Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 4,000 of people who work in Google’s cafeterias have joined unions, according to a new report in The Washington Post. According to the report, “about 90 percent of total food services workers at Google” are now unionized. 

That number is particularly significant as the company’s cafeterias, like many of its peers, are overwhelmingly staffed by contract workers who don’t get the same benefits as full-time employees. Contractors across the company have pushed for higher wages and increased protections in recent months.

Cafeteria workers at Google’s Atlanta office could soon be the latest to join the ranks of unionized workers. Workers employed by a contracting firm called Sodexo reportedly told their manager they plan to unionize, and Sodexo said they would not block the move if “a majority” of workers supported it.

It’s unclear when an official agreement may be reached but a spokesperson for Unite Here, the union representing Google’s cafeteria workers, told The Post they were “hopeful that we can quickly reach an agreement on a union contract.” Other cafeteria workers at Google have already seen significant benefits since joining Unite Here. According to The Post, “the average unionized worker at a Google cafeteria makes $24 an hour, pays little to nothing for health insurance and has access to a pension plan.” By contrast, the Sodexo workers in Atlanta make $15 an hour and can spend “hundreds” on health insurance.

Instagram will automatically switch on its most restrictive content filter for any new users who are under 16 years old — and recommend that existing teen users do the same, the platform announced today in a blog post. Instagram renamed its existing content settings earlier this summer, which are now categorized as “Less”, “Standard” and “More” and allow users to limit content containing violence, sexual imagery, cosmetic procedures and other “sensitive” subjects. Only users over the age of 18 years old can access the “More” setting, which offers up the least filtered version of Instagram available to the public. (Note: This may cause confusion for some users accustomed to Instagram's older settings, where the "Limit Even More" option meant the strictest controls on content.)

Now, new Instagram users under 16 years old will have the “Less” setting turned on by default, which will affect the type of content they see throughout the platform, including in Search, Reels, suggested accounts, hashtags and in-feed recommendations. Instagram will also ask all existing teen users to perform a “settings check-up” and limit who can share their content, direct message them and what kind of content their followers can view. It’ll also ask teens if they want to update a feature that lets them limit the amount of time they spend on Instagram.

An Instagram spokesperson told Engadget that one example of the type of content that the "Less" setting would restrict (that the Standard setting would not) is video footage from a protest gone violent. The content settings only apply to accounts that teens don't currently follow. 

Growing concern over the psychological and emotional toll of Instagram for its youngest users prompted a Senate panel last year to bring in head Adam Mosseri for questioning. Ahead of the hearing, the platform unveiled new teen safety features, including one that notified users if they were spending too much time on the app and an option to automatically report that objectionable content to their parents. And earlier this year, Instagram launched parental controls that allow guardians to monitor who their teen follows and impose time limits on the app. 

Mental health experts have warned that parental controls on social media can only go so far — especially given the fact that algorithms are known to slip up and reveal risky content. Tech-savvy teens can also easily bypass such parental controls or simply view the content of their choice on a different platform or on a friend’s phone.

This recent change likely won’t be too impactful for teen users whose parents or guardians already control their accounts through Instagram’s Family Center. And for teens who are allowed to roam free on Instagram, it’s hard to imagine how many will willingly switch on the most restrictive content settings — especially if many of their peers pick the more lenient filter.

It’s official: Apple has just sent out invites for its next hardware event. As expected, the company will share what it's been working on for the past year on September 7th, with a live broadcast from Apple Park starting at 1PM ET. The invite features the words "Far out." Usually, Apple hides a subtle hint about what it plans to announce in its copy. 

The company is widely expected to announce four new iPhone models at the event. Leading up to today’s announcement, most reports have suggested the 2022 iPhone lineup will consist of a 6.1-inch iPhone 14, a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, a 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro and a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max. Apple reportedly won’t offer a new “mini” model this year due to lackluster sales of the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini.

Enhancements on the standard iPhone 14 models reportedly include the addition of more RAM, longer-lasting batteries and a better selfie camera with autofocus. Meanwhile, the Pro models are expected to feature a new design that trades away Apple’s signature display notch for a Samsung-style hole-punch front camera cutout. Additionally, the Pro variants will reportedly feature a new 48-megapixel main camera and thinner display bezels. They’re also expected to be the only models to ship with Apple’s next-generation A16 chip.

Alongside new iPhone models, Apple is also likely to refresh its entire wearable lineup. According to reports from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Apple Watch Series 8 will include a new “Pro” model that will feature a larger screen than its siblings and a more durable titanium case. It’s also expected to feature a bigger battery that could allow the wearable to go multiple days on a single charger. The entire Series 8 lineup is also expected to include a new body temperature sensor that could notify you when you’re running a fever.

