The app previously prioritized original content over existing, re-shared posts in its "stories" feature, but it will now treat both equally, according to the company. 

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Instagram is updating its algorithm after being accused of censoring pro-Palestinian content. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, has changed its algorithm after a group of its employees reportedly complained that pro-Palestinian information was not visible to users during the Gaza conflict.

The app previously prioritized original content over existing, re-shared posts in its "stories" feature, but it will now treat both equally, according to the company. The current system had a "greater impact than anticipated" on certain types of posts. However, Instagram stated that this was an unintended consequence rather than an attempt to censor any particular point of view.

According to BuzzFeed News and the Financial Times, the Instagram employee group had made a number of appeals regarding content that had been banned by Instagram's automated moderation, such as posts about the al-Aqsa mosque that had been accidentally erased.

Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have been chastised in recent weeks for how they have surfaced — or not surfaced — content related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Twitter restricted the account of a Palestinian writer earlier this month, which it later said was done "in error."

Instagram changes algorithm: Amidst the Gaza conflict

Google Photos has long provided one of the best deals in photo storage: it will back up your entire library for free, as long as the images can be compressed slightly.

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Google Photos has long provided one of the best deals in photo storage: it will back up your entire library for free, as long as the images can be compressed slightly. However, as of tomorrow, June 1st, that deal is no longer available, and you are now consuming Google storage (which you may have to pay for) whether your images are compressed or not.

When it came to photos, the compressed and uncompressed versions were frequently indistinguishable. However, once you start losing resolution, the compression really begins to show.

As long as the original file is less than 16 megapixels, the result can be barely distinguishable. However, for videos, there is no doubt that uncompressed is the way to go. It's a shame Google doesn't allow you to set different options for photos and videos.

The real disadvantage is that compressing your photos does not always save a significant amount of space. As you upload thousands of new photos to the cloud each year, that extra space quickly adds up. However, if you're going to have to pay anyway, it might be worth it to keep your photos — and especially your videos — at their original resolution, especially if you're uploading them in higher resolutions.

Google compressing photos: How bad is it?

According to court documents, Google buried location settings so people wouldn't disable them. According to newly released documents, Google also put pressure on other Android manufacturers to make the settings less visible.

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According to court documents, Google buried location settings so people wouldn't disable them. According to newly released documents, Google also put pressure on other Android manufacturers to make the settings less visible.

As per the documents, the decision was made after Google conducted research that discovered a "substantial increase" in devices that disabled the settings when presented with easily accessible options. The search giant saw the change as a "problem," and pressed other Android phone manufacturers to do the same.

The documents are part of a consumer fraud case filed against Google by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich last year. The Arizona Mirror was the first to report on the unsealed documents.

"At the bottom, Google's efforts were intended to deemphasize the prominence of location settings because Google's own research showed that users are more likely to disable location settings when presented with a clear option to do so," an unclassified section from the lawsuit says. "Google tried to convince these carriers and manufacturers to conceal the location settings — or make them less prominent — through active misrepresentations and/or concealment, suppression, or omission of facts available to Google concerning user experience in order to assuage their privacy concerns."

The lawsuit was filed in reaction to an Associated Press investigation in 2018 that looked into Google's location data practices on phones running Android, the company's mobile operating system. According to the news outlet, Google still monitors people's exact location even if they disable a setting called Location History.

A large bulk of Google's revenue comes from its huge marketing operations, which is bolstered by personal information collected when people use its products.

However, users were "lulled into a false sense of security" because Google misled them into believing they had disabled location data gathering settings when they were still turned on.

Google spying on our location?

In the crowded food- and grocery-delivery space, Instacart hopes that cutting a few minutes will make all the difference. To that end, it is launching a new “priority delivery” option today in select markets

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In the crowded food- and grocery-delivery space, Instacart hopes that cutting a few minutes will make all the difference. To that end, it is launching a new “priority delivery” option today in select markets, promising to fulfill orders in “as little as 30 minutes.”

While 45- and 60-minute deliveries are accessible to several Instacart customers, the company claims that “priority delivery” will be available in more than 15 cities. Its planned use case is for quick errands, rather than the bulk, weekly grocery shopping that Instacart excels at.

Small orders, like the ones “priority” is designed for, are typically the least lucrative and often remain in the queue of unclaimed work for the longest time, as is true for many delivery jobs. For many drivers, picking up these small orders isn't worth the gas they'd have to use to get to the store.

Faster service will cost more — though the pricing for “priority” is unknown at this time. Instacart refused to specify how much the upcharge is anticipated to be or how much of it is reflected in delivery workers' pay. Instacart also did not say whether it was increasing staffing or making workflow adjustments to achieve any “priority delivery” requirements.

It's understandable to be concerned about how this new feature, with its increased time demands, will affect an already stressed and vulnerable workforce.

After all, this is the same firm that was discovered to be subsidizing workers' wages with their own tip money; it's also the same company that, to some extent, still allows employees to interact in the heinous practice of tip baiting, in which delivery workers are persuaded to grab an order with a generous tip, only to have it repealed after the order is received.

Finishing a delivery in half an hour may not seem like a big deal, especially for Instacart customers who already work in metro areas with 45-minute turnaround times. Customer ratings, on the other hand, can mean the difference between having a job and being deactivated in the precariousness of gig work.

30 min delivery on Instacart a problem?

Airbnb does not want you to forget about it, especially if you are planning a post-pandemic vacation.

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Airbnb does not want you to forget about it, especially if you are planning a post-pandemic vacation. So, on Monday, the company made a slew of announcements, all of which appeared to be aimed at getting people to rent, travel, and, crucially, choose Airbnb to do so.

It also introduced a quick onboarding process for hosts, at a time when competitors such as Vrbo are attempting to poach them, as well as a new service for Super Hosts that will allow them to contact the Airbnb team directly for customer support.

Airbnb's concept of travel is expanding beyond short vacations. According to Chesky, nearly a quarter of Airbnb bookings are “long term,” meaning 28 days or more. On a monthly basis, “millions and millions of people” stay and live at Airbnb listings, he claims, and in cities like New York, that figure is closer to 60%.

“I think eventually in the future people will start paying for rent the way they pay for cable television, or for Netflix, you pay on a month-to-month basis,” the CEO Brian Chesky said. 

He didn't say anything about how this might affect tenants, such as those who prefer long-term rentals because it locks in their rent at a set price and provides legal protections. 

However, the shift to long-term rentals does not imply that the company is changing the way it vets guests. It will not require renters to prove their income, provide a credit score, or leave a deposit of the first and last month's rent for longer stays, as traditional landlords do.

For budget-conscious renters, he says the company is rethinking how fees work on its platform, especially after a flurry of complaints about exorbitant cleaning fees. The team is optimizing their system to calculate the "best deal" for renters that takes fees into account, as well as soliciting feedback from hosts and guests on how to make fees work for everyone.

Airbnb can replace your landlords

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