IT General

It's hard to escape Timothée Chalamet in film these days. First, he was Wonka, then he conquered Bob Dylan, and now he's taking audiences into the high-stakes world of 1950s table tennis as ping pong star Marty Mauser.

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Directed by Josh Safdie and distributed by A24, Marty Supreme is a major contender this awards season. Chalamet has already won the Golden Globe for his performance as Marty, and we wouldn't be surprised if he took home the Oscar (finally). The sports dramedy also has a fantastic ensemble cast that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma (aka Tyler, the Creator), Abel Ferrara, and Fran Drescher.

While it's still floating around in theaters, you don't have to battle the cold to watch it. Here's everything you need to know to catch it from your couch.

What is Marty Supreme about?

Inspired by the real-life story of table tennis champion Marty Reisman, Marty Mauser (Chalamet) is a man with a big dream — to achieve greatness and bring ping pong to the masses. Already a legend in his own mind, though he's barely scraping by, Marty just needs to pay his way to the championship overseas first. And he'll do anything to get there.

"Exploding with chaos, character, and kinetic energy, Marty Supreme is a movie about the city's scoundrels, their sins, and why we love them anyway," writes Mashable's entertainment editor Kristy Puchko.

Check out the official trailer for a glimpse at Marty Supreme:

Is Marty Supreme worth watching?

Now the highest-grossing A24 film domestically, Marty Supreme has surpassed Everything Everywhere All at Once in North America with over $80 million. Audiences aren't just showing up for it; they're loving it. Currently, the sports comedy holds an 82 percent audience rating and an impressive 93 percent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes — with most cheering on Chalamet's performance. He's already won the Golden Globe and is nominated for an Oscar. That's not all, though; the film is also nominated for Best Picture, Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Casting, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Screenplay.

"This zinging dialogue, racing score, and electric cast collide to create cinema that celebrates New York, while recognizing its warts with a bleeding grin. All of this makes Marty Supreme an unusual crowdpleaser," Mashable's Puchko writes in her review. "Full of wild humor and shocking turns, it has its audience in a chokehold of tension and surprise, rarely letting up for us to breathe. And yet, what a thrill to be breathless."

Check out Mashable's full review of Marty Supreme.

How to watch Marty Supreme at home Credit: A24

A24 was expected to release Marty Supreme on digital on Feb. 3, but that date was pushed back to Feb. 10 for some reason. We're still waiting for details on its streaming debut. We've broken down the details below.

Buy or rent on digital

Marty Supreme made its at-home debut at digital-on-demand retailers on Feb. 10. You can purchase the film for your digital library for $24.99 or rent it for $5 less. If you choose to rent, you'll get access for 30 days, but just 48 hours once you start watching.

Quick links to buy/rent Marty Supreme on digital:

• Prime Video — buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• Apple TV — buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• Fandango at Home — buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

Opens in a new window Credit: Prime Video Preorder 'Marty Supreme' at Prime Video $24.99 Shop Now Stream it on HBO Max

While we haven't got word on a specific streaming release date yet for Marty Supreme, we do know that it will make its debut on HBO Max.

A24 just renewed its output deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, so new A24 theatrical releases will still exclusively stream on HBO Max before anywhere else. If Marty Supreme follows a similar theater-to-streaming trajectory as other recently released A24 movies — like Sorry, Baby, Bring Her Back, and The Smashing Machine — we estimate that it will hit HBO Max sometime in April 2026.

HBO Max subscriptions start at $10.99 per month (thanks to its most recent price hike), but there are some ways to save some money on your plan. Check out the best HBO Max streaming deals below.

SEE ALSO: What does Netflix's purchase of Warner Bros. mean for theatrical releases? The best HBO Max streaming dealsBest for most people: Save 16% on HBO Max annual subscriptions Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Basic with ads annual subscription $109.99 per year (save $21.89) Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Standard annual subscription $184.99 per year (save $36.89) Get Deal

The best way to save on HBO Max on any given day is to sign up for the annual plan over the monthly plan. The HBO Max Basic plan with ads typically costs $10.99 per month, but if you pay for an entire year upfront, that price drops down to just $9.17. You'll pay $109.99 total for the year, which saves you about 16% compared to paying each month.

Rather go ad-free? The annual HBO Max Standard or Premium plans will also save you about 16% over their monthly counterparts. The Standard tier costs either $18.49 per month or $184.99 per year (about $15.42 per month), while the Premium tier costs either $22.99 per month or $229.99 per year (about $19.17 per month). Both tiers unlock ad-free viewing, but the Premium tier also adds 4K Ultra HD video quality, Dolby Atmos immersive audio, and the ability to download more offline content.

Get HBO Max for free: Switch to Cricket's Supreme Unlimited plan Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max / Cricket HBO Max (with ads) Free for Cricket customers on the Supreme Unlimited plan Get Deal

Want to get HBO Max for free? One of the best ways in 2026 is to switch your phone plan to Cricket's $60 per month Supreme Unlimited plan. It includes HBO Max Basic with ads for free — a $10.99 per month value. When you open up the HBO Max app or website, you'll just select Cricket as your provider and use your credentials to log in.

