Tech Podcasts

Amazon's budget-friendly alternative to Google's Nest thermostats has returned to its all-time-low price for the first time since December. The company's smart thermostat, which it debuted last year, is 20 percent off and down to $48. As indicated by its low price tag, you won't get as many features with Amazon's gadget as you would with something like a Nest thermostat, but it's a good place to start if you're building up a smart home on a budget.Buy smart thermostat at Amazon - $48The smart thermostat is a sleek square with rounded corners and its minimalist design should help it fit nicely into any home. It's built with Honeywell Home Thermostat Technology and it's Energy Star-certified, so it could save you up to $50 per year on energy costs.As with most Amazon devices, the smart thermostat works with Alexa — but it doesn't have a speaker or a microphone. You'll have to use an Alexa device like an Echo speaker or an Echo Show display to control it using voice commands. The Alexa mobile app is another option, and that's where you'll go to set schedules and change settings while you're out, too, so you come back to a home with the precise temperature you want.That's all there is to Amazon's smart thermostat. Google's Nest Thermostat has advanced features like automatically turning the temperature down while you're away, but that device will set you back at least $130. Overall, Amazon's gadget is a good option for those that only want the basics and have tighter budgets. Just make sure to check out the device's compatibility information to ensure that it works with your system before you buy, and to know if you need an additional C-wire or power adapter kit to hook the thing up.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Meta and its Oversight Board are frequently at odds, but this time they're working in concert. The Oversight Board has recommended Meta implement stricter anti-doxxing policies on Facebook and Instagram after the social media giant requested the Board's advice on sharing private addresses and images. Most notably, the Board asked Meta to remove an exception letting people share private residence info when it's considered "publicly available." That data usually requires effort to obtain from public records, according to the Board, but its tendency to spread rapidly on social networks significantly increases the potential for real-world harm.The Board also called for more consistent use of exceptions for newsworthiness, a "quick and effective" means to request removal of private info and clearer explanations of when sharing partial info (such as a city or name) is enough to warrant removal. The overseer also wanted a special communications channel for doxxing victims, more opportunities to provide context for privacy violation reports and opportunities for offenders to delete residential info to have a post restored. Privacy violations should be considered "severe," the Board added.Some of the recommendations were for looser policies. External photos of private residences should be allowed when the location is the focus of a news story, and people should be allowed to hold protests at publicly owned official residences (such as the homes of some national leaders). Meta should allow people to share their own residences, or for others to publish those locations with consent. At the same time, though, the Board wanted Meta to share privacy violation enforcement data, be more specific when notifying offenders and provide more detail on government-related requests.Provided Meta accepts the choices, the moves could do more to discourage doxxing campaigns on Facebook and Instagram. In some cases, harassers share technically public (if realistically unknown) and partial info knowing it will be enough to do serious damage. While the recommendations might not prevent the most determined doxxers (those willing to risk their accounts) from sharing addresses, they should close loopholes that suggest Meta tolerates this behavior.

