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This was another busy week in tech, with Apple releasing the affordable MacBook Neo and other new hardware, big updates for Obsidian and Home Assistant, changes coming to Windows 11, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

Note-taking has always been part of my daily routine, but it felt plain. My notes were practical, yes, but dull and often hard to skim. Everything changed when I started using emoji intentionally in my note-taking, especially inside Obsidian.

You might not consider your computer a vital part of your smart home, but it can be. Integrating your Windows, Mac, or Linux workstation with Home Assistant lets you use your computer as a trigger or condition for household automations, and even send commands depending on your operating system.

Linux is everywhere, and that's not a bad thing. It's an operating system that seems to end up in every sort of device imaginable. The only place where Linux is rare seems to be desktop computers. Of course in recent years Linux has been gaining in popularity, and I can see a future where it might even have the majority share of the desktop market.

If you've chatted with any single friend lately or scrolled through social media, you know the general consensus: People are exhausted by online dating. App fatigue is real, it's excruciating, and it makes finding a genuine connection online feel impossible. As someone who's been testing and reviewing dating apps for years, I get asked one question constantly: Which dating apps actually work?

My answer is always the same: The only "hack" is choosing the right app for what you actually want. Someone on eharmony is looking for a ring, while users on hookup apps like Tinder are... well, you know what they're looking for.

I always follow up this advice with one more piece of wisdom: Don't give up! Despite burnout, the best dating apps remain among the most reliable ways to meet a partner. A 2025 SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus found that 65 percent of people aged 18 to 29 have used a dating app, and a 2023 Pew Research Center report found that one in five young people met their significant other on one.

You just need the right tool. That's why I've put in the hours, the swipes, and the subscription fees to find the best dating app for every kind of single person. To help you find your match, these are all of the top dating apps worth downloading in 2026.

If you need even more personalized advice, check out our guides to the best dating apps for men, women, and the LGBTQ community.

The dating apps I'd skip (and why)

You'll probably notice a few popular apps are missing from my list. That’s intentional. Part of my job is to filter out the platforms that aren't worth your time, money, or sanity. An app doesn't get my recommendation just because it's well-known — it has to be effective and safe.

Here are a few popular dating apps I'd skip:

• Plenty of Fish (POF): I know this one shows up on a lot of lists, but in my opinion, it's a dating app ghost town. POF launched as a dating site back in 2003, and it shows. In my experience (and based on widespread user feedback), the platform is filled with bots and scams, and the odds of finding a quality connection are stacked against you. Unless you enjoy sifting through fake profiles, I think your time is better spent elsewhere.

• Raya: Raya is basically the Soho House of dating apps. It's exclusive, expensive, and not for the average person. You have to fill out an application to use it, and the vetting process can take anywhere from a few days to a few years. While it might be great for networking or bagging an influencer, it's just not a practical recommendation for most people who are simply looking for a date. (See also: The League.)

• Niche "hookup" sites (like BeNaughty, Fling, etc.): There's a chance you've seen ads for sites like these, which promise quick, no-strings-attached fun. Based on my research and countless user reviews, I'd advise you to steer clear. These platforms are notorious for being overrun with bots and having questionable billing practices, with users reporting unexpected and hard-to-cancel subscription charges.

In today’s episode of f*ck the patriarchy, there’s a new website called “Check Her Body Count” that claims to use AI to calculate a woman’s “body count” using her Instagram profile. But it's both terribly inaccurate and misogynistic in nature — even if comparisons are being made to the whisper network site, Tea.

The website went viral on Feb. 26, after X user @weretuna shared an ad for Check Her Body Count on their feed. The post reads: “Suspicious that your girl has 10+ body count? Now you don’t have to guess. You paste her ig [sic] URL, and the app brutally estimates her body count by checking her followers, posts, and stories."

SEE ALSO: The best hookup apps for 2026: I swiped until my thumb hurt

The post has amassed 6.1 million views as of this publication.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Before I go on an absolute rant, let’s just explain what “body count” is for the people who may not know: the number of sexual partners a person has had in their lifetime. Also, Mashable attempted to reach out to the Check Her Body Count contact email, but it bounced back.

OK, so here’s what I have to say about this.

1.) Obviously, this isn’t the most important point, but I just want everyone to understand that this site is completely inaccurate. There’s a little disclaimer at the bottom of the site that admits: "This tool does not access, connect to, or retrieve data from any third-party platform. All outputs are randomly generated for entertainment only and do not reflect real individuals."

Not only that, but a developer named Cappy (@CappyIshihara) reposted the viral post with his two cents, confirming that the site doesn't even access Instagram. It just validates the URL in your browser, spits out a random number, and caches it locally. In his words: “this sh*t is completely clientside, zero net, cache in localstorage."

My editor tried the site for herself, and it stated she had more "male followers" than actual total followers she has on Instagram.

2.) The idea of this is gross AF, and the fact that some commenters are saying that this site is no worse than the Tea App is exactly how and why tech is so dangerous today. The Tea App, which relaunched as a website after Apple's App Store booted it last year, is a safe space for women to discuss "red flags" and find info on potential suitors — it’s very “Are We Dating the Same Guy” — so that they can decide whether they're entering potentially dangerous situations.

Yet, here are just a few examples of what some men are saying about Check Her Body Count:

• "Nah, this stays up until [the] Tea App gets dumped."

• "Someone doesn't like the consequences of their actions?"

• "So women are upset at this, but find the Tea App, which berates men and tells other women how supposedly bad a guy is and ruins his dating reputation, okay? Yea, no. I fully support this website."

Comparing a whisper network meant to keep women physically safe to a tool designed to arbitrarily shame and surveil women for having sex is peak misogyny.

“Body count is a gross, inaccurate metric rooted in misogyny — period,” Angie Rowntree, founder and director of the porn site Sssh.com, tells Mashable. “It dehumanizes women and normalizes the surveillance and violation of women.”

And let’s just pause and talk about the exhausting double standard fueling all of this. If a guy has a lot of sex, he’s celebrated as "the man." But if a woman has the exact same amount of sex, she’s branded a "whore." And god forbid she chooses not to have sex, because then she’s instantly labeled "prudish" or a tease. It's a completely rigged game designed to make us apologize for our own bodies, no matter what we do.

