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Hackers Expose The Massive Surveillance Stack Hiding Inside Your “Age Verification” Check

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from the the-failure-is-the-system dept

We’ve been saying this for years now, and we’re going to keep saying it until the message finally sinks in: mandatory age verification creates massive, centralized honeypots of sensitive biometric data that will inevitably be breached. Every single time. And every single time it happens, the politicians who mandated these systems and the companies that built them act shocked—shocked!—that collecting enormous databases of government IDs, facial scans, and biometric data from millions of people turns out to be a security nightmare.

Well, here we go again.

A couple weeks ago, Discord announced it would launch “teen-by-default” settings for its global audience, meaning all users would be shunted into a restricted experience unless they verified their age through biometric scanning. The internet, predictably, was not thrilled. But while many users were busy venting their frustration, a group of security researchers decided to do something more useful: they took a look under the hood at Persona, one of the companies Discord was using for verification (specifically for users in the UK).

What they found, according to The Rage, was exactly what we would predict:

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Together with two other researchers, they set out to look into Persona, the San Francisco-based startup that’s used by Discord for biometric identity verification – and found a Persona frontend exposed to the open internet on a US government authorized server.

In 2,456 publicly accessible files, the code revealed the extensive surveillance Persona software performs on its users, bundled in an interface that pairs facial recognition with financial reporting – and a parallel implementation that appears designed to serve federal agencies.

Let me say that again: 2,456 publicly accessible files sitting on a government-authorized server, exposed to the open internet. Files that revealed a system performing not a simple age check, but a ton of potentially intrusive checks:

Once a user verifies their identity with Persona, the software performs 269 distinct verification checks and scours the internet and government sources for potential matches, such as by matching your face to politically exposed persons (PEPs), and generating risk and similarity scores for each individual. IP addresses, browser fingerprints, device fingerprints, government ID numbers, phone numbers, names, faces, and even selfie backgrounds are analyzed and retained for up to three years.

The information the software evaluates on the images themselves includes “Selfie Suspicious Entity Detection,” a “Selfie Age Inconsistency Comparison,” similar background detection, which appears to be matched to other users in the database, and a “Selfie Pose Repeated Detection,” which seems to be used to determine whether you are using the same pose as in previous pictures.

This was the same company checking whether a teenager should be allowed to use voice chat on a gaming platform.

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Beyond offering simple services to estimate your age, Persona’s exposed code compares your selfie to watchlist photos using facial recognition, screens you against 14 categories of adverse media from mentions of terrorism to espionage, and tags reports with codenames from active intelligence programs consisting of public-private partnerships to combat online child exploitative material, cannabis trafficking, fentanyl trafficking, romance fraud, money laundering, and illegal wildlife trade.

So you wanted to verify you’re old enough to use voice chat, and now there’s a permanent risk score somewhere documenting whether you might be involved in illegal wildlife trafficking.

What could go wrong?

As the researchers put it to The Rage:

“The internet was supposed to be the great equalizer. Information wants to be free, the network interprets censorship as damage and routes around it, all that beautiful optimism. And for a minute it was true.”

[….]

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“The state wants to see everything. The corporations want to see everything. And they’ve learned to work together.”

Discord, to its credit, has now said it will not be proceeding with Persona for identity verification. And to be fair, Discord and similar internet companies are in an impossible position here—facing mounting regulatory pressure in multiple jurisdictions to verify ages while being handed a market of vendors who keep turning out to be security nightmares. But this is part of a pattern that should be deeply familiar by now.

Just last year, Discord’s previous third-party age verification partner suffered a breach that exposed 70,000 government ID photos, which were then held for ransom. Discord said it stopped using that vendor. Then it moved to Persona, which was already raising concerns due to connections to Peter Thiel. Now Persona’s frontend is found wide open on a government-authorized server, and Discord is dropping them too.

See the pattern? Discord keeps swapping vendors like someone frantically rotating buckets under a leaking roof, apparently hoping the next bucket won’t have a hole in it. But the problem was never the bucket. The problem is the hole in the roof — the never-ending stream of age-verification government mandates.

And this brings us to the bigger, more important point that almost nobody in the “protect the children” policy crowd seems willing to engage with honestly. Every single time you mandate age verification, you are mandating the creation of a centralized database of extraordinarily sensitive personal information. Government IDs. Biometric facial data. The kind of data that, once breached, cannot be “changed” like a password. You get one face. You get one government ID number. When those leak—and they will leak—the damage is permanent.

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Even the IEEE Spectrum Magazine is now publishing articles that detail how age verification undermines any effort to protect children by putting their privacy at risk.

These systems fail in predictable ways.

False positives are common. Platforms identify as minors adults with youthful faces, or adults who are sharing family devices, or have otherwise unusual usage. They lock accounts, sometimes for days. False negatives also persist. Teenagers learn quickly how to evade checks by borrowing IDs, cycling accounts, or using VPNs.

The appeal process itself creates new privacy risks. Platforms must store biometric data, ID images, and verification logs long enough to defend their decisions to regulators. So if an adult who is tired of submitting selfies to verify their age finally uploads an ID, the system must now secure that stored ID. Each retained record becomes a potential breach target.

Scale that experience across millions of users, and you bake the privacy risk into how platforms work.