Every healthy relationship is built on compromise. Which is why there probably isn’t room in my boyfriend’s apartment for both my slow cooker and Instant Pot. Before we met, I had been living in my studio for almost eight years – plenty of time to accumulate all manner of cooking gadgets, tools and appliances. I purchased the slow cooker first, with a clear sense of what I wanted to make: soups, chili, maybe some bolognese. The Instant Pot, on the other hand, was an impulse buy. I didn’t actually know what I would do with this multipurpose cooker, marketed as a “7-in-1” device. But seemingly everyone else was buying one. And it was on sale for Black Friday, as it always is. I paid $67.99 for the six-quart Duo 60 and, according to my Amazon order history, threw in a 9-inch springform pan and reversible cast iron grill/griddle pan. I somehow doubt those will make the journey over to my boyfriend’s either.So, of the Duo 60’s seven functions (pressure cooking, slow cooking, rice, yogurt, steaming, sautéing and warming), slow cooking was clearly my comfort zone. The problem is, the Instant Pot is not very good at that, at least not out of the box. The same sealed lid that makes the IP so adept at pressure cooking rice, beans and meat is poorly suited to the task of slow cooking, which requires a meaningful amount of evaporation to be successful. While there’s a steam tray latched to the back of the Instant Pot, a traditional slow cooker would have a glass lid with at least one hole for steam to escape. What’s more, the sealed design rules out the possibility of inserting a probe thermometer, something all conventional slow cookers offer.Read any number of articles or Reddit threads and you’ll see two pieces of advice repeat themselves: adjust the amount of liquid, or increase the cooking time. My issue with that approach is that I’m not much of an improvisational cook to begin with, and I’d rather not learn after three-plus hours of cooking that my meal is a bust.Eventually in my research I found this $18 tempered glass lid, made by Instant Pot itself. The company isn’t so cheeky as to acknowledge the lid improves a flawed slow cooking experience, but needless to say, it does recommend the accessory for that purpose, not to mention sautéing, serving and keeping food warm. Though I purchased the Duo 60 in 2017, Instant Pot claims the six-quart lid should fit, well, any six-quart Instant Pot model. As a bonus, it's dishwasher safe, though I definitely hesitated after seeing at least two Amazon reviewers report their wash cycles ended in glass shards. (Mine survived just fine.)My first test of the new setup was my favorite slow-cooker chili recipe. (As a tip, if you’re new to slow cooking in the Instant Pot, treat the “Normal” setting as the equivalent of low, and “More” when the recipe calls for high. Like any slow cooker, the Instant Pot defaults to a warming mode after the cooking time is up.) After four hours of cooking on low, the chili tasted the way I remembered it: sweet, spicy and certainly not too soupy. And I was grateful to not have had to reduce the liquid by 15 to 20 percent, especially with so many different kinds of fluids required for this particular recipe. Another day, I cooked a vegetable-tortellini soup on high for five hours. (This recipe also gave me an excuse to try some sautéing too.)Over the long hours each recipe was cooking, I noticed more and more condensation clinging to the underside of the lid. Though the Instant Pot itself got quite warm on low (and close to hot on high), the handle remained more tepid to the touch, which I was able to grab with bare hands without burning myself. As a tip, if you want to remove the lid without dripping all the condensation back into the dish, flip it toward you when removing it instead of lifting it straight up.Another tip: the li

Jabra announced its Enhance Plus earbuds back in August, debuting a model that offers assistance to people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. At the time, the company also announced that it would sell it directly to customers as a FDA-cleared self-fitting hearing aid. Later this month, Jabra will do just that. On February 25th, the company says you'll be able to purchase the Enhance Plus from select hearing care clinics for $799. The earbuds put "medical-grade hearing enhancement" inside a more approachable form factor that looks like a set of regular earbuds. Jabra says this device is also quite compact, 40 percent smaller than the company's Elite 7 Pro which are already very small. The Enhance Plus can be customized to fit the user's needs, including three speech filters and three listening modes. The earbuds not only help with in-person conversations but also offer the ability to take calls and listen to music — the core features of any set of earbuds. Four microphones work to reduce background clamor while improving the overall clarity of speech according to Jabra, so they're suitable for use in noisy settings. The company says you can expect up to 10 hours of battery life with an additional two full charges in the included case. The earbuds are also IP52 rated dust and water resistant and are equipped with on-board controls for basic functionality. Jabra says the Enhance Plus have FDA 510(k) clearance as a self-fitting hearing aid. This means that it will be available direct to consumers as an over-the-counter device inline with the agency's pending regulation that expands access to hearing assistance products by creating a new hearing aid category. Jabra isn't the only company with devices that fit the FDA designation for OTC products. Another example is Bose's SoundControl hearing aids, which have been available nationwide in the US for $850 since last summer. Those, however, look more like traditional hearing aids rather than earbuds. For now, state law may require a hearing test to make sure the Enhance Plus is right for you. If it is, the set will be available in grey and beige color options when it goes on sale later this month. 

