure below shows the general structure of the network. In order to construct the candidate encoding (i), each token in the neighborhood is embedded using a word embedding table (a). The relative position of each neighbor (b) is embedded using two fully connected ReLU layers that capture fine-grained non-linearities. The text and position embeddings for each neighbor are concatenated to form a neighbor encoding (d). A self attention mechanism is used to incorporate the neighborhood context for each neighbor (e), which is combined into a neighborhood encoding (f) using max-pooling. The absolute position of the candidate on the page (g) is embedded in a manner similar to the positional embedding for a neighbor, and concatenated with the neighborhood encoding for the candidate encoding (i). The final scoring layer computes the cosine similarity between the field embedding (k) and the candidate encoding (i) and then rescales it to be between 0 and 1.

Results
For training and validation, we used an internal dataset of invoices with a large variety of layouts. In order to test the ability of the model to generalize to unseen layouts, we used a test-set of invoices with layouts that were disjoint from the training and validation set. We report the F1 score of the extractions from this system on a few key fields below (higher is better):

Field	F1 Score
amount_due	0.801
delivery_date	0.667
due_date	0.861
invoice_date	0.940
invoice_id	0.949
purchase_order	0.896
total_amount	0.858
total_tax_amount	0.839

As you can see from the table above, the model does well on most fields. However, there’s room for improvement for fields like delivery_date. Additional investigation revealed that this field was present in a very small subset of the examples in our training data. We expect that gathering additional training data will help us improve on it.

What’s next?
Google Cloud recently announced an invoice parsing service as part of the Document AI product. The service uses the methods described above, along with other recent research breakthroughs like BERT, to extract more than a dozen key fields from invoices. You can upload an invoice at the demo page and see this technology in action!

For a given document type we expect to be able to build an extraction system given a modest sized labeled corpus. There are several follow-ons we are currently pursuing, including the improvement of data efficiency and accurately handling nested and repeated fields, and fields for which it is difficult to define a good candidate generator.

Acknowledgements
This work was a collaboration between Google Research and several engineers in Google Cloud. I’d like to thank Navneet Potti, James Wendt, Marc Najork, Qi Zhao, and Ivan Kuznetsov in Google Research as well as Lauro Costa, Evan Huang, Will Lu, Lukas Rutishauser, Mu Wang, and Yang Xu on the Cloud AI team for their support. And finally, our research interns Bodhisattwa Majumder and Beliz Gunel for their tireless experimentation on dozens of ideas.

Daily Crunch: Snapchat is getting mini apps

Snap announces a bunch of new features, Moderna prepares for the final-stage trial of its coronavirus vaccine and Sony shows off the PlayStation 5.

Here’s your Daily Crunch for June 12, 2020.

1. Snapchat debuts Minis, bite-sized third-party apps that live inside chat

Snap Minis are lightweight third-party programs that users can quickly pull up in the Chat section. This allows them to complete tasks without switching apps, like ordering movie tickets, comparing class schedules, studying a flashcard deck or going through a guided meditation.

The news came at a virtual version of the Snap Partner Summit, in which the company also announced a number of AR updates, including Lens voice search, a bring-your-own machine learning model update to Lens Studio and a geography-specific AR system that will turn public Snaps into spatial data.

2. Moderna set to start final-stage trial of its coronavirus vaccine by July

Pharmaceutical company Moderna told Bloomberg that it’s on pace to begin by July the final-stage clinical trial of its vaccine for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The company has previously said that it could potentially begin offering experimental doses available to healthcare workers in limited capacities as early as this fall.

3. And finally … here’s Sony’s PlayStation 5

Sony finally revealed the PS5 tower in all its glory. It doesn’t look entirely un-router-like — but if so, it’s a sleek-looking router.

4. Chris Cox returns to the fold as Facebook’s chief product officer

After a very high-profile departure last year, Facebook’s former chief product officer Chris Cox will return to his long-held position. He said the unique national and global climate of 2020 influenced his decision, particularly the coronavirus pandemic, its subsequent economic devastation and the nation’s current focus on “a reckoning of racial injustice.”