Apple is not expected to announce Mac computers on September 7th. As it’s done recently, the company is likely to hold a second event later this year. Whatever Apple plans to share on September 7th, you can expect comprehensive coverage from Engadget before, during and after the event.

Instagram is testing a new feature called Candid Challenges, which bears a striking resemblance to BeReal, a photo sharing app popular among Gen. Z. The currently unreleased feature was spotted by Alessandro Paluzzi, a developer known for reverse engineering apps and finding early versions of upcoming updates. An Instagram spokesperson confirmed the feature is an "internal prototype," but declined to provide additional details.

According to Paluzzi, Instagram users participating in Candid Challenges will see a notification at a different time each day to snap a photo of their surroundings. Upon getting the prompt, the Instagram camera will also open with both front and rear-facing shooters, and give users a two-minute window to snap a pic. Content shared via the challenges will appear in the Stories tray.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because the functionality sounds nearly identical to BeReal, a selfie app marketed as a more candid and authentic alternative to mainstream social media platforms. The app, which originally launched in 2019, also prompts users to take a photo using their phone’s front and rear-facing cameras at a random time each day. The daily prompts also expire after two minutes, after which users can view all the photos shared by their friends that day.

It's not yet clear if or when Instagram intends to launch the feature. An Instagram spokesperson described the feature as an "internal prototype" that's "not testing externally." But the fact that the company is testing the functionality suggests it's at least considering replicating the app inside of its own service.

BeReal has a big following among Gen. Z, and has been rising in popularity over the last several months. BeReal is currently sitting in the top position in Apple's App Store, ahead of both Instagram (No. 8) and Facebook (No. 18). It's been among the ten most-popular free apps for much of this summer. 

Mark Zuckerberg has said Meta’s future relies on appealing to young adults, who are increasingly spending their time on non-Meta platforms. And while TikTok is currently its top competitor, the company is known to closely monitor its rivals and has often copied features from other services. Instagram also recently added a new "Dual" setting to its in-app camera that mimics the shooting style popularized by BeReal.

Embracer, the mega game publisher that's been snapping up new properties left and right, has made a deal to acquire the intellectual property catalogue and worldwide rights to various JRR Tolkien-related media and merch. To be precise, it will own the rights to "motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks and stage productions" based on the The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit if the deal pushes through. It will also own the rights tied to any future literary work related to LOTR and The Hobbit that's authorized by the Tolkien Estate.

This isn't the first Tolkien-related purchase Embracer has made: Back in 2021, it bought the board game publisher Asmodee, which has published over a dozen LOTR board games over the past 20 years. And if the acquisition goes through, Embracer will work with Amazon on The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series that will start streaming on September 2nd.

In addition to starting the process of acquiring Middle-earth Enterprises — that's the team that currently owns the IP rights to Tolkien-related merch — Embracer has also announced that it's purchasing more game studios. The biggest name in its latest list of acquisitions is Tripwire Interactive, which is known for the co-op survival horror Killing Floor and the third-person shark sim Maneater.

Embracer, founded in 2008 by Swedish entrepreneur Lars Wingefors, has been quietly buying up game studios over the past few years. We called it the "biggest games publisher you've never heard of," though it's recently been gaining recognition as it continues to add more and more developers under its umbrella. Back in May, it entered a deal to acquire several studios with a catalogue of IPs that include "Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain and more than 50 back-catalogue games from Square Enix Holdings." That deal will cost Embracer $300 million — the company didn't reveal how much it will pay to acquire the rights to Tolkien-related media.

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in a town located southeast of Albany, New York have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election. The warehouse, with the codename ALB1, is hoping to join the Amazon Labor Union, which successfully convinced majority of workers at the company's JFK8 facility in Staten Island to vote in favor of unionizing earlier this year. An NLRB spokesperson told CNBC that the agency's office in Buffalo is currently verifying whether the group has truly met the minimum number of signatures needed to hold an election.

Unions typically need to get signatures from 30 percent of eligible members to be able to hold a vote. According to The Washington Post, the ALU previously said that it had passed that threshold for the Albany warehouse. Union organizers at the facility have been working on joining the ALU for months. After Amazon noticed their efforts, the company reportedly held meetings to discourage workers from unionizing. An employee also sent us photos of digital TVs at the Albany facility displaying anti-union messages. To be precise, the messages discouraged people from signing a "card" from the ALU, pertaining to the authorization cards workers have to sign for the warehouse to be able to hold a vote.

The ALU has been demanding for higher pay and safer working conditions for warehouse workers and has previously accused the company of retaliation. A few weeks after it won the election in Staten Island, Amazon fired two of the employees who were involved in its organization efforts. Their fellow organizers believed that it was a retaliatory move by the e-commerce giant. Heather Goodall, a lead organizer at ALB1, said: "The main concerns I hear from workers are about wages and safety. Besides that, there’s no job security. There’s no way to rest on a 15-minute break. Workers want to be able to use the bathroom freely."