As Rowntree notes, obsessing over this number "completely ignores context like consent and pleasure, and pretends that having sexual experience somehow diminishes a person's worth." In reality, having multiple partners may translate to greater confidence, better boundaries, and more fulfilling sex lives.

3.) We are seeing a terrifying trend where AI and tech are being weaponized by male-dominated online subcultures to enforce patriarchal control. If that sounds dramatic, let's look at the receipts. Deepfake technology gained notoriety through the creation of non-consensual sexual images of women. A recent investigation by the Tech Transparency Project found 102 "nudify" AI apps (which render people, often women, naked) hosted across Google Play and the Apple App Store. Those apps were downloaded more than 705 million times and generated $117 million in revenue. As the Tech Transparency Project wrote, "Because Google and Apple take a cut of that revenue, they are directly profiting from the activity of these apps" — meaning they are making money off the digital abuse and sexualization of women.

And have we forgotten about Grok? During an 11-day period between December 2025 and January 2026 alone, Elon Musk's chatbot produced an estimated three million sexualized images, including deepfakes of real, well-known women.

“The Grok scandal shows how fast 'fun' AI features can quickly turn toxic when they ignore users' rights (in this case, women's rights) to control their own public images and narratives," says Rowntree.

This is about so much more than a fake Instagram scraper — it's about an online ecosystem (often tied to anti-feminist "red-pilled" and incel communities) that actively pits men against women and uses tech as a tool for harassment. Dr. Mathilde Pavis, a leading adviser on AI regulation, told Newsweek that the concept behind Check Her Body Count reflects a deeper, dangerous cultural logic: "that women's bodies and private lives are subject to algorithmic judgment, sexual scoring and public evaluation."

"The body count website did not happen in a vacuum," says Rowntree. "There are men (and entire cultures) in 2026 who still think a hymen is a 'freshness seal' and virginity is the sum total of a woman's worth." Whether it's deepfaking women's bodies or creating fake algorithms to publicly score their sexual history, the goal is the exact same: policing women.

“Women are not property; we are human beings,” Rowntree adds. “As such, our bodies are also not public property to be exploited without consent, including for algorithmic judgment or AI manipulation."

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TL;DR: Live stream Wrexham vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The FA Cup always produces interesting storylines, and all eyes will be on Wrexham vs. Chelsea in the latest round of the competition. Chelsea are obviously favorites to progress, but Wrexham's well-documented story could add another famous chapter with a win here. The Racecourse Ground will be rocking when Chelsea come to town this weekend.

If you want to watch Wrexham vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Wrexham vs. Chelsea?

Wrexham vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup kicks off at 5:45 p.m. GMT on March 7. This fixture takes place at the Molineux Stadium.

How to watch Wrexham vs. Chelsea for free

Wrexham vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Wrexham vs. Chelsea for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Live stream Wrexham vs. Chelsea for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Wrexham vs. Chelsea without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream select fixtures from the FA Cup before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Wrexham vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

We’re living in the era of the wearable. Smartwatches are replacing traditional timepieces, smart rings double as finger jewelry and health devices, and clip-on open earbuds make for fashionable ear accessories.

Now, we’re at the point where wearable speakers are a thing — or least, JLab seems to think so. The company just developed these portable Bluetooth speakers, which look like monstrous-sized wireless headphones for ogres. They're called the Blue XL Speaker Headphones, and they can be yours for $100.

The only thing more bonkers than the concept? The design itself. As someone who tests headphones and speakers, I’m obligated to check them out even if they're a weird novelty. Well, the Blue XL Speaker Headphones didn’t disappoint — at least on the weirdness front.

JLab loves to experiment Credit: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

This is a company that has built its reputation on low pricing and filling a niche. It was one of the first audio brands to launch wireless earbuds with charging cases that featured built-in charging cables. The Blue XL Speaker Headphones are JLab’s second most ambitious creation – a limited-edition release that draws more “umms” than “oohs.”

I chuckled a few times during the unboxing. My 5-year-old toddler burst out laughing when he saw the speakers around my neck and asked, “what the heck is that?” My wife had a similar reaction. Basically, we all found the Blue XL Speaker Headphones hilarious. They’re certainly nowhere near as stylish as category favorites like the Beats Pill.

They're also outlandishly heavy (52 oz., or 3.25 lbs). Wearing them around the neck weighed down my shoulders, giving me a frumpy posture.

More importantly, if you’re thinking of buying the Blue XL Speaker Headphones as a home speaker alternative, you better think long and hard about their placement and how they will be positioned. The earcups must face outwards, rather than pointing at each other, to get the best sound output.

What about hanging them, say from a headphone stand? I tried that. The product is too long and won’t remain stable unless it’s propped on the back of the stand, which is a ridiculous-looking setup.

But how do the speaker headphones sound? With great headphones comes great function dial. Credit: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

In a word: impressive.

JLab doesn’t have the sonic pedigree of legacy audio companies like Sennheiser and Sony. What it does provide is adequate sound at highly competitive price points.

The Blue XL Speaker Headphones feature dual 2.5-inch drivers and passive radiators that blast incredibly loud audio and a powerful bass response. Lows have an effective presence on most contemporary recordings. Afro punk, EDM, hip-hop, and rock fans should enjoy what they hear. 

Listeners who like vocal performances and podcasts won’t be sold on the Blue XL Speaker Headphones’ audio quality, however. Vocals and high-range sounds (6 kHz to 20 kHz) are subdued. Sibilance is noticeable when listening to dialogue-heavy content; consonants like 's', 'sh', 'z', and 'ch' sound harsh. 

True stereo sound is out of the question — because the speakers don’t support JLab’s LabSync technology to pair multiple speakers at once. This a standalone unit with two mono speakers that broadcast the same thing. 

And in case you were wondering how it does with calls ... well, you can’t use the Blue XL Speaker Headphones as a speakerphone, either. 

Conclusion: a hilarious novelty Credit: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

The Blue XL Speaker Headphones aren’t ideal wireless headphones or speakers, mainly due to their enormous size. You must stretch your imagination to find any use for them.

To their credit, the Blue XL Speaker Headphones perform a lot better than you would think. Each driver pumps out strong, bass-filled sound. The dial with a multifunctional button is distinctive and works well. Up to 20 hours per charge is more than what most similarly priced speakers offer. And the overall build quality is solid.

I would have recommended hanging a pair from each ceiling corner to create wide surround sound, but the lack of multi-speaker connectivity kills that idea. 

