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Tech giants Google, Meta, and TikTok are facing European scrutiny for their alleged role in a growing number of financial scams targeting users.

The three companies are accused of failing to proactively remove fraudulent ads from their platforms and notify users in an appropriate manner, outlined in complaints filed to regulators by the European Consumer ⁠Organisation (BEUC) and 29 of its members in 27 European countries, Reuters reported.

SEE ALSO: Child safety organizations accuse Roblox of violating FTC rules

The consumer group flagged 900 ads that they deemed violated EU laws, but said that only 27 percent of those ads were removed by platforms. More than half of the reports were rejected or ignored.

The complaints were submitted under the EU's Digital Services Act, and regulators could levy hefty fines if the companies are found in violation.

"We strictly enforce our ad policies, blocking over 99% of violating ads before they ever run. Our teams constantly update these defenses to stay ahead of scammers and protect people," a Google spokesperson said in comment to the press.

"We ​invest in advanced AI, ⁠tools, and partnerships to stop them. Last year we found and removed over 159 million scam ads, 92% before anyone reported them to us," Meta responded.

Meta was recently accused of making tens of millions of dollars off of scam ads targeting older Americans and Medicare recipients. Last year, a Reuters investigation found that Meta made billions from fraudulent ads, also referred to as "high risk" advertising. AI-powered scams are proliferating across platforms, including Google-owned YouTube and TikTok.

The Digital Services Act — a broad set of laws that impose more transparent reporting and consumer protections on online service providers — went into effect in 2022. Since then, the European Union has initiated multiple inquiries against large tech companies, including a recent Google antitrust probe, an investigation into Meta's child safety policies, and a sweeping audit of TikTok's algorithm and data policies.

A Wi-Fi router works best when it’s placed in a high, central spot in your home. Unfortunately, reality and pre-existing cabling often dictate where it ends up, leaving it stuck in corners or behind obstacles where coverage suffers.

Many Android fans will tell you that the signature requirement for apps outside the Google Play Store, even with the 24-hour sideloading exemption, represents the latest betrayal of the platform's open-source philosophy. You're supposed to have full control over what software you install and when, unlike the more closed-off iPhone experience, where Apple usually has the final say.

These days, scoring concert tickets can feel like entering a digital Hunger Games. Fans log on the second tickets go on sale, only to watch seats disappear instantly — many of them seemingly snapped up by scalpers and resellers before actual fans ever get a chance.

Now, Spotify wants to change that by rewarding the people who stream the most.

SEE ALSO: Spotify has a new Wrapped-like experience that covers its entire history

Today, May 21, the streaming platform announced Reserved by Spotify, a new ticketing initiative aimed at helping dedicated fans access concert tickets before they go on sale to the general public. The program is launching for Premium subscribers in the U.S. who are 18 or older.

Credit: Spotify

The idea is simple: Instead of forcing fans to battle through chaotic on-sale queues or complete elaborate fan-verification games, Spotify will identify an artist's most dedicated listeners through streaming activity and reserve tickets specifically for them. Eligible fans will receive a purchase window before the public on-sale begins, with up to two tickets held in their name.

Importantly, Spotify says the reserved tickets will not include additional Spotify service fees.

The company says the number of fans selected — and the number of tickets available — will vary depending on the artist, tour, and market. But Spotify says allocations are intended to be substantial and to scale with an artist's fanbase.

Credit: Spotify

The move reflects the growing importance of superfans to the music industry, where artists and platforms alike are increasingly trying to reward the fans who engage most deeply. In recent years, fandom has become one of the most powerful forces shaping touring, chart performance, and even marketing strategies, particularly in pop and K-pop spaces where highly organized fan communities already treat streaming like participation.

Reserved by Spotify also expands the company's broader ambitions in live music. Spotify says it has already driven more than $1.5 billion in ticket sales through its platform via partnerships with more than 40 ticketing companies, alongside features like Concerts Near You and Venue Search.

SEE ALSO: Why the Spotify icon is a disco ball

The bigger question, though, is whether programs like this can meaningfully combat the frustrations fans increasingly associate with modern ticket-buying in the U.S. As ticket prices continue to climb and resale markets remain difficult to control, many fans have grown cynical about whether fair access to concerts is even possible anymore.

Spotify is betting that listening history — not luck — might be the closest thing to a solution.

Google has announced a successor to the Chromebook, introducing a class of computer that merge together Android and Chrome OS, with a thick layer of Gemini on top. The first Googlebook, titled simply the Googlebook, is an attractive showpiece of a laptop—but I wouldn't feel comfortable buying one.

I used to be a Synology die-hard fan, but that's recently changed. While I think Synology still makes a solid NAS, they're no longer the best option around, and my favorite NAS brand might just surprise you.

Microsoft has identified some nasty exploits that could affect your Windows machine if you let them.

