Technology

Hands up if you use Google Maps almost every day. Yep, same here. Between grocery runs, long drives with my husband, and picking up my daughter from school, I open it so often that I assumed I knew all the useful bits.

You might have suspected that Google was using personal app data for more than your own tasks, but now you have confirmation. Google has updated its privacy policy with an exception that lets its services use your shared content for personalized ads when you connect them to apps like Drive, Gmail, and Photos.

Who's up for some brilliant documentaries? At the moment, there are a few fresh Netflix documentaries trending in the Top 10. One of those is Tyson, a limited series about one of the "baddest men on the planet," Mike Tyson. On the comedy side, Norm Macdonald's documentary is winning over viewers thanks to the late comedian's indelible humor.

Linux has come a long way from the days when getting a graphical desktop running could feel like a project of its own. Today, you can install a modern Linux distro, open a browser, connect your Bluetooth headphones, and get on with your work. That experience is the result of decades of development, arguments, ambitious redesigns, and a few spectacular failures.

There's always a new AI photo trend on TikTok, whether people are turning themselves into caricatures or posing for an '80s yearbook portrait. If you've tried those and are looking for another excuse to play around with AI image generation, the "I'm so sorry" trend has people digging through their childhood photos — and apologizing for what they find.

SEE ALSO: ChatGPT '80s trend: Prompts to try it yourself

People are sharing edited versions of their baby pictures, childhood snapshots, and old Halloween costumes, then revealing the changes one slide at a time. With every swipe, another detail gets stripped away until they unveil the real photo — and the result is usually pretty horrifying. Horrifying enough that users feel compelled to caption their posts with "I'm so sorry." The carousels are usually set to Harry Styles' "Coming Up Roses" or Prince's "Purple Rain."

The appeal of the trend is in the anticipation. Once you understand the format, even an innocent opening photo becomes suspicious. You start inspecting the hair, the outfit, the background. Something is going to go. Something is going to appear. You just don’t know what!

In the Halloween versions, that can mean revealing a costume was much more homemade or culturally offensive than the opening image suggested. Other versions start with a picture-perfect baby portrait before revealing a newborn photo that is not as cute as expected (I'll leave it at that). Some depict yearbook photos or women after giving birth.

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According to Know Your Meme, one of the earliest known examples came from TikTokker @theywanthunter on Aug. 22, when he posted a carousel featuring his supposed girlfriend saying, "Happy 2 years bae," before revealing that both the woman and the man in the image had been edited. The video had accumulated more than 25 million views by October.

Viewers online are eating it up, for the most part. "The 'I'm sorry I lied' trend on TikTok has to be the funniest trend ever," one user wrote. Another said it was "actually making me feel better about my childhood photos."

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But others are less amused by exactly how those slideshows are made. "Why do we keep normalizing uploading pictures of children into a public AI?" another user asked, raising a real concern that in order to participate in the trend, people are handing real childhood photos over to AI tools.

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Those very real concerns center on what happens after the upload. Depending on the service and its settings, images may be retained or used to help train AI models. The public can also easily copy and manipulate those without permission. UNICEF has warned that real photographs of children are being altered into sexually explicit deepfakes. Of course, that doesn’t mean participating in this trend will lead to abuse, but it helps explain why some viewers are questioning the privacy trade-off behind the joke.

How to do the 'I'm so sorry' trend

Start with the photo you want to reveal at the end, then use an AI image editor (any will do) to create a more polished-looking version. You might change the hairstyle, upgrade the outfit, or give the background a makeover.

Then, for a gradual reveal, add in one edit at a time and save each version. Then arrange the images in reverse order. Upload the images as a TikTok photo carousel or create a video slideshow using an editing app, and add captions over each photo, admitting to each change as you go.

Finish with the original photo and the obligatory "I’m so sorry," then add your chosen audio from either the Harry Styles or Prince track. They're both pretty great songs.