The main purpose this product serves? Getting a laugh out of anyone who looks at them. Keep in mind that April Fool’s Day is around the corner!

Credit: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

Still, $100 is generous for these speakers, even as a white elephant gift.

In short, the Blue XL Speaker Headphones raise questions that inevitably lead to disappointing answers. No one is going to wear them outside unless they’re begging for attention, and the responses won’t be flattering. Sizing is excessive — you can’t set these speakers up anywhere.

JLab suggests placing them on a table, but there’s no direction on how to properly position them. Also, there’s no mention of the heavy reverberation they produce when placed on certain surfaces. Other shortcomings include no IP rating or app support to personalize the speakers. 

To all appearances, JLab conceived the Blue XL Speaker Headphones as a joke and ran with it. But after you get over the novelty factor, it will be hard to take them seriously.

The JLab Blue XL limited-edition headphones are currently out of stock, though you can find them on eBay for twice their retail price.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 is available to preorder at Amazon for under $70. That's below market value ahead of the March 20 release date.

Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 $67.92 at Amazon
  Get Deal at Amazon

Finding new Pokémon products for anywhere near market value is always a challenge. Finding Pokémon preorders for a good price is almost impossible. But every now and then, a leading retailer gives trading card enthusiasts something to celebrate.

The Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 is available to preorder at Amazon for under $70. Why is that price significant? It's below market value. Only just below market value, but below market value all the same. When it comes to Pokémon, you should jump at anything close to market value from Amazon. It doesn't happen that often.

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This popular preorder celebrates the bond between Trainer and Pokémon with a booster pack containing three of nine illustration rare-style promo cards. These consisting of beloved first partner Pokémon from the Kanto, Sinnoh, or Alola region. You’ll also get two more Pokémon TCG booster packs and a fun sticker sheet featuring first partner Pokémon friends. It's a fun bundle for collectors to shop this weekend.

Score the best Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 preorder deal at Amazon.

SAVE $500: As of March 7, the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That's $500 off the list price and the lowest-ever price on Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo $1,099 at Amazon
$1,599 Save $500   Get Deal

Finding DJI drones in stock is becoming tougher and tougher. There's been a lot of conversation around the ban on DJI imports, but it's still possible to find popular models on Amazon (for now). And better yet, the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo has hit a new record-low price on Amazon.

As of March 7, the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That's $500 off the list price this weekend. We have seen this deal before, but there's no telling how long you'll be able to shop and save on these drones. At some point, you'd expect stock to become limited. At that stage, we can only assume that prices will skyrocket faster than a DJI drone.

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This beginner-friendly bundle includes the DJI Mini 5 Pro drone, the DJI RC 2 camera-drone remote controller, a set of filters, three DJI Mini 5 Pro Intelligent Flight batteries, three propeller sets, a shoulder bag, and more. Basically, it's everything you need to start flying and capturing epic footage in one convenient package. You shouldn't need to dip back into your pockets at a later date to bolster your supplies.

The DJI Mini 5 Pro has a one-inch CMOS camera with 4K HDR filming at 60fps. You can opt for 4K 120fps for slow-motion filming. Night flying is also a possibility thanks to the 360 degree Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing and Nighttime return-to-home function. And DJI's ActiveTrack 360° technology is an absolute essential if you're planning on filming moving subjects.

Score the best-ever price on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundle is available to preorder for $49.99 at Amazon. That's below TCGplayer's market value and comes with Amazon's pre-order price guarantee.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundle $49.99 at Amazon
  Shop Now

The Mega Evolution Perfect Order expansion doesn't release until March 27, but that hasn't held back shoppers. We knew that these products were going to sell like mad as soon as preorders went live at top retailers, but we didn't expect the wave of activity that struck this week. The Pokémon trading card market is absolutely wild right now. We're just about holding on.

Looking for the best preorder deal on Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundles? Amazon is offering excellent value for money.

The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundle is available to preorder for $49.99 at Amazon. That's way below TCGplayer's market value and comes with Amazon's pre-order price guarantee. The guarantee really is a game changer. The price you pay when this product ships will be the lowest price offered by Amazon between the time you placed your order and the end of the release date. So you're covered against future price drops.

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Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundles contain six booster packs from the new Perfect Order expansion. And every pack contains 10 cards, so there's a chance to pull Mega Zygarde ex, Mega Clefable ex, Mega Starmie ex, and Meowth ex. We know the chances of pulling something seriously valuable are slim, but you never know.

Secure the best Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundle preorder deal at Amazon.

It's been almost 15 years since Julia Quinn published the third book in her Bridgerton series, An Offer from a Gentleman, and it still lands.

A risqué and romantic Cinderella story about class and hidden identity, it's the basis for Season 4 of the Shondaland/Netflix series. But it's not the only book running this season, which also draws from Quinn's sixth book in the series, When He Was Wicked, for the tale of Francesca, John, and Michaela Stirling — a simmering tale of guilt, lust, and longing that will take the lead in Season 5.

We went straight to the source, speaking to Quinn about the nuances of Sophie and Benedict's socially-impossible situation, and the impact of gender flipping the character of Michael Stirling in the TV series — a decision that opens up queer inclusivity in for Bridgerton, and one that has seen strong fan reactions, for better or worse. These two books, published in the early 2000s, are still finding new audiences in 2026 — in fact, fancy new collector’s editions of the first three Bridgerton books have just been published.

SEE ALSO: 'Bridgerton' Season 4 soundtrack, song-by-song

We also talked more broadly about Regency romance and the undying yearnaissance in fiction, as Quinn's latest project proves she's just as much a fan of romance writing as you are: a subscription book box called JQ Editions, in which Quinn handpicks the titles based simply on whether she liked them.

So, dear gentle reader, pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in. This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Shannon Connellan: There are a lot of fans who haven't read the Bridgerton books, who are watching the show. An Offer from a Gentleman, which you first published in 2001, the thing I love about this Bridgerton story is that it really digs into the working class. Obviously, Sophie is our Cinderella. Why do you think this theme of class is so important in this luxurious Regency ton?

Julia Quinn: I just think it was something that was so... unsurmountable. I don't know that viewers understand what a big deal it was. When I was writing it, most of the people who I knew were going to read it were either my fans or fans of Regency romance, who were already pretty well schooled in the ins and outs of Regency society. So they knew this is a big deal. Does it ever happen that somebody of the nobility will marry somebody working class? Yes, but it is a big deal and comes with big consequences… You want to come up with a big conflict, and there wasn't much that was bigger than this.

