Twitter has altered the rules for its $8 Blue subscription service to prevent new accounts from getting a blue checkmark. Yesterday evening, the company edited the service's help page to add that accounts created on or after November 9th, 2022 "will be unable to subscribe to Twitter Blue at this time." The website also added that Twitter Blue is only available on iOS for users in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, with plans to expand in the future. 

While Twitter didn't explain why it's putting the restriction on new accounts, the move came after an influx of impersonators got verified by paying for the service. "Twitter's current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark is bullshit," the website's new owner, Elon Musk, tweeted earlier this month before details about the revamped subscription service were revealed. Yesterday marked the launch of the new Twitter Blue, and it allowed people to get the formerly elusive blue checkmark by paying for its perks that include instant verification. 

The internet being the internet, people quickly realized that they can pretend to be someone else and that the checkmark could help them fool unsuspecting users. A bunch of impersonators popped up on the website, including one claiming to be LeBron James who tweeted that the basketball star was requesting a trade. A fake Nintendo of America account tweeted a photo of Mario giving Twitter the middle finger, while a fake Valve account tweeted about a new competitive platform. Twitter started banning them after a few hours. The new rule could help curb the number of fake accounts, but it's unclear how Twitter plans to address the issue going forward — it can't lock new users out of Blue forever. 

While Twitter's blue checkmarks are now for sale, it has another smaller, gray checkmark reserved for public figures. It started rolling out these "official" checkmarks yesterday, but it quickly pulled them back down and will hand them out to "government and commercial entities" first. 

Google Search can help ensure that you don't miss any FIFA World Cup match you want to see when the even takes place from November 20th through December 18th. If you search "World Cup" on Google, you'll now see a dedicated section at the top with the list of upcoming matches, along with their dates and your local time. 

On mobile, either on a browser or on the Google app, you'll have the option to set up notifications for specific teams by tapping the "bell" icon at the top right corner of the screen and then choosing the squad you want to follow. You'll also be able to keep up with the score in real time anywhere you are by tapping on the match you want to track and then dragging and dropping it anywhere on your screen. 

Google

Notifications don't seem to be available for desktop, but the dedicated Google panel for the World Cup will show you in-depth stats and win probabilities across devices. When the games begin, you'll also be able to watch recap videos from FIFA+, the association's streaming service, and official broadcasters that include the BBC directly on the results page. Plus, you'll be able to play with or against fellow fans in a multiplayer game, wherein you can pick your side for a real match and score virtual goals for them. 

Google is also launching a label for businesses that can help you find a venue showing the games. For the upcoming matches, you simply have to type in "Where to watch the world cup near me?" Rather watch alone? You can also do that via YouTube TV, which will give you access to the live matches on FOX and FS1, or on Telemundo for Spanish-language broadcasts. If you have a Wear OS device, you can ask Google through your wearable to set match reminders for you and then view them all in the Agenda app. And in case you can't get enough of everything football, the tech giant is also launching a new row on Google TV's For You tab that showcases FIFA content and highlights.

The iOS 16.1.1 update Apple rolled out in China came with something extra that wasn't included in the release for other regions. According to Bloomberg, it limits the window of time a user can receive files via AirDrop from non-contacts to 10 minutes. Prior to this change, people can choose to get AirDrops from everyone indefinitely. 

As the news organization notes, activists and protesters in China have been using AirDrop as a way to circumvent the country's online censorship measures. It was widely used during Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests to share images of police brutality. More recently, protesters have been using it to spread messages opposing the Chinese government and denouncing Xi Jinping's rule. By limiting the "everyone" option, users are less likely to receive messages from random protesters. They will, after all, have to reactivate the option after every few minutes. 

This isn't the first the time Apple has introduced a feature — or, in this case, a restriction — exclusive to a certain region. That said, the tech giant has been criticized in the past for complying with rules meant to limit dissent in China and for implementing changes that would ensure it stays in the Chinese government's good graces. Apple was previously accused of handing over some of its data centers in the country to Chinese authorities. More recently, the company reportedly told Taiwanese suppliers to ensure that parts bound for the mainland don't come with "Made in Taiwan" labels. Instead, their source should be noted down as "Chinese Taipei" or "Taiwan, China." 

While Apple didn't tell Bloomberg why the limitation was introduced in the country, it told the organization that it won't remain a Chinese exclusive. It reportedly plans to roll out the new setting to all users around the world next year to "mitigate unwanted file sharing."

In 2021, Twitter launched an in-app tipping feature that people can use to send money to creators, but it needs to be connected to a third-party payment processor to work. If Elon Musk's vision for the social network comes true, though, Twitter may have a payment system of its own. 