While many undertake ESP32-based electronics projects for fun, because they find building rewarding, or to learn, saving money is another valid reason to DIY a solution. It could be argued your own time has a price too, but if you find the build enjoyable, then you’re probably not going to mind the time commitment.

Android gives several ways to customize your phone. Most users use the Quick Settings panel for the same handful of things — Wi-Fi, brightness slider, flashlight, location, and mobile data. These barely scratch the surface. Tucked inside the Quick Settings edit menu are tiles that save you several taps and put useful controls one swipe away. To add tiles, swipe down from the top of the screen, tap the pencil icon, and add the one you want into the panel. The exact steps vary by phone and Android version. Here are five Quick Settings tiles that are worth the space.

Shopping on Etsy shouldn’t require figuring out whether the product in the photo actually exists. Now, the marketplace is introducing new rules to help take some of that guesswork out of buying.

Etsy announced new restrictions on Oct. 22 in a news post titled "Creativity and Trust in the Age of AI," in which the marketplace banned AI-generated patterns, recipes, and other instructions that buyers follow to create a finished product. Sellers must also show a real example made using those instructions. An AI-generated image of what your project could theoretically look like won’t cut it.

"AI should support our sellers' creativity and craftsmanship, not replace them," James Ossman, Etsy’s vice president of customer operations, wrote in the announcement.

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For most listings, sellers will need to include at least one completely unedited photo showing the actual product against a real background. Some categories, including digital, customized, and made-to-order items, have different requirements. Sellers can still edit additional photos using software or AI tools, but those images must accurately show what buyers will receive.

There are potential consequences for misleading listings. If a seller's images don't meet the requirements and a buyer opens a case because the product looks materially different, the seller could be responsible for a refund. Bot-generated listings without human involvement will be removed and could also result in the seller’s shop being removed from Etsy.

SEE ALSO: Etsy says it will allow the sale of AI-generated art but not AI prompts

For shoppers, the frustration goes beyond disliking AI art. According to online testimonies, generated images can make it harder to judge the actual product. In a Reddit discussion about the announcement, one user said they stopped buying from a shop selling molds used to make bath bombs after it replaced real product photos with AI imagery. They wanted to see both the mold and a bath bomb made with it so they could assess the details and quality before buying.

"I can't tell anything from a fake generated unrealistic idea of the mold," they wrote.

Another commenter said the search itself had become exhausting: "I spent hours today trying to find an item that didn't have AI-generated art and eventually gave up."

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For some sellers, the frustration extends to their own shopping habits. "As a seller myself, I only shop on Etsy when I’m looking for something very niche," another user wrote. "Otherwise I don’t have the patience to scroll through several pages of AI crap before finding something not AI." One X user said: "Half the listings there looked nothing like what showed up in the mail, so this is overdue."

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The company, to their credit, had been listening to complaints. "Today, many active buyers say they can’t tell which items involve AI-generated content. It’s become a top-three barrier to shopping more often on Etsy," Ossman wrote in its notice to sellers.

Can sellers still sell AI art?

Yes. Etsy will continue allowing AI-generated art when sellers have a clear creative role and disclose their use of AI. They cannot present it as handmade or entirely their own creation.

That approach dates back to Etsy's July 2024 policy update, which allowed artwork generated using sellers’ own original prompts, provided they disclosed the AI use in the listing description. But Etsy drew a line at selling AI prompt bundles — collections of instructions for generating content — separately from finished artwork. The new restrictions expand those limits to AI-generated recipes, patterns, and other functional guides.

Appropriate use of AI, according to Etsy Credit: Screenshot: Etsy Inappropriate use of AI, according to Etsy Credit: Screenshot: Etsy

Enforcement is the next test. Etsy says it’s investing in technology to identify misleading images and fraudulent listings, with plans to expand removals over the coming months. It's also introducing prompts that alert sellers when an uploaded image appears AI-generated and offer guidance on meeting photo requirements. Shoppers will also have a new option to report misleading AI imagery.

eReaders offer the perfect solution to break free from the dreaded doom scroll trap, as they provide you with a meaningful way to finally convince yourself to actually start reading more. The Xteink X4 Classic takes that idea a step further with a pocket-sized design you can carry without the need to pack along another large device like a tablet. This newer model is now under $80 on Amazon, and though it's not a massive discount on an already affordable model, it's enough to help you save a bit.

