Minimalist News

Phia, the shopping startup founded by Bill Gates’ daughter, Phoebe, and her friend Sophia Kianni is under fire for a practice known as “cookie stuffing,” which helped the product receive commissions and credit for sales it did not actually generate, per a Bloomberg investigation.

"Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way," the company said in a blog post. "We've heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it's no longer available."

Schneider, who formerly served as the CEO of Automattic and is a partner at True Ventures, says he is "all in" on the unconventional social media platform.

Apple alleges the misconduct was directed by OpenAI's senior leadership, including a longtime former employee.

Fizz has expanded its lawsuit against rival Sidechat, alleging that a Maveron VC shared its confidential information obtained during a fundraising meeting with the competing startup.

The AI chip boom just produced its biggest Wall Street moment yet. Now SK Hynix and Samsung are being asked to build U.S. factories.

HyperTexting's new app aims to make the open web feel more like social media by turning websites, blogs, newsletters, and podcasts into a scrollable feed, while also making it easier to post to your own website.

China's state-owned space company recovered its first orbital rocket booster after launch.

The launch of free content would allow Disney+ to better compete with free services like YouTube and Tubi, which are capturing a growing share of consumers’ viewing time.

Dumb Co sells flip phones that sync to your smartphone, bridging the infinite connectivity of the iPhone and the unrealistic limitations of an early 2000s relic.

The massive round was co-led by ARCH Venture Partners, Spark Capital, and Khosla Ventures.

Amid signs of slowing engagement, Netflix is reportedly considering launching "always-on" live channels, giving subscribers something to tune into 24/7.

The tech giant is in breach of the Digital Services Act by focusing on features like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and the highly personalized recommendation algorithms, the European Commission said.

A third ransomware negotiator has been jailed for helping a notorious ransomware group extort American victim companies into paying the hackers.

Open source AI is booming, according to Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue. The company has grown into something like a GitHub for AI in recent years, where AI builders can share and download open models and datasets, now used by roughly half the Fortune 500. Delangue has seen the same story play out again and again: companies start […]

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A roundup of recent reviews published by Engadget.

Your photos don't have to go home, but they can't stay here.

Toni Schneider, who took over after Jay Graber stepped down, is now Bluesky's official CEO.

"You won't know until you do and then it is too late."

Spotify's Release Radar can now deliver more personalized music recommendations.

Is paying a reasonable price for colorful cardboard too much to ask?

Our weekly roundup of the best new indie games is here.

Meta has deactivated the Muse Image capability to create AI deepfakes of any public Instagram account you @-mention.

The lawsuit also names io Products, the hardware company led by Jony Ive.

The rule revives a proposed FTC protection that was abandoned last year.

Let's be real, OpenAI isn't giving up on the browser market, it is just changing its strategy.

Backlash online is changing how (or if) people wear Meta's smart glasses.

Stubhub CEO Eric Baker is pouring millions of dollars into the ticket-scalping market, CBC reports.

Reflect Orbital wants to direct sunlight at night with a network of satellites.

Sadly, we don't think aliens were involved in this particular space balls incident.

Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in December 2025. | Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images Donald Trump's Homeland Security regime has been at the center of two critical stories in the past two weeks. In the first, federal agents shot and killed a man and quickly got to work justifying the use of force under the flimsiest of pretenses. In the other, it made house calls to people who said mean things to them online. Since taking office last year, the Trump administration has been telling us that

Roleplaying games are often defined by excess. Storylines that span dozens of hours, side quests so big they could be their own game, massive worlds that require complex maps to explore, and casts so big you start forgetting character names. That's part of what makes these games feel like epic adventures, but it can also make them intimidating, particularly if you have limited spare time. Dosa Divas , on the other hand, manages to capture much of that same feeling in a package that spans less than 10 hours. And it does it with a bold sense of style and

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 135, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, crank the AC, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about cold plunges and Colson Whitehead and the food truck mafia , finally getting to the theater to see Obsession , watching The Agency because it's apparently everyone's favorite underrated show, nodding sadly to Adam Conover's video about the death of sitcoms , making a lot of noises during the Dune: Part Three trailer

A luxurious hot shower anywhere you go. Hot showers, like electricity, are a luxury that's easy to take for granted. That all changes after a few nights camping at a music festival, a week toiling at a backcountry job site, or overlanding all summer in the great unknown. An itchy scalp and the vague smell of warm clams suddenly make the idea of spending hundreds on a portable shower seem less absurd. I've been testing the Hottap Go from Australia-based Joolca while vanlifing to shower after surfing and to wash up after cooking. It features a 12L integrated water tank

On Thursday, the Instagram account for a lecture series in Newport Beach, CA posted a photo of what appeared to be a cease and desist letter from the surveillance technology company Flock Safety. Flock has received significant backlash over its technology and work with law enforcement agencies, and this letter kicked off yet another wave of criticism against the company for allegedly trying to shut down discussions of its work. "WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED," the group, The Saturday Salon, wrote in the Instagram post , which has more than 3,000 likes. A separate post about the letter on Bluesky

From strenuous hikes and serious summits to weekend rambles in the park, these boots help you make the most of your time outdoors.