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We have been cataloging these breaches for years. In 2024, Australia greenlit an age verification pilot, and hours later a mandated verification database for bars was breached. That same year, another ID verification service was breached, exposing private info collected on behalf of Uber, TikTok, and more. Then came the Discord vendor breach last year. And now Persona.

This keeps happening because it has to keep happening. It’s the inevitable result of a system designed to aggregate the exact kind of data that attackers most want to steal. Computer scientists and privacy experts have been sounding this alarm for years.

And what makes this even more galling is that these age verification systems don’t even accomplish what they claim to accomplish.

Take Australia’s infamous ban on social media for under-16s, the poster child for this approach. It’s been a complete failure on its own terms: plenty of kids have already figured out ways around the ban, while those who can’t—particularly kids with disabilities who relied on social platforms for community—are being actively harmed by their exclusion. As the security researcher who helped discover the Persona leak, Celeste, told The Rage:

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“Normies won’t be able to bypass these,” while less benevolent people “will always find ways to exploit your system.”

So we’ve built a system that fails to keep out the people it’s supposedly targeting, while successfully creating permanent biometric dossiers on millions of law-abiding users. Not great!

Meanwhile, what’s happening at the legislative level is perhaps even more cynical. Governments around the world are pushing harder and harder for mandatory age verification online. And as these mandates create a captive market worth billions of dollars, a whole ecosystem of venture-backed “identity-as-a-service” startups has sprung up to serve it. Persona, valued at $2 billion and backed by Peter Thiel’s investment network, is just one of many. These companies make grand promises about privacy-preserving verification, get contracts with major platforms, and then — whoops — leave 2,456 files exposed on a government server.

And, of course, these very firms are now lobbying for stricter age verification mandates. They’ve positioned themselves as protectors of children while actively working to expand the legal requirements that guarantee their revenue stream.

Lawmakers mandate an impossible task, VC-backed startups pop up to sell a “solution,” those startups then lobby for even stricter mandates to protect their market, and the cycle repeats.

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“Child safety” has simply become the marketing department for a rent-seeking surveillance industry.

As long as the law demands that these biometric gates exist, the “security” of the data they collect will always be a secondary concern to “compliance” with the mandate. Companies will keep rotating through vendors, each one promising that their system is the one that won’t leak, right up until it does. And the age verification industry will keep lobbying for stricter laws, because every new mandate is another guaranteed revenue stream.

The researchers who exposed Persona’s frontend hope their findings will serve as a wake-up call. Given the track record, it probably won’t be. Discord dropping Persona changes nothing—the next vendor will collect the same data, make the same promises, and eventually suffer the same breach. Because the problem was never which company holds your biometric data. The problem is that anyone is being forced to hand it over in the first place.

Filed Under: age verification, data breaches, privacy, security

Companies: discord, persona

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App Store gaming revenue bulletproof, as mobile gaming slows overall

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Mobile gaming downloads are falling worldwide, but higher player spending is making the App Store more profitable anyway.

Apple Arcade logo on a red to orange gradient background, surrounded by colorful rounded-square icons representing various video games with cartoon and fantasy characters
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Mobile game downloads declined worldwide in 2025, but in-app spending remained strong. Rising player spending is reinforcing Apple’s App Store revenue model.
Mobile games raked in $82 billion from in-app purchases in 2025, with an average of $1.62 per download, even though total downloads dropped. Developers are now focusing more on keeping players and boosting subscriptions rather than quickly gaining new ones.
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Anthropic acquires Vercept in early exit for one of Seattle’s standout AI startups

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Vercept’s Ross Girshick (left), Kiana Ehsani, and Luca Weihs. Ehsani shared this on LinkedIn with the news that Vercept is joining Anthropic, noting, “Vercept is much bigger than the founders and there are many amazing team members that made this happen, but I love this ‘thinking’ photo of us :D”

Anthropic is acquiring Vercept, a Seattle startup founded by alumni of the Allen Institute for AI, in a move that illustrates the growing competition to build AI agents capable of navigating computers and other devices to complete tasks for users. 

The deal, announced Wednesday, will fold Vercept’s technology and an unspecified number of employees into Anthropic. Vercept’s desktop application, Vy, will shut down in 30 days as part of the transition, according to the startup’s message to users, which encouraged them to try Anthropic’s Claude tools as an alternative while the service winds down.

In a post about the news, San Francisco-based Anthropic said the acquisition will help advance its “computer use” capabilities, enabling Claude to complete multi-step tasks inside live applications, including navigating spreadsheets and managing workflows across multiple tools. 

Vercept’s team has “spent years thinking carefully about how AI systems can see and act within the same software humans use every day,” Anthropic said. “That expertise maps directly onto some of the hardest problems we’re working on at Anthropic.”

In their message to users, Vercept co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick said the startup’s mission had “found a bigger home” at Anthropic, citing the AI lab’s focus on building “safe, steerable AI systems.” They said the deal would allow the team to “push further into what’s possible at the intersection of AI and the personal computing experience.”

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Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Vercept referred our inquiry to Anthropic.

Vercept closed a $16 million seed round in January 2025, valuing the company at $67 million post-money, according to Pitchbook data. San Francisco-based Fifty Years led the financing, joined by Point Nine Capital and the AI2 Incubator, Vercept’s first institutional backer. 