There's still some room for over-the-top electric scooters, apparently. Jeep is partnering with Razor on the RX200, an adult e-scooter designed expressly for off-road use. It's not the fastest machine of its kind with a 12MPH top speed, but the combination of a wide design with 8-inch, air-filled pneumatic tires promises a comfortable and grippy ride on trails — at least, those trails that don't ban vehicles.You won't venture too far beyond the beaten path with a 40-minute battery life. You might, however, appreciate the Jeep-like styling (shown below) if you want something more rugged-looking (or less flashy) than other e-scooters.RazorThe RX200 should be available now through Amazon and Razor's website. At $499, it's far more affordable than Jeep's $5,899 e-bike.

Along with the other Amazon devices we saw go on sale yesterday, the company's entire Fire tablet lineup has been discounted. Fire tablets are already pretty affordable, but if you're looking for a new tablet for your kid or an inexpensive couch device, it's best to wait for a sale like this one when they're up to 50 percent off. Of note are the Fire HD 8, which is half off and down to $45, the Fire HD 10, which is 27 percent off and down to $110, and the entire lineup of Kids Pro tablets.Buy Fire HD 8 at Amazon - $45Buy Fire HD 10 at Amazon - $110Shop Fire tablet sale at AmazonIf you're unsure which Fire tablet to get, we'd recommend the Fire HD 8 or the Fire HD 10 to most people. We gave the Fire HD 8 a score of 81 when it first came out for its refined design, decent performance, USB-C port for charging and its long battery life. It makes a good all-purpose device if you find that your phone screen is too small for your liking when you want to do things like shop online, check email and even watch a video. It could also make a solid, full-color e-reader for those that read manga and graphic novels digitally. The biggest caveat, which applies to all Fire tablets, is that while they are Android based, they do not have native access to Google's Play Store. That means you're stuck using Amazon's copycat apps for things like Gmail, Chrome and others.The Fire HD 10 takes everything about the HD 8 up a notch. It has an octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, a 5MP rear camera and a 10.1-inch 1080p display. It'll be worth the upgrade if you want the best performance possible in a Fire tablet, or the HD 8's smaller screen just isn't big enough for you.You could snag a standard Fire tablet for your kids to avoid giving them your most expensive slab to play with, but Amazon's Fire Kids Pro tablets offer some added benefits. In addition to all of the features you'll find on the regular slabs, the Kids Pro bundles come with a two-year warranty, a protective case, added parental controls and one year of Amazon Kids+. The latter is the company's subscription service that gives your kids access to age-appropriate books, shows, movies and more. The service will renew at $3 per month after your free year though, so just keep that in mind as you approach the end date. Both the 7- and 8-inch Fire Kids Pro tablets are half off right now and the 10-inch model is 30 percent off and down to $140.Buy Fire 7 Kids Pro at Amazon - $50Buy Fire HD 8 Kids Pro at Amazon - $70Buy Fire HD 10 Kids Pro at Amazon - $140Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Tesla has received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2021, according to Reuters and CNBC. The automaker has revealed the information in a financial filing, noting that the agency, in particular, is seeking information on its "governance processes around compliance with the SEC settlement, as amended." November's subpoena was issued shortly after company chief Elon Musk asked his followers on Twitter if he should sell 10 percent of his stake in Tesla. The automaker's shares slid sharply following that tweet.Tesla has been at odds with the SEC for years, starting in 2018 when the agency sued the Elon Musk for tweeting that the company is going private. The agency said that Musk tweeting that Tesla had already secured funding to take the company private constitutes fraud for being a "false and misleading" statement."  When Tesla settled with the SEC that year, Musk had to agree to have his social network posts containing material information pre-approved by a legal team. Shortly after that, though, he tweeted out previously undisclosed production numbers for 2019 without getting that information reviewed first. The SEC sought to hold him in contempt of their 2018 agreement, and they had to make amendments so that Musk knows exactly what he can and can't tweet out. The Tesla chief is known for being a frequent Twitter user. In between memes and random tweets, he uses the platform to share updates and new announcements about his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX. A group of Tesla investors filed a lawsuit in 2019 in an attempt to stop his "unchecked" use of the platform. And just last year, another investor sued Musk and the company, accusing them of violating the SEC agreement. The plaintiff argued that Musk keeps tweeting out "erratic" and unapproved posts, including one in May 2020 wherein he said that Tesla's share price was "too high imo." Musk took several breaks from Twitter over the years, and once even claimed that he deleted his account, but he's still very much active on the platform at the moment. 