Amazon has long made it clear that it is against workers' unionization efforts. A spokesperson told The Post: “As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees. Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work." The company also appealed ALU's victory in Staten Island, accusing organizers of pressuring workers to vote in favor unionizing. A hearing for Amazon's appeal could be announced sometime this month.

Peloton may soon allow users of competing fitness equipment to stream its workouts to their bikes and treadmills. In an interview with Bloomberg, CEO Barry McCarthy said the company is “rethinking” its digital strategy. As a first step, Peloton could adopt a freemium model that would see the company begin offering some features and workouts found in its mobile and TV app for free. Currently, the software costs $13 per month after a 30-day trial.

In the future, people with stationary bikes or treadmills from companies like Bowflex, Echelon and NordicTrack could also stream Peloton's content to their equipment’s display. McCarthy didn’t say how deeply the company's software would integrate with competing models. For instance, it’s not clear if you would see in-workout metrics like you do on a Peloton bike or treadmill.

McCarthy also told Bloomberg Peloton plans to redesign its bikes to make it possible for customers to assemble them at home. At the moment, the company has a professional come to your house or apartment to help with setup. “We’ve been working on it for a while, and it’s a real thing,” he said. “We’ll continue to cost-reduce the hardware and we will engineer it so that you can assemble it, so that we can ship it via FedEx.”

The moves come as Peloton struggles to regain profitability. Following a $757 million net loss in the first three months of 2022, the company raised prices and laid off 784 employees (after it previously cut 2,800 jobs). The idea that Peloton would let you access its software on competing hardware would have seemed unthinkable only a year ago, but with its very survival now on the line, it’s doing what it has to do to stay afloat.

You might not have to brave crowded stores to get your child's back-to-school gear. Uber Eats now offers deliveries of office and school supplies from roughly 900 Office Depot and OfficeMax stores across the US. If you need a flurry of binders and pencils for your little one's classes, you can have them delivered during your lunch break.

Not surprisingly, you'll avoid the delivery fee and receive a 5 percent discount if you're an Uber One subscriber who spends at least $15 on a purchase. Uber didn't say if other office supply shops would be available, but did note this was the "first."

It may seem odd to order school material through the same app that handles your takeout meals. However, Uber has gradually expanded its deliveries to cover goods ranging from groceries to pharmaceuticals — like DoorDash, Eats is becoming more of a general delivery service. In theory, you'll pick Uber Eats over rivals like Amazon Prime Now whenever you need something shipped in minutes, not hours or days.

Nearly nine months after Congress passed President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill, the federal government has yet to allocate any of the $42.5 billion in funding the legislation set aside for expanding broadband service in underserved communities, according to The Wall Street Journal. Under the law, the Commerce Department can’t release that money until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) publishes new coverage maps that more accurately show homes and businesses that don’t have access to high-speed internet.

Inaccurate coverage data has long derailed efforts by the federal government to address the rural broadband divide. The previous system the FCC used to map internet availability relied on Form 477 filings from service providers. Those documents have been known for their errors and exaggerations. In 2020, Congress began requiring the FCC to collect more robust coverage data as part of the Broadband DATA Act. However, it wasn’t until early 2021 that lawmakers funded the mandate and in August of that same year that the Commission published its first updated map.

Following a contractor dispute, the FCC will publish its latest maps sometime in mid-November. Once they're available, both consumers and companies will a chance to challenge the agency’s data. As a result of that extra step, funding from the broadband plan likely won’t begin making its way to ISPs until the end of 2023, according to one analyst The Journal interviewed.

“We understand the urgency of getting broadband out there to everyone quickly,” Alan Davidson, the head of the Commerce Department unit responsible for allocating the funding, told the Journal. “We also know that we get one shot at this and we want to make sure we do it right.”

Uber is discontinuing its free loyalty program. On a support page spotted by The Verge, the company said it would shut down Uber Rewards on November 1st. Users have until the end of August to earn points, with the final day to redeem rewards falling on October 31st.

Announced in 2018, Uber Rewards gave customers the opportunity to earn points on every Uber and Uber Eats transaction. The program has four membership levels, with members unlocking new perks at each stage. Platinum level, for instance, includes protection against price surging and priority pick-ups at airports. Uber won’t offer a direct replacement for Uber Rewards. Instead, the company plans to promote its paid Uber One membership program. The $10 per month service comes with perks like free Uber Eats deliveries and five percent off rides from top-rated Uber drivers.

“Thank you for being part of Uber Rewards,” the company said in email about the shutdown. “It’s been a great ride, but we’ve decided to end Rewards soon, as we shift our focus to our new Uber One membership program.” Uber will give existing Rewards users a free one-month trial to Uber One. Once that period is over, you’ll need to subscribe if you want keep the benefits associated with the program.