The angel list was notable: former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean, Cruise founder Kyle Vogt, and Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi all participated. Despite the high-profile backing, Vercept stayed lean, with 20 employees, according to LinkedIn.

In a LinkedIn post announcing the deal, Ehsani said Vercept had raised more than $50 million, a figure that appears to include additional capital beyond its previously disclosed seed round. She said Vercept had a “comfortable runway and a successful product” when the opportunity to join Anthropic emerged. 

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She described the decision as mission-driven rather than financial, saying the two companies had been working toward the same vision from complementary angles.

Seattle AI and startup veteran Oren Etzioni, a Vercept co-founder and early investor, described the outcome as “sad” in a post on LinkedIn, while praising the team that’s now joining Anthropic.

Contacted via phone this morning, Etzioni elaborated, “I’m pleased to have gotten a positive return but obviously disappointed that after just a little over a year with so much traction, and such a fantastic team, we’re basically throwing in the towel.”

Etzioni, the former CEO of the Allen Institute for AI and a longtime fixture in Seattle tech, said he was disappointed with aspects of how the acquisition process unfolded.

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He said he’s proud of the team and grateful for the chance to work with such a highly capable group, adding that he wishes them success in their next chapter at Anthropic.

In the comments on Etzioni’s LinkedIn post, Seth Bannon, founder of venture firm Fifty Years and lead investor in Vercept’s seed round, responded with a version of Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena,” a passage often cited in moments of public scrutiny or setback.

Etzioni later elaborated on his concerns, and Bannon disputed Etzioni’s assertions.

As first reported by GeekWire in February 2025, Vercept set out to build the “computer interface of the future,” as an early mover in AI agents that observe computer screens and automate desktop tasks.

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Its flagship application, Vy, used artificial intelligence to “see” and understand screen elements much like a human does. Users were able to instruct Vy via natural language or demonstrations to automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry, producing video content, or organizing files. 

Vercept’s founding team read like an all-star roster from the Allen Institute for AI. CEO and co-founder Ehsani was a senior researcher at Ai2, where she led work on robotics and embodied AI, training agents that can see, learn from, and interact with their surroundings. 

Weihs is a former Ai2 research manager who worked on AI agents and reinforcement learning and Girshick is a computer vision pioneer who has also spent time at Meta AI.

Vercept co-founder Matt Deitke, known for leading Ai2 projects including Molmo and Objaverse, left in mid-2025 after Meta reportedly offered him $250 million over four years to join its Superintelligence Lab, as part of a flurry of high-profile talent acquisitions at the time.

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Under the hood, the company’s Vy desktop agent was powered by a proprietary model built to understand screen interfaces and map natural language to on-screen actions. The company said VyUI outperformed models from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic on UI grounding benchmarks.

But Vercept was operating in a crowded and fast-moving field. 

Open-source projects like OpenClaw — the viral AI agent that automates tasks through messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram — have exploded in popularity. OpenAI last week hired Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw.

Other startups and some of the biggest names in tech are building their own agentic tools. In addition to Anthropic’s Claude Cowork, there’s OpenAI’s Operator, Google’s Project Mariner, and Amazon’s Nova Act. Microsoft is also pushing Copilot toward screen-level automation on Windows.

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New York sues Valve, arguing loot boxes cross the line into gambling

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The complaint centers on three of the company’s best-known titles: Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2. Each game lets players purchase digital loot boxes with real money for the chance to receive randomized items.
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14 Incredibly Small Gadgets You Didn’t Realize Existed

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We live in a world surrounded by gadgets. From smartphones to Bluetooth speakers to smart home devices, it’s difficult to imagine life without the latest tech around us. Over time, most of these gadgets have undergone miniaturization. For instance, CRT TV sets were massive. However, most of the best TVs today are extremely slim, regardless of the screen size. Transistors have gotten smaller inside electronics, allowing data to be transferred at faster speeds. While tech getting smaller over time isn’t new, there are some brands that have taken it extremely seriously, creating miniature gadgets that are also functional. The aim of these gadgets is to show how far technology has come and how tiny components can be crammed into small devices.

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While these gadgets aren’t the best of their kind, nor are they meant to replace everyday devices, they provide a fun experience for users. Another way to look at these gadgets is that they’re useful for specific purposes. For example, a mini washing machine can be useful for washing makeup brushes and puffs. A miniature laptop, on the other hand, can be a good tool to get work done on the go. Regardless of whether these devices are useful to you or not, here’s a collection of some of the world’s smallest gadgets you didn’t realize existed. Notably, we’re not endorsing the purchase of any of these gadgets, as they may not be the best in terms of functionality compared to larger alternatives from reputable brands.

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Unihertz Jelly Star smartphone

There was a time when smartphones were compact and handy. In the past few years, though, most smartphones have become huge, with screen sizes breaching the 6.9-inch mark on flagship devices. With increasing screen time, it’s natural that most consumers would want a bigger canvas to scroll social media, watch content, and chat with friends. However, as a result of growing screen sizes, holding and using a phone with one hand has become rather unwieldy. While it isn’t a direct solution to the problem, the Unihertz Jelly Star may be one of the few options if you’re tired of massive smartphones that feel like a brick.

