PCWorld notes that Windows 11 is getting improved privacy controls, allowing users to block specific apps from accessing cameras and microphones. Microsoft is introducing granular permission settings and a centralized dialog to manage incoming app requests, helping protect against malware and spyware. These updates address existing flaws in Windows privacy settings, making the operating system significantly safer for privacy-conscious users. Windows Latest reports that Microsoft intends to implement a long-awaited change in an upcoming Windows 11 update. The change will finally allow users to specify which individual apps can have access to the camera and microphone.

Meta's little vibe-coding app Pocket has now arrived in the US after a brief testing phase in Brazil. The app lets people generate minigames, called gizmos, via prompts. The games get published to a scrollable feed, bringing in a social media component. Users can save gizmos to a favorites list and repost gizmos to their feed. These games make full use of the capabilities available in modern smartphones.

Google is making it easier for people to support their favorite publications by introducing a new "Preferred Sources" button webmasters can add to their websites. "When readers click this button, it adds the site as a Preferred Source on Google and immediately directs them back to where they left off on the publisher's page," Google explains. After clicking the button, you'll see the publication appear more frequently Google Search, including in Top Stories, AI Overviews and AI Mode. The button formalizes something publishers, including Engadget, had been independently adding their websites for a while now. Even with referral traffic from Google declining in recent years due to products like AI Overviews and AI Mode, the company's search engine remains an important source of revenue for many media outlets.

Tesla appears to have finally allowed its Robotaxi fleet in Austin to go full driverless, according to a report by The Verge. It looks like all vehicles in the city are operating autonomously. This is many months after Elon Musk announced that they had begun operating without human safety monitors onboard. He also said that the entire fleet would remove safety drivers by, well, the end of 2025. This news isn't coming from Musk or anyone from Tesla, which gives it more credence.

I still don't know who the Googlebook is for Sorry, Google: The launch of the Googlebook is about a month away and I'm still exceptionally skeptical. In this week's Smart Mode newsletter, I explain why. I understand Chromebooks, and so do you: They're lean, efficient devices designed to surf the web without breaking the bank. But everything I've seen recently says that Google's next effort, Googlebooks, are headed in the opposite direction. Productivity begins with your choice of device, and Google's Chromebooks have been spectacular in their pursuit of efficiency.

The app now allows men to make the first move, suggesting its women-first positioning was limiting growth. It joins other dating apps now throwing everything at the wall in a bid to stay relevant. Not even 24 hours after dating app Bumble announced it was getting rid of its trademark feature that requires women to make the first move, Robin H.'s inbox was already attracting unwanted attention. "This guy responded to my prompt, and he wasn't a person I would have swiped on. I can't believe some of these men think we're a match," the 53-year-old social worker in Orlando, Florida, tells WIRED.

I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen Can MainstreamOS finally make Linux a household name? Finally, there's a Linux distro that makes Arch and Hyprland easy - while adding the polish of MacOS. What's not to love about MainstreamOS? There's finally a Linux distro that makes Arch and Hyprland easy. Mainstream OS is everything you need in a desktop.

Hot or Not Built the Internet We're Still Swiping Through The early website Hot or Not taught its users to rank people at scale. Twenty-six years later, dating apps are trying to escape the culture the site helped create. Before the internet learned to like, match, and swipe, it learned to ask one brutally simple question: hot or not? Launched in 2000, Hot or Not invited people to upload photographs of themselves and be rated by strangers on a scale from 1 to 10. It was crude, addictive, and, within weeks, one of the most visited sites on the web.

Monitoring apps promise to keep young people safer online, but looking in on kids' phones can backfire. Online safety experts say there's a better way. Pam Wisniewski's digital adolescence showed her the best and the worst of the internet. At 14, she left an abusive home, where she'd been isolated in a fifth-wheel trailer at the end of a seven-mile dirt road. She moved in with her older sister and taught herself to type on AOL Instant Messenger. Online, she sought out the support and the community she'd lacked at home. She also discovered how thin the ice can be. "I sent my address to some guy in New Mexico to send me a mug with my name on it," she recalls. "And then I found a news story like five, 10 years later that he killed somebody." Those experiences set the course of her career.

Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Safety Net Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable Selects Switch Off Trending Now In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series These fantasy football platforms let you draft, manage, and compete all season long without paying a cent to play. Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and . The NFL's regular season is fast approaching, which is good news for fans and bad news for fans' spouses.