5. Why are unicorns pushing back IPOs when the Nasdaq is near record highs?

Instacart just announced that it has raised fresh capital at a valuation north of $13 billion. DoorDash, meanwhile, is reportedly looking to add more cash at a pre-money valuation that exceeds $15 billion. Both announcements make it plain that late-stage unicorns are still able to attract huge sums despite a putatively uncertain IPO market. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

6. Microsoft’s Brad Smith says company will not sell facial recognition tech to police

Microsoft is joining IBM and Amazon in taking a position against the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement — at least, until more regulation is in place.

7. UK competition watchdog launches investigation into Facebook’s $400M acquisition of Giphy

The UK Competition and Markets Authority — the country’s antitrust watchdog — announced that it has launched an investigation into Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy. Specifically, it’s looking to see how and if the deal will lessen competition in the two companies’ respective markets.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

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7 Websites and Sources for COVID-19 Templates and Tools

As businesses around the world begin to reopen their doors due to the shutdowns from COVID-19, many need to take extra measures. From informative presentations to preventive checklists, companies want to make sure their employees are still taking precautions. Templates can help save a lot of time here.

Such templates can be useful for individuals too. Everyone can use a bit of help with notifications like letters to landlords or leaves of absence.

To assist companies, organizations, and individuals, we’ve compiled a list of websites and resources for COVID-19 letter, checklist, slideshow, and signage templates.

1. Template.net COVID-19 Templates

Template.net provides templates for all individuals and industry types. They have a collection specifically for common as well as unusual circumstances due to COVID-19. Here are just a handful of the templates they offer for individual use.

• Letter to Landlord Request for Waiver of Rent
• Letter for Extension of Time to Pay Rent
• Appeal Letter for Termination of Employment
• Work From Home Letter Template
• Work From Home Checklist

Along with templates for individuals, Template.net offers many for businesses, landlords, and miscellaneous services. Check out the following sample of this inventory.

• Inspection Checklist
• Economic Impact Statement
• Business Risk Analysis
• Furlough Letter
• Action Plan Template

You can visit the Template.net COVID-19 section directly for these templates and more. Many of their templates are available for free and you can sign up at no charge. If you need several templates, check out Template.net’s affordable subscription plans.

2. iAuditor by Safety Culture

Along with a long list of featured checklist templates, the iAuditor site by Safety Culture provides helpful information, recommendations for employers, and ways to prepare. Here are several of the checklist templates they offer for businesses, healthcare, home office, and community organizations.

• Home Office Self-Assessment Checklist
• Hand Hygiene Checklist
• Healthcare Providers Preparedness Checklist
• Employee Temperature Log Sheet
• Screening Checklist
• Community and Faith-Based Organizations Checklist
• Daily Cleaning Inspection Checklist

With any template you select, you’ll see a nice preview and then have the option to download the template or print it as a PDF. You can get started for free with iAuditor and even take a look at their custom template options.

3. Free PowerPoint Templates Design COVID-19

 

If you’re looking for an informative tool for your company, educational institution, or another type of business, check out the Free PowerPoint Templates Design website. You can download templates and tools to create powerful slideshows with pandemic statistics, charts, bulleted lists, and much more.

• Pandemic Covid-19 PowerPoint Templates
• Virus-Medical PowerPoint Templates
• COVID-19 Testing Centers PowerPoint Templates
• Coronavirus PowerPoint Templates
• Working From Home PowerPoint Templates

Free PowerPoint Templates Design gives you all the details you need upfront about the templates. This can include the number of slides, aspect ratio, placeholders, background images, and more. And as the name implies, the PowerPoint templates are free.

4. Slidesgo COVID-19 Templates

For another PowerPoint template resource or for those without PowerPoint and using Google Slides, visit the Slidesgo website for their COVID-19 templates. The templates from Slidesgo are available for free for commercial and personal use and give you a list of features for each slideshow to review before you download one.

• COVID-19 Spread & Contagion Presentation
• Coronavirus Disease Overview
• COVID-19 Overview
• Brands Response to COVID-19

These templates from Slidesgo are attractive, informative, and ideal for your COVID-19 or coronavirus presentation. And for additional PowerPoint alternatives, take a peek at our list of recommendations.