The probe sent back the first pictures of the asteroid Kamo’oalewa. Next step: landing on the surface and collecting samples to send back to Earth.

As the climate phenomenon sends warm water surging across the eastern Pacific, some parts of the fishing industry are suffering—but other regions are seeing a windfall.

Summer 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Jay-Z’s debut Reasonable Doubt. To honor it, he put on a massive concert at Yankee Stadium—complete with performances from Beyoncé, Nas, and Alicia Keys.

Johannes Heidecke’s departure comes as OpenAI tries to further integrate its research and safety teams.

Data centers are driving up the company’s use of electricity—and carbon pollution.

The iPhone maker claims OpenAI encouraged poached employees to bring over confidential presentations, secret prototypes, and key supplier details.

Solid-state batteries are safer and more capable—but harder to mass-produce. They also represent an opportunity for non-Chinese companies to get back in the game.

A recent study tracked hundreds of soccer fans until their favorite team reached the final of a tournament. Their stress levels skyrocketed, and their heart rates jumped too.

Take on sand, snow, mud, gravel—this is the ebike for all your off-roading adventures.

Yes, Sarah Wynn-Williams violated her deal to stay silent. But the power disparity bolsters the view that Meta is a heartless bully.

Whether it’s through Google Maps or Emergency SOS, there are plenty of ways to quickly let your loved ones know where you are.

MacBooks are now more expensive than ever, and having tested all the latest models, here’s my honest advice on which to buy.

These are the cleaning robots, water monitors, and toys actually worth buying for pool season.

Billed as the “world’s first museum of AI arts,” Dataland uses wearables and troves of material from the Amazon to merge nature, biometrics, and art.

England and Norway players will face off under extreme and dangerous levels of heat stress, scientists say, thanks to a wet-bulb index of nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Amid live coding sessions and Silicon Valley optimism, the UN’s AI for Good summit wrestled with an urgent question: Can global governance catch up before the technology races beyond its control?

Shop the latest beauty trends and save big using an Ulta promo code for beauty tech, makeup, and more.

Explore Chewy coupon codes for $30 off, $20 off your first order $49, 50% off pet food, and more July 2026 discounts.

Explore today’s top DoorDash promo codes for $25 off your first order, free delivery, and 50% off DashPass for students and select users.

Save 20% with an LG promo code today, plus up to $1,000 off appliances, 40% off bestselling TVs and monitors.

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Enjoy big savings on your next adventure with our Booking.com promo codes, coupons, and handpicked travel deals.

Find the best Zoro coupon codes, deals, and free shipping offers to save big on industrial equipment, tools, and supplies this month.

Save up to 77% on 2-year plans and get 3 free months with our NordVPN discount codes.

Whether you’re looking to upgrade your internet or get the latest phone, we’ve got you covered with our selection of AT&T coupons and deals.

A surprise 10th-anniversary event saw Niantic fulfilling a promise teased in the original 2016 launch trailer for its popular mobile game.

The move comes after Simo took significant medical leave. She will stay on as a part-time adviser.

Today on Uncanny Valley, we unpack the political debacle unfolding in Maine surrounding the campaign of Democratic candidate Graham Platner.

See the documentary The Oldest Person in the World before it’s in theaters.

Claude subscribers must soon pay usage-based fees to access Anthropic’s best consumer AI model—a sign that the golden era of AI subscriptions is ending.

The soft, oddly intimate home-chore robot has been given some very tactile hands.

Companies will once again be allowed to scan citizens’ personal texts, emails, and social media messages via the “Chat Control” bill to find child abuse material online.

The Bezos-backed automaker building America’s cheapest electric truck is teaming up with the crayon company in a bid to brighten its rides. Make ours Razzmatazz.

Provided you have a library of SNES cartridges, the SN Operator is a seamless plug-and-play system for easy ’90s nostalgia.

The Dell 14S represents the new normal of laptop pricing, but it has the quality to back up its cost.

The Amseatec Criss Cross Office Chair gives you room to sit cross-legged, sideways, or however your body actually wants to sit.

Thousands of new fossil-fuel power sources are quietly firing up across the state to power the AI boom, thanks to a regulatory loophole, leaving residents feeling blindsided.

With pricing in flux and new models available, here’s which Surface Laptop and Surface Pro to buy.

“EMF straws” and similar products are being sold as a way to block electromagnetic frequencies that come from common electronic devices, even without scientific evidence that they work.

NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morrison called reports that self-driving cars had driven into emergency scenes and blocked ambulances and firefighters “unacceptable.”

A single wording mistake cost the government millions. Now Estonia is using AI to spot legal errors before they become law—and to automate more of the state.

An MSG database tracked and categorized hundreds of celebs, famous Knicks superfans, and even some of Taylor Swift’s wedding guests. Labels included “LGBTQIA,” “DO NOT HOST,” and low to high “risk.”

A government report claims DOGE didn’t access sensitive systems. It also says the agency deleted records that would show if they had.