Best HBO Max deal for students: Save 50% on HBO Max Basic with ads Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Student $5.49 per month for 12 months Get Deal

College students can watch Marty Supreme when it hits streaming by signing up for an entire year of HBO Max with ads for half price. Verify your student status through UNiDAYS and retrieve the unique discount code to drop the price from $10.99 to just $5.49 per month. After 12 months, the price will jump back up to the full $10.99 monthly fee unless you cancel.

Best bundle deal: Get HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu for up to 42% off Opens in a new window Credit: Disney / Hulu / HBO Max Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max $19.99 per month (with ads), $32.99 per month (no ads) Get Deal

You'll get the most bang for your buck if you opt for the Disney+ bundle deal that includes Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max for just $19.99 per month with ads. That lineup of streamers would usually cost you $34.97 per month if you paid separately for each, so you'll keep an extra $15 in your pocket monthly. If you prefer to watch without ads, the bundle will run you $32.99 per month as opposed to $56.47. That's up to 42% in savings for unlimited access to all three streaming libraries.

UPDATE: Feb. 10, 2026, 3:00 a.m. EST This article has been updated with the latest streaming information for "Marty Supreme."

Bluesky has added drafts, allowing you to park your posts and properly think them through before getting messy on main.

Rolling out from Monday, Bluesky's new drafts feature comes as part of its v1.116 update. This update also includes new welcome screen artwork in Bluesky's mobile app, and makes GIFs autoplay rather than function similarly to videos. However, the ability to save your Bluesky post drafts for later is by far the biggest change in the new update.

v1.116 is rolling out now! For all the overthinkers and perfectionists out there, we're launching Drafts.

[image or embed]

— Bluesky (@bsky.app) February 10, 2026 at 7:21 AM

To save a post as a draft on Bluesky, simply compose it as you normally would, then select "Cancel" in the top left corner. A popup will then appear asking whether you'd like to save the post as a draft for later. Alternatively, you can also save a post as a draft by tapping the new "Drafts" button next to the "Post" button in the top right corner, which will prompt a similar popup asking if you want to save your post before viewing your drafts. If you're unable to see the button, check that your app is up to date.

When you want to view your Bluesky drafts, open the composition window as though you are writing a new post, then tap the "Drafts" button. You'll then see a list of your drafts, which you can tap to resume editing or delete as you desire. 

Drafts is a feature that Bluesky users have been requesting for a while, with competitors X and Threads already having it available. Bluesky previously acknowledged that it was still missing basic features such as drafts in a January blog post on its future plans, indicating that it's working to address this. The post also listed faster video uploads, longer clips, and allowing more than four photos to a post as other updates it aims to tackle this year.

Even so, Bluesky's comparatively slow implementation of basic features doesn't appear to have been fatal to its growth. Its recent Transparency Report stated that Bluesky's user base increased significantly in 2025, almost doubling from 25 million to 41 million over the past year.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

Rock-solid.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

STONY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

To move hair with a razor.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for February 10, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

SHAVE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

An acid.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for February 10 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for February 10, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

AMINO

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Stuck.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

FROZE

Final Hurdle hint

A student helper.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

TUTOR

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Feb. 9-13. The new Free Romance Book Blast offers romance books in a variety of subgenres for your e-reader.

Have you got big plans for Valentine's Day? Cancel them, because a new Stuff Your Kindle Day just dropped.

The Stuff Your Kindle Day schedule has been predictably hectic in 2026. We had a number of free giveaways in January, but February is on another level. We count nine events this month. Not all of them are huge, but between the niche events and massive drops, bookworms are going to be kept busy.

The latest giveaway is hosted by the Indie Author Collective. Be My Valentine is a romance book blast, offering (you guessed it) free romance books from a variety of subgenres. Everything that you download for free is yours to keep forever, so don't hold back. So what if you've already got a huge stack of books waiting to be read. Add to your virtual pile without guilt.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best Kindles to help you find the perfect e-reader

Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.

When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?

Be My Valentine takes place on Feb. 9-13. Recent Stuff Your Kindle Days have only lasted 24 hours, meaning participants have needed to act fast. That's stressful, so this five-day event is a welcome change. You can take stock of your options, pick your favorites, and download without getting worked up. It's much more civilized.

Which ebooks are free?

Be My Valentine is all about romance titles. There's a helpful hub page put together by the Indie Author Collective with filters for major tropes, spice levels, content levels, and representation. Here you can peruse the 100s of options or filter to find something that perfectly lines up with your preferences.

It's important to note that anyone can participate in Stuff Your Kindle Day. Kindle and Kobo readers can download these romance books for free.

Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?

Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time.

The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle (16GB) + Kindle Unlimited (3 Months) $109.99 at Amazon
  Get Deal Why we like it

These popular e-readers help you take your entire library on the go. With weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display, you can read anywhere and anytime with the Kindle. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase.

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

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

There are so many incredible sporting events taking place in 2026. The schedule is stacked with the Winter Olympics, World Cup, and much more this year. And cricket fans don't need to wait for arguably the biggest showpiece event on the calendar: the 2026 T20 World Cup.

The best international T20 teams are in India and Sri Lanks to compete for the top prize. You can expect the likes of India, Australia, South Africa, and England to be fighting it out in the knockout rounds. Those teams are the pre-tournament favorites, but this electric form of the game is always unpredictable. Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Pakistan possess the talent to beat anyone on their best day.