5. Ping HD COVID-19 Signage Templates

Ping HD is a signage service that has been creating digital signs for over a decade. And now the company is offering free COVID-19 and coronavirus sign templates. With over 20 templates, many are available in both English and Spanish as well as portrait and landscape views. Here are several to take a look at.

• Wear a Mask Save a Life
• Do the Five Save a Life
• Do’s and Don’ts of COVID-19
• Make a Difference
• Let’s Slow the Spread

You can download one of these signs for free and then print or make copies for your company or organization. Signs from Ping HD make reminding people to wash their hands, showing ways to prevent the spread, and calling out the virus symptoms easy for those around you.

6. Community Associations Institute COVID-19 Forms

For forms, graphics, templates, and infographics, head to the Community Associations Institute (CAI) website. Although this source does not have pages of templates and tools like others, they may have exactly what you’re looking for. Here’s what you’ll find for COVID-19.

• Sample Letter to Residents
• Community Support Form
• Essential Worker Form
• Neighbor Help Cards
• A variety of infographics, graphics, and handouts

Community Associations Institute lets you select one of these items and then download it directly to your computer at no charge. From there, print or share the item as needed.

7. Cognito Forms COVID-19

Cognito Forms is an online service for creating all types of forms and surveys. From application and contact forms to medical and registration forms; the company is also offering a collection of COVID-19 options for free. Here are the kinds of form templates you can use.

• COVID-19 Business Impact Survey
• Remote Learning Device Request
• Remote Work Satisfaction Survey
• COVID-19 Return-to-Work Screening Survey
• Curbside Pickup Order Form

The form template you choose can be customized to fit your needs. So just sign up for a free account, pick a template, customize it, preview, and publish. Cognito Forms is a great tool for COVID-19 surveys, forms, and more.

It’s Never Too Late to Prepare

Whether you’ve reopened your office, restaurant, or store already or will be doing so in the near future, make sure you’re prepared with templates like these. And for individuals who could use a little extra help right now, hopefully, you’ll see a template from one of these sources that can give you a helping hand.

For more, take a look at how to make it through self-isolation and remote working or how to avoid COVID-19 pandemic phishing scams.

Read the full article: 7 Websites and Sources for COVID-19 Templates and Tools

Daily Crunch: Snapchat is getting mini apps

Snap announces a bunch of new features, Moderna prepares for the final-stage trial of its coronavirus vaccine and Sony shows off the PlayStation 5.

Here’s your Daily Crunch for June 12, 2020.

1. Snapchat debuts Minis, bite-sized third-party apps that live inside chat

Snap Minis are lightweight third-party programs that users can quickly pull up in the Chat section. This allows them to complete tasks without switching apps, like ordering movie tickets, comparing class schedules, studying a flashcard deck or going through a guided meditation.

The news came at a virtual version of the Snap Partner Summit, in which the company also announced a number of AR updates, including Lens voice search, a bring-your-own machine learning model update to Lens Studio and a geography-specific AR system that will turn public Snaps into spatial data.

2. Moderna set to start final-stage trial of its coronavirus vaccine by July

Pharmaceutical company Moderna told Bloomberg that it’s on pace to begin by July the final-stage clinical trial of its vaccine for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The company has previously said that it could potentially begin offering experimental doses available to healthcare workers in limited capacities as early as this fall.

3. And finally … here’s Sony’s PlayStation 5

Sony finally revealed the PS5 tower in all its glory. It doesn’t look entirely un-router-like — but if so, it’s a sleek-looking router.

4. Chris Cox returns to the fold as Facebook’s chief product officer

After a very high-profile departure last year, Facebook’s former chief product officer Chris Cox will return to his long-held position. He said the unique national and global climate of 2020 influenced his decision, particularly the coronavirus pandemic, its subsequent economic devastation and the nation’s current focus on “a reckoning of racial injustice.”

5. Why are unicorns pushing back IPOs when the Nasdaq is near record highs?

Instacart just announced that it has raised fresh capital at a valuation north of $13 billion. DoorDash, meanwhile, is reportedly looking to add more cash at a pre-money valuation that exceeds $15 billion. Both announcements make it plain that late-stage unicorns are still able to attract huge sums despite a putatively uncertain IPO market. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

6. Microsoft’s Brad Smith says company will not sell facial recognition tech to police

Microsoft is joining IBM and Amazon in taking a position against the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement — at least, until more regulation is in place.