Bleeping Computer reported on the exploits, which are specific vulnerabilities in Windows Defender, the built-in anti-malware software in Windows. The company has detailed reports on its security website for both vulnerabilities. While it can be a bit difficult for a layperson to understand what's going on from those reports, the main thing to know is that vulnerable Windows machines can be subjected to denial-of-service attacks using these exploits.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft Teams won’t put everyone in a virtual room anymore — no more 'Together'-ness

The good news is that Microsoft has already revealed these exploits, and a fix is in the pipeline. If you have automatic updates for Defender turned on, it should have installed the Malware Protection Engine versions 1.1.26040.8 and 4.18.26040.7 to address these exploits.

Bleeping Computer also included a helpful set of instructions for making sure these updates are turned on:

1. Open Windows Security

2. Select "Virus and threat protection"

3. Click "Protection Updates" and then "Check for updates"

4. Select "Settings" and then "About"

5. Check the Anti-malware Client version number and make sure it matches the two numbers above

Hopefully, everything is properly set up, and your machine is good to go.

The best Memorial Day robot lawn mower deals at a glance: Best overall deal Dreame A3 AWD Pro Robot Lawn Mower $2,946.98 (save $553.01) Get Deal Best deal for smaller yards Segway Navimow i110N Robot Lawn Mower $849 (save $250) Get Deal Best deal for fast recharging Sunseeker S4 LiDAR Robot Lawn Mower $1,399 (save $400.99) Get Deal

Some people love to mow the lawn. Others, especially those with allergies, would be thrilled to never touch a lawn mower again. If you fall into the second camp, there's a great solution. Hiring a robot lawn mower means there's an on-demand solution that's ready and willing to mow at any time.

Much like robot vacuums that we rely on indoors, a robot lawn mower maps your yard and sets off to mow according to your desired schedule. Since Memorial Day is nearly here and backyard hangs on are on the agenda, check out these robot lawn mower deals at Amazon.

Best overall deal Opens in a new window Credit: Dreame Dreame A3 AWD Pro Robot Lawn Mower + Free Mower Garage $2,946.98 at Amazon
$3,499.99 Save $553.01   Get Deal Why we like it

Dreame makes some of Mashable's favorite robot vacuums, so it only makes sense the brand is producing some of the best robot lawn mowers. The Dreame A3 AWD Pro Robot Lawn Mower is designed to tackle grass that covers up to 1.25 acres with a width that measures 15.8 inches for efficient mowing. This model uses 360-degree LiDAR binocular AI vision to help with navigation and obstacle avoidance for over 300 common items it might encounter in the yard.

In rush mode, the Dreame can cover 0.2 acres per hour and it can maneuver over curbs, roots, or stepping stones that measure up to 2.2 inches tall without getting stuck.

Today's on-page coupon brings the price of the Dreame A3 AWD Pro Robot Lawn Mower down to $2,946.98, and Amazon is throwing in a free Dreame robot lawn mower garage which helps protect the robot from harsh sun and rain. The garage ordinarily sells for $299.99, which makes this Memorial Day deal just that much sweeter.

Best deal for smaller yards Opens in a new window Credit: Segway Segway Navimow i110N Robot Lawn Mower $849 at Amazon
$1,099 Save $250   Get Deal Why we like it

Covering an area of up to 0.25 acres, the Segway Navimow i110N Robot Lawn Mower is more than happy to take over the task of keeping the lawn trimmed this summer. It can mow as quietly as 58 decibels while identifying and avoiding over 150 types of obstacles. Plus, it's designed to handle multiple zones in your yard. You'll be able to set zones like the front yard, back yard, and side areas while indicating an ideal schedule to mow each area. In addition to using the Segway app, you can also set up voice control of the robot lawn mower.

Select the desired heigh of the grass between 2 and 3.6 inches, and the Segway Navimow will take care of the rest. It'll take about 120 minutes for the Navimow i110N to get a full recharge. As a unique feature, the Segway has a new doodle feature that allows you to write messages in the lawn.

Best deal for fast recharging Opens in a new window Credit: Sunseeker Sunseeker S4 LiDAR Robot Lawn Mower $1,399 at Amazon
$1,799.99 Save $400.99   Get Deal Why we like it

Just in time for Memorial Day, the Sunseeker S4 LiDAR Robot Lawn Mower is 22% off at Amazon, shaving $400.99 off the list price. This Sunseeker model can mow yards up to 0.25 acres and navigate sloes that measure up to 42 degrees. You're able to set up to five mowing zones with the Sunseeker S4 and select mowing heights for each zone between 1.6 and 3.2 inches.

When it comes time to recharge, the Sunseeker takes just 90 minutes to get back to 100% and ready to mow again. It also has a smart rain sensor and will return to base should the weather turn soggy.

SAVE $210: As of May 21, you can score a 70-inch 4K Roku TV from Pioneer for $299.99. That's more than 40 percent off its usual $509.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Pioneer Pioneer 70-inch 4K Roku TV $299.99 at Best Buy
$509.99 Save $210   Shop Now

Best Buy's Memorial Day sale is home to a ton of good TV deals, including a Prime Day-level doorbuster the month before Prime Day 2026. I'm talking about a Pioneer 70-inch 4K Roku TV on sale for $299.99, down $210 from its usual $509.99. And if this were Prime Day, this feels like a deal that would've sold out within hours.