If you want to watch the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is the T20 World Cup?

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is a Twenty20 International cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. The event is generally held every two years. India are the defending champions.

In 2026, 20 teams will compete in 55 matches across five venues. The 20 qualifying teams are divided into four groups of five. In the group stage, each team will play four matches in a round-robin format, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Super 8 stage. At this point, teams will be placed into two groups of four, and will play three matches. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage.

When is the 2026 T20 World Cup?

The 2026 T20 World Cup is the 10th edition of the competition. This year's event takes place from Feb. 7 to March 8 in India and Sri Lanka.

How to watch the 2026 T20 World Cup for free

The 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup 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.

Access free T20 Cricket World Cup live streams 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

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.

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 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 for free with ExpressVPN.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for February 10, 2026

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for February 10, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 10 Pips

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 6-5, placed horizontally.

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally; 4-1, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally; 2-3, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally; 1-1, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 10 Pips

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically; 3-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this green space must be equal to 5. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this red space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally; 0-6, placed vertically; 0-5, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 10 Pips

Greater Than (2): Everything in this green space must be greater than 2. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 3-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 2-3, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-1, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this red space must be equal to 1. The answer is 0-1, placed vertically; 2-1, placed vertically; 1-6, placed horizontally.

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 1-6, placed horizontally; 6-0, placed horizontally.

Less Than (4): Everything in this green space must be less than 4. The answer is 3-6, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 3-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this red space must be equal to 0. The answer is 6-0, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Everything in this green space must be equal to 5. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition is for the Winter Olympics enthusiasts.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Competitive ice skating

• Green: Olympic features

• Blue: Hockey penalty

• Purple: Used in a biathlon

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Figure Skating Disciplines

• Green: Winter Olympic Movies

• Blue: Hockey Infractions

• Purple: Biathlon Equipment

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #505 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Figure Skating Disciplines - ICE DANCE, PAIRS, SINGLES, TEAM EVENT

• Winter Olympic Movies - COOL RUNNINGS, I, TONYA, MIRACLE, THE CUTTING EDGE

• Hockey Infractions - BOARDING, HOOKING, ICING, OFFSIDE

• Biathlon Equipment - POLES, RIFLE, SKIS, TARGETS

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and many websites might have the latest emoji, but Windows 11 still hasn't caught up. Thankfully, that might finally change soon, as Microsoft is once again testing Emoji 16.0 support.

OpenAI has begun rolling out ads inside ChatGPT, marking a major shift for a product that has largely operated without traditional advertising since its launch in 2022.

In a blog post published this week, the company confirmed it is testing ads for logged-in users on its Free and Go plans in the U.S., while keeping paid tiers like Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education ad-free. OpenAI said the move will help fund broader access to advanced AI tools without requiring every user to pay a subscription.

SEE ALSO: ChatGPT GPT-4o users are raging at OpenAI on Reddit right now

"Our focus with this test is learning," OpenAI's blog post read. "We’re paying close attention to feedback so we can make sure ads feel useful and fit naturally into the ChatGPT experience before expanding."

The ads appear outside of ChatGPT’s responses and are clearly labeled as sponsored content. OpenAI says ads do not influence how the chatbot answers questions and that user conversations are not shared with advertisers. Instead, ads are selected based on broad conversation topics and how users interact with ads, with restrictions in place to prevent sponsored content from appearing alongside sensitive topics such as health, mental health, or politics.

Those who use ChatGPT's free service can opt out of the ads, with a caveat.

"If you prefer not to see ads, you can upgrade to our Plus or Pro plans, or opt out of ads in the Free tier in exchange for fewer daily free messages," according to the company.

The opt-out options on ChatGPT found in the user settings Credit: Mashable screengrab via OpenAI

Users who do consent to ads will also have the option to opt out of ad personalization, limiting how sponsored content is selected. There are also options to stop ChatGPT from utilizing past AI chats to tailor ads, as well as deleting "all ads history and data" the company has compiled on a user.

At the time of publication, Mashable attempted to surface ads during regular use of ChatGPT but were unable to trigger any sponsored content, which aligns with OpenAI’s description of the rollout as a limited test rather than a full launch.

The rollout follows months of user confusion and frustration after widely circulated screenshots appeared to show promotional content embedded in ChatGPT responses. OpenAI previously dismissed those incidents as poorly timed "suggestions," but the distinction did little to calm concerns. As Mashable reported earlier this year, OpenAI has been quietly experimenting with ad formats internally while signaling that monetization would eventually be necessary to support the platform’s massive infrastructure costs.

With ChatGPT now testing ads and offering opt-out controls, OpenAI appears to be betting that transparency and choice will soften the transition to a more familiar, ad-supported internet model. However, that shift hasn’t gone unnoticed by competitors. Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s biggest rivals, used its Super Bowl LX ad buys to openly mock the idea of advertising inside AI chatbots.

The ads promote Anthropic’s chatbot, Claude, by staging scenarios where seemingly helpful conversations suddenly pivot into awkward sales pitches, ending with the tagline, "Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude."

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

The days of ChatGPT being an ad-free experience are coming to an end. OpenAI is starting to roll out advertisements to free ChatGPT accounts, and people on the cheaper Go subscription plan will also see them.