Twitter's new owner and temporary CEO has discussed his plans for the social network in a Spaces Q&A for advertisers. One of the things he revealed is that he envisions a future wherein users can connect their bank accounts to Twitter, enabling them to send money to each other. While it will likely take a long time before we see that happen, if it actually does, The New York Times has confirmed that the company filed registration paperwork to process payments with the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) last week. 

In the Spaces discussion, Musk spoke about the feature in relation to creators. He talked about how the website needs to enable monetization for creators to entice them to post their work on the platform. "Now we can say that, okay, you've got a balance in your account, do you want to send money to someone else within Twitter?" the executive said. He also discussed how users will be able to take money out of Twitter by linking their bank accounts, hinting at a system similar to PayPal, which he helped found. The company might even offer an "extremely compelling money market account," as well as debit and credit cards, if things work well. 

This is but one of the changes Musk has planned for the social network. The $8-a-month Twitter Blue subscription that gives users access to instant account verification was one of the very first changes he implemented after taking over the company. Twitter will still verify government entities, celebrities, publishers and other public figures with a second gray "official" checkmark, but the big blue checks are now reserved for paying subscribers. This unpaid checkmark started rolling out yesterday before Twitter stopped its deployment and pulled it back to focus on "government and commercial entities" first.

LumaFusion, a well-regarded video editing app for iPhones, iPads and Macs, is finally making its way to Android and Chrome OS devices. Shortly after it won best iPad app of the year in 2021, thanks to its ability to make complex video editing easy to do using just one's fingers, LumaFusion made its Android debut on Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 devices. According to Android Police, its developer, LumaTouch, promised to put it up for download on the Galaxy Store back then while also working on a release for the Chrome OS. It took some time to make that happen, but now LumaTouch is rolling out an early access version of the app to the Google Play Store and the Samsung Galaxy Store.

The features iOS users enjoy are expected to be on the Android and Chrome OS releases, as well. LumaFusion lets users lay down up to 12 tracks, six of which can be videos, which they can link and unlink. They can use preset transitions or create their own, import media from various sources or edit directly from USB drives, as well as pick from a library of royalty-free music, sound effects, videos and backgrounds. AP says LumaTouch formed a team of Chrome OS developers to make this release happen, so the app has likely been optimized for the platform instead of being a subpar iOS port. 

LumaFusion typically costs $30, but users will be able to purchase it from the Galaxy Store and Play Store for $20 within its early access period. The listing for either platform isn't up yet, from what we can see, but it'll most likely pop up soon enough. 

Disney+ has welcomed 12.1 million new subscribers for the company's fourth fiscal quarter ending on October 1st, and according to Yahoo Finance, that's 3 million more than analyst estimates. In all, Walt Disney added 14.6 million subscriptions for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, bringing its total number of streaming subscribers so far to around 236 million. While Disney+ alone with its 164 million subscribers have yet to reach Netflix numbers, all three of the company's services combined had amassed members that can rival the streaming giant's. Netflix revealed that it has around 223.09 million subscribers during its latest earnings report in October. 

Despite the impressive growth in subscriber number, Disney's operating loss for streaming increased from $0.8 billion to $1.5 billion for the quarter. Disney+ experienced more losses within the period due to higher production and technology costs, as well as an increase in marketing expenses. There were also no Premier Access releases for the quarter, such as last year's Black Widow and Jungle Cruise. That said, the losses were offset in part by higher subscription costs, which will become even higher in December. 

Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that the company expects its streaming losses to narrow going forward, thanks to its price increases and the launch of an ad-supported tier on Disney+. The company even believes that Disney+ is on track to achieving profitability in the fiscal year of 2024, assuming the lack of a "meaningful shift in the economic climate." If you'll recall, Disney is raising its streaming prices across the board this December, and the ad-supported tier for Disney+ is launching on December 8th for $11 a month. 

Netflix has released an interactive experience that you can fire up and play with the trivia-loving members of your family these holidays. It's called Triviaverse, and it was designed to throw rapid-fire questions at you, which you'll then have to answer within a time limit. You can play it alone and contend with three rounds of increasing difficulty per try, but you can also play with a friend in a turn-based bout with two rounds each. The one who's entered the more correct answers within the time limit wins the match. 

The company says the show pulls its questions from any topic "you can imagine," from science to history to pop culture, so it would help having a wide variety of interests. You'll unlock badges the higher the score you get, including Bird Brain while you're just starting out. Keep at it for fun or for bragging rights, and you may just get the ultimate Triviaverse God title.

