- A popular open-source content delivery network went down for hoursPhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Unpkg, a content delivery network (CDN) that powers more than 4 billion requests per day, went down for several hours on Friday morning. The ... read more
- Havas Acquires TED Consulting (Not That TED)The French digital transformation and data consultancy firm was founded in 2016 by Mathias Chaumon. Its offering is underpinned by AI-infused robotic process automation technology. ... read more
- The good, the bad, and the Humane PinImage: Alex Parkin / The Verge Seven. Hundred. Dollars. After a year of asking questions about this much-hyped AI wearable, the Humane AI Pin is here, and, well, we still have lots ... read more
- With Romcom Spoof, CeraVe Expands 'Medutainment'The L'Oreal-owned brand understands everyone needs a little help finding the moisturizer of their dreams. ... read more
- Instagram Tests Teen 'Sextortion' Prevention Tools After Murky PastMeta is testing new ways to help protect younger Instagram users from falling victim to various forms of intimate image abuse, while also trying to boost awareness surrounding potential sextortion scams across the image-and-video-sharing app. ... read more
- Sprite Campaign Takes Refreshing Approach To PrivacyPrivacy has become important to brands and consumers - but not the type of privacy one might expect from Sprite and its parent company the Coca-Cola Company. ... read more
- Spotify is developing a remix feature to rival sped-up TikTok tunesThe tools could open new revenue streams for artists who otherwise wouldn’t see money from unauthorized remixes. | Cath Virginia / The Verge Spotify is working on some seemingly TikTok-inspired remixing features ... read more
- For Three Decades, TV And O.J. Simpson Were IntertwinedO.J. Simpson's criminal and civil trials stemming from the murder of his wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman riveted the nation. ... read more
- The Google One VPN service is heading to the Google graveyardThe service will be shut down on an unspecified date later this year. | Image: Google Google is shutting down its VPN by Google One service, according to a vague customer email ... read more
- Dentsu’s Chief Data And Technology Officer On Generative AI, Cookies And The Future Of DataAI often steals the spotlight these days, but it is nothing without a data set. In a nod to the interconnectedness of data, the agency holding company Dentsu created a new data and technology group. ... read more
- Vizio’s Vision For Programmatic And Home Screen MonetizationWhile Walmart’s acquisition of Vizio is still pending, the smart TV maker must keep its eye on its own future priorities. In recent years, Vizio has undergone a metamorphosis, transitioning from a hardware company to ... read more
- Comic: Ain’t No Party Like A First-Party … PartyEnjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … The post Comic: Ain’t No Party Like A First-Party … Party appeared first on AdExchanger. ... read more
- Reddit And Google, Sitting In A Tree; Meta’s Glitch In The MatrixHere’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Reddit Here First Google and Reddit have numerous deals – the contours of which are unknown – that will likely come under some ... read more
- Snapchat’s relationship with publishers is still pretty complicatedSnapchat’s recent staffing shake up has left publishers puzzled. Layoffs across the mobile messaging app over the last six months have thrown a spanner into their usual way of working with them. In February alone, ... read more
- How PGL used influencer co-streams to supercharge esports viewershipLast month, the esports company PGL enlisted gaming influencers to co-stream a “Counter-Strike” tournament — and more than doubled the event’s viewership as a result. The move shows how influencer co-streams could help rejuvenate fans’ ... read more
- Digiday+ Research deep dive: Marketers cut way back on X spending as brand safety concerns persistInterested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel. X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, is making moves to convince marketers that it’s a safe space ... read more
- ‘More distrust in the marketplace’: Agency execs press pause on Forbes spend after domain spoofing reportAmid all of the concerns that the made-for-arbitrage (née made-for-advertising) crackdown would unfairly impact premium publishers, Forbes has been called out by a report by advertising transparency vendor Adalytics for intentionally operating an MFA subdomain ... read more
- Can AI analyses about AI content reveal anything about AI and copyright?What happens when an AI model is asked to analyze human thoughts about AI and copyright? As tech giants and startups alike move forward with AI models, the legal landscape is still full of uncertainty ... read more
- Audio Fans Are Offered Direct Engagement With AI And HostsFuturi hopes to empower broadcasters and creators to grow audience and revenue. ... read more
