Category: Tech News

Snapchat is adding new location tracking capabilities to its parental controls feature. These changes will give parents new visibility into their kids’ Snap Map settings and allow them to keep track of their whereabouts.

The new features, which will be available “in the coming weeks,” will be added to Snapchat’s Family Center, the app’s portal for parental control features. With the update, parents will be able to see their child’s location or request to share their own. Parents can also choose to receive “travel notifications” when their child leaves a specific location, like school or home.

In addition, Family Center, which already allows parents to see who their kids are chatting with, will also allow them to see who their teen has shared their location with in the app’s Snap Map.

The feature could help address some of the criticism the company has faced about the role its app’s location sharing capabilities have played in significant security issues. Snapchat’s location sharing has been particularly scrutinized by safety advocates, who have alleged that it has enabled teens to connect with strangers, including drug dealers and potential predators. The feature was criticized in a lawsuit filed earlier this year by New Mexico’s attorney general over alleged security lapses at the company.

In its latest update, Snap notes that it prevents all users from sharing their location information with users who are not already their friends. And the company says it plans to send users additional reminders about their Snap Map settings to prompt them to “be extra thoughtful about their choices.”

One of the Gemini AI-powered features Google introduced at I/O this year was a solution for the never-ending scam calls. It has the ability to detect if a call is suspicious while it’s still ongoing and alert you so you can drop the call as soon as possible. This live scam detection feature for phone calls is now available for Pixel 6 and newer devices, provided you’re part of the Phone by Google public beta program in English.

“[S]cam calls are evolving, becoming increasingly more sophisticated, harmful, and harder to identify,” the company said in its announcement. Scam detection uses on-device AI to determine if a call is a potential scam in real time.

For example, if the caller tells you it’s your bank and asks you to transfer funds to another account because your account has allegedly been breached — a common scam tactic — you’ll get an audio and a haptic alert.

When you look at your phone, you’ll see a visual warning, as well as a button to easily end the call. If the AI ​​makes a mistake, you can tap the “Not a scam” button instead.

Scam detection is off by default, and it’s up to you whether you want to activate it. Google says it doesn’t send your calls or their transcripts to a remote server, as the feature processes phone calls on the device.

On the Pixel 9 series, it’s powered by Gemini Nano, which Google describes as “the most efficient model for on-device tasks.” On Pixel devices older than the Pixel 9, it’s powered by the company’s other machine learning models.

Google didn’t say when live scam detection would come out of beta, but it promised it would be coming to more Android devices soon. In October, the company also introduced advanced scam detection for Messages, which also uses on-device machine learning models to identify scam texts.

The EU’s executive branch is not shying away from imposing heavy fines on major tech companies. The European Commission has fined Meta €797.12 million ($842 million) for violating antitrust regulations.

The EC says Meta “abused its dominant position” in the social networking space by linking Facebook Marketplace to Facebook and “imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ad service providers.” Regulators determined that all Facebook users are “regularly exposed” to the Marketplace, even if they do not wish to be.

To this end, the link between the two services gives Meta “a substantial distribution advantage that competitors cannot match.” In addition, the EC found that third-party classified ad services that advertise on companies like Facebook and Instagram were subject to unfair trading conditions.

“This allows Meta to use advertising-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace,” regulators argued. The fine was determined based on the duration and extent of the violations as well as Meta’s revenue. The Commission also told Meta to end the practice and to refrain from repeating such conduct or attempting anything similar. Meta said it would appeal the decision.

It claimed, “This decision ignores the realities of the thriving European market for online classifieds listing services and protects large incumbents from a new entrant, Facebook Marketplace, which meets consumer demand in innovative and convenient new ways.” The company is trying to appease European regulators on other fronts.

The EC said in preliminary findings of an ongoing investigation that Meta violated the Digital Markets Act with its approach to ad-free subscriptions, as it requires EU users to consent to or pay to avoid highly targeted advertising. This week, Meta reduced monthly subscription fees and said it would offer an advertising option that would not use as much user data, although it would include some unskippable ads.

This was quite a challenge, as the landscape was filled with countless contenders. As expected, most of the things we saw at this CES had an AI component, with a notable increase in AR glasses, hearing aid earbuds, solar-powered tech, robot vacuums, and even emotional support robots. (Apparently people really like robovacs that can pick up socks.) Our team also found more growth in tech designed to improve the lives of people with disabilities and mobility issues.

Along with all the new variations we saw on traditional tech like laptops, TVs, and soundbars, we also saw a lot of weird off-beat tech at the show. And we were pleasantly surprised to see that some of the recently announced CES 2025 products were actually already available for sale or preorder.

We’re not talking about all moms, but a brief and unscientific survey confirmed that there’s one gift most moms everywhere would love: time. Time without saying, without any structure, without any obligations. Though we didn’t find extra hours on sale anywhere online, we did find some gadgets and gizmos that help save time and some that make precious free time even more fun.

