Tech News

Google Announces New Android App Quality Rules Starting in 2027 Google is introducing stricter quality requirements for Android apps and games on the Play Store. From February 2027, apps must meet limits on memory use and code optimization. Those that exceed the thresholds risk lower visibility and restricted publishing. In April 2027, apps that support sign-in must add Zero-Tap Sign-In so users stay logged in automatically when switching to a new Android device. Google is already providing tools so developers can prepare. 🔗 Read more

OpenAI Ends Partnership With Cursor After SpaceX Acquisition OpenAI has decided to end its partnership with Cursor following the coding tool’s acquisition by SpaceX. Direct access to OpenAI models through Cursor is set to stop on November 12, 2026. OpenAI said it cannot be confident that SpaceX will follow its terms of service, citing past issues with Elon Musk’s companies. The company said it wants to support developers during the transition.

Major Tech Companies Call for Defensive Surge Against AI-Driven Hacks More than 100 major tech companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, have issued a joint letter calling for a society-wide push to strengthen cyber defenses. They warn that AI-enabled cyberattacks will become far more widespread in the coming months as models grow more capable. The letter urges governments and organizations to make cyber defense an immediate priority and expand trusted access to advanced models for defensive use.

GTA VI Gameplay Officially Revealed on Netflix Rockstar promises to expand on all the strengths and features of GTA V and RDR2 with a larger world, more lifelike NPCs, greater interactivity, branching storylines, unique districts, and a high level of detail. Devs claim the game will be playable for an entire year.

AI May Cut Jobs Quietly Without Mass Layoffs A new report says artificial intelligence may be reducing jobs without triggering large-scale layoffs. Instead of firing workers, companies in AI-exposed industries are leaving vacancies unfilled and hiring fewer people when staff leave or retire. Job openings have fallen faster than layoffs since late 2022. The report warns this quiet reduction could limit opportunities, especially for younger workers and new entrants.

Nvidia Agrees to Buy Hugging Face for $12.9 Billion Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face, the popular platform for sharing and building open-source AI models, for $12.9 billion, according to a report. The deal would give the chipmaker control of a major hub for open-source models and datasets. Neither company has publicly confirmed the agreement. Hugging Face was previously valued at $4.5 billion in a 2023 funding round that included Nvidia as an investor.

Google Rolls Out /goto Redirects in Search Results Google is now routing most search result links through google.com/goto addresses instead of linking directly to websites. The change is meant to stop scrapers and automated tools from easily extracting clean lists of destination URLs. Google said it is a technical measure to protect its services and users from abuse. The redirects are appearing in nearly all search results.

Amazon Is Shutting Down Mechanical Turk Amazon is closing Mechanical Turk, its long-running platform for small digital tasks, on September 30, 2026. The service, launched in 2005, let businesses pay people for simple jobs like data labeling, image tagging, and surveys. Amazon stopped accepting new customers in July. Existing users can keep working until the final shutdown date. Amazon pointed them toward other AWS tools for similar work.

WhatsApp Updates Two-Step Verification With Stronger Passwords WhatsApp is updating its two-step verification to let users replace the 6-digit PIN with a longer alphanumeric password. The new password can include letters, numbers, and special characters. WhatsApp has also added support for multiple passkeys on one account, which is useful for people who switch between devices. These changes aim to make accounts harder to take over.

X Sends Cease-and-Desist to Nitter Over Alleged Scraping X has sent cease-and-desist letters(Order to Stop and Not Restart) to the developers of Nitter. Nitter was an open-source frontend that let people read posts without an account or the official app. The main site is now offline and development has been paused. X accused the project of unlawfully using and circumventing its API and scraping data. Other independent Nitter instances and related services have also gone offline after receiving similar letters.

Google Rolls Out Motion Assist to Reduce Motion Sickness Google is rolling out Motion Assist, a feature that reduces motion sickness by showing moving visual clues on the screen. It is starting on select Pixel devices running Android 17. The dots move with the vehicle’s motion to help the eyes match what the body feels. Users can turn it on manually or let it activate automatically when the phone detects a moving vehicle.

Anthropic Has Merged Claude Chat and Cowork Memory Anthropic has combined the memory systems for Claude chat and Cowork. Chat history is now available to Cowork by default, so users do not have to re-explain details. Users can opt out if they prefer. The change makes Claude feel more continuous across both tools.

Apple Launches New Mac Mini With M6 and M5 Pro Chips for Local AI Apple has unveiled an updated Mac mini powered by the new M6 and M5 Pro chips, focused on stronger on-device AI performance. The base M6 model is Apple’s first 2-nanometer chip for Macs and delivers up to four times faster AI performance than the previous generation. A higher-end M5 Pro version is also available. Prices start at $899 for the M6 model and $1,699 for the M5 Pro. Preorders are open now, with shipping set for September 22.

Early Testers Praise Apple’s Foldable iPhone for Feel and Pocket Fit Early hands-on feedback on Apple’s first foldable iPhone is largely positive, according to people familiar with the device. Testers say it feels solid and durable, especially the hinge, and fits comfortably in a pocket when folded. The larger inner screen supports iPad-like layouts for multitasking and video. The phone is expected to lack a telephoto lens and Face ID, using Touch ID on the side button instead. Pricing is widely expected to start near or above $2,000. Apple is expected to introduce it later this year.

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Dutch Regulator Fines Uber €825 Million Over Automated Driver Deactivations The Dutch Data Protection Authority has decided to fine Uber €825 million for using automated systems to deactivate driver accounts without adequately informing the drivers. The penalty is the second-largest ever under the EU’s GDPR. The case covers incidents in Europe between 2020 and 2022. Uber said it strongly disagrees with the decision and will appeal. The company noted that the policies under review were discontinued years ago and that it now includes human reviews and an appeals process. 🔗 Read more

Google Rolls Out New Personalization Features Across Search and News Google is adding three new ways for users to control the content they see in Search, Discover, and the Google News app. Publishers can embed a “Preferred Sources” button on their sites so readers can prioritize them more easily. In Discover, users will soon be able to describe in their own words the topics they want to see more or less of. The Google News app on Android now lets people customize daily audio briefings by topic.

GitHub Gave Details About Major Outage That Hit The Platform on August 17 GitHub has released details on the major outage that hit its platform on August 17. The disruption lasted 7 hours and 47 minutes. The problems started when traffic hit a new peak and a key system in the Central US data center could not scale up. This caused errors across services including pull requests, Actions, the API, and Copilot. At the peak, about 20 percent of web and API requests failed. GitHub said the outage was a capacity issue driven by rapid growth in platform use. Engineers moved traffic to other data centers, isolated overloaded systems, and restored service step by step.

Security Flaw in Grok Lets Malicious Pages Steal User Data A vulnerability in xAI’s Grok chatbot allows malicious web pages to silently extract sensitive user information and full conversation histories. Researchers at Adversa AI found the issue. It can occur when a user asks Grok to analyze an external website. The chatbot may then send private data, including the user’s name, location, and chat transcript, to the attacker's remote server without any warning or alert. The researchers reported the problem to xAI in June. As of mid-August the vulnerability was still present. 🔗 Read more

Slack Launches Slack Code for Teams and AI Agents Slack has launched Slack Code, adding dedicated project-specific channels where teams can collaborate with AI coding agents like teammates. Users can tag an agent to start a code channel. Everyone can see the conversation, review code changes, check live previews, and approve work before it ships. The feature is available across all Slack plans and works with agents from partners including Anthropic, GitHub, Cognition, and Vercel.