7. UK competition watchdog launches investigation into Facebook’s $400M acquisition of Giphy

The UK Competition and Markets Authority — the country’s antitrust watchdog — announced that it has launched an investigation into Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy. Specifically, it’s looking to see how and if the deal will lessen competition in the two companies’ respective markets.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

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Snapchat looks to maintain its own friendships — with devs

Over the past few years, Snapchat has been building up an increasingly complex weave of partnerships.

They have their advertising partners that power the vast majority of their monetization efforts. They have app developers on Snap Kit that they are also selling new features like CameraKit and Minis too. They’re bringing game developers on board for their Snap Games initiative, including another partnership with Zynga, which they announced today. They’re also continuing to chase mobile-first original content programming for Snapchat Discover. Sometimes these distinctions can create grey areas. For instance, in a conversation with TechCrunch, Ben Schwerin, Snap’s VP of Partnerships, insists Snapchat isn’t competitive with Quibi, which is an advertising partner.

“Comparing Quibi and Snapchat — and I know it’s easy to do — is like comparing cable TV and Snapchat,” he says.

Snapchat is perhaps better positioned than any other app in the United States to replicate what Tencent’s WeChat has pulled off in China, turning a friend-to-friend messaging app into a national platform. Snap is still a long way from pulling that off, but on Thursday at their annual Snap Partner Summit, they shared some of the required building blocks for making that happen, namely richer third-party experiences via upgrades to their developer kit and a new initiative called Snap Minis.

Snap says they now have 800 developers that have integrated with Snap Kit and that a combined 150 million users access these integrations on a monthly basis.

In the U.S., developers have had a largely frayed relationship with social media companies. Companies like Facebook and Twitter have significantly locked down many of the developer capabilities they launched with, often turning off features that were key to developer experiences overnight. Snapchat’s dedicated developer platform Snap Kit is only two years old at this point, but witnessing the pitfalls faced by Facebook in regard to privacy has allowed Snap to build out a platform that brings developers into the fold with certain features but keeps the real treasure — Snapchat’s social graph — buried inside its walled garden.

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The 5 Best Desktop Apps to Add Instagram Filters to Your Photos

Instagram is a hit on mobile platforms, and for good reason. There’s no better way to make your selfies pop than with a little artistic touch, even if that touch comes from an Instagram filter.

The only problem with Instagram is the fact that its photo editing feature only works on Android and iOS. What if you want to get Instagram filters on your PC or Mac, apply them to your photos, and upload them directly to Facebook or some other social network?

These filter-friendly photo editors for your computer provide the solution…

1. CameraBag Photo

CameraBag Photo offers a huge volume of filter options under the Presets tab. The filters are separated by categories like Architecture, Classic Photography, Color Correction, Film Grain, Landscape, Black and White Essentials, Vintage, and more. In other words, you’re spoilt for choice.

The filters are joined by a wide range of more precise adjustments. Under the Adjustments tab, you can crop, change color temperature, alter exposure, move the RGB curve, and more. We’re talking Photoshop-level detail adjustment. Oh, and borders? You’ll find plenty of those, too. Any effect or edit you add will appear as layers beneath your photo, similar to Photoshop.

So, what’s the catch? You have to pay $30 after a seven-day free trial.

Download: CameraBag Photo for Windows, macOS ($30, free trial available)

2. BatchPhoto

BatchPhoto isn’t built for adding filters specifically, but filters are a significant part of its feature set. Instead, most of its features are dedicated to reformatting and batch processing.

After deciding which filters you want to use, you can then apply them to all of the photos in a batch in one go. BatchPhoto also lets you resize, crop, and add frames to all of your photos as well. This helpful batch-editing feature lets you easily craft a consistent Instagram feed.

The biggest downside, once again, is the price of the app. There are three different versions of BatchPhoto: Home, Pro, and Enterprise. The Home version is meant for non-commercial use, while the Pro and Enterprise versions are geared more towards professionals. BatchPhoto has a handy comparison chart that might help you decide which version to get.