This quieter deal should last longer, but it's set to expire in the wee hours of May 22.

SEE ALSO: What's new to streaming this week? (May 22, 2026)

You're unlikely to find a 70-inch TV for less than $300 elsewhere. $299.99 would even be a decent price for a smaller 65-inch model. That's exactly how much the 65-inch Insignia 4K Fire TV is currently going for at Amazon, if you want to take the classic Fire TV vs. Roku TV route — so opting for this Roku deal at Best Buy is kind of like getting five extra diagonal inches for free. For reference, the 70-inch Insignia 4K Fire TV is $20 more at $319.99.

This Pioneer Roku TV has three HDMI ports, a 60Hz refresh rate, and supports HDR 10. While it's unrealistic to expect groundbreaking brightness or contrast from a TV this budget-friendly, take comfort in the fact that this model has 4.8 out of five stars at Best Buy (from more than 300 reviews, too). It gets good marks for easy set up, a lightweight and thin build, and clear picture quality for the price.

As someone who has grown up watching Pixar and witnessed the evolution of animation, there have been many times where I think I’m watching the company's peak, as in "This is the best movie I’ve ever seen." Often, when it comes to Pixar, I’ve noticed many people believe the earliest portion of its life, in the 2000s, was when it peaked, but I’m here to say that’s false.

The best Sonos Memorial Day deals at a glance: Best portable speaker deal Sonos Roam 2 $134 (save $45) Get Deal Best home speaker deal Sonos Era 300 $379 (save $100) Get Deal Best soundbar deal Sonos Arc Ultra $899 (save $200) Get Deal

We're massive fans of the Sonos audio ecosystem. The brand's speakers and soundbars are some of the best in the business, but their expensive prices make them hard to recommend in this economy. When a major sale takes place, on the other hand, we want to scream about it.

Sonos doesn't offer a ton of discounts on its products throughout the year, so it's kind of a big deal that nearly every product in its lineup is on sale for Memorial Day. While the brand new Sonos Play speaker isn't on sale, the beloved Roam 2, Arc Ultra, Move 2, Era 300, and plenty more are up to $200 off.

Check out our top picks from the Amazon Memorial Day sale below.

Best Sonos portable speaker deal Opens in a new window Credit: Sonos Sonos Roam 2 $134 at Amazon
$179 Save $45   Get Deal Why we like it

The portable Bluetooth speaker market is crowded, but the Sonos Roam 2 stands out thanks to its impressive audio performance and dependable voice assistance.

We also love the Sonos Move 2, but it's not nearly portable enough and is far too expensive. "The market for waterproof speakers with voice activation is incredibly small," writes Mashable's reviewer. "If you’re looking for one, the Roam 2 answers the call with striking sound and unique features that appeal to Sonos users." You can expect sound that feels similar to a home speaker, but in a package small enough to fit in your hand. It's down to just $134 from $179, which is its best price ever. The speaker has only reached this all-time low once before.

Best Sonos home speaker deal Opens in a new window Credit: Sonos Sonos Era 300 $379 at Amazon
$479 Save $100   Get Deal Why we like it

While it's a few years old at this point, the Sonos Era 300 is still an impressive home speaker. And at $100 off its list price, adding it to your home is a bit more accessible. When Mashable's Stan Schroeder reviewed the Era 300 in 2023, he deemed it the "king of sub-$500 smart speakers." It's Sonos' first speaker to support spatial audio and it can connect seamlessly with other audio products from Sonos — not that it needs help from anything else. Its sound is absolutely booming on its own. We're not particularly captivated by its design, but its incredibly loud and precise sound makes up for it.

Best Sonos soundbar deal Opens in a new window Credit: Sonos Sonos Arc Ultra $899 at Amazon
$1,099 Save $200   Get Deal Why we like it

If you want the best and don't mind a little splurge, the Sonos Arc Ultra got a near-perfect rating from Mashable's tech editor Tim Beck Werth. Even at full price, he says the soundbar justifies its price of admission. "While a single soundbar can't compete with the booming speakers you'll hear in a movie theater," Werth writes, "This speaker gave me the closest match to that experience I've ever had in my living room." Typically $1,099, you can slash $200 off at Amazon, Sonos, and Best Buy for Memorial Day. That's just $20 away from its best-ever price.

More Sonos deals

• Sonos Era 100 SL — $169 $189 (save $20)

• Sonos Era 100 — $189 $219 (save $30)

• Sonos Ace headphones — $299 $399 (save $100)

• Sonos Move 2 — $399 $499 (save $100)

• Sonos Beam 2 soundbar — $369 $499 (save $130)

• Sonos Five — $479 $599 (save $120)

Do you still have a drawer full of Raspberry Pis? Well, get them out, because here are three fun and simple Pi projects for you to do this weekend.

The "Android Market" from 2008 became the Google Play Store in 2012 and now offers over 1.8 million apps for download. A lot has changed in the world of Android since then, but some things (and apps) have stayed the same. Did you know many of your favorite and long-forgotten apps are still available? More importantly, some are still worth downloading.