Korg jump-started the craze for affordable, portable synths when it launched the Volca series in 2013. Major players like Roland got in on the action. As did more niche companies like Critter and Guitari and Modal Electronics. But 1010 Music might deserve credit for cramming the most raw power into the smallest possible package.The company is launching a new line of candy-colored Nanobox instruments, starting with Fireball (a wavetable synthesizer) and Lemondrop (a granular synth). These are impossibly tiny, full-fledged synthesizers with a level of depth that dwarfs any Pocket Operator. But they’re not cheap, either. While they were never going to reach impulse-purchase territory, current supply chain issues mean the Fireball and Lemondrop are coming in at a somewhat pricey $399. For context, that’s more than twice what most Volcas cost. The thing is, though, after about 10 minutes with 1010 Music’s latest instruments, it becomes clear that they’re not competing with the Volcas, and might not have any direct competitors at all.HardwareEngadget · Fireball Sound SamplesBefore digging into the software side of things, let’s talk hardware. The Fireball and Lemondrop are just palette-swapped versions of each other: one a rich red, the other a yellow that might be visible from space. (I’m sure you can figure out which is which.) They’re fun looking in a way that few other synths are, regardless of size.On the front there’s a two-inch touch screen, two knobs and four physical keys. Mastering the buttons, and how exactly they interact with the UI, takes a little practice. But once you figure out the logic behind the menu system it’s not too difficult to get around. Each section (oscillators, home, etcetera) has layers, and each layer has pages, which you navigate with the arrow buttons.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetAround back is a USB-C jack for power (sadly, no MIDI over USB); ⅛-inch audio ins and outs; as well as TRS MIDI in and out anda microSD card slot. The synths come with a 32GB card installed, with over 100 sound sources and presets. If you want to load your own wavetables or sound files for processing with Lemondrop’s granulator, this is where you’ll need to copy them. But remember, since the Nanoboxes only use USB for power, you’ll have to actually take the card out, put it in a computer and copy the files over, before putting it back in the instrument.The most distinctive thing about them physically, however, is their size. At 3.75 inches wide, 3 inches tall, and 1.5 inches thick, you can easily toss one (or both) of these in a bag or a large pocket. Even though I knew the dimensions beforehand, I was still shocked by just how tiny they were when I took them out of their boxes. And you’d be forgiven for immediately feeling skeptical of them. How can you possibly make music on something this small? And why would you want to? The answer to the first question is actually surprisingly straightforward. The second is a bit more complicated.Engadget · Lemondrop Sound SamplesLet’s start with the easy bit. Despite the tiny size of the screens, both Lemondrop and Fireball are more than usable. Would it have been nice if they were a bit bigger? Sure. But they’re big enough to give you most of the important information at a quick glance: the movement of LFOs, envelopes, grains and changing waveshapes. The two knobs to the right of the screen are assignable macros when used from the main display screens. Twisting these can give you quick control over complex sets of parameters, or just change the filter cutoff. It’s up to you.Those macros can also be controlled using the touchscreen when it's in X/Y mode. Frankly, for something of this size, it’s basically the ideal way to interact with it. It’s immensely satisfying and easy to dramatically alter the sound of a patch simply by sliding your finger around the scr

