Apple and Google agree to change app stores after'effective duopoly' claim Apple and Google have agreed to make changes to their app stores in the UK following an intervention from the UK markets regulator. According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the tech giants have committed to not giving preferential treatment to their own apps and will be transparent about how others are approved for sale, among other agreements. It comes seven months after the regulator said Apple and Google had an effective duopoly in the UK over their dominance in the sector. The CMA's head Sarah Cardell said the proposed commitments will boost the UK's app economy and were the first of many measures. The ability to secure immediate commitments from Apple and Google reflects the unique flexibility of the UK digital markets competition regime and offers a practical route to swiftly address the concerns we've identified, she said.

Months after major data leaks, the app where women leave Yelp-style reviews about men is relaunching with a new website. It's not back on iOS, but the Android app has new AI features. The embattled Tea app is back. Months after being removed from Apple's App Store in light of major data breaches, the app that allows women to share anonymous Yelp-style reviews of men is relaunching with a new website designed to help women "access dating guardrails without limitation," Tea's head of trust and safety Jessica Dees told WIRED. The app, which launched in 2023 and went viral last summer, getting to number 1 on the iOS App Store, lets users post photos of men while also pointing out red flags, such as if they are already partnered or registered sex offenders.

X CEO Elon Musk has said he was not aware of any "naked underage images" generated by xAI's Grok chatbot, as scrutiny of the AI tool intensifies worldwide. "I [am] not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero," Musk said in an X post on Wednesday. Musk reiterated that Grok is programmed to refuse illegal requests and must comply with the laws of any given country or state. "Obviously, Grok does not spontaneously generate images, it does so only according to user requests," Musk said.

China's Hottest App Is a Daily Test of Whether You're Still Alive Are You Dead Yet soared to the top of app-store charts and became a magnet for investors. In an exclusive interview with WIRED, one of its creators says they're changing the name anyway. An indie app with only one function is currently all the rage in China . It's called (死了吗), which translates literally to "Are You Dead Yet." The app asks users to tap a button once every day, and if they fail to do so for two consecutive days, it automatically sends an email to a designated emergency contact, urging them to check on the user in person.

I asked my MIT class to consider why some of the advances that MIT Technology Review's journalists thought would change our world never really did--and what we can learn from the flops. Every year, publishes a list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. In fact, the 2026 version is out today. This marks the 25th year the newsroom has compiled this annual list, which means its journalists and editors have now identified 250 technologies as breakthroughs. A few years ago, editor at large David Rotman revisited the publication's original list, finding that while all the technologies were still relevant, each had evolved and progressed in often unpredictable ways. I lead students through a similar exercise in a graduate class I teach with James Scott for MIT's School of Architecture and Planning.

Why Are Grok and X Still Available in App Stores? Elon Musk's chatbot has been used to generate thousands of sexualized images of adults and apparent minors. Apple and Google have removed other "nudify" apps--but continue to host X and Grok. Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok is being used to flood X with thousands of sexualized images of adults and apparent minors wearing minimal clothing. Some of this content appears to not only violate X's own policies, which prohibit sharing illegal content such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), but may also violate the guidelines of Apple's App Store and the Google Play store.

PCWorld reports that OpenAI has launched an app store for ChatGPT, allowing developers to submit applications that integrate directly with the AI chatbot platform. Users can access apps through the sidebar's'Apps' button and interact with them by typing '@appname' during conversations, with categories including Featured, Lifestyle, and Productivity. This expansion transforms ChatGPT into a more comprehensive platform where developers can even link apps to external sites for purchasing physical goods. OpenAI just announced in a blog post that you can now connect ChatGPT with even more apps. In fact, OpenAI has also opened things up for developers to submit their own apps for review, which can then be published in ChatGPT's app library. You'll be able to access the ChatGPT app store via the Apps button in the sidebar of ChatGPT. The apps in the store are divided into Featured, Lifestyle, and Productivity categories. Once you've linked an app to the chatbot, you'll be able to use it by typing in your ChatGPT conversations, and the app in question will then be able to help you with things like booking reservations and ordering food.

Warner Bros. rejects Paramount's hostile bid Some help you pull-in locally-stored data and another lets you organize Apple Music songs. OpenAI has introduced an app directory that's now available right inside ChatGPT, the company announced. Apps extend ChatGPT conversations by bringing in new context and letting users take action like order groceries, turn an outline into a slide deck or search for an apartment, the company wrote in a blog post . OpenAI also noted in a help document that connector apps like Google Drive are now simply called apps. The new apps section (on iOS, Android and web) is divided into Feature, Lifestyle and Productivity categories, letting you connect to commonly used apps and sites like Booking.com,

An AI image generator startup's database was left accessible to the open internet, revealing more than 1 million images and videos, including photos of real people who had been "nudified." An AI image generator startup left more than 1 million images and videos created with its systems exposed and accessible to anyone online, according to new research reviewed by WIRED. The "overwhelming majority" of the images involved nudity and were "depicted adult content," according to the researcher who uncovered the exposed trove of data, with some appearing to depict children or the faces of children swapped onto the AI-generated bodies of nude adults. Multiple websites--including MagicEdit and DreamPal--all appeared to be using the same unsecured database, says security researcher Jeremiah Fowler, who discovered the security flaw in October. At the time, Fowler says, around 10,000 new images were being added to the database every day.

Apple said in a statement the removal came after an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. Apple said in a statement the removal came after an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. Two of China's most popular gay dating apps have disappeared from app stores in the country, raising fears of a further crackdown on LGBT communities. As of Tuesday, Blued and Finka were unavailable on Apple's app store and several Android platforms. Users who had already downloaded the apps appeared to still be able to use them. Both apps were still available for download from their official websites.