Say 'bye' to Mark Zuckerberg: How to delete your Instagram account.

It’s easy to say “goodbye” to Facebook. Most of your friends left long ago and you’re already trying to avoid your conspiracy theory-posting great aunt like the plague. However, Facebook is just one part of Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking giant, Meta. And you very likely use one of its other popular, more media-centric platforms.That’s right, I’m talking about Instagram. SEE ALSO: Can the government regulate what you say on Facebook? Meta’s photo and video sharing social network, Instagram, can be just as toxic as its sister site Facebook. All those big problems Facebook has, well, Instagram’s got them too: Disinformation, fake followers, foreign influence campaigns, NFTs, scams, surveillance, just to name a few of their shared issues. And I didn’t even touch on Instagram’s problem of feeding you photo after photo of privileged travel influencers living lavishly in exotic locales while you’re typing away in a dull office.If you already got rid of Facebook for those reasons, maybe it’s time to say “goodbye” to the rest of Meta as well. How to delete InstagramFirst things first: If you’re looking for a delete button somewhere in the menus on your Instagram mobile app (you know, the thing most people use to surf and post on Instagram), you can stop. You cannot delete your Instagram account via the mobile app. You can only delete your account by logging into Instagram from your desktop or mobile browser.1. Download your Instagram data firstBut before we get to deleting your account, you may want to…Say 'bye' to Mark Zuckerberg: How to delete your Instagram account.

BeReal has 10 months left before it runs out of money

BeReal is in a real bind.According to Business Insider, employees were told at a February all-hands meeting that the app had about ten months of runway left before running out of money. While BeReal has maintained a relatively low head count of 60 employees, its server costs are significant. Now, leadership is scrambling to make the app appealing to investors. SEE ALSO: BeReal unveils its latest attempt to Be Relevant again BeReal’s unique, in-the-moment photo-sharing feature transformed it into a cultural phenomenon at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Heralded as the “anti-Instagram,” the company reached a valuation of $600 million in 2022 after securing $90 million in funding that same year. But the app’s growth has since slowed, even after an attempt to diversify its appeal by adding new features in 2023. According to internal metrics shared with Business Insider, BeReal currently has 40 million monthly active users and 25 million daily active users, up from 20 million in 2022. But sources said that jump is unimpressive in the eyes of investors and that the company was struggling to drum up interest in funding. Leadership also told employees that “We’re talking to some of the biggest tech companies in the world” about a potential acquisition. But if a solution doesn’t present itself soon, BeReal may be doomed — like the photos on the app — to disappear.BeReal has 10 months left before it runs out of money

Australia and Argentina: Cash and Chaos

Dateline: Berlin, 14th March 2024.The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Consumer Payment Survey showed that in the past three years the percentage of Australians paying with cash has halved from around a quarter of total payments to just one eighth. A great many Aussies never use cash from one month’s end to the next: for example Ellysha Gillespie, who received thousands of dollars in cash when she got married: She quickly banked all the money, saying the only time she uses cash is when the POS machine at her nail salon has stopped working.(If I was running a nail salon I wouldn’t bother with a POS at all, I’d just use a softPOS on my phone, but that’s for another day.)With cash payments vanishing you would think the amount of cash out there would be collapsing. Indeed, in a speech last year, the Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe noted that while the value of cash withdrawals was down by 17 per cent from where it was three years ago, during which time nominal spending in the economy had risen by 27 per cent. So cash is vanishing? Well, no. According to the Reserve Bank’s own data. there are now more than two billion Australian Dollar out there, around A$4,000 per Aussie.Subscribe nowShow me the MoneyIt’s the same in many other countries where people are beginning to question what all this cash is being used for, when it is being used less and less for transactions. Luke Raven, senior anti-money laundering compliance manager at Cabital,…Australia and Argentina: Cash and Chaos

Elon Musk kills Don Lemon's unaired X show after interview with the former CNN host