Gen Alpha kids raised on iPads and streaming services may not get it, but Super Bowl ads used to mean something in this country.

I'm talking about frogs that say "Bud," "Weis," "Er." I'm talking about handsome, shirtless men on horses. And let's not forget the absolute stranglehold those "Wassup?!" guys had on American culture circa 1999.

So, if you were one of the many people who were largely disappointed with this year's crop of Super Bowl ads, then join me in looking back on the best Super Bowl commercials from yesteryear — a time before generative AI and legal sports gambling.

Though, I do have to give it up to the "Relax Your Tight End" prostate exam ad featuring Rob Gronkowski.

Doritos "Finger Cleaner"

I feel like this ad should come with a trigger warning, but you really have to see it for yourself. I still see this commercial go viral on TikTok every once in a while.

Now, technically, this Super Bowl ad didn't actually air during the Super Bowl. Let me explain.

Frito-Lay used to host an annual Crash the Super Bowl contest, which let fans submit their own commercials for a cash prize. The winners would get their ads played during the game. While the unforgettable Finger Cleaner ad was one of the finalists in 2014, it didn't actually air, which is a damn shame.

Still, it lives on in commercial infamy.

Old Spice and "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"

This 2010 classic introduced the world to Isaiah Mustafa, aka "the Man Your Man Could Smell Like," aka that guy on the horse. (Fun fact: Mustafa would go on to star in It: Chapter Two.)

Pringles "Stuck In"

According to very serious scientific research conducted by Pringles scientists, 43 percent of American Pringles customers have had their hands stuck in a tube of Pringles. Who among us hasn't wondered if there isn't a better shape for these potato snacks?

This Super Bowl ad dates back to 2022, a time before ChatGPT.

Pepsi and "The Joy of Pepsi"

So, you think you love all things Y2K, do you? Well, is the pre-9/11 Britney Spears "The Joy of Pepsi" ad seared into your brain forever?

Sure, it's less funny than it is iconic, but we had to include it.

Snickers, Betty White, and The Brady Bunch

Snack food brands really bring out the big guns for the Big Game. Or, at least, they used to. You may remember the late Betty White starring in this Snickers commercial, also for the 2010 Super Bowl.

But that's not the only Snickers ad worth remembering. The candy bar returned in 2015 for a Brady Bunch-themed commercial that's also a lot of fun.

Say it with us now: Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.

General Motors hates Norway

There was a time when you could put Will Ferrell in anything, and he could make you laugh. This 2021 electric vehicle ad sees the Saturday Night Live legend taking aim at those bastards in Norway.

Reebok and Terry Tate, Office Linebacker

This classic Reebok Super Bowl ad sees Terry Tate tearing through an office. And while that certainly looks like Oscar from The Office, this ad was made two years before we were introduced to the Dunder-Mifflin accounting department.

Wendy's "Where's the Beef?"

The infamous "Where's the Beef?" ad debuted in 1984 and launched actress Clara Peller to worldwide fame.

E*Trade Dancing Monkey

Who doesn't love a dancing monkey? This E*Trade commercial was instantly famous for its clever tagline, “Well, we just wasted $2,000,000. What are you doing with your money?”

Volkswagen "The Force"

German car company Volkswagen is famous for iconic ads, dating back to its "Lemon" magazine ad, which even earned a shoutout in Mad Men. But modern audiences may best remember this adorable and hilarious Star Wars-themed ad instead.

DISNEY+ BUNDLES: Disney+ is offering bundle deals so you can stream the best of its library at a lower price.

The best Disney+ deals and bundles in February 2026: Best Hulu Bundle Deal Disney+ and Hulu Bundle 1st month for $9.99 Get Deal Best HBO Max Bundle Deal Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max Bundle $19.99/month with ads, $32.99/month ad-free Get Deal Best ESPN Bundle Deal Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited Bundle $35.99/month Get Deal

Whether you're looking to jump into the latest superhero saga or journey to a galaxy far, far away, Disney+ is the streaming service for you.

Home to Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar, Disney+ offers a library that's stuffed-full of shows and films to keep both adults and kids entertained. With Disney+, you can watch The Muppet Show, Wonder Man, and much more.

If you've had this streaming service on your radar but you've been unsure which plan is the best fit for you, we've got you covered with a selection of Disney+ streaming deals. This includes a great deal at the moment on the Disney+ and Hulu Bundle, which is offering its first month for just $9.99. This offer only runs until Feb. 17, so now is the time to take advantage of this limited-time deal.

SEE ALSO: 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 trailer reunites Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones

Alongside that deal, there are a few more bundles to check out with Disney+ right now, including the Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max package. This is a great investment for those who already own the other two streaming services and are looking to cut down on costs. Considering Disney+ has recently increased its prices, now is as good a time as any to check out this bundle.

We've detailed all of the available bundle deals below, alongside basic information on Disney+ plans if you just want the House of Mouse's service on its own.

Best Hulu bundle deal Opens in a new window Credit: Disney Disney+ and Hulu Bundle Get your first month of the Disney+, Hulu Bundle for $9.99 Get Deal Why we like it

For those interested in the ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu Bundle, it's currently enjoying a limited-time offer. Until Feb. 17, new and returning subscribers can get their first month of this streaming bundle for just $9.99. Usually it costs $12.99, which it will auto-renew at after the first month is up, but it's still a sweet deal to take advantage of while it's still available.