On February 9th, the day of its next Unpacked event, Samsung is also rolling out an update that enhances some of the Galaxy Watch 4's and Watch 4 Classic's health and wellness features. While the watches have long been able to perform body composition scans, the update adds insights about those results powered by Chris Hemsworth's app Centr. Their partnership gives Watch 4 owners access to a 30-day free trial to the app, which typically only lasts for seven days. Samsung is launching a new interval target feature for runners and cyclists that gives them a way to pre-set the duration and distance they want to cover or the number of sets for their workout, as well. After they input those details, Watch 4 will be able to create a custom training session for them that alternates high-intensity with low-intensity workouts. Finally, Samsung is rolling out a new sleep coaching program with the update that will assign users with one of the eight sleep symbol animals representing their sleep type. The program determines their sleep animal by tracking their sleep pattern over seven days and asking them to complete two surveys. It will then guide them through a four-to-five week coaching program with missions, checklists and regular reports to help them improve their sleep quality. To help users get better sleep, going forward, Samsung will also automatically switch off SmartThings-enabled lights once Watch 4 determines that the user is asleep. In addition to these health and wellness upgrades, the company is releasing new watch face colors, digital watch faces and band colors, including burgundy and cream. Samsung has also revealed that a future update will allow users to stream YouTube Music over WiFi or LTE on their Watch 4 and that Google Assistant will be available on the devices in the coming months. Samsung

I love it when fashion houses and technology collide. It’s often a complete disaster. I’ve played, reviewed and stared incredulously at a few of them, but, oh boy, Louis Vuitton loves to test the limits.Its new Tambour smartwatch has a lot of what you’d expect: a $3,500 price tag for the most well-heeled smartwatch shoppers, LV livery everywhere, leather strap options and a divisive design that seems intentionally not for everyone.EngadgetHowever, the watch, running on its own OS, is surprisingly competent. There are different power-saving modes, you can send notifications to your iOS or Android phone, with apps for weather and calendar functions all built-in. There are even Louis Vuitton travel guides, which are accessible for any trips you register on the watch.It’s not for everyone, sure, but for the ‘someone’ that wants a glowing LV-emblazoned wrist, according to Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low, it’s functional as well as fashion.— Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedEngadget Deals: Apple's Mac Mini M1 returns to a record low of $570Amazon's 3-for-2 sale includes ‘Pokémon Legends: Arceus,’ ‘Animal Crossing’ and moreSpotify CEO apologizes to staff but won't back down over Joe Rogan stanceGoogle hit with $2.4 billion lawsuit in Europe for favoring its own shopping serviceAndroid 12L hands-onBig-sized Android for huge screens.EngadgetGoogle might be on the 12th generation of its mobile OS, but it felt like Android left tablets behind years ago. (Google gave up making its own tablets.) But with Android 12L, Google is trying to address some of the OS’ shortcomings while paving the way for emerging types of gadgets, like foldables. The major upgrades focus on a new taskbar and multitask interface, which makes sense. Sam Rutherford tests it out.Continue reading.Tobii says it's in talks to provide eye tracking for Sony's PlayStation VR2The VR headset might not be close to launch.Tobii says it's in talks to provide its eye-tracking technology for the next-gen VR headset. It noted the discussions were "ongoing" and that it couldn't share the potential financial impact of the deal. Sony previously confirmed the PlayStation VR2 would use eye tracking, but it didn't name a tech supplier or explain in detail how the feature would work. It suggests the VR hardware might be a ways off.Continue reading.Watch Hulu's intense 'The Dropout' trailer based on the rise of Elizabeth HolmesAmanda Seyfried stars as the Theranos founder.HuluHulu has dropped the first trailer for The Dropout, a miniseries about the failed blood-testing startup Theranos. The best part of the two-and-a-half-minute preview might be Holmes developing her (iconic? infamous?) deep voice.Continue reading.IRS says it will back away from facial recognition amid outcryThe decision comes hours after mounting political pressure.The Internal Revenue Service has told Senator Ron Wyden it plans to back away from using facial recognition for verification purposes. Wyden said the transition would "take time.” Under the plan, the IRS would have used ID.me’s technology to authenticate users hoping to file taxes online or otherwise use the IRS' internet services.The approach was intended as a fraud prevention tool, but it encountered opposition from Republican senators, House Democrats and civil liberties groups. Worries included security concerns, the degree of privacy of uploading sensitive data, historical biases in facial recognition, the inaccessibility to people without broadband and a general lack of accountability.Continue reading.