- Serial Entrepreneur Releases Data On Real Cost Of Programmatic TV Ad BuysTatari CEO Philip Inghelbrecht shared data Friday to show just how much of their budget brands and publishers could save buying TV media direct rather than programmatically. ... read more
- TikTok Reportedly Developing Ad Deals For Virtual InfluencersTikTok has reportedly been talking with advertisers about an AI-generated feature that creates virtual influencers to star in videos on the app. A script would be generated for a video ad based on a prompt ... read more
- TikTok Reportedly Developing Virtual Influencers For Ad DealsTikTok has reportedly been talking with advertisers about an AI-generated feature that creates virtual influencers to star in videos on the app. A script would be generated for a video ad based on a prompt ... read more
- X’s Premium users can no longer hide their blue checksIllustration: The Verge X giveth, and now X taketh away. The platform is eliminating the ability for Premium users to hide their blue checkmarks, according to a notification received by multiple users ... read more
- Putting O.J. In The Driver's SeatPerhaps no other American celebrity delivered such extreme highs and evil lows in his lifetime. ... read more
- Discord is nuking Nintendo Switch emulator devs and their entire servers
- Dbrand’s brash social media schtick just cost the company $10,000Image: Dbrand Dbrand, the phone case company known for its sassy attitude toward users and tech companies, gave $10,000 to a customer as an apology after it made a racist comment about ... read more
- Showtime’s streaming service will finally shutter later this monthIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Following Paramount’s move to add Showtime programming to certain Paramount Plus streaming plans, the Showtime standalone streaming platform is coming to an end. Variety reports ... read more
- Apple renews Monarch for season 2 and has plans for more Godzilla spinoffsImage: Apple Apple announced some Godzilla-sized updates for its streaming service. First up, the spinoff series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which premiered on Apple TV Plus last year, has been renewed for ... read more
- An NPR editor accuses the network of institutional biasPhoto: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images This is Hot Pod, The Verge’s newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Hi, everyone — I’m starting off today with some ... read more
- Civil War is an arresting journalism film lacking a real thesis
- Find the best AI-powered app to transcribe your audioImage: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Transcription apps — apps that record and make text transcriptions of the conversation — have been an extremely useful way of keeping records for ... read more
- Postal Rates Climb: But Delivery Is Dragging"As bulk mail rates keep increasing, so do the delivery times," writes Congressman Robert Aderholt. ... read more
- Dyson’s AR app shows you where you’ve vacuumedDyson wants to make cleaning fun again, but I was already having fun letting the robots do it. | Image: Dyson Dyson has developed a new feature that uses your smartphone’s augmented ... read more
- What I Learned Searching For $25B In 2023 U.S. CTV Ad SpendI learned a lot from many of you, and believe I can now put a much finer point on understanding the scale of the CTV ad market. ... read more
- Android 15’s first beta release is outThe countdown to Google I/O starts now. | Image: The Verge / Android Android 15’s first public beta is available to download now, provided you have a Pixel phone and a bit ... read more
- TikTok Expands Media Brand Safety To More Countries With New IAS ProductsThe expanded TikTok partnership with Integral Ad Science will offer brand-safety services to 11 more countries and include new products to help advertisers on the social video-sharing app simplify campaign measurement while avoiding a wider ... read more
- More Marketers Say They'll Boost Upfront Spending This YearStreaming has cemented its place in the marketplace, with 30% of respondents saying 20% or more of upfront budgets would go to digital video platforms. ... read more
- Uber’s safety tools are now customizable and easier to accessIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Uber has launched a new safety preferences section that gathers all of Uber’s safety tools in one place and lets users schedule them to switch ... read more
- Taking CO2 out of the air would be an absurdly expensive way to fight climate changeExecutives hold shovels during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Occidental Petroleum and 1PointFive carbon removal plant in Ector County, Texas, on April 28th, 2023. | Image: Jordan Vonderhaar / Bloomberg via Getty Images ... read more
- The Last Ronin is becoming a live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movieImage: DW / Esau Escorza ,Isaac Escorza, Samuel Plata, Luis Antonio Delgado Taking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a bold new visual direction has worked out phenomenally for Paramount in the ... read more
- Amazon CEO Andy Jassy takes a dim view of antitrust enforcementAndy Jassy is being persecuted by those meanies at the FTC, says Andy Jassy. | Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge Andy Jassy, CEO of the biggest e-commerce store in the ... read more
