For the last couple years, Instagram and Facebook have offered ways to see how long you spend using the apps each day as well as an option to set a daily usage time limit. Now, it seems Instagram has increased the minimum daily time limit setting to 30 minutes, up from 10 or 15 minutes.

An Instagram user told TechCrunch that the app asked them to "set a new value" for their daily time limit, though noted that they could retain their existing setting. "The available values for daily time limits are changing as part of an app update," a pop-up read. The Instagram app currently offers me a minimum time limit of 30 minutes. Engadget has asked Meta for clarification on when and why it made the change.

The settings in the Facebook app are more granular. Users can choose any time limit in increments of five minutes. When a user reaches their chosen time limit in either app, a notification pops up to tell them, though they can ignore it.  

At the time it rolled out the feature, Meta said the idea was to give people more control over the length of time they spend on its apps and to "foster conversations between parents and teens" about healthy online habits. In November, Instagram started testing a "Take a Break" feature to remind users, particularly teens, to put down their phone every so often.

It's unclear why Instagram seems to have increased the minimum daily time limit. However, the timing is interesting given Facebook daily active users dropped for the first time last quarter while user growth across Meta's family of apps (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) remained almost flat.

Meta expects slower revenue growth this year due to more competition for people's time and users paying more attention to features that generate less revenue, such as Reels. Upping the time limit, and keeping users scrolling through Instagram and viewing ads for longer, could be one way of counterbalancing those revenue concerns.

It remains to be seen what politicians may make of the move. In October, Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Meta (which was still called Facebook at the time) "knows its products can be addictive and toxic to children." Earlier this month, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the Senate with the aim of asking the Federal Trade Commission to study ways to reduce "the harm of algorithmic amplification and social media addiction on covered platforms."

Spotify announced today that it is acquiring two major podcast ad tech firms, Chartable and Podsights, in a move to expand its offerings to advertisers. Both companies offer popular tools that help brands and agencies better understand the effectiveness of their podcast ads.

In a blog post announcing the acquisitions, Spotify laid out how both companies will expand its ad platform. With Podsights, advertisers will be able to see more detailed data on who clicked on an ad and what actions they took after the fact (i.e. if they purchased the actual product). “As part of Spotify, Podsights will be able to utilize Spotify’s technology and intelligence to bring more accurate measurement and actionable insights to podcast advertisers around the world,” wrote Spotify in its post.

The Chartable acquisition seems more geared towards podcast ads about podcasts. It's two promotional tools — SmartLinks and SmartPromos — will now be available to podcasters on Spotify. SmartPromos allows podcasters to see which ads are resulting in the most downloads and essentially measure the success of their ad campaigns. SmartLinks, according to Chartable’s website, are “shareable, trackable URLs that automatically route listeners to their podcasts”. The tool allows podcasters to track both clicks and downloads.

Spotify has invested heavily in expanding its podcast offerings over the past couple of years; both by locking high-profile creators into exclusivity deals and offering podcast advertisers more bang for their buck with more detailed analytics. The Chartable acquisition in particular will build on Megaphone’s offerings; another ad tech acquisition Spotify made in 2020.

These two acquisitions are likely to sweeten the pot for both advertisers and professional podcasters looking to join Spotify. If you’ve felt that podcast ads have become more numerous over the past couple of years or so, you’re not imagining things: Spotify has expanded its ad setup with in-app ads and pre-recorded ad slots that are tailored to your listening habits. "This latest deal seems positioned to make the platform a more attractive option for brands and advertisers, and to entice podcasters without a network or salespeople of their own into Spotify's walled garden."

Facebook’s “News Feed” is no more. After more than 15 years, the company is officially renaming its central feature, which will now be known simply as “Feed.” The company announced the name change in a tweet.

The change, which comes just months after Mark Zuckerberg announced he was renaming the company to Meta, is yet another sign Facebook is trying to shift the perception of its core products. In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said the new moniker was meant “to better reflect the diverse content people see on their Feeds.” They added that the new name won’t change how the feature works in the app.