With a 3-inch display and a full-fledged Android operating system, the phone is certainly usable for small tasks. That said, the Unihertz Jelly Star is unlikely to serve as a daily driver since the specifications aren’t up to 2026 standards. Moreover, the tiny screen just isn’t practical enough for everyday use. Typing on it is going to be a nightmare, and so is scrolling on social media feeds filled with vertical videos. Nonetheless, it’s a great party trick and can be used to make calls or even as a mobile hotspot when traveling. It’s slightly pricey at over $200, but that’s the price you pay for novelty.

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Sonew washing machine

A mini washing machine may not sound all that useful, especially if you plan on using it to wash clothes. However, some users on the internet seem to have found an interesting use case for it. The Sonew mini washing machine is an excellent gadget for washing makeup brushes, puffs, and other such small items that require regular cleaning. For those wondering, this is a legitimate washing machine that works just like a standard one. You add the item that you want to wash inside the cavity, like a beauty blender, pour in some water, and add the required amount of detergent. Then, push the button at the top to start the washing process. Wait for a while, and the item will be washed.

Once done, drain the water via the included pipe. If you’ve used a traditional washing machine, the process might sound extremely familiar. It’s interesting how the brand has managed to fit the circuitry and components required for washing into such a small form factor. It’s prone to breaking, as per some reviews, so proceed with caution if you plan on buying it. Regardless, it’s quite inexpensive and could turn out to be useful if you use a lot of makeup tools.

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Tiny Circuits TinyTV with remote

While we could think of potential use cases for the mini smartphone and washing machine, it’s hard to imagine why someone would need a tiny TV. After all, a large TV that’s 55 inches or higher generally offers a more enjoyable experience when watching content. Who would prefer watching a nice sci-fi thriller or the Super Bowl on a small screen? Despite all the questions, Tiny Circuits made the TinyTV with an accompanying remote controller that’s equally tiny. For reference, this particular TV has a 1-inch display. Imagine all the details on that crisp 216×135 display. If you ignore the screen size, though, the design is definitely a head-turner.

It resembles a CRT TV from back in the day, with a boxy exterior and a couple of knobs on the front. There’s a built-in battery that offers up to two hours of video playback. Once it runs out of juice, simply plug a power bank into the USB-C port. There’s also a built-in speaker along with 8 GB of storage to store movies and TV shows. The best use case for the Tiny Circuits TV is as a showpiece on top of a fireplace or on your desk. It’s a surefire conversation starter every time you have guests over.

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GPD MicroPC 2 laptop

Thanks to the onset of AI, it’s become more important than ever to have a computer at your fingertips at all times. A smartphone can suffice in most instances, but a full-fledged laptop with a dedicated keyboard, trackpad, and a large display can make all the difference. That’s the problem GPD is trying to solve with the GPD MicroPC 2. It’s certainly not a full-fledged laptop replacement by any means. It runs on Intel’s N250 processor coupled with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD storage. The port selection is also quite healthy, with two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, an RJ45 connector, and a microSD card slot.

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Moreover, the screen can be tilted and rotated to various angles, which means you can use the MicroPC 2 even in tablet mode. It weighs under 500g, which means it’s also extremely portable. Whether you’re looking for a small laptop as a student or a portable workhorse that can whip up documents or presentations on the go, this can be a better alternative to using a smartphone with an on-screen keyboard. That said, don’t expect it to perform like a standard laptop, since the size and thermals are definitely going to be a bottleneck.

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Anbernic RG Nano gaming console

Smartphones have undoubtedly replaced portable gaming consoles in recent years. Whether you’re traveling or commuting, all you have to do is download your favorite games on your phone and while away the time. However, playing games on a touchscreen display just doesn’t feel as fun as jamming your fingers on the physical keys of a Game Boy console. So, Anbernic decided to bring back the nostalgia in the form of the RG Nano gaming console. It’s a tiny console that’s around the size of a credit card, so it easily fits into your trouser pocket.

The good part is that despite being tiny, the console is made entirely out of aluminum for a premium build. There’s a 1.54-inch display onboard, which is rather small but should be good enough to enjoy retro games. Speaking of games, you can load over 20 different simulators on the RG Nano console, thanks to support for an SD card up to 512 GB. A 1,050mAh battery runs the show and can keep the console running for up to 2.5 hours. If you enjoy retro titles like Mario, Contra, and Sonic, you will certainly love the RG Nano console, especially at just $40.

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Kodak Luma 150 projector

When you think of a projector, the image that usually comes to mind is a big, bulky box. After all, that’s how most projectors are. However, Kodak decided that it wanted to do things differently and made the Kodak Luma 150. It’s a mini projector that’s extremely portable. If you remember a Walkman from back in the day, that’s what the Luma 150 looks like. It’s the perfect companion to throw in your backpack when you’re camping or heading for a family vacation where you want to enjoy a movie or a baseball game with everyone.

As per Kodak, the Luma 150 can project a screen of 120 inches and has a runtime of about 2.5 hours on a single charge, good enough for a full-length movie. It can also be mounted on top of a tripod, thanks to a mounting screw at the bottom. Due to the small form factor, there are going to be compromises, and the most apparent one is the maximum brightness level. It’s capped at 60 ANSI lumens, which is considerably lower than mainstream projectors with a large footprint. As a result, you’ll need a pitch-dark room for proper visibility. If you can get past that, the Kodak Luma 150 is a nifty little gadget that can even be used for office presentations.