The UK is, once again, attempting to introduce mandatory age verification in order to access adult content online. The beleaguered nation, currently reeling from a series of self-inflicted crises, has announced its plans to revive the scheme that has been deemed unworkable since 2015. Chris Philp MP, under-secretary of state for Tech and the Digital Economy, has announced that the mostly-unchanged plan will be introduced as part of the forthcoming Online Safety Bill.Mandatory age verification has been in the works ever since the Conservative party included it in its 2015 manifesto. Since then, it has attempted to get the scheme running, passing the enabling laws in 2017 and setting a series of deadlines to implement the system. In April 2019, regulators said that the scheme would finally begin operating that July but the then culture secretary pulled the plug in mid-June. At the time, the plan was to replace the plan with a broader set of rules then being examined under the umbrella of Online Harms.Unfortunately, the bill remains full of the same problems that rendered the system unworkable when it was previously introduced. The UK originally intended to hand off operation of the system to the BBFC, a film censorship board run by the film industry, rather than a dedicated operator. It had also ignored the screams of privacy campaigners who said that databases holding the names of people who have signed up for age verification is a target for everyone. It doesn’t help that if a company owns an adult content portal and an age verification platform, which is what Pornhub owner Mindgeek proposed, there’s a concern about monopoly power.

The IRS announced on Monday it’s dropping a plan to require taxpayers to sign up for and use facial recognition software. The plan had been to require people to use a service provided by a third-party company, ID.me, to verify their identities to access documents or make payments online. It was already being rolled out for people who created new online accounts this year, and was going to kick in for existing accounts by this summer. The decision comes after backlash from advocates and lawmakers over privacy concerns. Tonya Riley, a privacy and cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop, joins Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams to discuss.  

Peloton grew massively during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now that things are opening up, it has struggled to maintain growth. Now, the company is shaking things up by replacing its CEO, overhauling the board and laying off around 20 percent of its corporate workforce, according to The Wall Street Journal. At the same time, "Peloton's roster of instructors and breadth and depth of its content will not be impacted by the initiatives announced today," the company said in a press release. CEO and co-founder John Foley is stepping down as CEO to become executive chairman and will be replaced by former Spotify COO Barry McCarthy, the company told the WSJ. McCarthy will reportedly bring his understanding of content-driven subscription models to Peloton. "I have always thought there has to be a better CEO for Peloton than me," said Foley said. "Barry is more perfectly suited than anybody I could’ve imagined." On top of that, the company is cutting around 2,800 corporate positions. On top of its financial struggles, Peloton has been hit by bad press over equipment safety, unpaid employees and even not-so-positive mentions in recent TV shows. With the value of the company tumbling from a peak of $50 billion to around $8 billion last week, it has been a subject of takeover rumors from the likes of Amazon, Nike and even Apple. Peloton will discuss its plans to deal with the crisis in more detail when it reveals its second quarter results later today. It's expected to cut $800 million in costs and stop development of its $400 million Ohio factory, among other changes. In January, the company reported $1.14 billion of preliminary Q2 revenue and said it had 2.77 million subscribers. Its earnings call is set today at 5:00 PM ET. Update 2/8/2022 9:10 AM: The article has been updated with information from Peloton's press release. 

