Snapchat's messaging and video chat features first made their way to browsers back in July, but only in select markets and for Snapchat+ subscribers. Now, Snapchat for Web is finally available for all the messaging app's users worldwide. It could be the better choice for users who have a lot of typing to do and messages to send, since they'll be looking at a bigger screen and have access to a real keyboard. 

The web interface is pretty basic, but it can also be used to send photos and to make audio and video calls. A company spokesperson previously told us that video calling has become more popular among its users recently. Giving users access to the feature on the web could lead to longer video calls. The spokesperson also told us that Snap could bring more of its core features to the web interface if there's enough demand for them. 

In addition, Snap has launched lock screen widgets for the iPhone now that iOS 16 has come out. The widgets allow users to create shortcuts for the conversations they want — perhaps for people they frequently talk to — so they can fire up chats from their screen in one tap. 

Speaking of shortcuts, the Snapchat app will feature new shortcuts at the top of its chat page. They'll make it easy for users to get to unread Snaps, chats from friend and replies to stories. They will also show reminders for birthdays or for conversations that users haven't replied to yet. Finally, Snap has introduced Question Stickers that users can post to their stories and Snaps. The company said these features will roll out to users soon if they haven't yet.

Microsoft has released a new version of the Xbox app for PC. The September update adds HowLongToBeat integration. If you’re not familiar with the website, it’s a resource where you can find out how much time you may need to complete a specific game. What makes HowLongToBeat so helpful is that it has separate estimates for players with different playstyles.

Using Red Dead Redemption 2 as an example, HowLongToBeat estimates most people will need about 50 hours to complete the main story, and another 30 or so hours to play through the game’s side content. If you want to see everything RDR2 has to offer, that will take about 174 hours.

Microsoft suggests the integration will make it easier to decide what game you want to play next since you’ll have a better idea of the time commitment it wants from you. The company also notes you can click “View Details” to submit your own play times and help other players decide how to spend their time.

Even if you don’t end up using the HowLongToBeat integration much, the September update will help you save time. According to Microsoft, the Xbox app is now 15 percent faster at launching. Additionally, there should be significantly fewer instances of crashes and games failing to download or install successfully. Lastly, the search functionality should produce results about 20 percent faster.

Zoom may have ambitions to expand its business beyond video calling. According to The Information, the company has spent much of the past two years developing its own email and calendar clients. Known internally as Zmail and Zcal, Zoom could announce the apps at its annual Zoomtopia conference in November. Zoom did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment.

You’re probably asking yourself, does the world need another productivity suite? Looking at it from Zoom’s perspective, The Information suggests the company may see the apps as essential to its survival. At first glance, Zoom is doing better than most pandemic darlings, having recently recorded $1.1 billion in quarterly revenue. But beneath those results, the company has seen growth slow and its stock price drop to pre-pandemic levels.

It also finds itself in the same situation a lot of companies competing against Google and Microsoft have had to tackle recently. One significant weakness of Zoom is that many businesses use the app in conjunction with Workspace and Office 365. Those are comprehensive suites that can cover the majority of a company's productivity needs. In a market where businesses are constantly looking to cut costs, that’s not a good position to be in. At the same time, it’s hard to see how email and calendar clients help Zoom beat back its competitors when Google and Microsoft have spent years polishing Gmail and Outlook and those products dominate the market.

Flo's anonymous mode has arrived. The period tracker promised to launch the new mode shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a bid to assuage privacy-related fears. Activists and privacy advocates cast a spotlight on period tracking apps on the heels of the Supreme Court's decision, warning users that the data they collect could be used for investigations into people seeking abortion services. They urged users to delete those apps, especially if they live in states where abortion is now outlawed.

The new anonymous mode allows people to use Flo without having to type in a name, an email address or any other kind of identifier. Flo teamed up with Cloudflare, the same company that Apple worked with for the iCloud Private Relay, to ensure that it can give users "as much privacy as possible." The company clarified it doesn't sell identifiable health data but that it wanted to make the mode available "to reassure users who are living in states affected by an abortion ban." 

An anonymous mode is certainly welcome, especially for those who remember Flo's spotty history when it comes to privacy. Back in 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported it was sharing sensitive user data, including information on whether someone was trying to get pregnant, with Facebook, Google and other third-party apps.

Since any information fed to the app while anonymous won't be linked to an identifier, it will be gone completely if the device gets lost. It also can't be transferred to a new device and only essential data, such as cycles and symptoms, can get copied into a new account. Users can designate an access code for an extra layer of protection, as well, though they'll totally lose access to their information if they forget it. In other words, it can be pretty easy to lose access to data while in anonymous mode, which is why users have to actively choose to switch it on. 

The period tracker's anonymous mode is now available for iOS users and will make its way to Android devices in October.

Flo

Alongside iOS 16, Apple has released watchOS 9. To install the update on your smartwatch, you'll first need to download iOS 16 on your iPhone. You can do that by opening the Settings app and then tapping "General," followed by "Software" and lastly "Update." If you own an Apple Watch Series 3, you won't get access to the software as Apple is dropping support for its 2017 wearable. It's also worth noting that not every watchOS 9 feature will be available on every Apple Watch and in every region.  

As with past updates, fitness is a major focus of watchOS 9. You'll now see your heart rate zones when working out and reviewing your sleep patterns. There's also support for multisport workouts and a way to monitor your personal best performances. Additionally, you can set up to the software to remind you to take your medications. Other new features include a redesigned interface for Siri, Quick actions and a handful of new watch faces.