At a glance

• Vega lets users prove facts from government-issued credentials — age, personhood, professional status — without revealing the credential itself. The credential never leaves the device. 
• Zero-knowledge proofs are generated in under 100 ms on a commodity client device with no trusted setup, making private identity verification practical at scale. 
• Fold-and-reuse proving means repeated presentations — to different services or through AI agents — skip most of the expensive work after the first proof. 
• Vega targets real-world formats like mobile driver’s licenses and the EU Digital Identity Wallet, is built in Rust, and will be open sourced soon.

AI is transforming how people interact with digital, from AI-powered assistants to autonomous agents that act on a user’s behalf. As these capabilities grow, so does the value of strong digital identity: users need reliable ways to establish trust, whether proving they are human or sharing a credential with an AI-mediated service. Government-issued credentials are still the strongest foundation for trust, but today’s verification methods often require people to hand them over. As AI agents begin acting on behalf of humans and interacting with decentralized systems, the need for fast, privacy-preserving ways to prove credentials will only grow.

These needs are already materializing in policy. Governments are moving quickly to formalize digital identity. The EU Digital Identity (EUDI) framework aims to make digital wallets available to all EU citizens, and efforts like the EU’s age-verification blueprint and the UK’s Online Safety Act mandate government ID-based methods for age checks. Application providers face a double bind: they must either use less accurate approaches like AI-based age estimation, or compromise user privacy by requiring ID uploads.

The credential gets uploaded, processed, sometimes stored, and eventually (hopefully) deleted. But high-profile breaches have repeatedly exposed government IDs that users shared for routine verification. These are not edge cases. They are the predictable consequence of a system that asks users to share their most sensitive documents to prove a single bit of information.

This is the question we set out to answer with Vega: Can we make it practical to prove something about a credential without ever revealing the credential itself?

The path to Vega: From idea to practice

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are the cryptographic tool that makes this possible. The idea is simple: they allow a user to prove a claim, such as “I am over 21”, without revealing anything else.. In practice, this means a user could prove their age from their driver’s license without the verifier ever seeing the license, whether to a website, an app, or a service mediated by an AI agent.  The proof works directly on the credential as issued, so the issuer does not need to change anything.

so the issuer does not need to change anything. 

This is not a new idea. The challenge has always been practicality. Prior systems either require a trusted setup that had to be repeated whenever the logic changed, or they sacrificed performance to avoid the trusted setup, often producing large proofs in the process. For real-world use, the proof needs to be fast to generate, small enough to transmit quickly, and efficient enough to run on a mobile device.

We have spent several years working toward a practical solution. Privacy-preserving identity has been a motivating application (opens in new tab) throughout, and Vega’s proof system draws on several building blocks from that line of work:

• Spartan (opens in new tab) showed how to efficiently prove R1CS, a standard way to express statements for a general-purpose proof system, with succinct proofs and without a trusted setup.
• Nova (opens in new tab) introduced folding schemes, which let a prover compress many instances of a computation into one. 
• HyperNova (opens in new tab) showed that Nova’s folding also provides a key building block for zero-knowledge: folding a real instance with a random instance hides the underlying secret data, a technique dubbed “NovaBlindFold.”
• NeutronNova (opens in new tab) provided the most efficient folding scheme for handling a batch of instances at once.

Vega puts these building blocks together into a single proof system. A key design goal is simplicity. Spartan, Nova, and NeutronNova are composed in a direct way, and the circuit is built from a small number of standard components, with no exotic multi-field constructions and no trusted setup. On top of this simple foundation, Vega adds the ability to reuse work across multiple proofs of the same credential and a new way to achieve zero-knowledge with minimal overhead. The result is a system that is easy to audit, extend to new credential formats, and deploy.

Performance

Vega generates a zero-knowledge proof of age from a typical mobile driver’s license, about 2 kilobytes (KB), in 92 miliseconds (ms) on a commodity client device. The resulting proof is 108 KB and can be verified in 23 ms. No trusted setup is required. The prover key is 464 KB; it fits comfortably on any phone. For smaller credentials, proving drops to 62 ms, with 83 KB proofs, and 17 ms verification. In practice, a user taps a button to present a credential, and 92 ms later the proof is done. The service learns only the requested fact; the credential never leaves the phone.

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Start now Opens in a new tab Under the hood: Fold, reuse, and lookup

Vega’s speed comes from two ideas: fold-and-reuse proving and lookup-centric circuit design. The figure below shows the proving pipeline end to end.