• Disney+ and Hulu Bundle — Get your first month for $9.99, then $12.99 per month

Unfortunately, this deal does not apply to the Premium ad-free version of this plan, which is still available for $19.99 per month.

• Disney+ and Hulu Bundle Premium — $19.99 per month

Best HBO Max bundle deal Opens in a new window Credit: Disney Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max Bundle $19.99/month with ads, $32.99/month ad-free Get Deal Why we like it

The Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max bundle is one of the best available at the moment. Starting at $19.99 per month, you can have three excellent streaming services right in the palm of your hand. The $19.99 per month option is for the With Ads plan, but if you'd prefer to watch your favorite content without ads, the No Ads plan comes to $32.99 per month. Compared to what you'd pay for each of these on their own, you're saving 42% with the ad-supported plan and 41% with the ad-free plan.

• Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle (with ads) — $19.99 per month (save 42%)

• Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle (no ads) — $32.99 per month (save 41%)

Best ESPN bundle Opens in a new window Credit: Disney Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited Bundle $35.99/month Get Deal

If you're a sports fan looking to add ESPN to your bundles, you're in luck: Disney offers bundles with both ESPN Select and ESPN Unlimited. According to ESPN, "ESPN Select includes ESPN+ content only. Fans who want ESPN+ exclusively may subscribe to the ESPN Select plan. ESPN Unlimited includes all of the ESPN networks and services, including ESPN+."

The Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle, which has ads, is available for $35.99 per month. The Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited premium bundle without ads is available for $44.99 per month.

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle — $19.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle Premium — $29.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle — $35.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle Premium — $44.99 per month

Best Disney+ monthly plans

Disney+ offers two standard plans if you just want the service on its own. The Disney+ ad-supported plan comes to $11.99 per month while the ad-free Disney+ Premium plan will set you back $18.99 per month or $189.99 per year if you'd rather pay annually.

• Disney+ (With Ads) — $11.99 per month

• Disney+ Premium (No Ads) — $18.99 per month, $189.99 per year

Disney+ has also created an "extra member" plan for people using your account that live outside of your household as they crack down on password sharing. If you're looking to add another person onto your account, you're only allowed one extra profile and can choose from the following add-on plans:

• Disney+ (With Ads) — $6.99 per month

• Disney+ Premium — $9.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu Bundle — $7.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu Bundle Premium — $10.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle — $11.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle Premium — $14.99 per month

There's a wealth of shows and films to check out on Disney+ after you sign up. If you want some help finding something to watch, check out our roundups of the 12 best TV shows for adults on Disney+ and the 20 best movies on Disney+ to start building out your watchlist.

Why is everyone so mad about the Ring Super Bowl ad? The short TV spot "Search Party" should pull at the heartstrings — it's got a puppy, lost dogs, a father and daughter, and a happy ending. It even promises viewers they can "Be a hero in your neighborhood.”

What more could you want?

Privacy.

Many viewers on both the right and left were disturbed by the privacy implications of the advertised "Search Party" feature. This AI tool is designed to reunite lost dogs with their owners, and the Super Bowl ad claims that one lost pet is found every day thanks to the technology.

Here's how Search Party works: When a dog is lost, pet owners can upload a picture of their pet, at which point their neighbors' Ring video doorbells and security cameras will start looking for the lost pup. Of course, as viewers quickly realized, if Ring can do this for lost dogs, there's no reason it couldn't identify a human face just as easily.

I was at the November 2025 Amazon event where Search Party was first announced, and the AI detection feature seemed problematic from the jump. As I reported at the time, privacy advocates warned that some of Amazon's new AI features could even violate state privacy laws.

Of course, those privacy laws don't apply to dogs, which is why critics are calling Search Party a Trojan horse for mass surveillance technology.

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For progressive Americans on alert because of increased ICE activity, the ad seemed especially poorly timed.

Ring's history is also working against it. In the past, progressives have criticized Ring for sharing footage with law enforcement, which the company has said it only does in rare emergencies, with customers' permission, or when required to do so by a subpoena or warrant. On top of that, back in 2023, the Federal Trade Commission accused Ring employees and contractors of accessing customers' private videos.

Despite these controversies, Ring remains very popular, including among Mashable readers. Remember: for many customers, cooperating with law enforcement is a feature, not a bug, in a home security company.

Regardless, it's clear that the Search Party Super Bowl ad struck a nerve. Strangely, it wasn't the only vaguely dystopian advertisement from Amazon this year.

A Super Bowl LX commercial for Alexa+ showed actor Chris Hemsworth being repeatedly killed by the newly AI-powered smart home assistant.

Looking for a good movie or three to watch this week? I've learned to underestimate Paramount+ when it comes to its library of movies, with the massive studio having so many in its catalog. Combine that with the ones it licenses, and you get quite the dilemma—what to watch.

TL;DR: Headway Premium gives busy people the key ideas from top nonfiction books in just 15 minutes in text or audio — and it’s on sale for a one-time payment of $39.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Headway Headway Premium: Lifetime Subscription $39.97
$299.95 Save $259.98   Get Deal

Personal growth sounds great, exciting, and like something you want, until you look at your calendar. Between work, family, and everything else competing for attention, sitting down with a 300-page book often feels unrealistic. That’s exactly the gap Headway is designed to fill.