As of Oct. 22, 2026, Amazon has rebranded Kindle Unlimited as Kindle+. We've updated this article to reflect the name change.

E-readers are one of our favorite topics to cover here at Mashable. Partly because we love testing them, but also because there is so much you can do with an e-reader to maximize your experience. We've walked through instructions on how to download EPUB files to a Kindle, covered the joys of Libby and Stuff Your Kindle Day, and taught you how to save when you spend with Kindle Rewards, but now we want to talk about Kindle+.

If you're a Kindle user, when you got your device, you were probably offered a free trial of Kindle+. But what exactly are you signing up for? In short, it's like Amazon's very own library service... except you have to pay for it. Here's everything you need to know about Kindle+.

SEE ALSO: 8 Kindle features you should be using What is Kindle+?

Formerly known as Kindle Unlimited, Amazon has rebranded its subscription service as Kindle+. But rather than streaming shows, it offers a catalog of books and magazines that users can borrow to read on an e-reader or through the Kindle app. It offers more than, say, a membership to Book of the Month does. Instead of getting one new book a month, with Kindle+ you receive access to the Kindle+ library, which is full of millions of titles.

It works like a library where you can borrow up to 20 books at a time (magazines don't count toward your borrowing limit). To be honest, if you use Libby, you're basically getting the same service for free, but Libby often results in long wait times for popular books, which isn't the case with Kindle+ — all of the books in the Kindle+ library are available all the time.

However, the Kindle+ library doesn't offer every book. Its library has a regular rotation, and some books are only temporarily available through Kindle+.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters or get Mashable push alerts today. 

How much is Kindle+?

Kindle+ costs $11.99 per month. It's a recurring payment, and no annual membership is offered. During shopping events, like Prime Day and Black Friday, Amazon typically offers a Kindle+ free trial for three months.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle+ $11.99 per month Learn More at Amazon What books are on Kindle+?

We can't go through every book offered on Kindle+ because that would mean parsing through millions of titles; however, the mix of books in the Kindle+ library is huge. It features books across all genres, plus bestsellers. The fantasy phenomenon Fourth Wing and the entire The Empyrean series are available on Kindle+.

Other featured titles included in Kindle+ are The Housemaid by Freida McFadden and Regretting You by Colleen Hoover — both of which are getting movie adaptations soon.

Other popular titles include books that are now Amazon Video adaptations, including The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han and Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.

While browsing books, you'll know if a title is available on Kindle+ if it's prompting you to "join now to read." If you're already a member, it will prompt you to add the book to your library.

If a book is available on Kindle+, you'll be prompted to read for free. Credit: Amazon Do I need a Kindle to use Kindle+?

We love e-readers, and if you're thinking of getting one, especially a Kindle, you won't regret it. We have reviews on nearly every model, including the basic Kindle, Paperwhite, Paperwhite Signature Edition, and Scribe, all of which you can use to read with Kindle+. But you don't actually need an e-reader to use Kindle+.

You can read on any device with the Kindle app, including your computer, smartphone, and tablet. You can even read on a web browser.

Shop e-readers Kindle $149.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kindle Paperwhite $199.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kindle Colorsoft $289.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kindle Scribe $399.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kobo Clara Colour $179.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kobo Libra Colour $259.99 at Amazon Shop Now

Buying a new router feels like a sure-fire way to fix a bad internet connection (even though a router that's new to you may not be new at all). But if your internet was alright before and you bought a new router and it's all gone downhill, you're not imagining it. It's completely possible for a new router to mess up your connection despite all that money you just spent on trying to improve it.