Still, the removal of "news" from the name will likely be seen as symbolic of the company's changing priorities as it looks toward a future centered on the metaverse, not its social networking app. Facebook’s handling of news stories has long been a thorny issue for the company. Company executives have for years argued that news is only a “small percentage” of what people share on the platform, and the company completely reoriented its feed in 2018 to focus on Facebook friends rather than publishers. (That change came with its own unintended consequences, according to Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. ) 

More recently, Facebook has tried to counter perceptions that polarizing content, particularly from far-right personalities, dominates its Feed. The company has published reports on “widely viewed content,” that argue political content isn’t that popular. And in response to a widely cited Twitter account that ranks the top Facebook Pages using analytics data from CrowdTangle, the company has published its own take on which publishers have the biggest reach on the platform. Those questions have also been central to researchers' fight to understand how content spreads on Facebook. Of course, a superficial name change doesn't resolve any of those issues, but it could help Facebook further bolster its claims that the company is embarking on a new era that won't be defined by the social networking app now seeing declining engagement.

With two weeks to go before its February 25th release date, Valve has published CAD files for Steam Deck’s exterior shell to GitHub. Making them available under a Creative Commons license, the company noted the release is “good news” for DIY enthusiasts, modders and most notably, accessory manufacturers. All three groups can use the provided technical drawings and schematics to 3D-print custom shells for the handheld.

As Eurogamer notes, Valve’s decision here is an interesting one. It suggests the company will allow case makers to freely make aftermarket shells for Steam Deck. In fact, Valve said it was “looking forward to seeing what the community creates!” Contrast that to the approach Sony has taken with the PlayStation 5. When Sony’s latest console first shipped and only came in one color, an entire cottage industry of companies sprang up to produce colored plates for the PS5. However, Sony quickly moved to shut down those projects before it went on to announce a set of first-party covers for people to purchase.

Tinder has launched a new feature that could bring back memories of dating in the pre-smartphone era. It's a new Fast Chat experience called Blind Date that pairs members before allowing them to view each other's profiles. Tinder says its purpose is to give users a "low-pressure way to put their personality first," since they'll have to rely on conversation to make a first impression. 

The mode, which was perhaps partly inspired by the popularity of Netflix dating show Love is Blind, pairs people up based on their answers to random icebreaker questions, such as "I put ketchup on ____." Participants then enter a timed chat with their only knowledge of each other being their answers to those questions. If they end up matching after the timer runs out, their profiles will be revealed to each other. 

Tinder says members who used Blind Date made 40 percent more matches than those using another Fast Chat feature with visible profiles in an early test. It could be a great way to meet new people a user might have otherwise ignored. But it could also be a brutal experience, as there's also the risk of getting ghosted and rejected once profiles and looks are revealed — users can always choose to get paired with someone new.

The dating app's new Blind Date feature is now available in Explore in the US and will eventually make its way to users around the world. 

Peloton laid off around 2,800 corporate employees as part of its attempt to get past its growth struggles following a meteoric rise to fame in the early days of the pandemic. Some of them are understandably upset and angry, and according to CNBC, some of them have crashed the company's first all-hands meeting meant to introduce the new CEO. 

In addition to letting 20 percent of its workforce go — no instructors were affected by the layoffs — Peloton also replaced its top executive. John Foley, who's also a company co-founder, stepped down and was replaced with former Spotify COO Barry McCarthy. CNBC says both former and current employees fired off angry comments in the meeting's chat section, with one calling the all-hands "awfully tone deaf." 

Another person proclaimed that they're selling all their Peloton apparel to be able to pay their bills. "The company messed up by allowing people who were fired into this chat," said yet another person. The meeting, attended by both Foley and McCarthy, was reportedly cut short.

Peloton was massively popular just over a year ago and even reached a market value of $50 billion in January 2021. Now, it's worth around $8 billion dollars, and bigger companies like Amazon and Nike are reportedly showing interest in acquiring the fitness equipment maker. While Peloton didn't say outright that it was planning to let people go, Foley previously said that the company "need[s] to evaluate [its] organization structure and size of [its] team" to make the business more flexible. That was part of his response to an older CNBC report claiming that the company was halting Bike and Tread production. Foley denied the rumor. 