However, the cheapest version, BatchPhoto Home, should have everything you need if you’re just looking to apply Instagram-like filters from your desktop.

Download: BatchPhoto for Windows, macOS ($30, free trial available)

3. Fotor

Another solid choice for batch-editing, Fotor is a multiple-purpose app for Windows and macOS that offers Photoshop-style image editing, selfie touch-ups, collage creation, and batch editing. It gives you the option of adding various Instagram filters, as well as other effects, like borders and textures.

In terms of batch features, there is a wide variety of options here. Not only can you use the batch-editing feature to resize photos, but you can also batch-edit photo names, add borders, and tack on a full library of filters and effects.

Surprisingly, Fotor is mostly free. Some features are reserved for Fotor Pro users, but you can still use a majority of the app’s features without upgrading. During the installation process, Fotor sneakily tries to get you to download two unnecessary pieces of software, so just make sure you hit Decline when you see those prompts pop up.

Download: Fotor for Windows | macOS (Free, with premium version available)

4. PhotoScape X

If you’re looking for a photo editor like Instagram for PC and Mac, PhotoScape X is the desktop app for you. When you upload your photo, head to Film to browse the beautiful filters you can add to your picture.

Instagram-like filters aren’t the only feature PhotoScape X has to offer. Under the Edit tab are dozens of tools you can use to edit pictures. From resizing, color adjustments, and transformations, PhotoScape X has a surprising amount of features you can use for free.

Not to mention that you can also add lens flares and frames, create collages, and batch-edit photos. As if PhotoScape X couldn’t get any more versatile, it’s also one of the best apps to create and edit animated GIFs.

You’ll notice that some of PhotoScape X’s features are only available with the Pro version, but these locked features shouldn’t significantly impact your ability to edit pictures and make GIFs.

Download: PhotoScape X for Windows | macOS (Free, with premium version available)

5. Polarr

Whether you want to go for the vintage or vibrant look, you can instantly achieve it using one of Polarr’s filters. Polarr has dozens of photo filters, which all fall under certain categories, such as Modern, Art, Film, Classic, Vintage, Infrared, 90s Art Film, and more. Plus, you can even adjust the intensity of each filter in the same way you do on Instagram.

To spruce up your photo more, Polarr gives you the option to add text, overlays, and frames. Additionally, it comes with the basic features of most photo editing tools, which include the ability to adjust color, exposure, distortion, clarity, and more. If you’re editing a selfie or a picture of your friends, Polarr’s retouch tool can also help cover up any facial imperfections.

Polarr is completely free, but you’ll have to upgrade to the premium version if you want extra features. Premium features include a larger selection of filters and overlays, as well as the ability to do batch edits.

Download: Polarr for Windows | macOS (Free, with premium version available)

Use Instagram Filters on PC and Mac

You don’t need Instagram to edit your photos. These desktop apps prove that you can get Instagram-like filters on your computer. While Polarr, PhotoScape X, and Fotor are best for quickly slapping a filter on your photo, CameraBag Photo is better for heavy-duty editing.

Lastly, BatchPhoto caters to those who want to edit multiple photos at once. All in all, the program you choose really depends on what you want out of a photo editor.

Whether you choose to upload the finished product of your photo edits on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, they’re bound to get some attention. To improve your social media game even more, check out our tips to make your Instagram stand out.

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7 Ways to Add Links to Your Instagram Posts

One of several features missing from Instagram is the ability to share links in captions. However, there are ways to bypass this problem so that you can add links to Instagram posts.

Although you can’t directly put a hyperlinked URL in your Instagram post, there are inventive ways to get around it, mainly by using third-party websites. We’re going to show you different ways to add links to Instagram posts.

1. Add a Link to Your Instagram Bio

The simplest (and most basic) way of adding a link to your Instagram, is to display it in your profile.

To do this, go to your Instagram profile and tap Edit Profile. Input your desired link into the Website field, then tap the check mark to save the changes.

Any link placed here will be hyperlinked. This means that people can click the link and be taken straight to the website.

When you make an Instagram post, you can write in the caption to tell people to visit your profile for the relevant link.

This is great if you only ever want to share one link. The problem arises if you change this link often because then those viewing older Instagram posts of yours won’t be able to find the link. As such, the alternative methods below are preferable.

