IT General

Character.AI, a popular chatbot platform where users role-play with different personas, will no longer permit under-18 account holders to have open-ended conversations with chatbots, the company announced Wednesday. It will also begin relying on age assurance techniques to ensure that minors aren't able to open adult accounts.

The dramatic shift comes just six weeks after Character.AI was sued again in federal court by the Social Media Victims Law Center, which is representing multiple parents of teens who died by suicide or allegedly experienced severe harm, including sexual abuse. The parents claim their children's use of the platform was responsible for the harm. In October 2024, Megan Garcia filed a wrongful death suit seeking to hold the company responsible for the suicide of her son, arguing that its product is dangerously defective. She is represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project.

Online safety advocates recently declared Character.AI unsafe for teens after they tested the platform this spring and logged hundreds of harmful interactions, including violence and sexual exploitation.

As it faced legal pressure in the last year, Character.AI implemented parental controls and content filters in an effort to improve safety for teens.

SEE ALSO: 'Perfect predator': When chatbots sexually abuse kids

In an interview with Mashable, Character.AI's CEO Karandeep Anand described the new policy as "bold" and denied that curtailing open-ended chatbot conversations with teens was a response to specific safety concerns.

Instead, Anand framed the decision as "the right thing to do" in light of broader unanswered questions about the long-term effects of chatbot engagement on teens. Anand referenced OpenAI's recent acknowledgement, in the wake of a teen user's suicide, that lengthy conversations can become unpredictable.

Anand cast Character.AI's new policy as standard-setting: "Hopefully it sets everyone up on a path where AI can continue being safe for everyone."

He added that the company's decision won't change, regardless of user backlash.

Garcia said in a statement that the announcement comes "too late" for her family: "This should have been done when they released this product to the public."

Matthew P. Bergman, Garcia's co-counsel in her wrongful death lawsuit against Character.AI, credited her and other parents for coming forward to hold the company accountable. Though he commended Character.AI for shutting down teen chats and said the decision marked a "significant step toward creating a safer online environment for children," he added that it would not affect ongoing litigation against the company.

Meetali Jain, who also represents Garcia, said in a statement that she welcomed the new policy as a "good first step" toward ensuring that Character.AI is safer. Yet she added that the pivot reflected a "classic move in tech industry's playbook: move fast, launch a product globally, break minds, and then make minimal product changes after harming scores of young people."

Jain noted that Character.AI has yet to address the "possible psychological impact of suddenly disabling access to young users, given the emotional dependencies that have been created."

What will Character.AI look like for teens now?

In a blog post announcing the new policy, Character.AI apologized to its teen users.

"We do not take this step of removing open-ended Character chat lightly — but we do think that it's the right thing to do given the questions that have been raised about how teens do, and should, interact with this new technology," the blog post said.

Currently, users ages 13 to 17 can message with chatbots on the platform. That feature will cease to exist no later than November 25. Until then, accounts registered to minors will experience time limits starting at two hours per day. That limit will decrease as the transition away from open-ended chats gets closer.

Character.AI will see these notifications about impending changes to the platform. Credit: Courtesy of Character.AI

Even though open-ended chats will disappear, teens' chat histories with individual chatbots will remain in tact. Anand said users can draw on that material in order to generate short audio and video stories with their favorite chatbots. In the next few months, Character.AI will also explore new features like gaming. Anand believes an emphasis on "AI entertainment" without open-ended chat will satisfy teens' creative interest in the platform.

"They're coming to role-play, and they're coming to get entertained," Anand said.

He was insistent that existing chat histories with sensitive or prohibited content that may not have been previously detected by filters, such as violence or sex, would not find its way into the new audio or video stories.

A Character.AI spokesperson told Mashable that the company's trust and safety team reviewed the findings of a report co-published in September by the Heat Initiative documenting harmful chatbot exchanges with test accounts registered to minors. The team concluded that some conversations violated the platform's content guidelines while others did not. It also tried to replicate the report's findings. 

"Based on these results, we refined some of our classifiers, in line with our goal for users to have a safe and engaging experience on our platform," the spokesperson said.

Sarah Gardner, CEO of the Heat Initiative, told Mashable that the nonprofit organization would be paying close attention to the implementation of Character.AI's new policies to ensure they're not "just another round of child safety theater."

