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Snapchat Disables Controversial ‘Solar System’ Function in Response to Negative Publicity

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Less than a week after The Wall St. Journal reported on how a Snapchat feature dubbed “solar system” was adding to teens’ anxiety, the company has responded by adjusting how the feature works. The ranking system for paid subscribers today shows you how close you are to your Snapchat friends by displaying your position in their solar system. However, instead of removing the feature, as it did with the dangerous and controversial speed filter, which it was sued over for “negligent design,” Snap is simply turning the Solar System feature off by default. A more relevant stat would be how many Snapchat+ users have used Solar System or viewed the feature. The Solar System feature was only one of Snapchat’s friend ranking systems.

Sneak Peek: ‘Blend’ by Instagram – An Exciting New Way to Share Reels with Your Bestie!

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Instagram is developing a “Blend” feature that creates a private feed of Reels recommended for you and a friend. According to a screenshot posted on X by Paluzzi, a Blend would include “Reels recommendations based on Reels you’ve shared with each other and your Reels interests.”In other words, if you invited a friend to a “Blend,” Instagram would generate a personalized feed of Reels that it believes the two of you would be interested in. #Instagram is working on Blend: #Reels recommendations based on reels you've shared each other and your reels interests 👀 ℹ️ Private between the two of you. Since people already send each other Reels via DMs, Instagram would now be using that data to proactively recommend and display Reels that it believes a pair of users would enjoy. If released, Blend would give Instagram Reels users access to a fun and collaborative feature that isn’t available on its rival platform, TikTok.

Introducing Instagram’s Newest Feature: Easily Track Friends’ Locations with the ‘Friend Map’

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Instagram is developing an opt-in “Friend Map” feature that would allow users to see their friends’ locations in real time, a Meta spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday. Instagram would also be coming for Apple and its “Find My” map feature that lets users see where their friends and family are currently located. According to screenshots posted on Threads by Paluzzi, Instagram’s Friend Map would allow users to choose who can see their location. Post by @alex193a View on ThreadsThe Friend Map would allow users to leave short messages, or “Notes,” on the map for others to see. After cutting into one of Google’s core businesses, Instagram may now be looking to take on Snapchat and Apple with its Friend Map.

“Formerly Owned by Nikola’s Founder, Electric Badger Pickup Truck Program Acquired by Associate of Disgraced CEO Trevor Milton”

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Beleaguered electric trucking company Nikola has sold the Badger electric pickup truck assets it was once supposed to build with General Motors. Embr now owns the intellectual property associated with the Badger pickup truck, as well as the assets related to Nikola’s abandoned off-road and personal water craft vehicles. News of the deal to sell the Badger program comes at an odd time. But it revealed the Badger pickup in February 2020, just a few months before it went public in a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. Worthen said Nikola is clawing back 500,000 of those shares Milton gave Sparks as part of the deal.

“Cooking for Your Four-Legged Companion: Simplified with ChefPaw’s Healthy Recipes”

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ChefPaw is an machine designed to prepare homemade dog food. The appliance aims to provide an alternative to store-bought dog food, focusing on fresh ingredients tailored to individual pet dietary needs – and saving a ton of money along the way. It turns out that fresh-ingredient food for your four-legged furbaby is hella expensive, and ChefPaw wants to make it easier to make your own. ChefPaw operates by adding fresh ingredients into the machine, which then mixes and cooks the food at lower temperatures, a process taking approximately 40 minutes. The machine can roughly chop the food to take the shape of usual dog food, or blend it more smoothly for pets that have difficulties eating after surgery, for example.

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