"I don't know that viewers understand what a big deal it was." Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

SC: I think a lot of the 2026 lens on the show looks at Sophie's reluctance and insistence on not becoming a mistress, and Benedict's privilege saying 'Why not?' Why not?' — but to a Regency reader that would be really obvious.

JQ: For him, he is truly acting with the best of intentions. This seems like a way to take her out of poverty, a way that they can be together, a way that she gets away from a lot of abuse — and it is the way that society tells him it can be done. But I think the real story is, how does he go from this offer with the best of intentions to making one that is truly world-altering, and saying, OK, I'm willing to change my whole world for this person.

SC: It's really powerful.

JQ: I think so, and I know there are a lot of people who are like, 'Ew, why does he keep asking her to do this?' Like he's a predator or something. He's not a predator. He's a man of his time who is a kind person, truly, who is trying to keep her safe. I mean, yeah, he definitely tricks her into getting her the job at Bridgerton house, but he also knows that she's going to be treated so much better there than she's been treated somewhere else. It is a little bit of mansplaining, I will acknowledge that, but he really is looking out for her safety.

"How does he go from this offer with the best of intentions to making one that is truly world-altering..." Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

SC: Definitely, I read it like that too. I think people don't understand a modern workplace in the same way as a 19th century workplace and everything that goes with it. So it's really interesting to watch how that functions in the book and in the series.

JQ: Yeah, it's tough, because you're writing these books that are set in the early 19th century, but you are aware that you're writing them for modern readers. There's always this balance that you have to try to find and it's never going to be the right balance for everybody.

SC: Speaking of balance, romance writing has changed a lot in the last 20 years, especially for queer inclusion. And now, with Francesca Bridgerton's story from When He Was Wicked, Michael Sterling's character is gender flipped for the Netflix series. So we're looking at the first leading queer storyline for Bridgerton [in Season 5]. You've said this publicly, that you're "deeply committed to the Bridgeton world becoming more diverse and inclusive." So what does Michael becoming Michaela mean to you?

JQ: It just means that more people will be able to see themselves in a story about joy and happy endings, truly. I hear there are a lot of readers who are upset, and they have made themselves known, and while I think some of them are truly homophobic, I think some of them truly just loved the story and wanted it to remain the way that they loved — unfortunately, now they're getting called homophobic, so there's layers upon layers of things happening there. I'm touched because it's amazing to have written something that resonates so deeply with people, but the book isn't going to change. I'm not going to rewrite the book, because I always have that story, and I think it will just be very, very interesting. 

"It just means that more people will be able to see themselves in a story about joy and happy endings." Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

I think that the main themes of this story can remain true. The biggest theme for me while I was writing was the guilt that both Francesca and Michael felt over falling in love with each other, because John was Francesca's beloved husband, and John was Michael's beloved best friend and cousin, so they felt deeply guilty falling in love with each other. That was the big inner struggle. I haven't seen the script yet, but I have every faith that it will remain true to the story. I don't see why gender flipping a character would change that.

SC: I wholeheartedly agree. You wrote the books in the 2000s and since then, and the release of the Netflix series, fandom has changed on the internet. It must be very strange or interesting for you to see these debates, ships, and loves for these characters that you wrote over two decades ago. How does the internet change how you see characters you created?

JQ: I wouldn't say it changes, it's just very interesting. I guess one thing that really surprised me was you have these fandoms, the ships — people have their special couples that they love so much — and usually, the Simon/Daphne people are pretty quiet, but the Kanthony, Benophie, and Polin people, I mean, they go at it with each other. And I'm just like guys, everybody gets a happy ending… but I just stay out of it.

Choose your fighter: Saphne, Kanthony, Polin, Benophie. Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

SC: One of my favorite things about An Offer from a Gentleman is that although the connection with Jane Austen and Bridgerton is alluded to, the Mr Darcy legacy is real in Bridgerton. You have this frankly hilarious scene [in the book] when Benedict needs to 'control himself' so much that he plunges himself into icy water. I wanted to ask you, what is it about Regency romance and bodies of water, what is going on here?

JQ: Well, you couldn't take a cold shower! I actually remember I was writing my first book [The Duke and I], and the main character thinks, 'I need a cold shower,' and then all of a sudden's like… That probably was in there for three days before I was like, wait a minute, they don't have cold showers, what's he gonna do? 

"You couldn't take a cold shower!" Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

SC: That is superb. Obviously, you are an iconic part of the "yearnaissance," this never-ending love for yearning that often accompanies Regency romance. We've got romance bookshops popping up all over the world with historical fiction sections. Dating apps even saw a rise in the 2020s of the mention of 'courting' in dating bios, which is wild. Why do you think that Regency romance, in particular, never goes out of fashion?

JQ: I think that it is far enough in the past that we can romanticise it and give it a fairy tale quality that say, we couldn't for… I mean, I love reading novels set in World War I or World War II, but I think that's too close. It is hard to romanticize that time period in that way.

I'm sure I've written a book where everything could have been solved if somebody had a mobile phone. And we can allow for characters to behave in ways that wouldn't necessarily work today, like the workplace issue. Sophie doesn't have the kind of options she would have today, so when Benedict's really pushing hard to get her a job in his mother's house, it's because she really doesn't have any other options. Also it's modern enough that we can give characters hopes, dreams, foibles, and emotions that feel just generally familiar to us. One of the big things of Benedict's character is he feels like he's not seen as an individual, that he's just seen as the "number two" Bridgerton. With Penelope, you had a character who felt like she knew who she was on the inside, but she did not know how to be that person on the outside. I think a lot of people resonate with that today and so I think that works.

"I'm sure I've written a book where everything could have been solved if somebody had a mobile phone."

If you went farther back in time to say, medieval times, I think there's a religiosity and mysticism to the world that changes the way we view it, that makes characters' thoughts, dreams, and hopes a little bit too foreign. So it's really the sweet spot. 

SC: I have read that you are into sports romance. 

JQ: I like some of them, yeah.

SC: The whole Heated Rivalry phenomenon that's happened, I'm just saying that there's a high stakes game of pall mall in The Viscount Who Loved Me. Is there room for a sports romance?

