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Twitter removes iconic blue checkmarks from April 1

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Twitter is set to start removing its iconic blue checkmarks that have long been seen as prizes to be earned from April 1 — the day the world will celebrate April Fools Day.

While many people are hoping against hope, the removal of legacy checkmarks is not entirely a surprise.

In December 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company would remove those checks “in a few months” because “the way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical.”

Since the announcement, people who have a legacy blue checkmark have been receiving a pop-up every time they click on the checkmark. The pop-up reads: “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”

Prior to Elon’s takeover of the microblogging platform, checkmarks were used to verify accounts of individuals and groups as active authentic and “notable” accounts of interest.

Most importantly, the verified checkmarks were free-of-cost and users were not asked to pay for them.

However, Twitter announced in mid-December that they were rolling out Twitter blue subscription model that would allow subscribers to “get access to subscriber-only features such as Edit Tweet, 1080p video uploads and reader mode.”

Subscribers were also informed that they would receive a blue checkmark after their accounts are reviewed to ensure they meet all of the requirements.

Twitter users were informed that they could “purchase” a blue check through the subscription model for $8 per month (iOS and Android signups will cost $11 per month, due to app store costs). Twitter, at the time, also told users that other checkmark colors and badges would be available for purchase to denote whether an account is a business or a government.

Now, hours after Twitter announced that a Twitter Blue subscription was available globally for $7 (approximately Rs2,250), the platform has announced its decision to roll back the coveted checkmarks.

“On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue,” the Twitter Verified handle tweeted.

Musk, resharing the announcement also added: “Any individual person’s Twitter account affiliated with a verified organization is automatically verified.”

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Cybersecurity firm reports exposure of sensitive DeepSeek data on the internet.

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The New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz has discovered a cache of sensitive data from the Chinese artificial intelligence business DeepSeek that was mistakenly exposed to the public internet.

In a blog post released on Wednesday, Wiz reported that examinations of DeepSeek’s infrastructure revealed that the company had inadvertently exposed over a million lines of unencrypted data. The materials were digital software keys and chat logs that seemingly documented prompts transmitted from consumers to the company’s complimentary AI assistant.

The chief technical officer of Wiz stated that DeepSeek promptly safeguarded the data following the notice from his organisation.

“It was removed in under an hour,” stated Ami Luttwak. “However, this was exceedingly easy to locate, leading us to believe we are not the sole discoverers.”

DeepSeek did not promptly respond to a request for comment.

DeepSeek’s rapid success after the introduction of its AI helper has exhilarated China and incited concern in America. The Chinese company’s evident capacity to rival OpenAI’s skills at a significantly reduced cost has raised concerns regarding the viability of the business models and profit margins of U.S. AI behemoths like Nvidia and Microsoft.

By Monday, it surpassed the U.S. competitor ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s App Store, prompting a worldwide decline in technology stocks.

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WhatsApp launches bulk channel management functionality

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WhatsApp has initiated testing of a bulk channel administration feature on iOS for select beta users, enabling the simultaneous selection of many channels, hence enhancing the efficiency of managing following channels.

This essential update enables users to perform bulk activities, including muting many channels simultaneously, designating them as read, and altering notifications. If the chosen channels are muted, users will now have the option to activate notifications. Users can swiftly silence unmuted channels in one action.

Additionally, this feature enables users to unfollow many channels simultaneously, thereby optimizing the process of decluttering their channel list. This change is particularly beneficial for users that oversee numerous subscriptions, as reported by WABetaInfo.

Previously, users were required to manage each channel individually, rendering tasks such as muting or designating channels as read laborious and time-consuming.

The functionality provides enhanced flexibility and control over channel subscriptions, enabling users to efficiently manage notifications. The solution streamlines laborious operations for consumers who subscribe to numerous channels, hence enhancing their entire experience.

Accessibility
The bulk management feature is presently accessible exclusively to a limited number of beta testers who installed the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS using the TestFlight application. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, plans to expand the feature’s availability to a larger user base in the next weeks.

This update demonstrates WhatsApp’s dedication to enhancing user experience by offering a clear and efficient method for managing channels and notifications.

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Pakistani internet slowdown: ongoing submarine cable issue

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Even after two weeks, the global submarine cable AAA-1 problem that was discovered on January 2 near Qatar has not been fixed, causing sluggish internet connection in several Pakistani towns.

According to a representative for Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the issue has affected customers’ capacity to effectively access social media applications and browse the online. Even with initiatives to fix the problem, social networking sites still lag during busy times.

Internet traffic has been redirected via alternate channels to lessen the impact, and more capacity has been set up to stabilize the service.

The PTCL representative promised that “Internet service across the country is operating normally, and there will be no issues with web browsing,” noting that social media applications’ lag is common during

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