Headway Premium distills the core ideas from bestselling nonfiction books into focused 15-minute summaries you can read or listen to. Instead of committing hours, you get the concepts that matter most — whether that’s leadership, productivity, health, mindset, or money — right when you need them.

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The experience goes beyond simple summaries. The app builds personalized self-growth plans based on your goals, mixes in quizzes and trivia to reinforce learning, and uses spaced repetition to help ideas stick.

Prefer audio? Professional voice actors turn summaries into podcast-style listens that fit perfectly into commutes, workouts, or daily routines.

There’s also a thoughtful layer of motivation involved. Progress tracking, streaks, highlights turned into flashcards, and even short role-play videos make learning feel more interactive and less like another task on your to-do list.

With over 2,000 summaries and new content added regularly, Headway works especially well for people who want to keep growing but don’t want self-improvement to take over their lives.

Don’t miss this practical way to keep learning, one focused session at a time.

Get lifetime access to Headway Premium while it’s just $39.99 (reg. $299.95) with code SUMMARY20 through Feb. 22.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Netflix's new crop of movies for February has come with a handful of must-see gems to make your work week sail by a bit smoother, so let's get right to it, shall we?

If your vehicle was manufactured from about 2016 onward, it might have a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot. Around that time, automakers started embedding Wi-Fi hotspots in their vehicles and offering trial subscriptions after purchase, similar to how they do with SiriusXM. Manufacturers like Chevrolet were among the first to heavily promote “4G LTE connectivity,” especially across its Silverado lineup, where new owners could connect up to seven devices.

There's no question: This is not the Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë wrote. But Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) never intended that.

Ahead of the release of Fennell's "Wuthering Heights," (yes, the quotation marks are part of the title), the English filmmaker has dropped controversial clues that her film adaptation would reject much of what Brontë fans might anticipate. In casting Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as damned lovers Catherine and Heathcliff, Fennell ignited outrage from fans who decried the Barbie star as too old for her role and Elordi too white for his.

SEE ALSO: 'Wuthering Heights' trailer: Emerald Fennell pairs Emily Brontë with Charli XCX and steamy romance

The movie's ad campaign leaned into romance-novel tropes, featuring posters of the two locked in an embrace, on the verge of kissing, with the tagline "Come undone." Then came assurances that Fennell's film would be willfully anachronistic from the book's late 18th-century setting, as Charli XCX teased the film's dance-pop soundtrack, and production stills revealed a synthetic latex-like dress, a shimmery negligee, and teeny rose-colored glasses that evoke a far more modern feel.

Finally, in pre-release interviews for "Wuthering Heights," Fennell spoke to her approach in adapting a book "as dense and complicated and difficult" as the Brontë classic. "I can't say I'm making Wuthering Heights. It's not possible," she told Fandango. "What I can say is I'm making a version of it. There's a version that I remembered reading that isn't quite real. And there's a version where I wanted stuff to happen that never happened. And so it is "Wuthering Heights," and it isn't. But really, I'd say that any adaptation of a novel, especially a novel like this, should have quotation marks around it."

After all of this, it should surprise no one that Fennell's "Wuthering Heights" is radically different from Brontë's. The question is not if the film is faithful to the book, or even better than it. The question is, does this film work on its own terms, as a half-remembered fantasy of wild, enviable romance? And the answer is simply: No.

"Wuthering Heights" radically reimagines Catherine and Heathcliff.

The bones of our famed protagonists' story remain: Catherine and Heathcliff meet as children in the moors of West Yorkshire, England, where she's the spoiled daughter of a drunken landowner, and he's a poor boy brusquely adopted to be raised alongside her. They share a wild nature in their remote surroundings, but as they grow, Catherine longs for luxury, which her gruff crush with no societal standing can't promise. She breaks both their hearts by accepting the proposal of proper, aristocratic gentleman Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), from the estate next door, which spurs Heathcliff to run away. Upon his return to Yorkshire five years later, he is rich, dashing, and determined to make a mess of Catherine's life, for better or worse.

However, despite the familiar framework, the dynamic of Catherine and Heathcliff in Fennell's film feels more like The Princess Bride than Wuthering Heights. For one thing, Heathcliff's cruelty is considerably softened. Like Westley, the sweet stable boy, he will suffer any abuse if it means being close to his blonde ladylove. In particular, Heathcliff will endure a violent whipping from Catherine's father, which gives the boy a chance to prove his immovable dedication to her.

Heathcliff's own violence and wrath in adulthood are channeled by Elordi into smoldering and brooding, with a tame frisson of kink, whether he's forcefully gripping Catherine's mouth or later degrading his bride, Edgar's ward Isabella (Alison Oliver) with pet play. Meanwhile, Catherine is a beautiful brat who, in the blink of an eye, goes from a rosy-cheeked child to a picture-perfect doll of a woman. So, of course, Fennell cast Barbie.

Draped in meticulously crafted skirts and dresses in bold reds and whites and corseted into an impossible waist, Robbie looks like a fashion doll, especially as she marries into wealth via Edgar. This metaphor is made blatant as Isabella presents her new sort-of sister-in-law with a doll made in her likeness, complete with a giant dollhouse that resembles their shared home, Thrushcross Grange. Yes, Catherine has achieved all the luxuries she dreamed of, but now she feels trapped, a pretty plaything in a dollhouse. The dream is not what she hoped.