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8Bitdo Micro Bluetooth gamepad

If you’re an ardent gamer, you know you can play some lightweight titles not just on your phone but even on a tablet or a smart TV. On devices with touchscreen panels, you can use on-screen controls for playing. When playing games on a TV, you can use the supplied remote for controls. However, these take away from the core gaming experience, especially if you’ve been playing on a dedicated controller for a long time. While you can pick up any of the best gaming controllers on Amazon, a large one can be overkill for a simple game. Moreover, it would also be difficult to carry around.

The 8Bitdo Micro Bluetooth gamepad solves this issue with a tiny controller that has all the essential buttons in a form factor that’s super tiny. It’s also rather affordable, so you can use it with a Nintendo Switch, a smartphone, and even a Raspberry Pi project. While it may be small, it doesn’t skimp on essential features. It connects via Bluetooth and even has the ability to remap buttons for specific games. It’s certainly not an everyday controller, but it’s a good backup option when traveling.

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Xteink X4 e-reader

Whenever someone mentions an e-reader, the most obvious name that comes to mind is a Kindle. Understandably so, since a Kindle is an excellent device for avid readers. However, a Kindle is the size of a tablet, so while it’s still portable, it doesn’t necessarily fit in your pocket. So if you’re commuting or don’t have a backpack when traveling, it can be a hassle to carry around an extra device. The Xteink X4 might just be the solution you’re looking for in that case. It’s an ultra-slim e-reader that has magnets on the back, which means it can attach to the back of your iPhone via MagSafe.

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Load your books onto the reader, snap it onto your phone, and read away without carrying an extra device. This is exactly what convenience looks like. Moreover, the reader costs just $69, which is more affordable than a brand-new Kindle. When not reading, you can also repurpose the e-ink display to show your calendar events or a to-do list for the day, making it a multipurpose gadget. It’s also just 5.9mm thick, so it doesn’t add too much bulk to your phone.

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Tau keychain power bank

Power banks come in various capacities, but the most popular ones are usually 10,000mAh or 20,000mAh, since they can be used to charge multiple gadgets or the same phone or laptop more than once. Of course, there are MagSafe battery packs that prioritize convenience over capacity. However, you need to keep all of these power banks charged in the first place, and you need to carry them with you at all times. Both can be inconvenient, which is why it’s a good idea to carry the Tau keychain power bank.

It’s an excellent accessory that’s compact, which means it can fit into your trouser pocket just like any other keychain. One end of the keychain has a USB-C cable, while the other has a Lightning connector. The built-in 1,400mAh battery can power your phone for a few hours in an emergency, which is the whole point of this power bank. The best part, though, is that it comes with a magnetic charger that can be mounted on a wall and also acts as a holder for the keychain. So every time you return home, just hang your keys in the charger, and the power bank remains charged. This way, you don’t have to remember to charge the power bank manually.

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Vat19 mini blender

Now this is more of a gag gift than a useful product, since let’s be honest, who wants a mini blender that can probably make a smoothie sufficient for a hamster? Nonetheless, the Vat19 mini blender is a cool item, since it actually replicates a real blender in terms of functionality. You get an actual jar to add the items of your choice, which then sits on top of the blender. Use the different mode buttons on the machine to control the blending speed.

While it may not find a permanent place in your kitchen, it’s a nice showpiece or even a toy that you could give to your kids to experiment with or play around with to understand how a blender works. This way, you can also familiarize them with kitchen appliances from a young age. It’s powered by AAA batteries or via a USB cable. For those interested, the brand claims that the jar can hold up to 1.5 ounces of liquid.

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Kodak Charmera keychain camera

If you’ve been around for a while, you’ve certainly used or at least heard of Kodak’s cameras. While the brand may not be as prominent as it once was in this segment, and brands like Sony and Canon have dominated the DSLR and mirrorless camera business, Kodak has recently attempted to make a comeback with the Charmera, a rather interesting product. It’s essentially a keychain with a built-in camera, so think of it as a pocket camera to capture moments throughout the day. Of course, it doesn’t use a film roll like Kodak’s older cameras and instead has a microSD card slot.

You can not only take photos with it but also capture videos via the 1.6MP sensor. Don’t go in expecting stellar image quality, since it is, after all, a keychain that costs $35. Nonetheless, it’s a fun little accessory that adds a touch of retro charm to your photos. The photos have an aesthetic that makes them ready to post on Instagram. Moreover, Kodak is making it more interesting by packing a surprise color of the camera in the box, so you don’t know which variant you’re getting until you unbox it.

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Sharge Disk SSD enclosure

External SSDs are often more reliable than mechanical hard drives. Another advantage of SSDs over HDDs is that they’re smaller in size, making them easy to carry around. Despite being smaller, most external SSDs are at least the size of a credit card, albeit thicker. However, Sharge wanted to miniaturize the form factor even more, which led to the Sharge Disk. The Sharge Disk is an SSD enclosure, which means you don’t get an SSD when you purchase the product. All you get is an enclosure attached to a USB-C cable.