- TikTok may add AI avatars that can make ads
- Apple is reportedly planning a big AI-focused M4 Mac upgradePhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple is getting ready to refresh its entire lineup of Macs with M4 processors that have an emphasis on AI, according to a report ... read more
- Microsoft is trying to convince Windows 10 users to upgrade with full-screen promptsImage: The Verge Microsoft is trying to entice Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 with fullscreen prompts 18 months before the end of support cutoff. Reddit user Woopinah9 spotted a ... read more
- Fallout 4 is getting a next-gen update just in time for the showImage: Bethesda Bethesda has smartly guessed that with the arrival of the new Fallout series from Amazon, folks are going get curious about all the Fallout games. In addition to making Fallout ... read more
- PSA: Don’t let your kids use Yoto’s recalled Mini speakerImage: Yoto If your kid uses this Yoto Mini speaker, take it away immediately. Yoto has recalled the popular speaker due to a charging cable issue that causes the lithium-ion battery to ... read more
- Taylor Swift’s music is back on TikTokPhoto by Neilson Barnard / Getty Images for The Recording Academy Taylor Swift’s catalog of music has returned to TikTok, just a few months after it was purged alongside other popular artists ... read more
- As MMM Rides Again, Google Finds Its Place In The Conversation With MeridianTracking is a mess. Attribution is broken beyond repair. IP address identity data may go the way of the dodo. Which means marketing mix modeling is back, baby! If you need proof, Google launched its ... read more
- Hidden MFAWhen Adalytics broke the news that Forbes operated the subdomain www3.forbes.com, it exposed a different kind of made-for-advertising (MFA) site. The URLs behind MFAs are often bland and unrecognizable, while Forbes’ hosted slideshow versions of ... read more
- Fallout Pip-Boy review: a wearable fit for the wastelandImage: Amazon It’s hard to say what, precisely, makes a design timeless. Some classic gadgets are simply beautiful, while others remain functional years after they come out. The list of truly timeless ... read more
- Sony’s new headphones and speakers are all about skull-rattling bassPhoto by Chris Welch / The Verge Sony is changing up the strategy around its mainstream wireless headphones and speakers. Today, the company is announcing several new products and introducing a new ... read more
- How Eyeo Worked With Students To Innovate On AIEyeo is putting the “learning” in machine learning. Last year, it partnered with a university in Munich to have students find new and innovative approaches to using AI in its online ad filtering. As the ... read more
- Why connectivity is critical for clean rooms to turn signal loss into signal gainTravis Clinger, Chief Connectivity and Ecosystem Officer, LiveRamp Clean room technology is an increasingly important tool for marketers to turn signal loss into signal gain, with the final steps of third-party cookie deprecation serving as ... read more
- DuckDuckGo Subscription Bundles Privacy Search Engine, Browser With VPNAdvertisers may find fewer ads and popups are beneficial, giving their ads more time with consumers and less competition with other brands. ... read more
- 4A's, ANA Issue Report On Agency Compensation ModelsAccording to a recent survey by the 4As in 2024, Fixed Fee emerged as the most utilized compensation model among those polled. ... read more
- Apple will open the iPhone to repair with used partsPhoto by Dan Seifert / The Verge Apple is finally making it easier for users to repair their iPhones with used parts. In an update on Thursday, the company announced that this ... read more
- Apple’s latest sci-fi series is the trippy Dark MatterImage: Apple Apple is continuing its run of streaming sci-fi with the upcoming Dark Matter, a thriller about a man who... kidnaps himself. The first trailer looks appropriately trippy and follows a ... read more
- You can snag Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and all 48 DLC tracks for $20 off right nowWaluigi is still a scumbag, but his racecourse is pretty great. | Image: Nintendo Despite essentially being a rehash of the bestselling Wii U game of all time, I’d argue Mario Kart ... read more
- The INCRMNTAL Way: Long Live Causation And Down With CorrelationIncrementality startup INCRMNTAL only works with inbound leads. That might sound like a humble brag, as in the company doesn’t need to market itself. But there’s a reason for it, said CEO and co-founder Maor ... read more
- Official: here’s the DJI Avata 2, possibly one of the best sequels in yearsThe DJI Avata 2 drone. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The DJI Avata is my favorite drone for people who want to fly, not just film. The starter kit ... read more
- Yale’s inexpensive new retrofit lock will work with Matter-over-Thread