The former CEO also didn't say whether the calls for him to be ousted were part of the reason he's stepping down. Activist investor Blackwells Capital previously accused him of misleading investors about certain information, among other things that cost the company $40 billion. "I have always thought there has to be a better CEO for Peloton than me," Foley said when McCarthy was formally named as the company's new CEO. McCarthy is expected to use his knowledge of content-driven subscription models to keep Peloton running, but he clearly has to win over his own employees first. 

Splitting a restaurant bill or dividing the costs of a group trip can be tedious. Meta is attempting to make this easier by rolling out its Split Payments feature to all Facebook Messenger users. The feature, which was previously in testing, will likely be perfect for occasions when you are dividing the cost of something with two or more people. For example, dividing the purchase of a new microwave with your three roommates, the cost of a new birthday gift for grandma with your siblings, or even this weekend’s Super Bowl party. 

If you or your friends are new to using Facebook Payments in Messenger, the feature will ask for payment details (either a debit or credit card or Paypal).

Here’s how it works. First, put all the payers in a group chat on Messenger. Then either tap the plus icon on the very bottom of the screen or tap on the name of the group and then tap “Split Payments”. You’ll see a prompt labeled “Get Started”.

From there, you can select whether you want to split payments with everyone in the group or exclude certain people (including yourself). You’ll then be asked to enter the total amount of the bill or the payment. The feature then automatically splits the cost equal between the number of people you selected. If one or more people owe slightly more, you can also manually enter in a different amount.

Meta rolling out a bill-splitting function for Meta is no doubt another way to keep up with payment apps like Venmo, Block (formerly known as Square) and Splitwise. But given that many people already use Messenger for coordinating group activities or relaying communications within a group, a messaging app may have an advantage here.

This year’s Academy Awards nominations have been revealed, and Apple TV+ execs will surely be pleased. The service’s films received six Oscar nods overall, up from two last year. Most significantly, Apple has broken through in the Best Picture category. CODA is the first Apple Original movie to receive a nomination for the top prize.

It’s the first film with a principally deaf cast to be nominated for Best Picture. It’s been 35 years since a deaf performer was nominated, and Troy Kotsur is now the first male actor to ever receive a nod, as he’s up for Best Supporting Actor.

Writer and director Sian Heder is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay — CODA is a remake of a French film called La Famille Bélier. Apple paid a Sundance record of $25 million to acquire the rights to the film, which won the Grand Jury Prize for Drama and the Audience Award at last year’s festival.

The other Apple movie that received nominations this year was Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. It earned nods for Best Actor for Denzel Washington, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design.

Elsewhere, Netflix continued the run of awards success it has had over the last few years with a whopping 35 nominations across the board. Star-studded climate change satire Don’t Look Up and Western The Power of the Dog are both nominated for Best Picture. The latter leads the pack overall with 12 nominations. Jane Campion, who received writing and directing nods, is the first woman to land two Best Director nominations. Other nominated Netflix films include The Lost Daughter, The Hand of God, Tick, Tick… Boom and the fantastic The Mitchells vs. The Machines.

Elsewhere, Dune has 10 nominations and Best Picture frontrunner Belfast received seven. Amazon’s Being the Ricardos landed three acting nods, while No Time To Die, which marks Daniel Craig's final outing as James Bond, was nominated for Original Song, Sound and Visual Effects. Meanwhile, Japanese drama Drive My Car broke through in the Best Picture and directing races for four nominations in total.

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 27th.

Amazon Prime is increasing in price for the first time since 2018. The company used its latest earnings to reveal that it's raising the fee to $15 per month (previously $13), or $139 per year (previously $119). The higher rates kick in February 18th for new customers, but they won't take effect for existing customers until they renew March 25th or later — if you were thinking of trying Prime, you might want to sign up now to lock in the current price for a year.