Vega’s proving pipeline. Work is split into two phases. The once-per-credential phase splits the credential into step and core circuits and commits reusable data. The once-per-presentation phase re-randomizes cached commitments for unlinkability, folds all SHA-256 step instances into one via NeutronNova, proves the folded step and core circuits with Spartan, and applies zero-knowledge via NovaBlindFold. The final output is a 108 kB proof generated in 92 ms and can be verified in 23 ms.  The hashing problem, and how folding solves it

A credential proof must do two expensive things: hash the credential bytes with SHA-256 and verify the issuer’s digital signature. Signature verification would normally be the bottleneck, but  Vega avoids that cost by working in a field where the signature arithmetic is native. As a result, hashing becomes the dominant cost. SHA-256 works by applying the same compression function to one 64-byte block at a time. A straightforward circuit simply unrolls all of these iterations,so its size grows with the length of the credential. For a typical mobile driver’s license, that is 30 blocks of compression, all captured in a single circuit.

We take a different approach. Instead of unrolling the entire hash, we define one small “step” circuit that proves a single SHA-256 compression step, and we instantiate it once per block. Because these step instances are structurally identical, we can use NeutronNova’s folding scheme to collapse them into a single instance. The prover does work to fold the 30 step instances into one, but this folding cost is modest. Spartan then only needs to prove a single step-sized circuit alongside a separate “core” circuit that handles the rest of the checks, including signature verification and age predicates, rather than a monolithic circuit with 30 unrolled blocks. The proving key only needs to describe one step and one core, so it stays small regardless of credential length.

There is a subtle privacy issue here to arddress. Credentials vary in length, and if the circuit size varied with the credential, that would leak information. To prevent this, all step circuits share a committed table of intermediate digests. The core circuit picks the selects the appropriate digest using a private index. If the prover selects the wrong entry, the issuer’s signature check fails.

Making it zero-knowledge, cheaply

A proof system needs to be zero-knowledge: the verifier should learn nothing beyond the claim being proved. Existing approaches to achieve this are often complex to engineer and can add significant overhead to the prover. We found a simpler way.

A standard first step is to commit to every message the prover sends using hiding cryptographic commitments, so the verifier sees commitments rather than values. The harder question is to prove that those hidden values would have passed the verifier’s checks. We express those checks as a small constraint system, just a few hundred constraints, since the verifier only performs a logarithmic number of operations. We then fold this constraint system iwith a random instance via Nova’s folding scheme. This step hides the underlying data, so the zero-knowledge overhead scales with this small constraint system, not the full secret data.

Proving once, presenting many times

A user who presents their credential to one website will likely present it again to another, and another. In a world where AI agents handle many of these interactions on a user’s behalf, the same credential may need to be presented dozens of times a day. The credential itself does not change between these presentations. What changes is the session nonce, a fresh random value from the verifier, and possibly the date or the predicate threshold.

Vega takes advantage of this structure by by splitting the prover’s secret data into three parts. The shared data (SHA-256 tables) and the precommitted part, such as the issuer signature and field locationsm are computed and committed once when the credential is first loaded. The online part, such as the device signature and  today’s date, is committed fresh each time. Before each proof, the precomputed commitments are refreshed with new randomness, which is cheaper than recomputing them and ensures that two proofs about the same credential cannot be linked.

Avoiding the parser

Another important part of Vega’s efficiency comes from how it handles the credential format. A mobile driver’s license is encoded in Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR), and building a full CBOR parser as a circuit would be both complex and expensive. But we realized we do not actually need a parser. The credential bytes are signed by a trusted issuer, so we know they are well-formed. We only need to reach in and grab specific fields.

We treat the credential as a byte-addressable lookup table. The prover says, “the device public key starts at byte 847” and supplies the bytes. The circuit checks three things: that the bytes actually match the authenticated credential, that the right CBOR prefix appears at the start of the field so the prover cannot claim the wrong field, and that the addresses are contiguous so the prover cannot splice bytes from unrelated locations. This replaces an entire parser with a handful of lookups.

The same lookup idea powers length-hiding hashing, as described above: the circuit builds a table of all intermediate SHA-256 digests and picks the correct one at the point where the real message ends.

Device binding

A zero-knowledge credential proof is only useful if it is tied to the person holding the credential. Without device binding, someone who obtains a leaked credential could generate valid proofs for any session. This matters even more in a world of AI agents: if an agent can present a proof on behalf of a user, we need cryptographic assurance that the proof originated from the user’s device, not from an attacker or an unauthorized agent.

Vega addresses this by requiring the holder’s device to sign a fresh session nonce with the device private key, which is bound to the phone’s secure element. The circuit extracts the device public key from the credential via lookup and verifies the device signature over the session nonce hash. Because the device private key never leaves the secure hardware, possession of the signed credential alone is not sufficient to produce a valid proof.

Where this leads

Vega is implemented in Rust and will be open sourced soon. The proof system powering Vega is already available as the open-source spartan2 (opens in new tab) project on GitHub. The paper, joint work with Darya Kaviani, will be presented at the upcoming IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in San Francisco. 

While we focused on mobile driver’s licenses as a concrete and timely application, especially given emerging frameworks like the EU Digital Identity wallet, the proof system and circuit techniques are general. They apply to any credential format with a stable byte encoding and a digital signature.

We see several directions where the same primitive becomes increasingly important.

