Facebook is planning to reduce political content in the News Feed starting today, it confirmed to Engadget. The move, which was first reported by Axios, follows tests in the US, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia earlier this year, where Facebook limited political content. The company plans to expand the tests to Costa Rica, Sweden, Spain and Ireland.

"These changes are in response to common feedback from our community," a Facebook spokesperson told Engadget. "We conduct ongoing research with people to hear what parts of Facebook are working well for them, and to gather feedback about what we could be doing better. One of the themes we’ve heard is that some people feel that there’s too much political content in their News Feeds. We hope these changes address this feedback and preserve the ability for people to find and interact with political content on Facebook, while respecting their appetite for it at the top of their News Feed."

Facebook says some engagement signals are better than others at indicating which posts people deem interesting or valuable. As a result, the company is expanding some tests related to engagement signals. The tests put less importance on how likely a user is to share or comment on political content. "At the same time, we’re putting more emphasis on new signals such as how likely people are to provide us with negative feedback on posts about political topics and current events when we rank those types of posts in their News Feed," Facebook wrote in an updated blog post.

The changes could reduce the level of misinformation on Facebook, if the algorithms are able to effectively detect and de-emphasize all political content. Political campaigns might have to rethink their strategies of how to reach voters too. On the flip side, the move could come as a blow to news organizations, especially those focused on politics, given the volume of traffic Facebook can drive to websites.

The switch could also make Facebook a less hostile place for users. Political discussions can quickly get heated, which might put off those who use the service largely for keeping in touch with their loved ones and sharing pictures of their kids. For what it's worth, Facebook claimed in November political content makes up just six percent of what users see.

"We’ve learned that these changes will affect public affairs content more broadly and that publishers may see an impact on their traffic," Facebook said. "Knowing this, we are planning a gradual and methodical rollout for these tests, but remain encouraged, and expect to announce further expansions in the coming months."

The reported changes follow other moves that Facebook has made to make political content less visible. It stopped recommending civic and political groups to users earlier this year after temporarily pausing those recommendations ahead of the 2020 US election.

Most of us have had meetings that simply could have been an email. Google Calendar will soon provide insights on how you spend your work day, including how long you spend in meetings, so you can find out just how much time you could be saving if your bosses sent memos instead.

This idea behind Time Insights is for you to gain a better understanding of how your time is taken up, so perhaps you can make adjustments if you're spending too much time in Zoom calls or conference rooms. For instance, maybe you can consolidate meetings if you spend many of them with the same people.

The feature can highlight the days and times where you tend to be in meetings the most. You'll also see a time breakdown (including the average time spent in meetings each day) and details about the people with whom you're in meetings most often. When you hover over a person, Google Calendar will highlight all the meetings they're included in.

Time Insights will only be visible on computers, not mobile devices. The insights will typically only be visible to you, but if you manage other people's calendars and they've enabled the “manage sharing access” permission, you'll be able to see their Time Insights too.

Workspace admins will be able to turn the feature off, but other users won't have that option. You can, however, hide Time Insights by closing the bar on the right of the screen.

Time Insights is coming to certain Google Workspace accounts (i.e. Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus and Nonprofits users). It won't be available to those on other plans, including G Suite Basic and Business users. Workspace admins should see it within the next couple of weeks. Google will roll out Time Insights to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains on September 6th and 20th, respectively. The rollout will take up to 15 days on each type of domain.

Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it mistakenly told around 125,000 customers that their two-factor authentication settings had been changed. The email and SMS notifications were sent due to an "internal error" and were not the result of a hack, the company told CNBC.

Coinbase sent the false alert to users over the course of 82 minutes on Friday. It followed up with a second email stating that the message was sent by mistake. Coinbase later wrote on Twitter that a "notification delivery issue" was to blame and that it would "continue to work to gain back the trust of every one of our customers who was impacted by those notifications."

However, the issue appeared to cause confusion and concern among users, with some suspecting their accounts had been hacked. At least one person said they sold crypto worth around $60,000 because they were worried they'd lose it otherwise. 

