The everyday tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
A family says ChatGPT helped a woman taper off her epilepsy drug and hide it from her doctors. Here is what the lawsuit claims and what to do.
Read more: Family sues OpenAI, says ChatGPT urged woman off epilepsy medicineGoogle now lets any U.S. developer build an app for Gemini and Search, which could change how people find and use services, and how businesses get found.
Read more: Google lets any business plug its app into Gemini and SearchDropped connections, noisy message alerts and clumsy voice commands in Android Auto may be fixable with a few phone settings, one writer found.
Read more: Four Android Auto annoyances you can fix in your phone settingsXREAL's new Aura glasses run Google's Android XR and Gemini AI, but Android Authority says the price is steep for early buyers.
Read more: XREAL Aura glasses put Google's Gemini assistant in front of your eyesChrome's autofill can now draw on details in your Gmail, which may save typing but ties your email more closely to your browser.
Read more: Chrome can now fill in forms using details from your GmailInstagram is testing 90-minute videos to draw creators from YouTube, but has no plan yet to pay them. Anyone who makes video for income should know that first.
Read more: Instagram wants your long videos but has no plan to pay for themApple announced its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, with the 14-inch starting at $2,899, and prices across its Mac lineup keep climbing.
Read more: Apple finally puts a touchscreen on a MacBook, starting at $2,899Google says Gemini 4 Carbon is its best AI for finding and fixing software flaws, but only a small group of security defenders can use it for now.
Read more: Google's new AI, Gemini 4 Carbon, is built to find and fix security flawsPerplexity's Mac app now uses OpenAI's gpt-live-1 for voice, and the model can keep listening while it talks, so chatting with it should feel more natural.
Read more: Perplexity's Mac app now talks with a smarter, interruptible voiceBoston police say scammers posing as officers or court staff are demanding instant payment, now even in gold bars. Here is how to spot the call.
Read more: Boston police warn of fake officers demanding money by phoneWebull Canada now lets you link your brokerage account to AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude, so check what access you are handing over.
Read more: Webull Canada lets you connect your trading account to AI chatbotsReddit's home page now offers For You and Following feeds, so readers can pick between recommended posts and only the communities they have joined.
Read more: Reddit's home page now has two feeds: For You and FollowingSouth Korea fined Apple and Google for steering app makers to their own payment systems, and told Apple to let developers link to outside payment options.
Read more: South Korea fines Apple and Google over app payment rulesGoogle Wallet appears to be preparing QR-code payments abroad, but the only country named so far is Singapore, and Google has not confirmed anything.
Read more: Google Wallet may soon let you pay by QR code abroadApple's iOS 27.2 adds dual-camera Group FaceTime, four live sports streams in the TV app, and security fixes. It is open to everyone now.
Read more: iOS 27.2 is out for iPhone, with new video call and TV featuresChatGPT can now link to your bank, but a one-time upload of a trimmed-down spending file gets you AI budget help while sharing far less.
Read more: You can get AI to analyze your spending without linking your bankAndroid's Share button can hand your photo's exact GPS location to the receiving app, even though the photo picker hides it by default.
Read more: Sharing a photo from your Android gallery can still send your locationHyderabad police warn that answering a fake bank text on WhatsApp, even with a simple 'No', could lead to money being taken from your account.
Read more: Replying 'No' to a fake bank text on WhatsApp can cost you moneyMicrosoft ends its own text and phone-call sign-in codes for work accounts on February 1, 2027, so staff will soon be asked to set up a passkey.
Read more: Microsoft will stop texting sign-in codes to work accounts in 2027Meta is ending encrypted direct messages on Instagram after May 8, 2026, so chats you thought were locked will lose that protection.
Read more: Instagram is ending private, locked messaging on May 8, 2026Apple announced a new iPad mini, an M6 MacBook Pro and an M6 iMac, all open for pre-order now and shipping Nov. 6, before a bigger event in Los Angeles.
Read more: Apple unveils new iPad Mini and faster Macs ahead of its Pro and Tell eventApple's iOS 27.2 adds a hidden SynthID watermark to photos made or changed with AI tools in Photos, which could help people spot edited images.
Read more: Apple's iPhone update now marks AI-edited photos with a hidden labelApple's iOS 27.2 lets some users prove they are adults with a selfie instead of a credit card or government ID, and Apple says the photo is deleted after.
Read more: iPhones can now confirm you're an adult with a selfieApple raised the student price of the MacBook Neo to $649, and the discount shrank to $50. A school laptop now costs $150 more than at launch.
Read more: Apple raises the student price of its MacBook Neo to $649