JQ: I don't think it's my wheelhouse as a writer. I think I'm a sports romance reader. I quite like Tessa Bailey, in fact, I know I've known her online for a while, and I finally got to meet her in person recently, because I did a book signing in New York City and she was my conversation partner. She's really fun, I like her a lot. 

SC: You've written over 40 books. Where do you write?

JQ: I write in a number of different spots. I often write in cafes. I often will also just go away for a week or two to a hotel or resort somewhere where I'm all by myself and nobody can bother me, and I don't have to get up at a specific time to get my kids to school — although that's not an issue anymore, because they're grown. So it's a combination of things. I don't have a set writing schedule, and if I did, I'd probably get an awful lot more done.

Bridgerton is now streaming on Netflix.

The Deluxe Collector’s Editions of the first three Bridgerton titles — The Duke and I, The Viscount Who Loved Me and An Offer From A Gentleman – are available in hardback (Piatkus, £25).

Featured Video For You Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley reveal the real surprise in 'Hamnet'

I was a lost puppy in my early days on Grindr, especially as I tried to ditch the juvenile online abbreviations I’d been using for years. Gone were the days of “ur”. As a wide-eyed, new college freshman, I was more “literate” than ever. These were the times of spelling the whole word out: “you’re.” 

After my first Grindr download, I realized acronyms like gh, gen, ff, ws, poz, and pnp were being thrown around everywhere, but I didn't think it was necessary to learn them. Let me be clear: it was, and it still is. It took a few weeks until someone asked me if I wanted to “parTy”. A spelling error, I had assumed. My iPhone keyboard sometimes does that, too. But, I was an eighteen-year-old first-year college student living on my own for the first time. What a stupid fucking question. Hell yes, I like to party!

SEE ALSO: All your Grindr questions, answered

It took one Google search to realize that I was right, I do like to party… but I absolutely do not like to parTy (which is a reference to drug use). That’s when it hit me. To stay safe, I actually needed to understand these terms, something I’d been innocently ignoring since I first joined the app. Knowing them is how you avoid ending up in a situation you don’t want to be in.

But, why are people using acronyms and terms on Grindr to begin with? The short answer: speed. Acronyms and terms are quick. They get the point across efficiently, even with the learning curve. It minimizes the need for longer, direct conversations. I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of people using these terms aren’t looking to beat around the bush. They want to meet up right now

Acronyms and terms are also used on Grindr for discretion, which exists for two reasons: safety and plausible deniability. 

Using an acronym for safety might include why a trans person would use a term such as “ftm” (female to male), “mtf” (male to female), or “t4t” (trans for trans). These acronyms enhance safety for trans people meeting strangers online by providing a shorthand for identity and intent.

Plausible deniability, on the other hand, is where things get a little more illicit. Acronyms are often used to bypass moderation for topics that would otherwise result in a ban, including the use of illegal drugs. Codewords allow users to discuss illegal activities with enough ambiguity to claim they were talking about something else entirely. It’s ridiculously problematic, but it is rather foolproof.

Grindr   Learn More at Grindr Grindr’s most-used acronyms and terms in 2026

As language shifts, so does the coded shorthand used on Grindr. Some terminology seen on the app ten years ago might not have much pertinence anymore. Whether you’re new to Grindr in 2026 or just need a little bit of a cheat sheet to hold onto, here are the most common acronyms and terms you'll encounter and what they signify.

SEE ALSO: The best gay dating apps of 2026: Grindr is still king, even if we wish it weren't

• anon: anonymous; interest in anonymous sex

• bb: bareback; raw sex without condom-use

• bear: bear; a subculture of gay men with typically larger, hairier bodies

• bttm: bottom; one who prefers to be on the receiving end of anal sex

• cd: crossdresser; a man who dresses up as a woman during (and occasionally not during) sexual acts

• discreet: discreet; someone not publicly out as gay/trans/etc. looking to partake in sexual acts and conversation on a secretive level

• dl: down low; essentially means the exact same thing as above

• dp: double penetration; exactly what you think it is

• ff: fisting; someone either into fisting/wanting to be fisted (you can ask more about who’s taking which side in the DMs)

• ftm: female to male; a person who was assigned female at birth, who now identifies as male 

• fwb: friends with benefits; a friend you can f*ck

• gen: generous; someone looking a financial arrangement, typically involving payment for a sexual encounter

• gh: gloryhole; a typically anonymous encounter involving oral and/or anal sex through a hole in a wall or sheet

• host: host; A user who has their own place and can accommodate guests for a hookup

• into: into; a quicker way to ask someone, “what are you into sexually?”, meaning the person asking does not care that you like to hike and play ultimate frisbee

• jo: jerking off; someone interest in mutual masturbation with a partner

• jock: jock; a man with a muscular/athletic body who is typically into fitness

• ltr: long-term relationship; someone with interest in pursuing a romantic connection

• mtf: male to female;  assigned male at birth, now identifying as female 

• npnc: no pic, no chat; someone with no interest in chatting with someone who is unable to provide a photo of their face

• nsa: no strings attached; a sexual/physical connection with no romantic connection

• otter: otter; a hairier gay man with a slim, lean, or more athletic build

• parTy: chemsex; refers to sex involving drug use, specifically "tina" (crystal meth), with the capitalized "T" serving as a coded signal for the substance

• pnp: party and play; broader term that can include various substances to enhance sexual experiences

• poz: HIV+; a term to signify an HIV+ person

• rn: right now; interest in meeting up for sex as soon as possible

• side: side; a user with preference to sexual encounters that don't involve penetration

• t4t: trans for trans; a trans person looking for encounters with another trans person

• top: top; one who prefers to be on the giving end of anal sex

• twink: twink; a hairless, leaner, younger gay man

• twunk: twunk; a hairless, more athletically-built gay man

• uc: uncut; someone with an uncircumcised penis

• u=u: undetectable = untransmittable; medically proven status meaning those on sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART) with an undetectable HIV viral load cannot sexually transmit the virus to someone without HIV

• vers: versatile; someone who enjoys being both on the receiving and giving end during anal sex

• ws: watersports; interest in urine-play during sexual experiences

• wya: where you at; used to quickly determine a person’s location before or during a meetup

Should I be using acronyms and terms on Grindr?

Grindr may be built for fast connections, but navigating the app effectively requires understanding the specific acronyms and terms users rely on. So, do you need to use them? Technically, no, you don’t, but you should absolutely be familiar with what most of these mean when using the app. If you ever encounter an unfamiliar term or request, a quick Google search is a perfectly normal way to stay informed. And trust me, knowing the lingo will help you steer clear of some very uncomfortable situations.