That's an understandable concern in the wake of a CNBC report from last week, in which some Coinbase customers claimed their accounts were hacked and they couldn't contact employees for help. The company has since said it's rolling out voice and live chat support options.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga won't arrive until next spring, but another game from the franchise is coming soon — and it's an Apple Arcade exclusive. Lego Star Wars Battles is a real-time strategy game that pits players against each other in one-on-one showdowns.

You'll amass a collection of upgradable characters, troops and vehicles from all eras of the Star Wars universe. You'll be able to pit porgs against Boba Fett, for instance. Don't expect to stick to one side of the Force — you'll have a deck of light side and dark side armies, with different play styles for each. You'll have a number of abilities at your disposal too, such as Darth Vader’s Force Slam and Luke Skywalker’s Force Push.

TT Games Brighton/Warner Bros. Games/Lucasfilm Games

Battlefields will feature Lego towers that you'll build, defend, attack and use to claim territory. The locations include some familiar environments, including Hoth, Naboo and Endor.

TT Games Brighton is developing Lego Star Wars Battles, while Warner Bros. Games is the publisher. It won't be the first Lego game to hit Apple Arcade, though. Lego Brawls and Lego Builder's Journey both landed on the service in 2019. The latter was ported to PC and Nintendo Switch in June.

Apple is expanding its music streaming options after buying classical service Primephonic. Apple Music aims to release a dedicated classical music app next year, which will combine Primephonic’s user interface with some of Apple's own features.

"As a classical-only startup, we can not reach the majority of global classical listeners, especially those that listen to many other music genres as well," Primephonic wrote in a letter to users on its website. "We therefore concluded that in order to achieve our mission, we need to partner with a leading streaming service that encompasses all music genres and also shares our love for classical music."

Primephonic has closed its doors to new users and it will shut down on September 7th. Subscribers will get a prorated refund and six months of Apple Music access for free. They'll be able to listen to hundreds of thousands of classical albums while Apple builds the forthcoming app. Apple says all of those albums are available in lossless and high-res audio. Hundreds of them have spatial audio support as well.

Apple is promising Apple Music subscribers a "significantly improved classical music experience" following the deal, including Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content. In the coming months, it plans to harness the capabilities of Primephonic to offer classical music fans improved browsing and search functions. You'll be able to look for works by composer and repertoire, and see "detailed displays of classical music metadata."

“We love and have a deep respect for classical music, and Primephonic has become a fan favorite for classical enthusiasts,” Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music and Beats, said. “Together, we’re bringing great new classical features to Apple Music, and in the near future, we’ll deliver a dedicated classical experience that will truly be the best in the world.”

Jon Stewart will soon return to a screen near you to once again dissect some of the big issues of the day. His Apple TV+ series, The Problem With Jon Stewart, will premiere on September 30. Rather than airing on a nightly basis, like The Daily Show, or even weekly, new episodes will arrive every other week.

In the show, Stewart will tackle one topic per episode (similar to the much-missed Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj). He'll speak with people affected by the issue and those who were involved in it impacting others. Stewart and his guests will "discuss a more productive path towards action," Apple says.

The conversation will continue on the companion podcast, which features staff members from the series and activists working on the issue at hand. It's not clear how many episodes the first season will include, but the show is slated to run for multiple seasons.

Here's some good news if you're looking to get your hands on a Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray set without paying through the nose. It emerged this month that the anime will be released on the format in North America for the first time later this year as part of a $275 Ultimate Edition. Although that set sold out quickly, you'll still have the chance to buy a copy of the saga on Blu-ray, as there are two other options on the way from distributor GKids.

The Collector’s Edition set includes 11 discs. You'll be able to watch the the 26-episode series and the Evangelion: Death (True)² and The End of Evangelion movies in the more recent "official" dubbed and subtitled versions, or the classic dubbed or subtitled versions. There's also seven hours of bonus material — including animatics and music videos — eight art cards and a 40-page book.