A TV is an infrequent purchase, and every time that opportunity comes by, there is a whole list of new technologies and features to contend with.

Apple is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the iPod in style.

That is to say, by putting a fun little Easter egg inside the Apple Music website. If you know the right URL, you can find a virtual iPod living on the Apple Music site that's fully interactive, complete with the scroll-wheel interface that was so iconic on iPods back in the days before touchscreens. You can scroll through a shockingly large list of artists and listen to 90-second samples of songs that you probably would've been listening to back in the peak iPod era, such as Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz' "Get Low."

SEE ALSO: Apple Music will now cost you more There it is. Credit: Screenshot: Apple

The best part is you don't actually need to know the right URL. Just type whatever gibberish you want after the music.apple.com/us/ portion of the URL and the iPod will come to you on the 404 page. This is a fun way to let people reminisce about Apple's seminal portable music player 25 years after it first launched.

And if you're too young to remember a time before touchscreens, yes, we actually did navigate menus using a scroll wheel like that back then. It worked just fine.

Maintaining an eBook collection can feel like a full-time job. A folder full of public domain books downloaded from the internet can include multiple copies of the same book in different file formats, or file names that bear little resemblance to the titles of the books themselves. I used Yazi, a terminal-based file manager, to clean up an eBook download before the files ever made it into my Calibre library.

If you're buying new power tools, stick to quality products that won't let you down on the job or project. Savvy buyers can save a fortune by taking advantage of this massive 61% discount on Ryobi's 18V ONE+ 5-tool combo at Home Depot.

The newest Pixel phone is often the first to get features that eventually trickle out to the entire Android ecosystem. "Rambler" for Gboard is one such feature that's currently exclusive to the Pixel 11 series. I'm here to tell you that you should be very anxious to get your fingers (and voice) on it.

The internet became sharply divided yesterday, as Prime Video announced Carrie would be renewed for a second season.

Just like that, you could tell who'd watched Mike Flanagan's latest horror adaptation and who hadn't. Sure, in Stephen King's novel, the story of telekinetic teen Carrie White has a pretty definitive ending. But as he did with Doctor Sleep and the Edgar Allan Poe-inspired The Fall of the House of Usher, Flanagan took some big creative liberties with his Carrie.

So, where could a Season 2 of Carrie go? What actors from Season 1 are likely to return? And when might King and Flanagan fans see more of Carrie?

Want more film and TV news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Here's everything we know about Carrie Season 2.

How does Carrie end? Summer H. Howell stars as Carrie White in Prime Video's "Carrie." Credit: Robert Falconer / Prime / Amazon Content Services LLC

In both the novel and most movie adaptations, Carrie White unleashes violent telekinetic vengeance on her high school classmates at prom. Then, she dies in the aftermath.

However, Flanagan's Carrie pulls an unexpected page from Stephen King's 1974 novel to build out the world of super-powered girls. King's epistolary novel ends with a letter from a woman who says her four-year-old daughter shows signs of telekinetic power, like her grandmother before her.

SEE ALSO: 'Carrie's twisty ending, explained

In Flanagan's Carrie, not only does the eponymous heroine (played by Summer H. Howell) not die, but she also runs off with the mysterious astral projector Emaline West (Thalia Dudek) to parts unknown.

"I am not stealing you away," Emaline tells a confused Carrie, "or keeping you in the dark. I am escorting you to safety from the monsters on our heels. And it is my fucking honor."

Who is looking for Carrie? Kate Siegel plays Adelaide in "Carrie." Credit: Robert Falconer / Prime / Amazon Content Services LLC

There are two factions, both of which were represented at prom.

One faction is led by Adelaide, played by Kate Siegel, a recurring Flanagan cast member, his wife, and the helmer of two Carrie episodes. The other is led by Amanda, played by recurring Flanagan collaborator Katee Sackhoff.