- Weather Channel’s parent company has a new AI tool to make hyperlocal weather videosIllustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images Generative AI could be coming to your local TV station as The Weather Company, aka the people that run The ... read more
- In Chechnya, the rhythm does indeed stopThe tempo restrictions effectively ban most popular Western music in the region of Chechnya, if it wasn’t already restricted. | Image: Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images People partial to a ... read more
- CTV Transparency Underpins Growth in Media Spending: PHD’s Katie KleinSAN JUAN, PR – Many consumers have shifted their television viewing to streaming video, leading advertisers to set aside a bigger portion of their media budgets to connected television. However, they have faced frustrations with ... read more
- DuckDuckGo launches $9.99 per month privacy bundle with VPNDuckDuckGo DuckDuckGo is announcing a new bundled subscription service, Privacy Pro, that offers an additional layer of privacy beyond its existing offerings. Users who pay $9.99 per month will get access to ... read more
- Humane AI Pin review: not even closeFor $699 and $24 a month, this wearable computer promises to free you from your smartphone. There’s only one problem: it just doesn’t work. Continue reading… ... read more
- Instagram will blur nudes in messages sent to minorsThe new protections for blurring nude images will start rolling out globally in the coming weeks. | Image: Meta Instagram is preparing to roll out a new safety feature that blurs nude ... read more
- Testing VanMoof’s refreshed e-bikes, which are again available to buyThe new 2024 VanMoof S5 in Amsterdam where the majority of this UK-owned company still works. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge Big question: can you trust the new company ... read more
- Publicis Starts Year Strong With 5.3% Q1 GrowthThe company cited continuing new business tailwinds, a rebounding technology sector and double-digit growth in its Epsilon and Publicis Media operations as drivers of Q1 growth. ... read more
- Sharing Isn’t Always Caring; Will Apple Pass The Private Relay Baton?Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Broker A Peace Data broker Adstra is suing IPG-owned businesses Acxiom and Kinesso for allegedly stealing trade secrets and sharing its data between ... read more
- CG Life doubles in size by buying a digital shop to expand its health and sciences targetingIntegrated agency CG Life on Tuesday acquired digital agency Toolhouse to expand its technology and omnichannel capabilities in the health care and biopharma space. The combination doubles CG Life’s size, now totaling 150 employees together, ... read more
- Research Briefing: Publishers bank on their own first-party data amid Privacy Sandbox concernsInterested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel. In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine publishers’ reservations about Google’s Privacy Sandbox, how subscriptions aren’t the revenue driver ... read more
- How a revamped Green Media Product hopes to solve ‘problematic placements’The marketing industry’s efforts to showcase its environmental wares will peak as Earth Day 2024 (April 22) draws ever closer, with ad tech players eager to demonstrate their efforts to minimize the sector’s carbon footprint. ... read more
- Media Briefing: Publishers’ audience authentication strategies are put to the testIncremental authentication Publishers are seeing how much more valuable authenticated audiences are compared to random passersby visiting their sites. But with authenticated users representing a minority of the traffic, publishers are under pressure to persuade ... read more
- Dove pledges not to use AI in communications, spurring marketers to think about AI and ‘brand ethos’As generative AI continues to evolve, marketers are faced with a choice: Does using the technology in marketing and advertising make sense for their brands? And if it does, then how do they go about ... read more
- PBS Doc, Graphic Novel Shine A Light On Parkinson's DiseaseThe online Sleep Survey, launched mid-March in conjunction with Abbvie,"delves into the often-overlooked realities of how Parkinson's disease profoundly impacts sleep." ... read more
- Nickelodeon's History Of Kids TV Is Tough ViewingChild actor Drake Bell is given an entire episode of "Quiet on Set" to tell his traumatic sexual abuse story for the first time. ... read more
- Two former execs of the company behind the Truth Social merger are caught up in a messy hacking lawsuitPhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Two former executives of the firm that recently purchased Truth Social are embroiled in a lawsuit related to the acquisition of Trump’s social media ... read more
- Apple’s antitrust case is getting a new judgeIllustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Getty Images The Department of Justice’s massive antitrust case against Apple will unfold before a new judge. A court filing on Wednesday ... read more
- Meta says it’s fixing ‘HD’ photo sharing in Facebook MessengerIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook rolled out the ability for Messenger users to share 4K photos back in 2017. Now, Meta has announced that users can share HD photos ... read more