Like the Ultimate Edition, the Collector's Edition package will be released on December 8th. Lock in a pre-order and it'll set you back $175, as Polygon notes, but it'll cost $220 as of the release date.

If you can't wait quite that long, or aren't willing to pony up at least three figures for a Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray set, the Standard Edition arrives a month earlier. It includes the series and both movies, along with five hours of bonus features. However, you won't get the classic dub or subtitles with this set. It costs $60, or $46 if you pre-order.

That's not all, though. As of November 2nd, you'll be able to buy digital versions of the series, Evangelion: Death (True)² and The End of Evangelion. So, if and when they vanish from Netflix, you'll still be able to find legal versions online. Meanwhile, the four Rebuild of Evangelion movies are available on Amazon Prime Video.

Pokémon fans now have even more ways to enjoy the sprawling franchise's offerings on Nintendo Switch. The Pokémon TV app has, at long last, hit the console. It includes hundreds of episodes of the Pokémon anime series, including some full seasons, as well as animated specials. 

Kids (and adults, if we're being honest) can also kick back and stream Pokémon Trading Card Game and video game competitions. They can pick up some training tips too. There's plenty for the youngest Pokémon fans as well. The Junior category includes sing-along songs, nursery rhymes and more. Content in the free app is refreshed periodically.

Pokémon TV emerged in 2010 on the brand's official website. Android and iOS apps followed in 2013.

Though the Switch eShop has hundreds and hundreds of games, there are precious few media apps. You can fire up YouTube, Hulu and Funimation but Netflix and Prime Video are nowhere to be seen (unless you jailbreak your Switch). Another streaming app from a brand that's so entwined with Nintendo's DNA could keep people hooked on their Switch for even longer. Still, it feels like the Pokémon TV app should have been on the console long before now.

Airbnb announced earlier this week that it's offering free, temporary housing to 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan. Now, it says anyone with available space who's willing to house refugees can sign up to do so — not only Airbnb hosts.

The company is funding the stays through Airbnb.org, its nonprofit that aims to provide people with a place to stay during times of crisis. The company and its co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky have donated to the efforts. Donations to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund will also help fund the program, and perhaps help cover the cost of more stays. Airbnb is waiving its fees on all refugee stays too.

Airbnb.org is working with partners including the International Rescue Committee, HIAS and Church World Service to help refugees find a place to stay. The nonprofit and Airbnb are also offering support to the federal government, as well as cities and states that have expressed openness to welcoming refugees.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says there are currently around 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees, as TechCrunch notes. Given the number of people who have attempted to flee Afghanistan since the Taliban swept the country and assumed power, there may be many more refugees who need support. Providing at least 20,000 refugees with temporary housing is a positive step to help them transition into their new lives, but Airbnb's efforts, while welcome, may prove a drop in the ocean when it comes to this humanitarian crisis.

It's been clear for a while now that gaming will play a significant role in Netflix's future, and we're starting to see that play out in the wild. The company is now testing mobile games as part of subscriptions.

Netflix confirmed to Engadget this is the first time it has tested games in its mobile app publicly, but availability is very limited at the outset. “Starting today, members in Poland can try Netflix mobile gaming on Android with two games — Stranger Things 1984 and Stranger Things 3 — all as part of their membership," a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. "It’s still very, very early days and we will be working hard to deliver the best possible experience in the months ahead with our no ads, no in-app purchases approach to gaming.”

It's worth noting you won't stream these games through the cloud. When users tap the Install Now button, they'll be taken to the Google Play Store and they can download the game to their device. You won't be able to download the games from the Play Store by searching for them directly, Netflix said.

Netflix is looking to expand the test in the coming months, including on iOS. Given that it isn't streaming the games, Netflix might avoid some of the hurdles cloud gaming services like Stadia, Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now have encountered on Apple's mobile devices. Those all run as web apps on iOS, rather than as ones you download from the App Store. Netflix's approach is a little more like Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass.