Apple’s Instant Hotspot turns nearly any iOS device with a cellular connection into a personal hotspot for all of your Apple devices. Using an iOS device as a hotspot comes in handy when traveling, or when you don’t want to use the Wi-Fi network at your local coffee shop.  There’s practically no setup, as long …

Instagram won’t allow graphic images of self-harm, such as cutting, on its site, its leader wrote in a Thursday post.  The social platform will also prevent nongraphic self-harm related content, such as images of healed scars, from showing up in search, hashtags and the explore tab. It also won’t recommend that content. “Up until now, we’ve focused most of our approach …

T-Mobile continues to beat its rivals at attracting new customers, even as it bides its time awaiting regulatory approval for its merger with Sprint. And company executives say they’re in the home stretch and confident the deal will close. The nation’s third-largest wireless carrier added a total of 2.4 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter. About 1.4 million of …

On this podcast, we talk about: A look at the new Moto G7 phone lineup… …and the new LG G8 ThinQ phone. Home security drones. Twitter’s quarterly earnings showing some improvement. Now playing: Watch this: Moto G7 and LG G8 get the smartphone wars going (The… 4:41 The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about the top stories of the …

With two weeks to go until Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S10, the leaked photos are coming at a torrential pace. And, though we won’t know whether they’re authentic until the company officially debuts the phone at its Feb. 20 Unpacked event in San Francisco, the new images look credible. But they don’t contain many surprises. In the handful …

LG just introduced its LG G8 ThinQ. The high-end phone, which includes face unlock technology, is the successor to last year’s LG G7 ThinQ, and will likely make its physical debut at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, Spain at the end of the month. LG posted its announcement online and while it didn’t include any specs or images of the phone, we do learn …

Facebook, which has been building and testing a hub for humorous meme content, called LOL, is switching gears. The world’s largest social network confirmed on Thursday that it was no longer planning to release a meme app aimed at high school kids. Instead it’s focusing more on a messaging app for kids under 13 years old, called Messenger Kids. The …

Apple on Thursday released iOS 12.1.4, an iPhone update that fixes a Group FaceTime bug that allowed users to eavesdrop on each other.  The update is available for the iPhone 5S and later, iPad Air and later, and iPod Touch 6th generation. Last week, Apple turned off Group FaceTime after the discovery of a bug that allowed iPhone users to call another device via …

In a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, three US senators are calling for an investigation into whether US mobile carriers are throttling traffic to certain streaming apps like YouTube and Netflix without telling customers. The letter, sent Wednesday by Democratic Sens. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ron Wyden of Oregon, said that throttling could be a …

Twitter can be filled with harassment, bullying, misinformation and hate speech — not exactly a warm and fuzzy place for people or companies hoping to spread their messages. On Thursday, Twitter showed it’s making strides against toxic users. The company reported that the number of monthly active users fell slightly to 321 million in the fourth quarter from 326 million in the …

No one has ever sent me unsolicited nudes. My iCloud account hasn’t been hacked and, thank mercy, I’ve never had a vengeful ex share photos of me as revenge porn. But that doesn’t stop me living in constant fear that someone will bust into my house, run into my bedroom and scream “nudie rudie!” just as I’m trying to zoink …

Chromebooks aren’t perfect for everything, but they’re awesome for a lot of things. And Samsung makes some excellent Chromebooks, though you usually pay a premium for their premium models. Not today: For a limited time, and while supplies last, the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 Two-in-One laptop is just $299.99, a full $200 off the regular price. Pro tip: Ebates is …

Facebook’s mission is to bring the world closer together. But lately the company has been associated with breaking societies apart. The world’s biggest social network was used to spread misinformation in elections around the world, potentially affecting their outcomes. The UN determined that Facebook played a role in furthering hate speech in Myanmar, contributing to a possible genocide. Five people …

Now you don’t have to clean up before making Skype calls. Microsoft has added a background-blurring feature to its video calling service in its latest update. “With a simple toggle, right-click, or even through your Skype settings, your background will be instantly and subtly blurred, leaving just you as the only focal point,” the Skype team wrote Wednesday. It’s similar …

New year, new emojis. Unicode Consortium, the organization that approves and standardizes emojis, approved 230 new emojis that will come to platforms including iOS and Android this year. A large number of the 230 emojis are of couples of different genders and skin tones holding hands. A subset of those emojis include gender inclusive couples for users who do not …