Amazon pinned the increase on the "continued expansion" of Prime perks along with higher wages and transportation costs. As with the last time around, you can likely blame Amazon's ever more ambitious Prime Video plans for some of the increase. According to Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming Lord of the Rings series is expected to cost $465 million just for its first season — and that's not including other big productions. Throw in the MGM acquisition and Amazon has plenty of media-related expenses.

The company can't blame the hike on financial hardship, at least. Amazon's net profit jumped nearly 57 percent in 2021 to $33.4 billion — the lingering COVID-19 pandemic has been good for Amazon's core shopping business. A surge in profit from EV maker Rivian's initial public stock offering (Amazon has a 20 percent stake) helped mask lower income in the last calendar quarter of 2021, but it's evident the company doesn't need the Prime hike in the near future.

The Prime increase might also irk people beyond Amazon's customers. The company is raising rates even as it fights workers' efforts to improve working conditions, and as it faces increasing government scrutiny of its pricing and other practices. There won't be much sympathy from some corners, then, even if Amazon does use the extra revenue to help staff.

Wordle, the once-a-day word game without ads, subscriptions or even a mobile app, has been purchased by The New York Times. If you haven’t played it, you have six chances to guess a five-letter word, with clues offered for correct letter guesses. In an interview with The Times earlier this month, creator Josh Wardle admitted the project was inspired in part by Spelling Bee, one of the paper's subscription games, which Wordle will likely appear alongside shortly.

The Times didn’t disclose the exact terms of the Wordle acquisition, though the press release says it paid "in the low seven figures." Play it while you can — or find a workaround like this, spotted by Vice.

—Mat Smith

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DICE delays 'Battlefield 2042' season one to fix 'Battlefield 2042'

The core game part.

Battlefield 2042 is rough. To address some of those shortcomings, DICE and EA have officially delayed the game's first season to early summer and will use the extra time to fix the core experience. The next BF2042 update will bring a revamped, easier-to-digest scoreboard, while better player profiles and long-awaited voice chat functionality are coming "as soon as possible."

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Google Messages begins displaying iMessage reactions as emoji

But only for beta users.

Google has started rolling out a feature for Messages that translates iMessaging Tapbacks as emoji, according to 9to5Google. The publication first discovered the experimental feature in a deep dive of the Google Messages beta app last year. It's unclear whether the feature will come out for the stable version that most of us use, but if you're using the beta app, you'll get the update that enables it soon enough.

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Peloton's $90 armband offers more comfortable heart rate tracking

It costs a little more though.

Peloton

Peloton is once again expanding its fitness equipment range with a new heart rate tracker. Its $90 Heart Rate Band straps to your arm, which could make it more comfortable and easier to use than a chest strap, which normally needs to be placed in a specific location and often needs moistened contacts to work properly. The Heart Rate Band works with Peloton's app and devices, including all Bike and Tread models as well as the Guide camera. The armband should work with other products that recognize common Bluetooth heart rate monitors, but there’s no ANT+ support — a standard in many gyms and fitness studios.

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Spotify's 'Science VS' podcast will only fact-check misinformation spread on Spotify

The creators said Spotify's support of Joe Rogan 'felt like a slap in the face.'

The host and editor of Science VS, a podcast owned by Spotify, are no longer making episodes of the show — save for those "intended to counteract misinformation being spread on Spotify." In a letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, Wendy Zukerman and Blythe Terrell said their policy would remain in place until "Spotify implements stronger methods to stop the spread of misinformation on the platform."

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Meta is winding down its low-cost Wi-Fi program for developing countries

Express Wi-Fi launched five years ago and is available in 30 countries.

Meta is ending its Express Wi-Fi program designed to provide low-cost internet in developing countries through partnerships with local communities, mobile operators and businesses. Designed to be inexpensive, starting at around 15 cents for 100MB or $5 for 20GB, Facebook partnered with satellite companies, ISPs and others in places like India, South Africa and the Philippines. 

Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported glitches in Meta's free internet services were creating unwanted charges for users in Pakistan. Meta also reportedly favored its own content on its free-data Discover service to the detriment of other sites. Meta said it plans to focus on other projects around internet access.

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