Pulling inspiration from the end of King's Carrie, Flanagan's version opens each episode with a vignette about a woman with supernatural powers. Those stories are all narrated by Adelaide, who appears to be a sort of Professor X figure.

Ruth Codd and Cassandra Naud appear in "Carrie." Credit: Robert Falconer / Prime / Amazon Content Services LLC

In a mysterious mansion, Adelaide appears to live with super-powered women, including Flanaverse regular Ruth Codd, Cassandra Naud, and Interview with the Vampire's Delainey Hayles. They can sense Carrie as soon as her powers begin to grow. Some of them appear at the prom, but not in time to save Carrie from the bucket of pig's blood and all that follows.

Instead, Carrie goes home, where her mother Margaret (Samantha Sloyan) — inspired by Amanda — tries to kill her. However, Carrie defends herself and brings the house down on top of them with her powers. From there, Emaline swoops in with a car to drive Carrie far away — from Margaret, who survived the house collapse, and all those who pursue Carrie.

What will happen in Season 2? Thalia Dudek plays Emaline in "Carrie." Credit: Robert Falconer / Prime / Amazon Content Services LLC

Well, presumably a battle for Carrie White.

Emaline, who promises to show Carrie the world, has been a friend to her throughout Season 1. But it's unclear what her motives are or what she wants from Carrie.

Adelaide's group is aware of Emaline and tells Margaret White that Carrie is alive, but in the hands of a dangerous astral projector. During their interrogation, they press for details — even looking into Margaret's brain for details on the car Emaline is in with Carrie. Then they kill Margaret after she confesses she, too, has some telekinetic powers. So, would Carrie be safe in their hands? Perhaps safer than if Amanda finds her.

Katee Sackhoff plays Amanda in "Carrie." Credit: Robert Falconer / Prime / Amazon Content Services LLC

Margaret meets Amanda when searching online for how to deal with a telekinetic teen in episode 7. Amanda speaks of a spectrum of telekinesis among teen girls, and spins conspiracy theories about these "others" suppressing knowledge of their powers.

"They form groups, cults, terror cells, covens," she warns Margaret before sharing a hint at her own history and her abuse of her own daughter. Amanda recommends that Margaret murder Carrie, and warns her to do it quickly. "I wasn't fast enough with mine," she laments.

Fans have speculated that Amanda's daughter, who escaped murder, is Emaline. This could explain why Emaline is so protective of Carrie and why she might distrust "covens" like Adelaide's, because of her mother's influence for worse and worse.

Season 2 will likely reveal more about Amanda, Emaline, and Adelaide, leaving audiences to learn alongside Carrie.

Flanagan told Deadline of the upcoming season, "For 50 years, audiences have known and gravitated to Carrie White’s story. From the beginning, we imagined a story that goes far beyond the prom, and I’m incredibly grateful for Stephen’s trust and support in exploring what comes next."

Will Carrie connect to The Shining? Delainey Hayles plays Caitlin in "Carrie." Credit: Robert Falconer / Prime / Amazon Content Services LLC

It could!

Beyond the King connection, Flanagan previously adapted Doctor Sleep, which was based on King's sequel to The Shining. Plus, when talking to Margaret about people with Carrie's powers, Adelaide calls it "shine," a term used in The Shining books and movies.

In an interview with EW, Flanagan imagined, "Carrie White, depending on how these universes are connected, would have arrived on the radar of the True Knot," referring to the vampire-like creators who stalk children with the shine in Doctor Sleep.

In the same interview, he also floated the possibility of working in elements of King's Dark Tower books, The Institute, and Insomnia.

Who will return for Season 2? Siena Agudong plays Sue Snell in "Carrie." Credit: Robert Falconer / Prime / Amazon Content Services LLC

Howell is set to return.

Beyond that, it seems safe to speculate that Dudek, Siegel, Codd, and Hayles will be back.

It's possible Siena Agudong could return as Sue Snell, since she survived the prom rampage. And while Sackhoff was shown knocked down in the fiery prom, Amanda could still be alive, and on the hunt for Carrie (and Emaline).