X’s big pivot to video will need to go on now without one of the three original shows it boasted about earlier this year.Former CNN host Don Lemon announced via a post on the platform, formerly known as Twitter, that Elon Musk canceled his upcoming exclusive show on X – just hours after Musk sat down with Lemon for an interview being filmed for the very first episode. Tweet may have been deleted “Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform,” Lemon said in a lengthy statement on his X account. “He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday.” SEE ALSO: OpenAI shares Elon Musk’s emails, says he wanted ‘full control’ of the company Lemon’s previous post on X, published the day before, featuring a photo of Lemon sitting with Musk for the interview without any mention of the cancelation. Tweet may have been deleted According to journalist Kara Swisher, Musk texted Lemon’s representatives shortly after the interview on Friday saying “Contract terminated.” However, Semafor reports that there was actually no signed contract to terminate, meaning Lemon’s deal with X was still being finalized. Swisher says the deal between Lemon and X was worth millions of dollars and the company will still have to pay the former CNN host as part of the terms. It’s currently unconfirmed that an interview that apparently irked Musk…Elon Musk kills Don Lemon's unaired X show after interview with the former CNN host

Bluesky is letting users customize how content is moderated

Social platform Bluesky is open-sourcing its moderation tool Ozone, allowing users to choose exactly how the content on their timelines is moderated. With the introduction of Ozone, Bluesky is allowing individuals and teams to run their own independent moderation services that can be integrated into the Bluesky app. Essentially, people will be able to install filters from these services, giving Bluesky frequenters the ability to create a tailored feed. This will be available in addition to Bluesky’s built-in moderation service, alongside its existing community guidelines, each layer being a part of Bluesky’s “stackable approach” to moderation. Users can customize exactly what they want to see as they scroll. Credit: Bluesky. The app provided the example of a “Spider Shield” filter, which would essentially mean installing a moderation filter that would protect a person’s feed from seeing any spiders, if that’s something they’d want to prevent. With these filters, you can also “recruit others” who want to screen the same kind of content, building a moderation tool around any niche content together. SEE ALSO: Bluesky officially opens to everyone, no invite code needed Currently, the tool is available on the desktop version of the app and will soon be rolling out to mobile. Ozone has been open-sourced as of yesterday, and the moderation tools can be enabled later this week.”On an open social network like Bluesky, you can shape your experience for yourself,” reads the social platform’s blog post. “One team will never be perfect at moderation and curation for the…Bluesky is letting users customize how content is moderated

SXSW: Positive+1 is more than just a social media app

SXSW’s Creative Industry Expo has offered some interesting and WTF tech this year. For us, however, one of the standouts on the floor was Positive+1. SEE ALSO: SXSW 2024: 3 WTF tech products, including an AI Marilyn Monroe The UK-based social media app, founded by Christian Mercer-Hall, is an online social networking platform that offers sanctuary for those affected by HIV. Positive+1 provides a mix of connection, education, and genuine support that goes beyond the screen.Launched in November 2023, the app is in its early days. At just over 5,000 users, according to Head of PR Lyle McAdam, the platform is meant to bring together individuals living with HIV, their loved ones, and professionals working within the field. Thus Mercer-Hall’s goal is to create a “vibrant and diverse community” built on shared understanding.The app — eight years in the making — is the first of its kind for those affected by HIV. What makes it unique from other apps for the HIV community is that Positive+1 is a resource center with the connectivity of social networking. According to McAdam, whom I spoke with at SXSW, it’s a place where people with HIV and their supporters can meet, share knowledge, find important resources, and make genuine connections with others who get what they’re going through.Education plays a crucial role in the response to HIV. According to KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation), “approximately 39 million people are currently living with HIV, and tens of millions of people have died of AIDS-related…SXSW: Positive+1 is more than just a social media app

Courts and Consensus, Satoshi and Salome

Dateline: San Francisco, 8th March 2024.There’s a massive crypto case being tried in London’s Royal Courts of Justice right now. The case centres on whether the Australian cryptographer Craig Wright is, as he claims, the famous and elusive Satoshi Nakamoto, inventor of Bitcoin. I am not a lawyer, nor am I a cryptographer, but from the outside his defence seems to be creaking. In witness statements submitted to the court ahead of the trial, people who Wired magazine dubbed “Bitcoin Royalty” (including Adam Back, Mike Hearn, Martti Malmi and Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn) provided testimony to support the view that Mr. Wright is wrong to claim to be the originator of the cryptocurrency.ShareNew York NewsMy good friend Rory Cellan-Jones writes entertaingly about his part in this story. Rory explains that in 2016 he was contacted as the BBC’s Technology Correspondent, one of three journalists called by a PR agency and given the irresistible scoop of lifetime: the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.Subscribe nowAs it happens, I had a bit part in this, because Rory called me (at 4am, he didn’t know I was in New York) to ask for my opinion on Wright’s claims. I told him that I read up on the claims and get back to him. I set about googling and trying to understand what exactly had or had not been demonstrated in Rory’s presence.Now, the reason that I was in New York was that I was attending Consensus 2016, a major cryptocurrency conference. I went to learn from leaders in the field…Courts and Consensus, Satoshi and Salome