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When you insert an M.2 NVMe drive into it, the device turns into an external SSD that you can use with your computer, smartphone, or just about any device that accepts a USB-C drive. The end result is a drive that’s way faster than a thumb drive while also offering more storage, all while being the size of a standard USB flash drive. It also has active cooling, which is impressive for an enclosure of this size.

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Mogics Super Bagel travel charger

If you travel with a lot of electronic gadgets and devices, you know that charging all of them at once can be a big hassle. While a travel adapter can make your job easier, connecting multiple plugs isn’t always possible with one. Additionally, you cannot carry large extension boards and spike guards since they would take up a lot of space in your backpack. An excellent solution to this problem is the Mogics Super Bagel travel charger.

As the name suggests, it looks exactly like a bagel. The brand has optimized the space in a manner that makes it easy to plug in five physical plugs along with two USB devices. The plugs are spaced out well without occupying too much space, which is exactly what you need if you’re plugging in large adapters like MacBook chargers. You also get different adapters for various regions. 

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Veeniix V995 mini drone

Don’t go by the size of the Veeniix V995 mini drone, as we’ve seen in the past how small drones can also be dangerous. That said, if you manage to keep it away from kids, the V995 is a fun little toy that can perform cool stunts like flips and rotations in midair. The total flying time claimed by the brand is 21 minutes, which is quite respectable. While the brand claims you can fly the drone indoors, it’s always recommended to fly it in an open space to reduce the risk of causing damage. 

There are adjustable speed levels along with an auto-hover feature that can keep the drone airborne in the same place. Since it’s tiny, it’s rather easy to lose track of the drone when flying in certain environments, so you may want to keep an eye on its location at all times.

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Investigation: over 75% of Android VPNs fail basic transparency tests

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  • 77% of Android VPNs studied fail basic accountability and transparency tests.
  • These 2,666 apps have amassed over 2 billion downloads combined
  • 43% of the apps lack a usable website for troubleshooting or product research.
  • 63% rely on non-proprietary email addresses (such as Gmail)
  • 54% of apps have a substandard or inaccessible privacy policy

If you’re looking for a VPN for your Android device, it pays to be skeptical. Exclusive research by TechRadar has found that 77% of VPNs on the Google Play Store raise significant transparency and accountability concerns. And given these apps handle your sensitive browsing data, that’s a major red flag.

Of the 3,471 Android applications that claim to protect user privacy, we found that 2,666 have significant flaws.

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Bluehost VPS review | TechRadar

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If you feel it is time to upgrade your shared hosting to one of the best VPS providers, Bluehost looks like a good place to start. With its managed VPS offering, you potentially get the benefit of the performance boost that comes with a VPS without the headache of supporting the website software yourself.

To find out if Bluehost’s managed VPS option is as attractive as it looks, we’ve evaluated it, comparing the plans and pricing options, the server infrastructure, and features. We also assessed performance of Bluehost VPS hosting with benchmark tools, and spent some time with its site building tools, which are aimed at anyone launching a small business website.

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Universal Pre-K Is a Hot Policy Idea. But What About Kindergarten?

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Even casual observers of the early childhood space likely noticed the massive push for expanding access to care and education programs over the last year, most notably with universal preschool options.

But a less splashy effort has been quietly underway for years: making kindergarten mandatory, enrolling the small percent of children holding out from the entry-level grade in order to boost their academic and emotional success.

Enrolling children in kindergarten is only legally required for families in 20 states, though every state makes it mandatory for public schools to offer the entry-level grade to students. Students in those states can also complete kindergarten in private school or through homeschool, instead.

The mandate has gained momentum slowly over several decades, most recently in California, Michigan, New Jersey and Louisiana, though only the latter two ultimately passed new laws.

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But as state leaders grapple with dwindling funds for early childhood education, and with the spotlight shining on the more popular push for universal preschool, the future of mandatory kindergarten remains murky.

“I bet there are lawmakers who don’t even know it’s not mandatory,” says Hanna Melnick, director of early learning policy at the Learning Policy Institute.

The Push for Kindergarten

The purpose of kindergarten has shifted over the years. Once a haven for educational play, kindergarten classrooms now tend to emphasize academic work. Regardless, educators and experts use it as a way to identify whether students have the social-emotional, language and motor skills they need for elementary school. Plenty of studies prove that enrolling in kindergarten reaps long-term rewards, both academically and socially, particularly for lower-income and minority students.

Those benefits are often mentioned by lawmakers looking to make kindergarten mandatory.

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For example, Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in 2024 that mandatory kindergarten could decrease student absenteeism in addition to increasing student achievement. That measure failed to pass, though the state instead launched its expansive PreK for All initiative that same year.

“Any time a group of kids are being underserved, it’s not good for the kid or family,” Christina Weiland, a professor of education and public policy at the University of Michigan, says.

“But for the teacher, if students are placed in first grade and they are behind, it places more demand on teachers on how to get every kid to the same place.”

Even states without technically mandated kindergarten have workarounds. Florida, for example, does not mandate kindergarten for all students, but for a student to enroll in a public school first-grade classroom, having completed kindergarten is a prerequisite. New Jersey leaves it up to individual school districts, and some require completing the grade while others do not.

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Alabama in 2024 passed legislation requiring children who did not attend kindergarten to pass the “First Grade Readiness Assessment” in order to enroll directly into first grade. The test is being administered for the first time this school year. Those who do not pass will be required to attend kindergarten.