Agents carrying identity on behalf of humans. As autonomous AI agents begin acting on behalf of people, whether booking travel, interacting with services, or entering agreements, those agents will need to prove facts about the human they represent. For example, “my principal is over 18” or “my principal is a licensed physician.” The agent should be able to carry these proofs without ever holding the underlying credential. A zero-knowledge proof generated on the human’s device, bound to the agent’s session via device binding, lets the agent present identity signals without holding secrets.

Bridging off-chain identity to on-chain systems. Decentralized systems increasingly need real-world identity signals, such as KYC compliance, accredited investor status, and jurisdiction checks. Today, this is handled by uploading documents to a centralized intermediary, who then issues an on-chain attestation. The user loses privacy twice: once to the intermediary, and again on chain, where the attestation may be linkable across interactions. A ZKP over an off-chain credential could bridge this directly: the user proves a fact from their government-issued credential, and the on-chain verifier receives only the proof. No intermediary sees the credential, and rerandomization ensures repeated proofs are unlinkable.

As digital identity mandates expand and AI reshapes how humans and agents establish trust, the need for privacy-preserving credential verification will only grow. We see Vega as one step in a broader shift: from a world where proving a fact about yourself requires giving up your identity, to one where cryptography lets you keep it.

Opens in a new tab

The post Vega: Zero-knowledge proofs for digital identity in the age of AI appeared first on Microsoft Research.

A recent Hertz survey found that 64 percent of Americans are planning a road trip this summer, with nearly three-quarters planning to take at least one trip between June and September. That's tens of millions of people about to spend hours behind the wheel, many on highways they don't usually drive, in weather they aren't always prepared for, and pushing through fatigue to make the most of their vacation time.

Tesla has brought its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite of driver assistance features to China – or it's at least close to doing so.

The company announced the news in a tweet on Thursday, listing all of the countries where FSD is currently available. Besides China, also new on that list is Lithuania, the second European country to get FSD after the Netherlands.

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The total list of countries where Tesla FSD is available is now as follows: Australia, Canada, China, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United States.

Tesla did not share any other details about FSD availability in China. Launching FSD in the vast, busy automotive market that is China would surely be a win for Tesla, especially given that many other local automakers, such as Xpeng and Xiaomi, have a similar suite of semi-autonomous driving features in the country already.

As CNBC pointed out, Tesla previously offered its Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot suites of driver assistance features in China, while the FSD was only available to select users, and in limited fashion. China Daily, however, claims that the complete version of FSD isn't available in China yet, though "progress is under way," citing insider sources.

SEE ALSO: Someone drove a Tesla Cybertruck into a lake to test 'Wade Mode.' It didn't end well.

The news comes shortly after Musk, alongside several other American businessmen and President Donald Trump, visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Tesla customers in China currently have to pay a high price to access the most advanced autonomous driving package the company has to offer. As it stands on Tesla's Chinese website, the "Intelligent assisted driving" package costs a one-time fee of 64,000 yuan or $9,409. In the U.S., FSD is only available as a monthly subscription, at a price of $99 per month.

I've gone back and forth between Obsidian and Notion for as long as I can remember. Spending a few months in one, then a few months in another is just how I do things—but the switch was never easy. That is, until I found out Codex could handle it for me.

A new trailer for Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation is here to set the record straight: There is no war in Ba Sing Se. Copy?

SEE ALSO: 2026 Summer TV preview: Every TV show you need to know about now

The iconic line from the animated show's Book Two: Earth gets its live-action debut in the new trailer, promising that the series will tackle the Dai Lee and their insidious propaganda dead-on. Brace yourself for some political intrigue, including the perils of Lake Laogai.

That's not all. The trailer also highlight Aang's (Gordon Cormier) earthbending training under the tutelage of Blind Bandit Toph Beifong (Miya Cech). Boulders are flying throughout — and I'm not just talking about the Earth Rumble VI fighter.

Elsewhere, the trailer recreates several instantly recognizable Book Two fight scenes. There's Aang, Zuko (Dallas Liu), and Azula's (Elizabeth Yu) fiery showdown from "The Chase," as well as the season finale battle in Ba Sing Se's Crystal Catacombs.

Strangely, the trailer also features a shot of Katara (Kiawentiio) in her full Painted Lady get-up from Season 3 of the original series. Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender is no stranger to smashing episodes together, with its first season incorporating elements from Book Two. However, in the animated series, Katara doesn't adopt the Painted Lady persona until she and the Gaang are fully in the Fire Nation. Does this mean we'll be getting a Fire Nation detour early? Or has the live-action show shifted that episode's entire events to the Earth Kingdom to free up room in their third and final season?

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 premieres June 25 on Netflix.

If 2025 was the year of the ultra-thin phone, then 2026 is the year of the foldable phone. And the new Motorola Razr line arrives with a big head start. Motorola has been making flip-style foldables since 2020, and it also has the first foldables on the scene this year.

Of course, being first isn't always the wisest strategy. Just look at Apple, which has been building monumental hype around the first folding iPhone.

But we're not here to talk about Apple. This one's for Android users (and the Android-curious).