TikTok users bombard Congress with phone calls to save their favorite app

TikTok, the massively popular mobile viral video platform, has gone on the offensive to stop Congress from implementing a “total ban on TikTok.” Users in the U.S., which account for more than 170 million monthly active TikTok users, were served a pop-up message on Thursday urging them to call their representatives in Congress to voice their opposition to a bill that would ban the app in the U.S. SEE ALSO: Democrats score a major political win…over Disney and Hulu And it appears these pop-ups worked. Congress has been bombarded with phone calls from TikTok users of all ages standing up for their favorite social media platform.”Kids literally told our office they were calling from recess earlier today,” one Congressional staffer told Mashable. The staffer asked to remain anonymous because they were communicating to the press without permission through unofficial channels.While the callers’ demographics may skew younger than usual, TikTok users of all ages responded to TikTok’s call-to-action.“It’s so so bad. Our phones have not stopped ringing,” said one GOP staffer in a report from Politico. “They’re teenagers and old people saying they spend their whole day on the app and we can’t take it away.”One staffer told the outlet that their office surpassed 1,000 calls specifically concerning the TikTok bill.However, while Politico’s report focused on Republicans, Mashable’s source emphasized that Democratic members of Congress were hearing from TikTok users too. “It’s everyone,” the Congressional staffer told Mashable, and added, “The calls are OVERWHELMINGLY from children.”The bill to ban TikTokTikTok is using…TikTok users bombard Congress with phone calls to save their favorite app

Elon Musk's X has already backed off its new anti-trans hate policy

X, formerly known as Twitter, has already backed off its new policy that discouraged – but did not prohibit – anti-trans hate and harassment against transgender users on the platform, just days after rolling it out.On Thursday, X updated its “Abuse and Harassment” policy to add a new section called “Use of Prior Names and Pronouns.” According to this updated policy, a post would receive reduced visibility if it misgendered a user or used their former name and the targeted user reported the post. SEE ALSO: Elon Musk’s X has a new policy that discourages — but doesn’t prohibit — anti-trans hate However, over the past 24 hours, this new policy has already been changed. And the update completely alters how the policy is enforced.Here are the original terms of the new policy, first reported last Thursday:”We will reduce the visibility of posts that purposefully use different pronouns to address someone other than what that person uses for themselves, or that use a previous name that someone no longer goes by as part of their transition. Given the complexity of determining whether such a violation has occurred, we must always hear from the target to determine if a violation has occurred.”And here are the updated terms of the new policy, with the new wording bold and italicized by Mashable, which appears to have been updated sometime over the past day:”Where required by local laws, we will reduce the visibility of posts that purposefully use different pronouns to address someone other…Elon Musk's X has already backed off its new anti-trans hate policy

How to stay anonymous on LinkedIn

Yes, you can be anonymous on LinkedIn. Also, if you didn’t know, other users may be able to see when you viewed their profile. Kinda creepy, right?But going anonymous is a perfect feature for checking out other profiles who may have reached out to you. Using this feature, LinkedIn won’t let them know that you viewed them. And if anyone finds your profile while you’re browsing LinkedIn as anonymous, they won’t be able to see your profile picture or other personal information. SEE ALSO: How to see who viewed your LinkedIn profile However, if you browse in private mode you also won’t be able to see who has viewed your profile, unless you upgrade to Premium. So how do you do you go full anonymous mode on LinkedIn? Follow these steps.How to switch to anonymous browsing on LinkedIn Total Time 2 min What You Need Smartphone or laptop LinkedIn account Step 1: Log in to your LinkedIn profile. Step 2: Find where it says “Me” at the very top and click the dropdown arrow. Find “Me” at the top of the page Credit: linkedin Step 3: Select “Settings & Privacy” under “Account.” Select “Settings and privacy” in the dropdown menu Credit: linkedin Step 4: In the menu on the left, select “Visibility.” These settings will allow you to have control over who can see your profile and personal info. Select “Visibility” on the left Credit: linkedin Step 5: Select “Profile viewing options.” After clicking “Visibility” in the menu on the…How to stay anonymous on LinkedIn