Grindr   Learn More at Grindr

The poster for the play Data sports a foreboding warning: "The data is out there. The danger is real."

That tagline is no exaggeration. Data, written by Matthew Libby, directed by Tyne Rafaeli, and now playing Off Broadway at New York's Lucille Lortel Theatre, deals in all-too-real concerns. Data privacy, AI acceleration, immigration... It's all on the table.

SEE ALSO: Your Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses recordings aren't private

Data follows Maneesh (Karan Brar), a brilliant programmer at Silicon Valley company Athena Technologies. When he joins the data analytics team, he learns the truth of their top-secret project. Athena is competing for a government contract to (spoiler alert!) work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a new form of AI-powered immigrant surveillance.

Watching the play unfold, it's impossible to separate its story from current events. Not only are Data's themes of shady tech companies and surveillance especially relevant, but some elements of its premise are coming to life in real time. In 2025, months after Data's 2024 run at Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enlisted tech company Palantir to create an AI- and data mining-powered platform to track immigrants. In 2026, Palantir developed ELITE, an app that uses data from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to pinpoint neighborhoods to raid. Both projects feel ripped straight from Athena's internal memos.

These kinds of real-world events have had a direct impact on audiences' reaction to Data, playwright Libby and star Brar told Mashable during a joint video interview.

"In D.C., we were very much in the heart of it, of the people who would be engaging in this contract, whether that be consultants or government contractors," Brar said. "I think we saw a lot of Patagonia vests and blue shirts in the lobby, and a lot of people being like, 'Yeah, this rings really close to home with what I'm doing.'"

SEE ALSO: Anthropic challenges Department of War designation as AI dispute escalates

The Arena Stage production of Data began Oct. 31, 2024, mere days before Donald Trump's 2024 re-election. Before the election, Libby recalled that there was never an audible audience reaction to Data's first DHS mention.

"After the election, there was a reaction every single time," he said. "One of the things that that made me realize was the extent to which people were going to be bringing the real world into the space."

That realization impacted how Libby approached how he prepared Data for its New York run.

Karan Brar and Sophia Lillis in "Data." Credit: T. Charles Erickson

"The play never mentions Trump, the play never mentions ICE. We never even mention what political party is in power," Libby said. "But a lot of the rewrites we were doing were just writing more consciously towards the fact that people are going to have associations coming into this."

Some of Data's evolution stemmed from the public's growing knowledge of the relationship between the government and big tech companies. Libby began writing Data in 2018, years before AI was the hot-button topic on every tech CEO's lips. Initially, he hoped to give audiences "a peek into the black box of this world [of Silicon Valley]." It was a world he was familiar with, having attended Stanford and even interviewed for an internship with Palantir. Now, though, audiences have more awareness of that world.

"One of the big differences between fall of 2024 and right now is that everyone saw tech titans bend the knee to the current administration," Libby said. "Everyone knows now that there is a connection."

SEE ALSO: Some AI users are starting to consider themselves 'AI-sexual'

Brar added: "Before I worked with Matthew, I didn't know what Palantir really was. I've learned about that side of Silicon Valley and these tech companies whose whole mandate is 'We solve problems,' and now the public is very aware of that. I think that has become a massive paradigm shift for the way that something like [Data] is perceived."

Data's ending was also reworked between its D.C. and New York runs.

"The ending is, in some ways, the thing that has been the most reactive to world events," Libby said. "As I've realized that the play did have a growing resonance with the real world, I was feeling a lot of pressure on myself to work through how I felt about it."

Data's original ending was "plottier," with more of a corporate espionage feel, something borne from Libby's feeling that the characters needed to "hashtag resist and solve the problem."

Yet as he worked on it further, he zeroed in on Maneesh's core dilemma: Does he act on what he knows about Athena? Does he risk upending his entire life and career to do what he knows is right?

"There's power in just watching a person make a decision for the first time in a long time," Libby said of the new ending. "It doesn't matter what's going to happen offstage. What matters is that this guy has broken out of a cycle of dehumanization. The more I realized that, the more I was like, 'That feels to me like the thing that I am trying to live right now, at this moment in history. How do I feel everything? How do I not dehumanize myself?'"

These calls for action persist after Data has ended, when its cast members take their bows. In New York, they return to the stage wearing anti-ICE pins. The show's first preview took place Jan. 9, two days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renée Good in Minneapolis. Brar recalled that on Jan. 24, the day Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer Raymundo Gutierrez fatally shot Alex Pretti, Data's evening audience was especially subdued.

The cast's anti-ICE pins were initially just pen on Scotch tape, improvised by Brar's co-star Brandon Flynn. Later, the cast received a donation of more formal, visible pins, and they've since become a permanent part of the bows.

"I'm so grateful that we have a creative team that's so aligned and together about what we're saying that we can bring ourselves into the bows and make a statement like that," Brar said. "As someone who's first-generation, it is hard for me not to continuously think about what the institution of ICE represents. The most patriotic Americans that I've ever met in my life are actually immigrants. The way my father has spoken about this country — his hope, his fears, his inspiration — is what America is. Something like ICE is the antithesis of that, and [wearing the pins] felt instinctual to do and obvious to do. It feels like a staple that will stay."

Brar concluded: "It's been really powerful doing it every night. I know that sounds cheesy, because we're doing art and people are dealing with real-life consequences, but it is nice to feel a little bit fearless in a world that is so fearful."

Data is playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City through March 29.

TL;DR: This MacBook Pro is only $430 (reg. $1,999).

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Macbook Pro 2020 (Refurbished) $429.97
$1,999 Save $1,569.03   Get Deal

The RAM shortage is causing tech prices to rise everywhere, but there’s still one way to get affordable Apple tech. This MacBook Pro is technically refurbished, but you probably wouldn’t know from looking at it. The grade “A” rating means it’s in near-mint condition, but the price is still severely reduced. That’s how you can get a MacBook Pro for $429.97 (reg. $1,999).

This 2020 MacBook Pro runs on a 10th Gen quad-core Intel Core i5 at 2.0GHz, with Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz, plus 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. That’s to say it’s a solid setup for day-to-day work like heavy research and productivity apps. The 16GB of RAM is what helps it stay steady when you keep multiple apps open and switch between them all day.