2. Use a URL Shortener in the Post Caption

Some links can be long and hard to remember, which is one problem that URL shorteners help combat. You can use a URL shortener service, like Bitly, to create a more memorable link.

You can then put this short link in the captions of your Instagram post, with the hope that your followers will make the effort to fill out the memorable link in their browser (since links in captions aren’t hyperlinked).

If you decide to use Bitly, you can shorten a link on the homepage without signing up. It will generate a link like https://bit.ly/2ZRnZI6, with the seven end characters being random.

You can sign up for a free account to edit what those seven characters are. Once logged in, click Create, paste your long URL, then use the Customize back-half field to input an easier to remember string. You might need to get creative, as other people will have snagged common words.

3. Create a Link Landing Page

Rather than linking out to a different page every time, you could use a link landing page service. These are personalized pages with a series of links and thumbnails. Examples of such services are Campsite and Linktree.

When you sign up to these services, you get a personalized link which you can then insert into your Instagram profile.

On these pages, you can list anything that you want. You can customize the profile picture, bio, theme, and more so that it can have similar branding to your Instagram page. It’s advisable to add thumbnails to the links as this can help your Instagram followers know which is the relevant link from the post that they were viewing.

These services do have paid plans, but you might find that the free offering is enough for your needs.

4. Mirror Your Instagram Account to Link Posts

Another take on a link landing page is to use a service that lets you style them exactly like your Instagram page. This way your followers will leave your actual Instagram page, then land on another page that looks just like it—except with the key difference of being able to click the links in the posts.

An example of a service that can do this is Metricool. It’s a robust social media platform with tons of features, one of which is the ability to associate links with your individual Instagram posts. To take advantage of this feature, however, you will have to upgrade to a paid account.

Once you’ve logged into Metricool and connected your Instagram account, click the Planning button in the menu and click Instagram Link. Here you can fully test drive how the feature works.

You’ll see a feed of your Instagram images. Click the red hyperlink button to add a link to that image. At the top of the page, you’ll find the Metricool URL that you’ll want to insert in your Instagram bio, and direct people to it on the photo-sharing app.

Metricool will display your nine most recent images by default, but you can select additional photos from your feed, or remove photos that are there that you don’t want to display by clicking the trash can icon on the image.

The final product is a responsive site that looks practically identical to your Instagram feed, with a grid of images that link to wherever you like.

5. Share a Link in Instagram Stories or IGTV

There are plenty of ways to use Instagram Stories to make your content stand out, and that includes adding links. The ability to add links, however, is available only to users who are verified (how to get verified on Instagram) or who have over 10,000 followers.

If you don’t fit either of those criteria, there are a couple of workarounds you can play with. That said, they’re not the most elegant.

The simplest approach is to add your link as regular text. It won’t be clickable, but using a memorable shortened URL as outlined above might encourage your followers to visit the link. All they need to do is copy and paste it into a web browser.

You can also add a link to the description of an IGTV video. The thing with IGTV videos is that your followers may not realize there’s a link there. They’ll have to tap to expand the description to see the link.

You can also then add that IGTV video to your Instagram Stories to make sure it’s seen by a wider audience. After you create your IGTV video, create a new story. You should see an option to add a link.

6. Pay for a Sponsored Instagram Post

This isn’t going to be for everybody, but if you have an Instagram business profile then you can pay for a sponsored post on the main feed or within Stories. This will even appear to people who don’t follow you but who fall within the target range that you specify.

Importantly, you can share an actual hyperlink within the post—no short URLs or copy and pasting required. You will have seen examples of these in your own feed. They are marked as sponsored and feature a linked call to action (like “Learn more”) at the bottom of the post.

More information about this can be found on the Advertising on Instagram page.

7. Create Your Own Image Gallery Website

For complete control, you could create a site that you host, entirely separate from Instagram (the best web hosting services). If you’d rather not spend any money on this, you could also opt for blogging platforms like WordPress or Tumblr that allow you to create a site for free.

Whichever platform or host that you choose, you’ll want to use a grid theme to make it look much like your Instagram feed.