“This new law will ensure students are truly prepared to enter the first grade,” Alabama state representative Pebblin Warren, who has pushed for this legislation since 2019, said in a statement. She added that she hoped it would help even the playing field for students and their teachers, and help with future school retention.

Comparing Costs

California’s policy history offers a case study about the push and pull between investing in mandatory kindergarten versus other public early learning programs.

In California, 5 percent of families do not enroll their children into kindergarten. That adds up to about 200,000 kids sitting out.

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In 2024, a bill was put forth to legally mandate students attend kindergarten before entering first grade. As of now, 6-year-olds must attend school, and it is up to parents whether to enroll them in kindergarten or first grade.

California’s proposal made it through the state House and Senate before Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill, pointing toward the $268 million it would cost annually as too high a price tag.

However, starting in the 2022-2023 school year, similarly to in Michigan, Newsom approved California’s transitional kindergarten program, which sought to increase access to public education programs for 4-year-olds. In the most recent budget, Newsom proposed $1.8 billion in additional funding for expanding the state’s transitional kindergarten program, which effectively serves as universal pre-K.

Financial cost is one big factor as officials weigh which kinds of early learning programs to support. Sometimes the pain of big upfront bills seem to outweigh the potential longer-term payoff for society, says Emma Garcia, a principal researcher at the Learning Policy Institute.

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“I feel like sometimes the argument used against it is, ‘Oh, it costs a lot and the effects fade,” she says. “But it’s what society gains from the early investment.”

There’s also the political “costs” of passing new regulations mandating participation in school.

“Offering a service tends to be fairly popular; requiring it tends to be less so,” Sarah Novicoff, a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, says. “It’s all about questions of priorities, about what the state particularly thinks will make change in the most impactful way and there’s trade-offs to all these things.”

Today’s political climate favors “parental choice,” both in the ideological sense of parents knowing what is best for their children, and in the literal sense via school vouchers.

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“Family choice has always been embedded in any child care policy,” Jade Jenkins, an associate professor of education at the University of California Irvine who has studied the effects of mandatory kindergarten since 2015. “And with the conservative sentiment dominating the landscape these days, which is parental choice and the push toward educational choice for school-aged children, nationalizing or any kind of early childhood educational mandates are further off.”

It’s not obvious that even families who do participate in kindergarten always value it fully, at least according to attendance records. According to the American Enterprise Institute, 1 in 3 California kindergarten students were chronically absent, or missed 10 percent or more of a school year.

If families put less stock in kindergarten, it might be because of the reality that, in many places, only half-day programs are available. According to the Education Commission of the States, a nonprofit tracking education policy, only 16 states and Washington D.C. require schools to offer all-day kindergarten options, with the remainder mandating half-day offerings.

Without that all-day offering, many parents are left in the lurch for half of the work day.

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“It’s not just about parent choice: They offer half day, and you often have to pay for full day [care], which is a real access problem where policies could make a difference,” Weiland says. “A push toward offering full day is probably more meaningful, at least on the equity side.”

Potential Wins and Roadblocks

It turns out that the two policy ideas — offering universal pre-K and mandating kindergarten — may lead to the same place. Some experts posit that expanded pre-K could help place students on the elementary public school track earlier.

After all, Weiland says, “I’ve never heard of doing universal pre-K and then not kindergarten; that’s not too much of a common path, at least.”

That seems especially likely in areas like Washington, D.C., and Boston, where universal preschool programs are embedded in public school settings (as opposed to offered at standalone centers or in-home programs).

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“In a mixed-delivery system, we have no reason to believe this would make me stay in public school, but in places like Boston where it’s highly regarded in the public schools, we have found they are somewhat more likely to stay in public schools,” Jenkins says.

And that could help in a small way with the enrollment issues schools have encountered since the pandemic. While school enrollment rates for 5-year-olds are high — 84 percent across the country, according to the National Center for Education Statistics — they began dipping postpandemic, down 6 percent for 5-year-olds from 2019 to 2021.

These days, education leaders are also worried about longer-term demographic and birth rate changes primed to hurt schools, such as “the fertility cliff and the enrollment cliff,” Jenkins says. For institutions that are funded based on a per-pupil method of calculation, that means fewer dollars.

Weiland pointed toward states like Vermont, Maine and West Virginia that have all been hit particularly hard with enrollment dips and had to close down schools.

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“We have these school enrollment crises, where the birth cohorts are getting smaller, and it doesn’t make great financial sense for kindergarten classrooms to go under-enrolled,” she says. “That could have some political momentum to increase enrollment numbers.”

For schools trying to stay open, every additional kindergartener helps.

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Samsung Galaxy S26 skips magnets, but they still charge faster and get new gear

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If you were betting on Samsung finally baking built-in magnets into the Galaxy S26 series this year, well — you lost. For the second year running, Samsung has skipped native Qi2 magnetic hardware across the entire S26 lineup.

No MPP (Magnetic Power Profile), no satisfying snap onto your wireless charger. Just a phone that sits on a pad and hopes for the best with alignment. The reason? Space, apparently.

Samsung didn’t include wireless charging magnets due to “space constraints”

At the Unpacked event, when asked why the Galaxy S26 still misses out on magnets, a Samsung executive told Digital Trends that it was probably due to space constraints. They didn’t go deep into the engineering process behind it all, but ruled out that there were any thermal concerns behind the decision.