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The 1TB SSD pulls double duty. It keeps the system feeling quick, and it gives you plenty of local storage for work folders, photos, and larger files without having to dump everything onto an external drive right away. Boot times and app launches stay snappy, and file access is fast.

The 13.3-inch Retina display has a 2560 x 1600 resolution and up to 500 nits of brightness, so text looks crisp, and the screen holds up better in brighter rooms. True Tone is included, and it adjusts the display’s color temperature based on the light around you.

This model uses Apple’s Magic Keyboard. It also includes the Touch Bar for shortcuts in supported apps, plus Touch ID for sign-ins and password prompts.

For ports, you get four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports that handle charging, external displays through DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 data up to 40Gb/s, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10Gb/s. Wireless includes 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. For calls, there’s a 720p FaceTime HD camera, stereo speakers, and a three-mic array. Battery life is rated up to 10 hours.

Right now, it’s only $429.97 to get a MacBook Pro, but it won’t stay that way.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to ChatGPT, Gemini, and more with 1min.AI, now only $70.

Opens in a new window Credit: 1minAI 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan Lifetime Subscription $69.97
$540 Save $470.03   Get Deal

AI subscriptions aren’t cheap, and the bills really add up if you’re paying for two, three, or four different tools. If you want a cheaper way to keep access to all your favorite AI models, 1min.AI is the way to do it. This AI platform gives you lifetime access to models like GPT and Gemini for a flat fee. Right now, it’s only $69.97 for life (reg. $540).

Your plan includes access to multiple AI model families in one place, including:

• GPT

• Claude

• Gemini

• Llama

• Mistral

• Command

That means you can switch based on what you need without hopping between services. The app also supports chatting with different assistants, which is useful when you want separate threads for different projects.

For writing, you can generate and edit blog content, rewrite drafts, expand or shorten text, summarize, run a grammar check, generate social comments, and do keyword research. There’s even a brand voice tool, plus unlimited brand voice access on this plan, which helps keep tone consistent across multiple pieces of content.

For images, you get AI models that cover both creation and cleanup. You can generate images, upscale them, remove backgrounds, remove objects, remove text, replace backgrounds, and edit with masking. For documents, you can chat with multiple documents, translate documents, and ask questions from PDFs, which helps when you need to pull specifics from a long file quickly. For audio, you get text-to-speech, speech-to-text, voice changing, voice cloning, voice isolation, music generation, and translation. For video, there are tools like text-to-video, caption generation, YouTube transcription and summarizing, and other editing options.

Usage runs on credits. This plan includes 4,000,000 credits per month, and any unused credits roll over. There are also ways to earn extra credits, including a daily login bonus of 15,000 credits.

Right now, it’s only $69.97 to get a 1min.AI lifetime subscription. Offer ends soon.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get a lifetime license for Microsoft Office for Mac or PC for only $90.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business for Mac or PC Lifetime License $89.97
$249.99 Save $160.02   Get Deal

Microsoft 365 costs $99.99 per year, and you’re never done paying for it, but the news isn’t all bad. Microsoft is officially allowing you to get a lifetime license for Microsoft Office, so you get many of the same apps with recent updates, but you don’t have to pay for them every month. Right now, a Microsoft Office lifetime license for PC or Mac is also on sale for $89.97 (reg. $249.99).

This version of Microsoft Office gives you lifetime access to:

• Word

• Excel

• PowerPoint

• Outlook

• OneNote

Microsoft Office installs directly onto your PC or Mac, so you can work offline when you need to. The interface follows Microsoft’s Fluent Design, which keeps the layout consistent across apps, and it improves touch and pen support for people using 2-in-1 laptops or tablets. Outlook adds an updated accessibility checker that flags common clarity and formatting issues, and Excel now has protection against XLL add-ins, which is a practical security improvement for anyone opening shared files.

Office 2024 also includes some of the most exciting upgrades that came with Microsoft 365, with Excel tuned for handling larger datasets and multiple workbooks more smoothly. For presentations, PowerPoint supports recording with voice, video, and closed captions, which helps when you are sending a narrated deck instead of presenting live. Collaboration tools are built into Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, including real-time co-authoring, comments, chat, and version history, plus deeper Microsoft Teams integration for people who already use Teams at work.

Don’t miss your chance to finally ditch your Microsoft 365 subscription.

Right now, it’s only $89.97 to get a Microsoft Office 2024 Lifetime License for Mac or PC.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

In the online dating world, AdultFriendFinder and Plenty of Fish are certified OGs. These veteran dating sites were first established more than two decades ago, before both the social media era and the smartphone era. Yet both sites have continued to stay relevant, attracting millions of visitors from all over the world searching for connection. 

That, however, is just about where the similarities end. In fact, you’d have a hard time finding two online dating sites less alike. Plenty of Fish operates like a conventional dating site, even adopting the smartphone-like “yes-or-no” carousel approach. AdultFriendFinder feels more like an X-rated site with a social media system built in. 

Of course, rather than treating them as alternatives, you can choose to view them as complementary, with one offering a personality-first approach to dating more likely to deliver long-term connection and the other adopting a sexuality-first method that makes finding short-term, salacious fun easier than ever.

Intrigued to learn more? We put these two giants of the online dating world to the test to discover their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdultFriendFinder AdultFriendFinder   Learn More Opens in a new window Credit: Plenty of Fish Plenty of Fish   Learn More

As both dating sites have been around forever, AdultFriendFinder and Plenty of Fish clearly deliver the goods for their users, but it’s striking to see just how different their respective approaches can be.

Site design

The contrast between the two sites is immediately evident from the aesthetic choices. Plenty of Fish uses softer, pastel colors and a clean, minimalist aesthetic to focus your attention on a single part of the website: your user profile, for example, or the profile of a prospective match. AdultFriendFinder, on the other hand, has a crowded site layout with ads, live streams, and user-generated content all sharing space and vying for your attention.

The AFF approach gives the impression that there’s a lot going on, like you just stumbled into a massive party, while the PoF approach is simultaneously less intimidating and less exciting. There’s another major difference that’s quickly apparent: AFF is an “adult” dating site, with nudity enabled by default in your profile settings, meaning a lot of what you will see on site is indistinguishable from an X-rated tube site, while Plenty of Fish curates their content much more heavily: no risqué live streams or genital-only photos in sight.