While she described the measures as a "positive sign," she argued that the announcement "is also an admission that Character AI's products have been inherently unsafe for young users from the beginning, and that their previous safety rollouts have been ineffective in protecting children from harm."

Character.AI will begin implementing age assurance immediately. It'll take a month to go into effect and will have multiple layers. Anand said the company is building its own assurance models in-house but that it will partner with a third-party company on the technology.

It will also use relevant data and signals, such as whether a user has a verified over-18 account on another platform, to accurately detect the age of new and existing users. Finally, if a user wants to challenge Character.AI's age determination, they'll have the opportunity to provide verification through a third party, which will handle sensitive documents and data, including state-issued identification.

Finally, as part of the new policies, Character.AI is establishing and funding an independent non-profit called the AI Safety Lab. The lab will focus on "novel safety techniques."

"[W]e want to bring in the industry experts and other partners to keep making sure that AI continues to remain safe, especially in the realm of AI entertainment," Anand said.

In her statement, Garcia argued for federal regulation to ensure the safety of AI chatbots.

“Lawsuits, regulators, and public scrutiny have forced this change, but I'm mindful of the fact that we have seen time and time again that tech companies announce these big sweeping changes that fall flat," Garcia said.

UPDATE: Oct. 29, 2025, 2:50 p.m. PDT This story has been updated to include comments from Megan Garcia and her legal counsel, as well as a safety expert.

How do you capture what it looks like to fall head over heels? This was the challenge writer/director Nia DaCosta faced in adapting Henrik Ibsen's classic play Hedda Gabler into a steamy and salacious sapphic romance.

Hedda stars Tessa Thompson as the eponymous antiheroine, a woman who hungers for luxury, love, and freedom. And when she doesn't get what she wants, she proves to be a vicious mastermind. So, when Hedda's ex-lover, genderswapped by DaCosta to be Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss), turns up at the big party she's throwing with her newly minted husband George Tesman (Tom Bateman), trouble is in the air. But so is love.

SEE ALSO: 'Hedda' review: 'Hedda Gabler' meets 'Saltburn' in Nia DiCosta's sexy, sapphic adaptation

As Eileen enters the ballroom, she is elegant, robust, and sensual, instantly awing the audience and capturing the mercurial Hedda's full attention. In interviews with DaCosta, Thompson, Hoss, and Bateman, Mashable's Entertainment Editor, Kristy Puchko, asked how this scene came together.

DaCosta got technical, sharing the precise details demanded of a camera effect that makes it seem as if Hedda is floating toward Eileen, a moth to the former flame. Hoss shared how it takes a village to make such an impactful moment in film. Bateman provided an insightful comparison between Eileen's entrance and the swagger of Westerns, when a cowboy strides through swinging saloon doors. For her part, Thompson shared the difficulty of playing this moment with grace when you're fully aware of how goofy things look just outside of the frame.

Enjoy this dive into movie magic, then enjoy Hedda — now playing on Prime Video.

Don’t miss out on our latest stories: Add Mashable as a trusted news source in Google.

If you asked me when the best era was for German cars when it comes to design and aesthetic, I'd have to say the '80s with BMW, Audi, and Mercedes knocking it out of the park. Especially the iconic BMW E30, of which I personally owned a very nice 318i in high school.

Windows is much more stable than it used to be, and the Blue Screen of Death is now a thing of the past. However, nothing is perfect. If you're experiencing random crashes or freezes, and you don't know where to start, here is how to figure out what has gone wrong.

How often do you still use flash drives? Like most people, my file transfer needs are handled by cloud storage and local wireless transfer technologies like Apple's AirDrop. Still, I have a few go-to flash drives that I use semi-regularly.

In a crowded field of mid-size SUVs, one American-built model quietly delivers a luxury feel without the luxury price. With refined materials, a serene cabin, and unexpected attention to detail, it offers buyers the kind of comfort and polish typically found in premium brands.

Widgets are an essential part of the Android phone experience, but you’ve probably never thought about using them on your Android Auto display. Google appears to be working on exactly that, and it could be more useful than you might think.