With the US labor market getting tighter and employees changing jobs or quitting in droves, Amazon has made a big move to become more competitive. The company has boosted its maximum base pay from $160,000 to $350,000, in response to what it calls a "particularly competitive labor market," The Washington Post has reported.In a recent Amazon Web Services (AWS) blog, the company said that it pays around 50 to 65 percent of "what 'the market' will pay you." By contrast, it noted that Microsoft paid 75 percent, Google 95 percent and Netflix "top of market." Until now, anything more than $160,000 at Amazon was instead compensated by stock or cash signing bonuses.This past year has seen a particularly competitive labor market and in doing a thorough analysis of various options, weighing the economics of our business and the need to remain competitive for attracting and retaining top talent, we decided to make meaningfully bigger increases to our compensation levels than we do in a typical year.According to Amazon's own information, the company's maximum base pay is now also at the top market level, or more. It's also increasing overall compensation for most jobs around the world, with increases "much more considerable than we've done in the past," it wrote. At the same time, it's keeping the alternate compensation options, like stock options and signing bonuses, according to GeekWire. The change comes as Amazon's stock options become perhaps less interesting, considering that its share prices are down 15 percent from their peak in July 2021. Potential employees, especially top candidates who have their pick of tech companies, may have noticed that as well. 

TikTok is beginning to test ways to age-restrict some types of content in its app amid a push to beef up safety features for teens. The work is in an early stage, but the company says the goal is to shield younger users from mature content or other potentially inappropriate videos.TikTok, like other social media apps, has recently faced increased scrutiny for how it handles user safety, particularly for children and younger teens. At a Congressional hearing last fall, the company’s VP of Public Policy hinted that the app was working on new ways “to enjoy content based on age appropriateness.” Now, the company has shared a few more details of what that may look like.TikTok, long known for its eerily precise recommendation algorithm, is working on features that would be able to classify content based on “content maturity and thematic comfort zones,” according to Tracy Elizabeth, TikTok’s global issue policy lead. “When the system is fully launched, content that we've identified as containing overtly mature themes could be restricted from teens,” she said during a briefing with reporters. “And for content that has less … mature themes, our community members are going to be able to choose the comfort zones or content maturity that they would prefer to skip or opt into.”Elizabeth didn’t elaborate on how the company was determining a video’s maturity level, saying the work was in an “innovation phase.” But she said it could eventually resemble the ratings used for film, television and video games. “We know that there’s family-ish content, there’s teen-ish content, there’s adult-ish content,” she said. “What we’d like to do is … say ‘here you go: you can pick for yourself what is that category that you feel most comfortable with.’” She added that parents could also control these preferences for their children via TikTok’s “Family Pairing” settings.Separately, TikTok is also working on a feature for creators that would allow them to indicate whether their videos are intended for adults or younger users. This could help further inform TikTok’s recommendations to ensure that more mature content stays out of the feeds of younger users.While TikTok is now running a small test of the age restrictions, it could still be some time before the features are widely available, and Elizabeth noted they are still taking shape. “A lot of this we haven’t fully decided how we’re going to do it,” she said.Outside of those features, TikTok also shared an updated set of community guidelines. Under the new rules, TikTok is giving suicide hoaxes and dangerous challenges its own section in an effort to make the policy more visible. The company is also expanding the type of content it bars under its eating disorder policy. The new rules will prohibit videos that promote “disordered eating,” like extreme calorie counting, short term fasting, overexercise and other “under-recognized signs of a potential problem.”Finally, TikTok is also updating its rules to explicitly ban “deadnaming, misgendering, or misogyny as well as content that supports or promotes conversion therapy programs.” The company says it already removed these types of posts in the past, but that the rules weren’t specifically outlined in its public-facing community guidelines.