I put the new Motorola Razr Ultra and Motorola Razr+ to the test, and while the Razr+ has some problems, I'm loving the Razr Ultra so far.

The verdict: The Motorola Razr Ultra is a pricey but impressive flip phone Motorola Razr+ (left) and Motorola Razr Ultra (right). Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

What I loved: The flagship Razr Ultra has a gorgeous display, a killer battery life, and a true smorgasburg of AI features. I love that it fits in my pocket, and I love the phone's design.

What I hated: This phone costs an obscene $1,499.99. The less-capable Razr+ had some sluggishness.

By the numbers:

• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform

• Battery: 5000mAh battery / 36 hours

• Display: 4-inch pOLED cover display / 7-inch AMOLED inner display

• Cameras: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP inner camera

• Charging: 68W charging, reverse charging, 24 hours battery in 8 minutes

• Special features: Pantone Validated display, HDR peak brightness of 5,000 nits, 10-bit color, Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3

SEE ALSO: Motorola Razr Fold hands-on: I liked the Fold, but it doesn't stand out against tough competition The Motorola Razr Ultra is a true flagship device Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

Now, I still need to spend more time with the Razr Ultra before we lock in its review score. I plan to update this review twice. First, a couple of weeks after spending more time with the device, and again in July or August, after the Samsung Galaxy Flip 8 arrives.

But if you need a new phone now, I think you can purchase this phone with confidence. I've said repeatedly that the Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) was the most underrated phone of the year, and the new model is even better.

When I first picked it up, I thought it was thinner than last year's version, but my eyes told me otherwise. The dimensions proved me right, however. Motorola shaved off a few millimeters from the design, and the phone is just a smidge thinner than last year. The phone also has a new textured back panel, which I think was a smart upgrade for both visual appeal and security in your hand.

The screens are also a little bigger and have a slightly higher resolution. The HDR10+ AMOLED displays offer 10-bit color and look incredible. Both the main and external displays now offer 165Hz refresh rates and deliver significant brightness upgrades. The main display has 5,000 nits, and the rear display has 3,000 (a 2,000 increase and a 1,300 increase, respectively).

Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

Finally, the battery has been upgraded from 4,500 mAh to 5,000 mAh. The battery was a standout feature last year, easily offering more than 24 hours on our video playback test. This year's battery is rated for a mighty 36 hours.

But here's the big question: Are all those improvements worth a $200 price increase? Last year's excellent Razr Ultra was already pricey at $1,299, but this year's arrives with a RAM-ageddon price hike to $1,499.99.

Let's talk about that price

Most U.S. phone shoppers don't pay full retail price. Typically, we get a trade-in offer, or you take advantage of carrier deals that can drop the price to $0 (with conditions, of course).

Motorola has raised prices across the board because of the AI-fueled memory shortage. I strongly recommend taking advantage of every deal and launch offer you can.

It's not that the phone isn't worth it. The $1,500 price tag is likely going to be the new standard in this category. But it still hurts.

The Motorola Razr Ultra is a joy to use Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

Here's what I really like about this phone: It's fun to use.

There's just something satisfying about a flip phone, especially one that can pull off so many neat tricks. I love lining up the perfect selfie on the external display, shooting a camcorder-style video, or bringing up an app without opening the phone. And as someone who hates big phones, I love how it fits in my pocket and hand. It still feels like a two-hand phone when opened, but the size is a huge attraction for me.

The everyday experience will be familiar to Android users, though Motorola offers additional AI tools such as Perplexity, Copilot, and Moto AI (more on this in a moment).

Foldable phones are also novel enough that they still feel cool. And the phone looks cool, too. The colors and design of the phones are very impressive this year.

SEE ALSO: Every foldable phone planned or rumored for 2026 Motorola's AI strategy: All of the above

Here are the AI tools you get with the new Razr lineup:

• Gemini

• Perplexity

• Microsoft Copilot

• Moto AI

Frankly, it's a bit much. I found myself sticking entirely to Gemini. At CES 2026, Lenovo and Motorola laid out their vision for Moto AI — a personal AI that acts as your personal assistant. And, in theory, it has some cool features. But am I ready to hand over my email, photo library, browsing history, and Google Drive to yet another tech company? Not quite. I'm already nervous about how much Google knows about me, and how it's using my data.

This is also a phone built for AI superusers. Here's an example: Long-press what should be the power button, and it brings up Gemini Live. Long-press the side button (the Razr+ has no extra side button), and it fires up Moto AI. When I needed to power off the Razr+, it took me a ridiculous amount of time to find the power off option.

You can change these settings, of course, but this is a phone that wants to put AI constantly at your fingertips. That's either a pro or a con, depending on how much you use tools like Gemini.

That said, being able to quickly fire up Gemini to answer questions is helpful at times. I also made good use of Android's Circle To Search feature. After bringing home the flowers, I used Circle To Search to identify them. Another time, I asked whether it was safe to use two household cleaners together. (Spoiler alert: It was not!)