Our recommendations include some gifts we’ve given the moms in our lives as well as what moms on staff would like. Most people think of technology as a must-have, because that’s just who we are, but all should appeal to any mom who wants to make the most of her time.

Levoit Core 400S Air Purifier

When I tested air purifiers for our guide, I found that the best way to clean the air is to open the windows—but if the mom in your life struggles with allergies or lives in a place where air quality can be poor, an air purifier might be the next best thing.

The Levoit Core 400S Smart Air Purifier was one of the quietest models I tested and performed on par with models three times more expensive. It has a three-stage filter (including an activated carbon layer and particulate filter), and the internal particulate matter sensor can automatically adjust the fan speed as dirt in the air increases.

The companion app shows historical air quality readouts and makes it easy to control and schedule the unit. Plus, replacement filters aren’t as expensive as other units.

Ember Mug 2

Take your mom’s morning coffee routine up a notch with the Ember Mug, a self-heating smart mug that keeps beverages at the perfect temperature for up to 1.5 hours or all day if the mug is placed on a charging coaster. Its temperature ranges between 120 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit, letting your mom decide how hot she wants her coffee.

There’s also a companion app that lets her save preset temperatures for her favorite drinks, track her caffeine intake, customize the color of the LED light on the front of the mug, and more. The latest version also comes in a beautiful rose gold color as well as white, black, gold, silver, and copper.

Mpix Photo Book

Many of us take hundreds of photos with our phones and then never do anything with them. They’re left to rot in our camera rolls, only to be exposed when you have to scroll back months to find that one image you’re looking for. If you want to give mom another great way to view her favorite photos, an album from Mpix will do the trick.

You can customize your photo book from the start, choosing the best pictures of her family and friends and arranging them neatly on each page. You can also choose from a variety of cover options and paper weights, making the final product as premium as you want it to be. With options starting at $30 per book, it’s pretty easy to give mom a gift she’ll want to reread long after the holidays are over.

Pura Smart Scent Diffuser

I’ll be the first to say that the Pura Scent Diffuser surprised me. Before trying it out, I didn’t believe such a small device could actually spread strong fragrance throughout my home. But it didn’t take long to prove me wrong. The one I have stays plugged in near the front door in the family room of my house, and as soon as I walk in when the Pura is on, I smell the lovely scent of Amalfi Lemon, Lavender Fields or whatever other scent I’ve chosen.

The Pura can hold two different proprietary fragrance capsules at a time, so you can create very different vibes depending on the time of day, the occasion or anything else. The Pura app also makes it easy to set a per-scent diffusion schedule, and it can pause diffusion altogether if you’re away from home. Are you going to create ambiance throughout the house with this CD-sized gadget? No (maybe try the new Pura Plus for that), but it will make whatever part of your house it’s in feel a lot more luxurious.

With its biggest update in years to Final Cut Pro (FCP), Apple may re-embrace the professional video creator crowd, which it has ignored since the launch of FCP X in 2011. The company finally unveiled its successor, Final Cut Pro 11 (FCP 11), an update that relies heavily on AI tools. Also, it introduced spatial video editing to prepare content for the Vision Pro headset.

The main AI feature is Magnetic Masks, which let you cut out people and other moving objects, then stylize them or place them in another location. “This powerful and accurate automated analysis provides additional flexibility for customizing backgrounds and environments,” Apple wrote. “Editors can also combine Magnetic Masks with color correction and video effects, allowing them to precisely control and style each project.”

The other major new AI feature is Transcribe to Caption, which automatically analyses interviews and other timeline audio, transcribes it and places captions directly on the timeline – effectively automating the entire process. The feature uses an Apple-trained large language model (LLM) designed to transcribe spoken audio, the company said. Final Cut Pro 11 also allows VR/AR video editing in conjunction with other pro editing apps like Premiere Pro and Davinci Resolve.

“Spatial video editing” allows users to import and edit AR/VR videos directly in the app, while adding effects, colour correction and more. Footage can be captured from the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 models, as well as Canon’s R7 mirrorless camera paired with the new RF-S 7.8mm F/4 lens.

Users can choose from different viewing modes to preview left and right eye angles, or bring their edits directly into Apple Vision Pro to get a 3D preview. Apple also unveiled Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1, further optimizing it for Apple silicon.

The app also improves the “Light and Color” feature that lets you quickly improve the color, contrast, and overall look of your videos. And finally, the company released a new version of Final Cut Camera, which includes the ability to shoot in compact but high-quality HEVC files with Apple Log, rather than using storage-gobbling ProRes.

As a professional tool, Final Cut Pro 11 is still missing features found in Resolve and Premiere Pro, such as text-based editing and some advanced color correction tools. Still, the new version and feature will undoubtedly be welcomed by FCP enthusiasts. It’s now available to download for $299 for new users (after a 90-day free trial) and free for existing Final Cut Pro owners.