- Apple Store employees in New Jersey are trying to unionizeIllustration: The Verge Another Apple Store is trying to unionize. This time, it’s a group of 104 employees in Short Hills, New Jersey, who filed a petition to unionize with the National ... read more
- Controversial Kids Online Safety Bill Introduced In HouseThe House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on April 17 on the teen safety bill and other proposed laws affecting online media -- including the newly introduced American Privacy Rights Act. ... read more
- AMC Theatres’ top brass has misgivings about the Dune popcorn bucketWhat? It’s just a sandworm. | Image: Saturday Night Live Dune: Part Two is a sprawling sci-fi epic that The Verge’s Charles Pulliam-Moore called “categorically breathtaking” in his March review. And for ... read more
- Today is the last day to take advantage of Samsung’s buy one, get one free TV promoYou can get a lower-end TU690T for free when you preorder Samsung’s glare-free QD-OLED S95D. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Who doesn’t want a free TV? If you were ... read more
- Smart TV Ownership Expands, But High-End Sets See Less GrowthThe portion of U.S. households that own a smart TV grew from 70% in 2021 to 79% this year. ... read more
- Gmail, Take An Email: New Voice Prompt Allows Users To Draft MessagesThe AI new voice tool is part of Google's Help Me Write feature introduced last year. ... read more
- Ubisoft won’t say whether the Prince of Persia’s incredible actor has been replacedIt’s looking like the troubled Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake has lost one of its most important assets: Yuri Lowenthal, the voice actor who played the prince, famously narrated ... read more
- eBay Personalizes Shopping Powered By AIShop the look, powered by eBay.ai offers a new type of shopping experience that curates fashion styles based on first-party data the consumer shares each time they visit the site. ... read more
- Google’s AI photo editing tools are expanding to a lot more phonesThe Pixel 8’s Magic Editor is exclusive no more. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Google is making its AI photo editing features available to a lot more people. Starting ... read more
- AI-Powered Video Technology Takes Center Stage: KERV AI’s WolffSAN JUAN, PR — In an era where advertisers seek to captivate audiences with more engaging and personalized content, cutting-edge AI technology is transforming the way we understand and interact with video advertising. One company is ... read more
- Aqara’s new motion sensor works with Matter and Thread, but that means problemsThe Aqara Motion and Light Sensor P2 is the company’s first motion sensor that doesn’t require a Zigbee hub. Aqara’s Thread-based Motion and Light Sensor P2 ($33.99) has been on my smart ... read more
- Amazon’s Fallout show gets the postapocalyptic vibes exactly rightImage: Prime Video In making successful video game adaptations, it feels more important to strike the right tone rather than follow the source material to the letter. “Tone” in Fallout is Walton ... read more
- YouTube Rolls Out Shopping Tools To Boost In-Stream CommerceYouTube is unveiling in-stream shopping tools to facilitate new ways for creators to show off products, push purchase activity and gain more revenue opportunities in the video-sharing app. ... read more
- Roblox Partners With PubMatic To Increase Video Ad SalesThe partnership with PubMatic will enable programmatic media buying of the popular Roblox's video ad inventory when it becomes available later this year. ... read more
- A Monopoly movie is coming courtesy of Margot Robbie and Lionsgate
- The best trailers from the Triple-i indie game showcaseCataclismo. | Image: Digital Sun There’s a new video game showcase on the block. The Triple-i initiative — a play on the term AAA, referring to blockbuster games — is a Nintendo ... read more
- Microsoft is bringing its Xbox dashboard to the web with party chat and moreIllustration: The Verge Microsoft is previewing a new Xbox Cloud Gaming interface today that includes the social features and UI you’d normally find in the Xbox dashboard. The new interface includes access ... read more
- Amazon will stop paying developers for making Alexa skillsPhoto by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Amazon will soon stop paying developers to create skills for Alexa. In a notice spotted by Bloomberg, Amazon told developers it’s ending monthly payouts ... read more
- Movie Industry To Renew Push For Bill Targeting Piracy SitesThe Motion Picture Association plans to work with Congress to enact "site-blocking" legislation that could prevent people from accessing websites suspected of hosting pirated content. ... read more
- The Apple Watch could be the next great Game Boy emulatorScreenshot: Wes Davis / The Verge In a cosmic coincidence, just days after I stayed up too late playing Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, a video of that very game being played on ... read more