Credit: Timothy Beck Werth Credit: Timothy Beck Werth Motorola Razr+ is too big a step down

With a new starting price of $1,099, the Razr+ better be a damn fine phone, but my early testing has been frustrating. Once, the camera app simply refused to open. At other times, the phone was noticeably sluggish. I sometimes found that apps or features were slow to appear.

Instead of the Ultra's Snapdragon 8 Elite, the Razr+ has a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Mobile Platform, and I could feel the difference, unfortunately. As you'll see in the camera test, image processing also takes a hit. Photos were oversaturated, and the phone struggled a bit in very bright sunlight.

Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

So, is the Motorola Razr+ worth it? While I can happily endorse the Razr Ultra, I'm not sold on the Razr+.

One word of warning: Treat your foldable with care

Lastly, I should note there have been user complaints on Reddit and the Motorola website about the durability of the Razr Ultra (2025). Users report that hinges and displays begin to fall apart after about 12 months of use. However, the phone should hold up just fine, as mine has.

I suspect there's some user error involved here, as flip phones are inherently more delicate. Be careful not to get your foldable wet, and avoid overstressing the hinge.

For its part, Motorola has outfitted the Razr+ with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus; the Razr Ultra has the brand-new Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, which debuts with this foldable phone.

Motorola Razr+ and Razr Ultra: The camera test Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

As a reminder, here are the camera arrays with each phone:

• Razr Ultra: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP inner camera

• Razr+: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 32MP inner

Foldables aren't known for having the best cameras, but the Razr Ultra's are better than fine. For the camera test, I took macro, portrait, digital zoom, and selfie photos. All of the photos you see here are unedited.

Overall, I found that the Razr Plus sometimes oversaturated my photos, which is a pet peeve of mine. In some cases, the Razr Ultra clearly took the better photo. In the photos with sliders, you'll find the Razr Ultra version on the left. Thanks to the Elite processor, the Razr Ultra handled color much better, and photos taken in bright sunlight weren't super washed out.

The ultimate selfie mode

Foldables may not have the best cameras, but it's incredibly satisfying to line up the perfect selfie using the external display.

Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable

The finished result:

Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable

Overall, the Razr Ultra took surprisingly good photos for a foldable. The Razr+ didn't have bad cameras by any means, and I took a lot of photos I liked, even if the Ultra clearly has the edge.

Left: Razr Ultra (left) Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable Right: Razr+ (right) Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable

I also went to my local flower-and-skateboarding store — the most Brooklyn store ever — to test the color fidelity. (Shoutout to Park Deli flower shop, which isn't affiliated with Mashable or Motorola in any way.)

Left: Razr Ultra (left) Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable Right: Razr+ (right) Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable Left: Razr Ultra (left) Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable Right: Razr+ (right) Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable

Finally, I have to show off my latest origami creations.

A dinsoaur, rat, Scottish terrier, and snails. Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable The Motorola Razr Ultra: Would I buy it?

So, would I spend my money on the Razr Ultra? I have to admit, I'm still an iPhone user, possibly due to peer pressure. But the Motorola Razr Ultra is the phone that really tempts me to make the switch, and I enjoy every minute I spend with this phone.

While the new $1,499.99 price tag is a major blow, the phone's feature set, display, and design are all elite for the category. If you can take advantage of some launch offers or trade-ins, I think you'll also be very happy with this trendy little flip phone.

Motorola Razr Ultra (2026) $1,499.99 at Best Buy
  Shop Now at Best Buy Shop Now at Motorola US Shop Now at Amazon Opens in a new window Credit: Motorola Motorola Razr+ (2026) $1,099.99 at Amazon
  Get Deal

Airbnb has announced a swathe of additions coming to its app, including the ability to book luggage storage and car hire, as well as a voice mode for its AI assistant.

Announced Wednesday in a blog post, the accommodation company is furthering its reach into the broader travel booking market with additions rolling out over the summer.

Who's the creator you tell everyone to follow? Vote for them in Mashable's Fan Fav.

Airbnb said it was "extending the AI assistant to voice" later this year, meaning users could be able to use the existing chatbot like a customer service phone call (Airbnb rolled out its AI assistant in 2025). The company has been testing AI-powered search since February, which lets users describe the type of stay they're after, or ask questions about listings using conversational language.

The app will also add an AI-powered comparison tool later this year, which will let users compare accommodation options in their wish list for location and amenities.

SEE ALSO: The 'Heated Rivalry' cottage is available to rent on Airbnb

Over the last year, the company has also been expanding the app's Services component, adding options like airport pickups, grocery deliveries, makeup artists, photographers, catered meals for travellers to book. Soon, there'll be options to book Bounce luggage storage and hire cars through the Airbnb app in "select cities", both to be suggested by proximity to your accommodation.

Launching late summer, a new travel map will let users show Connections (people you've added as friends) where they've stayed or are staying in the future. Word of warning here: if you've left any nasty reviews on stays, your friends will be able to read them.

And finally, in a move unlike its signature home stays, Airbnb will now allow independent and boutique hotels to list on the app alongside hosted homes, with the company saying, "Each property is selected by Airbnb, with no big chains."

It's a crowded space, the travel booking market, with even TikTok getting in on the action these days.

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