If you’re going to use WordPress.com, you could consider a theme like Cubic. Just upload the photos to your WordPress site in the same order you uploaded them to Instagram, and change the URL of the image to the link you want to share.

If you’re opting for Tumblr, the themes Berlin and Fasofi would work well.

If you’re going to host a WordPress site, consider the template Gridsby. Alternatively, if you already have a self-hosted WordPress website, you could create an additional page and insert a WordPress gallery.

Increasing Your Instagram Engagement Levels

Hopefully one day Instagram will make it easier for everyone to share links within their posts. Until then, these are the best methods to add links to Instagram posts.

While all of these tools help you get a little more out of Instagram, you should also consider how to increase your engagement on Instagram so that you have enough followers to visit the link in the first place. To help you do just that, here’s how to gain more followers on Instagram.

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How to Stream on Facebook Live: A Quick Guide

Facebook is everywhere: on your PC, on your phone, and on your tablet. However, these days, just leaving a status update isn’t enough. Facebook has another way for you to communicate with your friends, family, and beyond… your camera.

Regardless of which device(s) you use to access Facebook, if there is a camera attached you can speak directly to your audience. So here’s how to stream on Facebook Live, allowing you to speak directly to your family, friends, and followers.

How to Stream on Facebook Live

Facebook Live is a feature of the social network that lets you stream live video from your PC or mobile device. You might, for example, want to use Facebook Live to chat to members of your family. Alternatively, Facebook Live can be employed to address everyone you know.

There are three ways you can stream live video to Facebook:

• Stream live video direct from your profile or feed.
• Create a room and start a live stream on your profile or a group.
• Go live from your Facebook page.

Further, you can stream live video from any webcam-equipped device:

• PC or laptop.
• Tablet.
• Smartphone (Android or iPhone).

In short, Facebook Live brings a new dimension to social networking. Perhaps you have some news to share. Or you might want to offer your thoughts on a specific topic.

You’re now able to broadcast to (potentially) millions, far more than you can expect to reach on TV in many cases. But unlike TV, the people you’re speaking to can talk back to you!

This makes Facebook Live a superb question and answer platform—similar to a Reddit AMA—but in person, direct to the viewer’s phone, PC, games console, or whatever.

Publicize Your Facebook Live Video

Of course, if you want the best audience for your live video, you’ll need to tell people that you’re going live. There’s no point just doing it—it’s best to announce it in advance.

This might mean sharing a status on your Facebook wall or announcing it on your Facebook page or group. Just make sure the people who are likely to be interested can see the announcement.

It’s worth informing people two to three days in advance. Any more than this and they may forget, any less and you risk people not seeing the announcement.

Once you are sure you have generated some interest, confirm the event around 12 hours before you’ve planned the stream. In some situations, you might prefer to inform friends and followers on other social networks. For example, you might be discussing something topical or playing a brand-new game.

Stream on Facebook Live on Your Phone or Tablet

To get started with Facebook Live on your mobile device, you’ll need two things: the Facebook app and a phone holder. This might be a dock, a tripod, or some other device for keeping your phone steady and level.

When you’re ready, sign into the Facebook app and find the Create post area to update your status. You’ll find a Live button beneath, so tap this to get started.

Alternatively, tap into the status area and select Go Live. This is useful if you’re thinking about writing something and then decide to just blurt it out in person.

You then have the option to specify your audience. This is the Facebook Live version of the post privacy settings. Tap To then specify Friends, Public, or specific friends. You can even stream to groups you’re a member of. Curiously, there’s also an option to stream to Only me, although we’re not sure why you would do this.

Next, use the Tap to add a description button to input details about why you’re chatting live. You can also tag friends, set your location, and add an emoji. Facebook live filters can be added using the magic wand.

When you’re ready to start, ensure you have the right camera selected, then tap the Start Live Video button. You’ll see notifications about who is watching, and messages from viewers will pop up so you can read them.

Don’t want to do a live video but still want your voice heard? Tap the menu in the top-right corner and select Live Audio instead. The interface is largely the same and you can upload an image to display during the broadcast.

If you choose this approach, you’ll have the opportunity to upload an image to display during the broadcast. While your device microphone will be used, if you have a superior external microphone, the results will be more impressive.