The streaming service has been exploring subscribers' interest in interactive content over the past few years, releasing shows and episodes you can play an active part in, such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Last year, it took a big step towards achieving its gaming ambitions and rolled out games to all Android and iOS users. And just this September, it announced that it's forming an in-house gaming studio in Helsinki, Finland to create original games that don't have ads or in-app purchases.

Netflix already has a trivia game: It launched its first interactive daily quiz show Trivia Quest earlier this year. Triviaverse has a simpler format, however, and seems like something you could do in between tasks or play with friends in between other games. The experience is available in English, Spanish (LatAm), Portuguese (Brazil), French, German, Spanish (Spain), Italian, Korean and Japanese. It's also accessible from all devices that can run Netflix's interactive experiences, including smart TVs, streaming media players, consoles, browsers and mobile devices.

Signal now has its own ephemeral Snapchat-like feature that you can use to share photos with friends. The messaging app has released the feature a month after it revealed that it was hopping on the Stories bandwagon and was already beta testing the capability. Also called "Stories," Signal's new feature lets you post photos that will remain viewable on the app for 24 hours, unless you erase them before the time is up. Signal says that like everything available on its app, Stories are end-to-end encrypted and will only be visible to the people you've chosen to share them with.

These people could be everyone in your contacts that use the app, along with anybody you've had a one-on-one conversation with or whose message request you'd accepted, even if you'd never added them. You can also create custom stories that will only be available to select viewers you choose — say, your colleagues or people with the same interests. Plus, you can share stories with existing groups. Just take note that everyone in that group will be able to see what you share, even those you'd never interacted with in individual chats. 

Seeing as Facebook and Instagram already have similar features, and Snapchat still exists, it remains to be seen whether Signal's take can get people to use the app more. Signal's Stories are now available on its Android and iOS app, and they're "coming soon" to desktop, as well. If you'd rather not see your contact's Stories, or if you're not interested in posting your own, you can alway opt out by going to Settings and toggling on "Turn off stories."

Instagram is rolling out its in-app post scheduler, allowing select users to plan their posts in advance without having to use Meta's Creator Studio or third-party services. The Meta-owned photo-and-video sharing platform is giving businesses and creators the power to schedule Reels, photos and carousels for up to 75 days within the app itself. Instagram tested the feature over the past few weeks, giving a small percentage of its global community access to the tool, before this wider (but still limited) release. 

To access the feature, eligible users will have to go to "Advanced Settings" after creating their post but before sharing it with their followers. From there, they can toggle on "Schedule this post" and select the time and date they want it to go live. They then have to navigate back to the post they were creating and click "Schedule." According to TechCrunch, which reported on the test, scheduled posts can be seen in the "Scheduled Content" section that can be accessed through the hamburger menu. The process could perhaps be simpler, but the feature eliminates the need to use the separate Creator Studio website or app for a more frictionless experience. 

Whether the feature will ever be available for ordinary users remains to be seen — Instagram hasn't mentioned anything about a full rollout. In the same post announcing its in-app scheduler, though, Instagram has launched Achievements. Creators can unlock them by taking specific actions, such as collaborating with another creator and making interactive Reels with polls and quizzes. 

It's time to bid farewell to the androids of Westworld. HBO has cancelled the sci-fi title after four seasons, even though showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy were hoping for a fifth to reach the ending they had in mind. Nolan and Joy were trying to negotiate for a last season as recently as October, but their discussions clearly did not pan out. In a statement, HBO said:

"Over the past four seasons, Lisa and [Jonathan] have taken viewers on a mind-bending odyssey, raising the bar at every step. We are tremendously grateful to them, along with their immensely talented cast, producers and crew, and all of our partners at Kilter Films, Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television. It’s been a thrill to join them on this journey."

Westworld used to be one of HBO's tentpole projects, with 54 Emmy nominations and even a win for Thandiwe Newton as Outstanding Supporting Actress. Its ratings and viewership have plummeted over the years, however, and it never quite recovered. For fans, the fact that the show hadn't been renewed immediately after the latest season ended was already a bad sign.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, approximately 12 million viewers tuned in to watch the show's critically acclaimed first season across platforms. And, while we thought that Westworldreturned to form in its third season, its numbers kept on tumbling until only 4 million viewers stuck around to watch the latest episodes. That's most likely not enough for HBO to justify a renewal. Apparently, the fourth season cost the network $160 million for eight episodes, which is more than what it spent on House of Dragons. The Game of Thrones prequel had ten episodes and averaged 29 million viewers for each one.