The end of blocking on X (except for DMs)

X, the social media platform that Elon Musk bought and renamed from Twitter, will eliminate the option to block other users, except for DMs. Musk, who has wanted to remove the feature for a while, said blocking "makes no sense" and that users should mute instead. The mute option will remain available.

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Threads gets reposts on Following feed, profile pages

Meta announced it is adding a new feature to its Threads app: reposts. It is coming to your Following feed and your profile page. Reposts allow users to share threads from other users on their accounts. The company said it made this decision based on user feedback. Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed the feature in a Threads post. The reposts tab may not be visible in your app yet, but it can be seen on the browser version of your Threads profile. (There is no Threads web version yet.)

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Google's Pixel Watch 2: Everything we know so far from official leaks

Photo: Google

Google's Pixel Watch 2 leaks are getting hotter. The company hasn't officially announced a sequel to its first smartwatch, but a device codenamed Eos appeared in an official Android developer resource, as 9to5Google reported. This confirms some high-level details about the wearable's hardware and software from Google itself, making it the most reliable source of information about the Pixel Watch 2 so far.

The Google Play Console device catalogue, an official resource for Android developers to check device compatibility, listed the Pixel Watch 2 under its codename, Eos, today. The listing doesn't reveal any major surprises. But it mostly confirms what we already knew from previous leaks. 

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Spotify's dilemma over white noise podcasts

Spotify's algorithm has been promoting podcasts with white noise content, such as waves, vacuums, and fans, to its listeners who use them to relax or sleep. An internal document reveals these podcasts account for three million hours of consumption every day. And some creators supposedly make up to USD 18,000 a month using Spotify's free hosting software Anchor.

However, Spotify is reportedly not happy with this situation, as white noise podcasts are less profitable than other types of programming. The company considered removing them or replacing them with "comparable programming" that would save USD 38 million a year. Some users and creators noticed that their white noise podcasts had disappeared for a while, but Spotify denied any intentional action. The company said it still has white noise podcasts on its platform.

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