The wait is over. Apple has released iOS 16 to the public. You can download the latest version of the company's mobile operating system by opening the Settings app on your iPhone and tapping on "General," followed by "Software" and then "Update." The software is available on the iPhone 8 and later. 

The theme of iOS 16 is personalization. Apple redesigned the iPhone's lock screen to give you more control over the interface. You can now tweak the typeface and accent color of the on-screen clock and date to more closely match your wallpaper. Additionally, you can add widgets to your home screen and change the information that's displayed toward the top of the screen. It's now also possible to create multiple lock screens and tie them to specific focus modes. Complementing those changes are redesigned notifications that support a feature called Live Activities that makes it easier to track things like scores and Uber rides.         

Other notable new features include the ability to edit and unsend messages in iMessage. You can also mark texts as unread to remind you to read them later. On the iPhone XS and later, you can use the Photos app to copy an object from an image and paste it somewhere else without a background. Apple has also added support for passkeys to add an extra layer of security to your online credentials. Passkeys will work with non-Apple products and they're available through your iCloud Keychain.

One thing to note about today's update is that iPadOS 16 will arrive at a later date to give Apple more time to polish the software's Stage Manager feature. 

Parler, the app that's largely associated with Donald Trump supporters, conservatives and far-right extremists, is once again available for download via the Google Play Store. Billing itself as a "free speech network", Parler was banned and removed from the Android app store in January [2021] after the US Capitol insurrection. A Google spokesperson said at the time that the removal was due to the app's lack of "moderation policies and enforcement that remove egregious content like posts that incite violence." 

A Google spokesperson said "As we've long stated, apps are able to appear on Google Play provided they comply with Play’s developer policies. All apps on Google Play that feature user generated content (UGC) are required to implement robust moderation practices that prohibit objectionable content, provide an in-app system for reporting objectionable UGC, take action against that UGC where appropriate, and remove or block abusive users who violate the app's terms of use and/or user policy."

Parler has made substantial modifications to its app to comply with Google's policies. Bloomberg and Axios have reported that the apps' developers have implemented policies to moderate content and remove posts that incite violence, which made it compliant with Google's requirements. Despite its suspension and delisting from the Android app store, people could still download Parler from the company's website and continue to use it.

Parler was reinstated to the iOS app store in May this year, after modifying its AI-based moderation tool to hide content it identifies as "hate." Donald Trump's "Truth Social" has been available on the iOS store since February, though it has yet to launch on Android. Google reportedly has yet to approve that app due to concerns over its violations of standards and inadequate moderation policies.

When you search for "Philips Hue" on your phone's app store, a few options will pop out. Now, Signify has announced that it's making things a bit less confusing by merging the Philips Hue sync app into the main Hue app sometime in the fourth quarter. The Philips Hue sync app controls the ecosystem's sync box, which you can use to connect four devices to your setup via HDMI. That box is what you need if, say, you want to sync your smart lights with what's playing on your TV. 

With the sync app's integration, you can set up the sync box, as well as enable features such as voice control for it, within the main Hue app. Signify said it will phase out the standalone sync app, though it didn't say when exactly it would be pulled out from app stores.

In addition to announcing the applications' merging, Signify has also added a handful of new smart lighting products to its Philips Hue lineup. The new Lightguide bulbs have a distinct inner tube that can diffuse light in any color. They will be available in thee different shapes, namely large globe, ellipsis and triangular, and can be sold with a black or white fabric-wrapped cord and holder. Not including the cords, the bulbs will be available in the fourth quarter of 2022 for prices starting at £75 (US$87). 

Signify has also launched a new vintage-style Philips Hue Filament candle bulb that's capable of diffusing dimmable warm-to-cool white light, as well as a new gradient lightstrip for PC that will be available on September 13th in the UK for prices starting at £130 (US$151). Speaking of PC lighting, the company has teamed up with Corsair to give you a way to sync the lighting on your peripherals with your Hue lights via the Corsair iCUE software. Finally, in the fourth quarter of this year, the company will roll out the capability to sync your smart lights with songs playing out of a Samsung Galaxy smartphone or tablet. The Music Sync feature will be available through a future update for Samsung's SmartThings app.

Signify

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp could soon have specialized features available only to users willing to pay for them. Meta is forming a new division called New Monetization Experiences that will be solely focused on paid features for the company’s app, according to a memo reported byThe Verge.

Wile Facebook and Instagram already have a number of paid features that cater to creators, like Stars, paid events and various subscription products, it sounds like the new division at Meta will be separate from those initiatives. (Of note, Meta had pledged not to take a cut of creator earnings until 2023.)

It’s not clear what type of paid features might come out of the effort, but Meta’s VP of monetization John Hegeman told The Verge the company is keeping a close eye on its industry peers. Twitter, Snapchat and Telegram have all recently launched monthly subscriptions that unlock exclusive features and other in-app perks for paid subscribers.

Paid features could help Meta find new sources of non-advertising revenue. The company’s multibillion-dollar advertising business has taken a significant hit of late due to iOS privacy changes and an economic downturn that’s also affected its competitors.

Apple has released an iOS 12 update users of older iPhone and iPad devices should download as soon as possible. The new version of the company’s 2018 operating system addresses a major vulnerability that Apple recently patched within iOS 15. According to a support document, the WebKit flaw could have allowed a website to run malicious code on your device. In its usual terse manner, Apple notes it is “aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.”

For that reason, you should download the update as soon as possible if you’re still using an iOS 12 device. That’s a list that includes the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, as well as iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3. You can download iOS 12.5.6 by opening the Settings app, tapping on “General” and then selecting “Software Update.”