TrueNAS, a popular operating system for home servers and NAS systems, just released its big 25.10 update. This version makes storage fast, simplifies management, and unifies storage in a way that’s more user-friendly than ever before.

Google is rolling out a massive upgrade to NotebookLM. You can expect a whole new level of performance, including an 8x larger context window and 6x longer conversation memory, which were probably the most glaring issues with the app.

Blu-ray may very well be the last physical media we get when it comes to video content, but if history had gone just a little differently, it would be HD-DVDs being frantically collected by media nerds today, and not Sony's gift to image quality purists.

Polymarket. Kalshi. Truth Social? 

It looks like Donald Trump's social network is getting into the prediction market space. On Monday, Truth Social's parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group Corp., announced that the social media platform would be the first such site to launch its own prediction market. 

The prediction market will be called "Truth Predict."

Truth Social announced an "exclusive arrangement" that sees the company partnering with Crypto.com to make the prediction market happen.

“We are thrilled to become the world’s first publicly traded social media platform to offer our users access to prediction markets,” said Trump Media Chairman and CEO Devin Nunes in a statement. "Truth Predict will allow our loyal users to engage in prediction markets with a trusted network while harnessing our social media platform to provide totally unique ways for users to discuss and compare their predictions."

SEE ALSO: Truth Social's new AI search is 'woke' enough to disagree with Trump

Polymarket and Kalshi are currently the two most popular prediction markets. These platforms allow users to place bets on nearly anything, from the results of an election or a basketball game to betting on whether a celebrity will do a specific thing before a set date. Prediction markets circumvent gambling laws and regulations by offering "contracts" with users betting against each other instead of playing against the house. Polymarket and Kalshi do not bet on outcomes and instead make money through fees on each contract sold.

Prediction markets have become increasingly popular in recent years. In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, many followed what platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi were predicting based on bets being placed over traditional pollsters. Now, even news outlets are sourcing these prediction markets when looking at polling data.

However, prediction markets have gained a much stronger foothold in the U.S. since Trump won the election. For example, Polymarket was unable to even operate in the U.S. from 2022 as a result of a settlement with the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The regulatory agency alleged that Polymarket was running an unregistered derivatives trading market. The FBI even raided Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan's home in 2024 to investigate whether the company was still trying to operate in the country.

Trump's Department of Justice closed the investigation into Polymarket in July of this year, and the company has since been allowed to operate once again in the U.S.

“Prediction markets are poised to be a multi-deca-billion dollar industry,” said Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek in a statement about the partnership with Truth Social.

And that really gets to the heart of why Trump Media is launching Truth Predict. As Wired points out, the Trump family already has a financial interest in the prediction market space. The President's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is currently a strategic adviser at Kalshi. Trump Jr. is also on Polymarket's advisory board as a result of an investment made by the VC firm where he's a partner.

It's already well established that President Trump and his family have no concerns about conflicts of interest and alleged corruption. They have already tested the waters with their various cryptocurrency projects, which have seen the Trump family earn around $1 billion in the past year alone.

If the President of the United States gets involved in essentially an unregulated gambling industry where people place bets on what will happen in politics, business, sports, and more — what can go wrong? Not much for the ultimate insider who can pull the strings in multiple scenarios like Trump.

As for everyone else, though? Just ask the hundreds of thousands of people who lost money investing in Trump's memecoin.

An apparent Microsoft Azure outage on Wednesday took down important parts of the internet.

The tech giant's cloud computing service confirmed it was having issues.

Wrote Azure on its status page:

"Starting at approximately 16:00 UTC, we began experiencing Azure Front Door (AFD) issues resulting in a loss of availability of some services. We suspect that an inadvertent configuration change as the trigger event for this issue.

We are taking several concurrent actions: Firstly, where we are blocking all changes to the AFD services, this includes customer configuration changes as well. At the same time, we are rolling back our AFD configuration to our last known good state."

Azure has since updated that it had "initiated the deployment of our last known good configuration, which is expected to complete within 30 minutes. As this deployment progresses, customers should begin to see initial signs of recovery."

Microsoft wrote that it did not have an estimated time for when it would be fixed.