SEE ALSO: All your Hinge questions, answered

And speaking of that X-rated content: because AFF allows nudity on its site, it’s ineligible for inclusion on the most popular app stores, so you’re mostly confined to the on-site experience, while Plenty of Fish has an app in both the Google Play and Apple App stores, so you can swipe on the go as well. 

By the numbers

While both sites are tight-lipped about their user information, independent reporting from Business of Apps suggests that Plenty of Fish has approximately 10 million active users at any one time, compared to AdultFriendFinder’s two million active users, with both sites having a roughly 60-40 male-female skew in their gender ratio, though more recent reporting suggests AFF may be closer to 65-35 today. 

In either case, there’s no shortage of people for you to discover and talk to, though the farther you live from an urban hub, the more generous you’ll have to be in your search parameters. 

The typical dating profile

Another obvious difference between the two sites is their approach to profile creation. With AFF, you can set up a profile in seconds, with no verification steps and minimal required data entry. Plenty of Fish, on the other hand, asks you a bevy of personal questions, from your level of education and whether or not you own a car to if your parents are divorced or still together and if you want kids or not. PoF also requires that you verify the phone number tied to your account using a six-digit verification code, while AFF only requires email verification.

AFF has its share of personal questions as well, but they’re not so much related to your religion or smoking habit as they are to your kinks and sexual preferences. Their popular My Kinks tab allows users to fly their freak flags freely, and then re-incorporates that information into one of their search options, so if, for example, you have a foot fetish, you can search for other people who share your fetish or they can search you out based on that fetish. 

User experience

One thing you’ll quickly realize when using both sites is that PoF is a lot more generous in what they allow non-paying users to do. With AFF, you can basically only engage with other people in public spaces like the chat rooms and discussion forums. In fact, you can’t so much as view someone’s full profile without purchasing a Gold membership.

With PoF, by contrast, you can actually use the site, view user profiles, like user profiles, and even speak to other singles, all without spending a dime. That being said, a Premium or Prestige membership on Plenty of Fish still represents a massive quality-of-life upgrade, giving you unlimited likes, read receipts on messages, an ad-free site experience, and some pretty cool bonus features like the ability to see who has liked your profile or a Rewind button for when you accidentally skip over a profile that caught your eye. 

SEE ALSO: All your Tinder questions, answered

From a purely aesthetic perspective, the PoF site is much cleaner and less distracting, even in the way it serves you ads, while the AFF site makes up for its busy design by offering a much wider variety of potential activities, including live streams, chat forums, blogs and sexy stories.

Success rates

The major difference between the two sites boils down to the users and what they’re looking for online. In general, Plenty of Fish users seem to be more dedicated daters, aspiring to long-term relationships and meaningful connections, while AdultFriendFinder’s users are much more obviously content with short-term connections, whether that’s a sexy chat or live stream or an in-person meetup. 

In practice, that means that you’ll find AFF a much easier place to start a conversation or find a fling, while PoF users are clearly more selective in who they talk to, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that “success” is easier on one site than another. It also helps that AFF offers more venues for interaction: you can try to message a single person, sure, but you can also search out people who share your hobbies, interests or kinks and speak to them in a more public context like a forum or a live chat, which removes a lot of the stakes of one-on-one communication. 

On the other hand, if you’re after something more long-term and high-stakes, Plenty of Fish users appear to be much more aware of what they want and what they don’t want in a partner. They’re at a stage of life when they’re taking dating seriously and PoF caters to this crowd, putting critical life information (are you a smoker? do you have kids?) front and center. 

In other words, you’ll find the most success by being honest with yourself about what you’re looking for and choosing the appropriate dating site. Can you find love on AFF or a fling on PoF? Most definitely. But it will also be an uphill battle, given how the two sites are set up. 

TL;DR: Live stream India vs. New Zealand in the 2026 T20 World Cup final for free on ICC.TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 T20 World Cup has delivered weeks of electric action from the best international sides, and now we're left with just two teams. India are facing off against New Zealand in the showpiece event this weekend at the Narendra Modi Stadium. It's going to be special.

India have been pretty consistent throughout this tournament, only losing once to South Africa. New Zealand also lost out to South Africa in the initial group stage, but bounced back to defeat them in an incredible semi-final performance. Now the stage is set for the final. India will go into this game as favorites as they attempt to defend their title, but the Black Caps will be confident after hitting top form at just the right time.

If you want to watch India vs. New Zealand in the 2026 T20 World Cup final for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is India vs. New Zealand?

India vs. New Zealand in the 2026 T20 World Cup final starts at 8:30 a.m. ET on March 8. This game takes place at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

How to watch India vs. New Zealand for free

India vs. New Zealand in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup final is available to live stream for free on ICC.TV.

This free live stream on ICC.TV is only available in select regions (see full list of territories here), but anyone can live stream the T20 Cricket World Cup for free with a VPN. These helpful tools can hide your IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in a location with free access. This simple process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can live stream on ICC.TV from anywhere in the world.

Live stream India vs. New Zealand in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with access

4. Visit ICC.TV

5. Watch the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every game from the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for ICC.TV?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ICC.TV, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch the 2026 T20 World Cup final for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Unblock Pornhub from anywhere in the world with a VPN. The best service for unblocking porn sites is ExpressVPN.

Access to Pornhub is in turmoil. Early in 2025, more than a third of U.S. states introduced age verification laws. In response, Pornhub banned visitors from those states from accessing their website. The same situation then took place in France, and although Pornhub is complying with the UK's age verification law, users are now required to provide personal information to access the site.

The situation is constantly changing, but you can stay one step ahead with a quick and easy hack. If you want to unblock porn sites like Pornhub for free from anywhere in the world, we have the information you need.

How to unblock Pornhub for free

VPNs can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure server in another location. This process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can access adult sites like Pornhub from anywhere in the world.

Unblock Pornhub by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location that supports access to Pornhub

4. Visit Pornhub

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for unblocking porn sites are not free, but most do offer free-trial peiods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can unblock porn sites like Pornhub without actually spending anything. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you the opportunity to temporarily retain access to Pornhub before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to your favorite site, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for bypassing online restrictions is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for Pornhub?

ExpressVPN is the top choice for unblocking porn sites like Pornhub, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast streaming speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $78.18 and includes an extra four months for free — 78% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Unblock Pornhub for free with ExpressVPN.