Less likely would be Alison Thornton, Joel Oulette, Arthur Conti, Matthew Lillard, Amber Midthunder, and Rahul Kohli returning, as their characters all died. But hey, Season 1 was largely told in flashback. So never say never.

When will Carrie Season 2 come out?

Prime Video has not yet announced a release date for Carrie's second season. However, THR reports, "Prime Video says the series was No. 1 on the Amazon-owned streamer in more than 100 territories in its first two weeks," so it's safe to assume the streaming platform is eager to get the next season in the works.

Mashable will update as news develops.

Although its reputation has taken a hit in recent years, File Explorer is still a decent file manager, especially if you use it as an auxiliary option alongside your main one. In my case, Total Commander has been my Windows file manager of choice for more than two decades, but I’ve been using File Explorer more and more lately since it’s generally better suited for working with images, and I juggle tons of them every day.

Apple announced the iPod 25 years ago on October 23, 2001, and it's doing something unique to mark the anniversary: a chance to try the original MP3 player. The company has a 404 "page not found" error website on Apple Music that contains a working virtual iPod.

Dark Matter Season 2 is building towards its world-hopping conclusion.

Season 1 was already fairly mind-bending, but the second season of Blake Crouch's sci-fi has really dialled things up to 11. The penultimate episode, wherein we're following several different versions of the core cast, is no exception. But what happens at the end, and how is it setting things up for the finale? Let's recap.

SEE ALSO: 'Dark Matter' Season 2, episode 5 is the best kind of filler episode What happens at the end of Dark Matter Season 2, episode 9?

Remember all those Jasons (Joel Edgerton) huddled around the box at the end of Season 1? Season 2 has done a good job of exploring some of their fates. One of the Jasons that hasn't been so lucky essentially got captured by the Department of Defense, where he's been held prisoner for two years while Agent Mitchel MacNamara (Chris Diamantopoulos) and his team attempt to torture information about the box out of him.

The good news? Daniela (Jennifer Connelly), on her hunt for Charlie (Oakes Fegley) — who is in turn hunting for his twin brother, Max — stumbles into the same world and gets captured too. The thing is, she still has some vials. After a quick bit of plotting, she and Jason are able to trick Agent MacNamara into allowing them into the box, where they drug him and take him to a world he won't be coming back from anytime soon.

How do Jason and Daniela trick the agent?

After agreeing to show the agent how the box works, Daniela produces something she claims is a key to unlock it — all they have to do is open a panel hidden inside. Of course, the key is actually a syringe containing the drug needed to move between worlds. As soon as Agent MacNamara is in the box, they stick him in the neck with it.

Once they're in the corridor, Jason tells the agent they have to clear their minds to move between worlds, but it seems pretty clear from the look on his and Daniela's faces that they already have a destination in mind. Sure enough, despite its seemingly utopian appearance, the version of Chicago the agent wanders into — where people from all walks of life are gathered on the beach, crying and hugging — is actually counting down to something.

As the people on the beach reach zero, Jason slams the door to the box shut. The agent is left watching as meteorites rain down from the sky, a version of the apocalypse Jason presumably dreamed up while sitting in his cell, throwing a ball against the glass again and again.

What's next?

It's difficult to tell at this stage how all the different moving pieces will come together. The "original" Jason, Daniela, and Charlie are all scattered in different worlds; Jason is back in the pre-tech version of Chicago where the family settled, planning the destruction of the original box alongside Ryan (Jimmi Simpson), Amanda (Alice Braga), and Blair (Amanda Brugel). Daniela is now moving between worlds with another version of her husband, this one capable of murder. Charlie is in another world where his brother is still alive. And in the background, Leighton (Dayo Okeniyi) and the version of Jason that built the box appear to be having second thoughts about building another one.

There are an infinite number of ways this could go...

Dark Matter Season 2 is streaming on Apple TV, with new episodes dropping every Friday.