Go Live on Facebook With Pages Manager on Mobile

Using the Facebook Pages Manager app is an almost identical process. Tap the Create post area, then Go Live.

While you cannot invite specific people, there is an Audience Restrictions options using the menu button in the top-right corner. This enables Geo Controls, which lets you target your Facebook Live presentation to a specific location or sub-group.

Live Audio is also available for Facebook Pages.

Stream on Facebook Live via Your PC

If you don’t have a smartphone, don’t worry. If your PC has a webcam (either a USB device or a built-in one), you can broadcast on Facebook Live.

The process is similar on desktop to using a smartphone or tablet.

Click into the status update box, click Live Video, and give the video a name.

Tag a Facebook friend in the video, or set a mood using the buttons in the bottom-left of the screen, if you’d like. You can select who should see the video in the bottom-right corner.

When you’re ready to start, hit Go Live.

Again, you can also use Create Room to pre-invite people and start streaming to the group.

Stream to Pages With Your Desktop Browser

As with mobile, there isn’t much of a difference for streaming Facebook Live to your page. Simply head to the page and click Live to begin. Add the required video title, click Go Live, and you’re off!

Finishing and Posting Your Video

Once you’ve had enough, click the Finish button.

Regardless of whether you hosted your Facebook Live stream on mobile or desktop, you’ll have the option to Post the video on your wall or page.

You can also change the privacy level of the video. And if you didn’t enjoy the experience or have an inkling that it didn’t go to plan, you can simply Delete it.

You Can Even Stream a Video Game on Facebook

To stream a video game on Facebook, you’ll need a game streaming solution. The most popular of these is OBS Studio (previously Open Broadcaster Software), although Wirecast and XSplit also work.

First, head to facebook.com/live/create (you can also use the standard Facebook Live Video option) and click Create Live Stream. Next, ensure that Use stream key is selected in the Get Started field.

Beneath this, find the Stream Key (you may need the server URL as well) and copy this into your video game streaming app. In OBS Studio, go to Settings > Stream and set the Service as Facebook Live. Beneath this, paste the key in the Stream Key field and click OK to confirm.

For more on this, check out our article detailing how to stream using OBS Studio.

Take a moment before proceeding to add any relevant information about the stream (game name, stage, etc.) into Facebook and the streaming software if required.

In your streaming app, begin streaming. Once the preview appears in the Facebook Live video setup, you’re ready to broadcast. Click Go Live to begin streaming.

Note that some games have a broadcast feature built in, so check before you start streaming with third party software.

Let People Know You’re Live

Once your stream is live, it will appear on your Facebook timeline. It’s a good idea to pin this item to your page so that people dropping in can easily see it. You can do this by clicking the arrow in the top-right corner and using the Pin to Top of Page option.

Similarly, you may prefer to adjust the video description as time goes on. This might be because the topic of the live stream changes.

Save the Clip for Later

Facebook retains your video so that it can be viewed later by those that missed it. This means that hours after the event, you can share the video on Facebook and beyond. You can even embed the video in a blog or other web page.

To see your options, find the video on your Facebook page or wall, and click the menu button in the top-right of the post. Here you’ll find Embed (this provides you with the embed code), Save video, and Download video.

You can then reuse the video however you see fit.

How Can Viewers Stream a Facebook Live Video to TV?

Phones, tablets, and even computers are a little small for live video streams, especially for groups. The smart answer seems to be streaming Facebook videos to a TV—but how do you do this?

The method depends on what you use for streaming video from your phone to your TV. So, if you use Chromecast, a wireless HDMI streaming app compatible with this device is suitable. For Amazon Fire TV devices, the same applies.

Other media devices may also allow streaming of live video from Facebook. Check your media streaming hardware documentation for details.

For additional help, check out our guides detailing how to set up and use a Chromecast and how to set up and use an Amazon Fire TV.

Anyone Can Stream on Facebook Live

Creating a live video on Facebook is easy. From communicating with family to addressing an audience, or simply streaming games, Facebook Live has options for every purpose.

No matter what you use it for, Facebook Live is a great way to share the things you love with the world. And now that you know the basics of how to get started, check out our tips for broadcasting on Facebook Live.

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