"Wuthering Heights" is juvenile in its provocations.

To kick things off, two evocative sounds play over the film's opening credits. One is the rustling of fabric, the other a man groaning, an ambiguous preview of an imminent scene of sex or violence.

The intensity of both sounds grows to reveal not a sexual scenario, but a man being hung at a public execution. However, Fennell still blends sex and violence here. A young Catherine (Charlotte Mellington) thrills at the depravity of it, while Fennell is sure to include a close-up of the dead man's "stiffy," obvious even through his pants. Such twisted melding of themes will thread throughout "Wuthering Heights," but in ways more trashy than transgressive.

Brontë fans might clutch their pearls that Fennell has not just a sex scene between Heathcliff and Catherine, but a montage of them, spanning from beds to carriages to the sweeping plains between their estates. And yet, while these scenes have the iconography of classic romance novels — the rich settings, the posh clothes, the forbidden attraction, the beautiful characters on the cover feigning elation — they fall flat. While Robbie is rigorous in bringing Catherine's ire and yearning to life, and Elordi is strong and seething, the pair have all the chemistry of Barbie and Ken dolls bumping rubber when they collide.

Perhaps to add Saltburn-like spice, BDSM is worked into various love scenes, bringing horse bridles, shackles, and a metal collar into sex games of degradation. This makes the depravity of the novel more playful than dark. Now, Heathcliff, who comes off like a towering Dom, is less threatening, as his violence is channeled through consensual kink. Yet this depiction of BDSM still feels half-hearted next to more successfully sexy and psychologically provocative films like Babygirl and Pillion.

Featured Video For You Is cinema starting to get BDSM right? The race-bending in "Wuthering Heights" is a problem Fennell created.

Heathcliff's racial identity has been studied by Brontë scholars due to the author's descriptions of his "dark-skinned" appearance, which is why Elordi's casting incensed some fans of the novel. However, it's not Heathcliff's casting alone that becomes problematic in Fennell's version. Perhaps the director looked to Bridgerton for inspiration, both in the show's colorblind casting and barrage of sex scenes that have fueled debates on historical accuracy for the period. Fennell not only casts both of her romantic leads with white actors, but casts actors of color in the roles of Edgar and Nelly (Hong Chau), characters who are regarded in the film as less desirable than the protagonists, instead assigned roles of boring cuckold and bitter old maid.

In addition, the film's cinematography and set design fetishize white skin. Following the childhood scene of Catherine consoling Heathcliff over his whipping by her father, the scene dissolves from the bloody, clothed back of a boy to the bared back of a man (Elordi), striped with whiplash scars. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren offers a close-up, leering over Heathcliff's scars as if these are proof of his love — sweaty, plump, and terrible. Perhaps Fennell feared such fetishizing would be problematic if Heathcliff were "dark-skinned" as Brontë wrote. But she doubles down with this painting of whiteness as desirable with Catherine's skin room.

After their wedding, Edgar is giddy to show Catherine the bedroom he designed for her, painted in the "most beautiful color," that of her face. It's not just white flesh or flushed cheeks that Edgar has had recreated. The room is lined with vinyl-padded panels, each bearing birthmarks and light blue veins translucent beneath the faux skin. Far from romantic, the gesture is repulsive, and only becomes more so when an intruding Heathcliff licks the wall as if it were his beloved's flesh. And in this, it becomes clear how much of Brontë's novel Fennell ignored or stripped away to make her version. And what is left?

As an admirer of Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, I was cautiously optimistic about Fennell's "Wuthering Heights." Adaptations are never what the book was, because the book is different depending on who reads it. This is why I like seeing movie adaptations of novels I loved and hated, because it's like getting to walk around in someone else's brain, seeing the story as they did. However, Fennell's adaptation goes both too far and not far enough.

By slicing the book in half and cutting loose a clutch of relatives, she's simplified the story to focus on the love between Heathcliff and Catherine. But for all the substance she's cut away, only style has been put in its place. And it's not enough to make this "Wuthering Heights" feel full or affecting. Instead of a cohesive re-imagining or even a titillating romance, "Wuthering Heights" feels like a passionate but incoherent collage of teenage lust and rebellion, the kind better suited to a high school locker than a movie theater.

Wuthering Heights opens in theaters on Feb. 13.

If you were one of the hundreds of millions of people watching Super Bowl LX on Sunday evening, you saw Bad Bunny, all the other Halftime Show celebrities, some viral commercials, and of course the Seahawks beating the Patriots in the football game.

One of the commercials that had people talking was for a new website called AI.com. The commercial informed users to go to the website so they can reserve a username of their choice, even suggesting that names like "Elon" were available. The site went down almost immediately after the Super Bowl commercial aired as it struggled with the influx of traffic.

And, that might make sense when you find out the story behind the domain name AI.com, which sold to its new owners for a record-breaking amount shortly before the Super Bowl.

What is AI dot com?

AI.com is a new website from the co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, Kris Marszalek.

As of right now, users can simply go to the website, sign up with a Google login, and claim their own @ handle along with a separate handle for their AI. After finding two available handles, the user must then confirm their identity with a credit card. However, the site doesn't charge users anything for the transaction confirmation. After that, users are informed that their handles are reserved.