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User-reported issues on Downdetector indicated people were having issues accessing Microsoft services like Outlook and 365, as well as platforms like Minecraft. (Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by Ziff Davis, the same company that owns Mashable.) User-reported issues were especially high for both Minecraft and Xbox, which means it was quite the tough day for gamers. There were lots of posts complaining about it online.

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By about 2:30 p.m. ET, user-reported issues for some services appeared to be trending downward, but it was still unclear if the issue was fully resolved. The outage comes just days after last week's massive Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage that took down large swaths of the internet.

Azure provides cloud services for lots of companies and platforms, which means it hosts data, websites, and provides key infrastructure for large portions of the internet. Azure actually crashed earlier this month, too, taking down Microsoft services like 365 and Outlook in the process.

This story is developing and will be updated as necessary...

Screen Time might be one of the most underutilized yet powerful features. Beyond monitoring how much time you spend on your device, you can do so much more with this easy-to-overlook feature.

The developers of Bazzite, a gaming-focused Linux distribution based on Fedora, have announced a major fall 2025 release. It rebases Bazzite to the newly released Fedora 43 and adds support for a few new gaming handhelds and other peripherals.

YouTube has videos dating back 20 years, and while it currently supports videos up to 8K, this wasn't always the case—we used to not even have HD. Likewise, some newer videos uploaded today might still be under 720p. If you've ever come across one of these, thankfully, there's a new option for you, which might either make things better or way worse.

If you’re a Linux user, you’ll quickly find that many big-name VPNs don’t cater to you. These five VPN services offer solid clients for Linux users that will keep you safe and private while online.

Lovehoney's pre-Black Friday deals: Best deal overall Lovehoney Couple's Advent Calendar (24 Day) $199 (save $418.77) Get Deal Best vibrator deal Lovehoney Power Play Rechargeable Mini Wand Vibrator $39.99 (save $25) Get Deal Best anal sex toy deal Rocks-Off 7 Speed Ass-Berries Raspberry butt plug $26.99 (save $3) Get Deal

Alright, let’s talk sex toy deals. As Mashable’s resident expert in this area, I see a lot of questionable sales pop up, especially as we get closer to Black Friday. It’s super easy to get swindled online — honestly, places like Amazon and Walmart aren’t the best sources for buying pleasure products thanks to sketchy third-party sellers hawking potentially unsafe knock-offs. My advice? Stick to reputable retailers you trust. That’s why I’m spotlighting Lovehoney today. Its pre-Black Friday sale is totally legit, and the discounts are real and good.

SEE ALSO: Is the male sex toy revolution upon us?

Right now, you can get up to 50% off a pretty wide selection of toys, lingerie, bondage gear, and more at Lovehoney. On top of those markdowns, you’ll also get a free gift if you spend $89 or more (which shouldn’t be too hard to do). Note: This offer excludes Advent calendars.

Sorting through hundreds of discounted nightstand goodies can be overwhelming (especially if it’s your first time), so here are three of the best deals I’ve found so far:

Best deal overall Opens in a new window Credit: Lovehoney Lovehoney Couple's Advent Calendar (24 Day) $199 at Lovehoney
$617.77 Save $418.77   Get Deal Why we like it

Even though Lovehoney’s Advent calendars aren’t eligible for the free gift promotion, I still think that Lovehoney Couple's Advent Calendar (24 Day) is the best deal you can get on the site right now. According to the product page, this calendar is only $199 but holds goodies worth over $617 (so you’re saving over $418). Inside, you’ll get 24 items, including the Womanizer Classic 2 and the We-Vibe Sync Lite, and a bunch of other fun little treats. (If you want to know exactly what’s inside, the product page lists each item under the description section, but if you’d rather it be a surprise, I’ve kept this blurb spoiler-free.)

Advent calendars are a quirky and exciting way to celebrate the holiday season, and with a pleasure-focused calendar, you might be able to rekindle a spark with your partner or discover even better ways to love yourself. Like I always say, an orgasm a day keeps the blues away (it'll also give you flawless, glowing skin).

