Hasta La Gadget!

The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i would appear to be the first truly usable and useful dual-screen laptop on the market — as far as full-sized displays go.

Instagram is, once again, trying to explain how its recommendations work in an attempt to dispel “misconceptions” about how the app’s algorithm works and whether or not the company engages in “shadowbanning” of certain creators. In a new blog post from Instagram’s top exec Adam Mosseri, he offers one of the most detailed explanations to date on how the app ranks content in various parts of the app.

“Instagram doesn’t have a singular algorithm that oversees what people do and don’t see on the app,” Mosseri explains. Instead, he says, there are multiple algorithms and ranking systems underpinning different aspects of the app, like Explore, Reels, Stories and search. Each of these uses a variety of signals to determine how content is ranked for each user.

For example, the order of posts in your main feed is determined by your past activity, as well as previous interactions with the person who made each post. Likewise, Stories posts take into account viewing history as well as “closeness,” or “how likely you are to be connected as friends or family.” On the other hand, recommendations in Explore are largely based “posts you’ve liked, saved, shared and commented on in the past,” but are more likely to come from accounts you’ve never interacted with.

One of the more interesting sections of Mosseri’s blog post is titled “addressing shadowbanning.” Mosseri notes that there isn’t a universal definition for the word, but acknowledges that many creators “use the term to imply that a user’s account or content is limited or hidden without a clear explanation or justification.” And he says that the company is working to increase transparency around when creators’ content or accounts are blocked from the app’s recommendations.

Specifically, he calls out the app’s “account status” feature, which can alert users if one of their posts or their account is considered “ineligible” for recommendations. The feature also offers an appeals process. While it’s not the first time Instagram has addressed the issue, which has been the subject of much speculation and conspiracy theories over the years, there has been a notable shift in the way the company is talking about “shadowbanning.”

In a similar post from two years ago, Mosseri wrote that “the truth is most of your followers won’t see what you share, because most look at less than half of their Feed.” Now, he says Instagram is working on increasing transparency in cases when a creator’s content isn’t widely distributed due to a policy violation. “If anything makes your content less visible, you should know about it and be able to appeal,” he wrote.

He added that Instagram is testing “new notifications to help creators understand when the reach of their reel may be limited due to a watermark” (the company has tried to discourage users from posting recycled TikToks to Reels for years).

While some creators may still find these explanations unsatisfying — and there are more than a few who fall into that camp, judging by the comments on Mosseri’s own Instagram post — the new details underscore just how central algorithmic recommendations are becoming to Instagram. While the app re-introduced an optional chronological feed, Mark Zuckerberg has said his goal is to transform Instagram and Facebook into a “discovery engine” more focused on recommendations than posts from friends.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-explains-its-recommendations-and-shadowbanning-234716911.html?src=rss

Melding premium Italian design with EVs, Aehra’s upcoming ‘supercar’ sedan has finally been teased, offering a glimpse before its full unveiling this June.

Horror fans are already quite familiar with Dracula, Frankenstein, and Sherlock Holmes adventure The Hound of the Baskervilles, but Canterbury Classics makes a compelling case for a re-read with these beautifully illustrated, cleverly engineered, genuinely frightening pop-up versions.

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Amazon will pay $5.8 million to settle a recently announced privacy lawsuit raised by the Federal Trade Commission. According to the federal complaint, Ring had allowed employees and third-party contractors full access to customer video content. This unfettered access was abused by some employees and contractors and was used to violate the privacy of both Ring customers and other workers.

The lawsuit highlights several cases where hacked cameras were used to sexually harass and spy on women, stalk female co-workers who used Ring products, utter racial slurs toward children and more. The FTC alleges that Amazon failed to address these issues after buying the company in 2018, noting that security issues persisted from 2016 through 2020.

Amazon has previously fired employees for inappropriate use of customer data, telling US Senators in 2020 that at least four employees had been terminated for accessing or attempting to access data that “exceeded what was necessary for their job functions.”

This isn’t the first time Ring Doorbells have contended with privacy complaints, either. The company faced scrutiny last year for giving police footage from Ring products without user consent. In 2020, hackers used illicit access to Ring cameras to use in livestream swattings.

Amazon’s Ring division tells Engadget that its settling the lawsuit to resolve the issue and move forward, but notes that it does not agree with the FTC’s claims. “Our focus has been and remains on delivering products and features our customers love, while upholding our commitment to protect their privacy and security,” the company’s statement reads. “Ring promptly addressed these issues on its own years ago, well before the FTC began its inquiry. While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations and deny violating the law, this settlement resolves this matter so we can focus on innovating on behalf of our customers.” 

The company has published its official response on the Ring website. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-settles-lawsuit-with-ftc-over-ring-doorbell-privacy-concerns-191257621.html?src=rss