There is a footnote on the website that says they will verify users who are a "celebrity with more than 100,000 followers" and allow them to reserve a handle that matches their X account.

Marszalek shared that AI.com will be an AI assistant platform, and it seems like there is some social media aspect, but anything more regarding AI.com unclear right now.

How much did AI dot com sell for?

Marszalek paid $70 million for the AI.com domain name, as confirmed by the domain name broker Larry Fischer of Get Your Domains. 

In March 2025, Fischer announced that AI.com was for sale with an asking price of $100 million. The domain sold for $30 million less than that price. Perhaps the seller made even less than that, as the purchase was made entirely with cryptocurrency, which has seen prices fall dramatically in recent weeks.

Regardless, $70 million is still a new record high for a sale involving nothing more than a domain name. (No website or other assets were included in the sale. Just AI.com, the domain name.)

AI.com's $70 million selling price shattered the record previously held by CarInsurance.com, which sold for $49.7 million in 2010.

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Marszalek first publicly announced the acquisition of the domain on his X account last week, saying he acquired the domain in April. The site went live, however, on the same day as the Super Bowl, just hours before the AI.com commercial aired.

Marszalek is no stranger to big acquisitions regarding domain names or even naming rights. The Crypto.com domain name was reportedly acquired for his crypto company's use in 2018 for between $10 and $12 million. And, in 2012, Crypto.com acquired the naming rights for the Staples Center for a whopping $700 million.

Mashable previously reported on a prior sale of AI.com in 2021, after it became public knowledge in 2023. It first appeared as if OpenAI acquired the domain name, as the URL forwarded to ChatGPT's website. However, AI.com later was updated to forward to Elon Musk's xAI website, further muddying the waters surrounding its ownership.

With the latest $70 million sale to Marszalek, it appears that the mystery around the previous acquisition has been resolved. Early Bitcoin investor Arsyan Ismail is the current seller and appears to have been the person who last acquired the domain name for $10 million from domain name portfolio company Future Media Architects.

The messaging platform Discord announced Monday that all user accounts will default to teen safety settings beginning in March.

Discord, which has more than 200 million global monthly active users, will restrict adult content and spaces. In order to access those parts of Discord or change related settings, an individual must verify their age. If the platform has independently assessed an account as having a high likelihood of belonging to an adult, the user will not need to go through an age assurance process.

Discord will use the third-party verification service k-ID for age and identification checks and rely on an inference model with hundreds of signals, like account tenure and activity data, to detect the accurate age of an account holder.

SEE ALSO: Discord launches new safety features following lawsuits

"We would like the experience to feel more like you are on Main Street," Savannah Badalich, head of product policy at Discord, told Mashable. "If you're going into an adult space, you do ID verification or something like that, whereas the Main Street itself is built for just generally [everyone]."

Badalich suggested to Mashable that users will not be able to circumvent the safety measures by relying on a virtual private network, or VPN, that conceals their location, since the default settings will be universal.

Discord under pressure on teen safety

The new policy arrives in the wake of sustained pressure on social media platforms to improve safety for minors.

A 2025 lawsuit filed against Discord and the gaming platform Roblox alleged that together the platforms created a "breeding ground for predators." At the heart of the complaint is an anonymous 11-year-old girl who was allegedly groomed, sexually exploited, and raped by a perpetrator who used Roblox and Discord to communicate with her.

In late 2025, the platform launched a hub that allows parents or guardians to view the top five users a teen messaged and called, the servers they messaged most frequently, their total call minutes in voice and video, and all the purchases they've made.

At the time, Haley McNamara, executive director and chief strategy officer of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, told Mashable in a statement that Discord's new safety features fell short by placing the burden of youth safety on parents rather than implementing fundamental design changes.

Age-gated content and experiences on Discord

Badalich said that though Discord will have teen safety settings for all users by default, the platform will preemptively assess accounts that seem to belong to adults and permit them to access age-gated content and features.

While Discord hopes to keep false positives to a minimum, Badalich did not share the platform's confidence in accurately predicting user age.

Beginning in March, any user whose age is unverified or whose account has been placed in teen settings will need to either submit an ID or go through the facial estimation process in order to have full access to Discord.

Only adults will be able to unblur sensitive content, or turn off the setting; access age-gated channels and servers; receive message requests directly, instead of to a separate inbox; and speak on a "stage" in a Discord server.

Badalich described the new policy as "a foundational change to how we think about Discord."

Age verification on Discord

Discord began using age assurance measures in the UK and Australia last year, though not without challenges.

In the UK, some users also initially bypassed the age check requirement by submitting a realistic-looking selfie of a video game character, which was deemed adult. Badalich told Mashable that Discord and k-ID worked "tirelessly" to patch that vulnerability, and that the experience has informed its subsequent age assurance efforts.

Discord's new age-assurance efforts will restrict adult servers. Credit: Courtesy of Discord

"[W]e know that teens are creative," Badalich said. 'They're going to try to find ways around it."

There are privacy concerns, too. In October, Discord announced a third-party customer support vendor had been hacked, breaching 70,000 government IDs provided by users.

When users submit identity documents to k-ID, the documents will be deleted quickly, if not immediately, according to Discord.