So the internals are just too busy to fit a ring of magnets. Sure, Samsung. We believe you. I’d say that Google’s decision to finally include wireless magnetic charging on the Pixel 10 series — dubbed Pixelsnap charging — gives the series a clear edge in terms of daily charging convenience.

Here’s where things get genuinely better — on paper, at least. Wireless charging speeds are up across the lineup: the S26+ now tops out at 20W, and the Ultra goes all the way to 25W Qi2. The base S26 is still stuck at 15W, but the jump for the two bigger models is real and welcome.

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Faster wireless charging — on supported models — is a bit confusing

The catch? Those faster speeds come with strings attached. Specifically, a magnetic case. Without one, your phone is limited to whatever the Qi spec’s Extended Power Profile allows — which is 15W, full stop.

Anything beyond that sits in Magnetic Power Profile territory, and that standard physically needs magnets to lock alignment and pull higher wattage from the charger. No magnets on the phone means no alignment means no extra speed (via 9To5Google).

Samsung’s own 25W wireless charger is itself a magnetic puck, which tells you everything — it barely works without a magnetic case in the picture.

At least you get new magnetic cases and charging gear

To Samsung’s credit, the company isn’t leaving buyers stranded. It launched a fresh lineup of first-party magnetic cases alongside the S26 series — silicone options with Qi2 magnets built inside, a transparent patterned “Rugged” variant, and a returning clear case.

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Samsung also dropped a new Magnet Wireless Charger (a slim 4.4mm Qi2 puck with a fabric USB-C cable, currently on sale for $34.99 from $49.99) and a 5,000mAh magnetic power bank with a kickstand.

Third-party brands like Belkin, ESR, and dbrand have piled in too, with magnetic S26 cases that bring full MagSafe-style snap-on functionality to the table.

Is it a little absurd that you need to buy a case just to use a charger at full speed? Absolutely. But at least the ecosystem around that workaround is now genuinely good.

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Easily Replaceable USB-C Port Spawned By EU Laws

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The USB-C port has become a defacto connectivity standard for modern devices, largely supplanting the ugly mess of barrel jacks and micro USB connectors that once cursed us. While their reliability is good, they don’t last forever, and can be a pain to replace in most devices if they do fail. However, a new part from JAE Electronics could change that.

The problem with replacing USB connectors in most hardware is that they’re soldered in place. To swap them out, you have to master both desoldering and soldering leads of a rather fine pitch. It’s all rather messy. In the interest of satisfying the EU’s new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), JAE Electronics has developed a USB-C connector that’s easier to replace. Rather than being soldered in, the part is simply clamped down on to a printed circuit board with small screws. As the part is torqued down, small gold-plated contacts are compressed into pads on the PCB to make the necessary contact.

The connector is fully compatible with USB 4 version 2.0 (don’t ask us how they number these things anymore). It comes in single and dual connector versions, and is capable of USB PD EPR at up to 240 W (5A/48V). The part does have some drawbacks—namely, the footprint of the metal-shelled part is somewhat larger than most soldered USB C connectors. Whether this precludes its use is very much an application-specific matter for product engineers to decide.

In any case, if you find yourself designing hardware with heavily-used USB C ports, you might find this part useful. It’s not widely available yet, but some parts should be landing at Mouser in coming months. We’ve explored some of the ways USB-C connectors can be fouled and damaged before, too. Sound off with your opinions on this new part in the comments.

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Thanks to [James] for the tip!

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Xiaomi’s latest wireless charger is just 6mm thick – thinner than much of the competition

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Xiaomi has unveiled one of the slimmest magnetic power banks we’ve seen, measuring just 6mm thick and weighing 98g.

The new Xiaomi UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 15W is designed to snap onto compatible smartphones. At the same time, it remains barely noticeable in your pocket.

Despite its card-like profile, the power bank packs a 5,000mAh battery. Xiaomi uses a high energy-density silicon-carbon cell with 16% silicon content, alongside a large graphite cooling sheet. This helps keep the design thin without sacrificing everyday usability. It’s small enough to sit flush against the back of a phone. Yet it is substantial enough to provide a meaningful top-up.

Wireless charging tops out at 15W, though iPhone models support up to 7.5W magnetic charging. There’s also 22.5W wired charging via USB-C, giving users a faster option when needed. Xiaomi says wired use can extend the music playback time of its latest Xiaomi 17 handset by roughly nine hours. The power bank can also charge two devices simultaneously, and even continue powering devices while it recharges itself.

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Compatibility covers a broad range of devices, including Xiaomi’s recent flagship models. It also supports the iPhone 12 through the iPhone 17 series. Furthermore, select Samsung Galaxy Ultra handsets are supported. Google Pixel devices, including the Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 lines, are included as well.

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Design is clearly part of the appeal. The aluminium alloy shell features a subtle metallic finish and rounded edges. Additionally, it has a photolithographically etched logo. Xiaomi has also added a fibreglass surface layer with a heat-resistant coating. Along with that, dual NTC temperature controls help regulate heat during charging.

Ultra-thin magnetic battery packs aren’t new, but Xiaomi’s 6mm approach pushes portability further than most.

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