Best vibrator deal Opens in a new window Credit: Lovehoney Lovehoney Power Play Rechargeable Mini Wand Vibrator $39.99 at Lovehoney
$64.99 Save $25.00   Get Deal Why we like it

It’s always hard for me to recommend a vibrator for someone I don’t know (there’s so much that goes into picking a sex toy), but wand vibrators are usually a safe bet. Right now, you can get the Lovehoney Power Play Rechargeable Mini Wand Vibrator for just $39.99 (save $25). It’s waterproof, available in black or purple, has a travel lock, and is small enough to throw in your purse (I’d recommend putting it in a pouch or bag first). There are seven vibration modes, and it’s USB-rechargeable (so you could potentially charge it at the airport or even in your car if you run out of juice).

This little wand has 88 reviews, all of which are pretty positive. Most give it a five-star “orgasm rating” and praise its compact yet powerful design. “My girlfriend and I love to travel, and our usual wand was just too big to bring with us on holiday, so I purchased this little cute thing, and boy did it impress,” one reviewer writes. “So happy with this purchase and so was my partner.”

Best anal sex toy deal Opens in a new window Credit: Rocks-Off Rocks-Off 7 Speed Ass-Berries Raspberry butt plug $26.99 at Lovehoney
$29.99 Save $3   Get Deal Why we like it

Not everyone is into anal, and that’s OK! But, if you are, the Rocks-Off 7 Speed Ass-Berries Raspberry butt plug is only $26.99 right now. Sure, that’s only a $3 discount, but it’s totally worth it for the quality and unique design of this plug. You’ll notice that the head is textured (like a raspberry; you can get as graphic with that as you want) with raised nubs, and the base is super flared out, so there’s no chance this cutie will accidentally disappear during playtime. It also vibrates, which isn’t something most butt plugs at this price point can do (or do well, that is).

With tons of five-star reviews (some as recent as last week), you can’t beat this price. But please, for the love of God, USE LUBE. Do not attempt to play with this toy (or any anal toy) without a generous amount of water-based lube.

If you're having trouble logging into Microsoft services this morning, you're absolutely not alone. A major outage across the company’s platforms appears to be happening, with issues with Azure knocking out a ton of services like Microsoft 365 and even Minecraft.

SAVE $11.80: As of Oct. 29, students can save 20% on The Brick by proving their educational status. That makes The Brick $47.20, down from its usual price of $59.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Brick The Brick $47.20 at The Brick
$59 Save $11.80 Save 20% off The Brick with a student discount. Get Deal

When you get bored, what's the first thing you reach for? If you said your phone, so you can switch between social media platforms, you may want to give all that a rest. Scrolling fatigue can be real, and sometimes you need a break. The Brick is a device that can help with all that, and right now, students can get a great deal on it.

As of Oct. 29, students can save 20% on The Brick by proving their educational status. That makes it $47.20, down from its usual price of $59. You save $11.80 thanks to the discount.

SEE ALSO: The Brick taught me how to be bored again

To access this discount, you'll need to prove your student status. The Brick website will direct you to create a free Student Beans account, where you'll input all of the required information to set things up. From there, you'll verify your status and can return to The Brick to get a discount code. From there, all you need to do is enter the code at checkout to get The Brick for its sale price.

The Brick is a small gray device that you can use to lock certain apps on your phone. You just tap your phone to the device and it works immediately. It's available for both iOS and Android, and can be a huge help if you're looking to stop mindlessly and aimlessly scrolling. With that in mind, it's a productivity tool and mental health tool that you can use to improve your life.

Mashable's Samantha Mangino reviewed The Brick and praised it as "the only thing that cuts [her] screen time in half." There are a ton of reasons to try it if you're struggling to cut down on your phone use, but being in school and needing to focus is certainly a big one. Luckily, it's even more affordable right now, so you can take it for a test drive.

TL;DR: Live stream Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup for free on ITVX. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Newcastle United have been wildly inconsistent in the early stages of the new Premier League season. You could make the same argument for Spurs, but Thomas Frank's team have secured some big results to climb the table and currently sit in third place. Now these two sides meet in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

If you want to watch Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur?

Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup kicks off at 8 p.m. GMT on Oct. 29. This fixture takes place at St. James' Park.

How to watch Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur for free

Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup is available to live stream for free on ITVX.

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

Live stream Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao 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 the UK

4. Visit ITVX

5. Watch Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur 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 access free live streams of the Carabao Cup without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for ITVX?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ITVX, 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 eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% 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 $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup for free with ExpressVPN.