usernames

Google releases new open LLMs, Rivian lays off staff and Signal rolls out usernames

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Welcome, folks, to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter covering noteworthy happenings in the tech industry. This week, Google launched two new open large language models, Gemma 2B and Gemma 7B, in its continued bid for generative AI dominance. The company, which describes the LLMs as “inspired by Gemini,” its flagship family of GenAI … Read more

Signal’s New Usernames Will Let You Can Keep Your Phone Number Private

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Photo: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg (Getty Images) For those who care about digital privacy, few apps are more beloved than Signal. For years, the end-to-end encrypted messenger has offered some of the best privacy protections on the web. Strong encryption, zero subscription fees, and virtually no data collection? What’s not to like? The FTC Just Prescribed a … Read more

Signal Finally Rolls Out Usernames, So You Can Keep Your Phone Number Private

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The third new feature, which is not enabled by default and which Signal recommends mainly for high-risk users, allows you to turn off not just your number’s visibility but its discoverability. That means no one can find you in Signal unless they have your username, even if they already know your number or have it … Read more

Secure messaging app Signal moves a step closer to launching usernames

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End-to-end encrypted messaging app, Signal, is getting closer to launching a much anticipated feature that will allow users to share only a username in order to connect with other users, rather than having to reveal the phone number linked to their account, as is the case now. Other secure messaging platforms, such as Telegram and … Read more

Signal tests usernames so you can avoid sharing your phone number

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Signal is publicly testing letting users add usernames to their accounts so they don’t have to share their phone number to connect via the encrypted messaging service. The test was announced via a post on the Signal forums by VP of engineering Jim O’Leary, who referred to the feature as “pre-beta” and warned that there’ll … Read more

Elon Musk’s X is reportedly selling usernames and handles for $50,000

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As X struggles to make money and retain users, CEO Elon Musk is trying to balance his bottom line by selling off unused account handles. According to emails obtained by Forbes, a team called @Handle is building a marketplace for the purchase of usernames left unused by the people who originally registered them. And how … Read more