Tech Roundup: WhatsApp Spam, YouTube Handles & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• Google's YouTube announces "handles," letting creators identify their channel using the @username format across channel pages, video descriptions, comments, and Shorts.
• Privacy-oriented messaging app becomes the latest platform to test Stories and hop aboard the feature bandwagon, but gives users the option to completely turn off the feature.
• The U.S. government to enforce Privacy Shield 2.0, a new E.U.-U.S. data transfer framework seeking to address concerns of surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies; replaces the now-defunct Privacy Shield (which was invalidated by the bloc’s top court back in July 2020) and predecessor, Safe Harbor (struck down by the CJEU in October 2015, following 2013 disclosures from whistleblower Edward Snowden.)
• Twitter tests new prompt that nudges users to share a tweet (i.e., copy its link) instead of taking a screenshot in a bid to get more people to directly use its platform.
• ByteDance's TikTok adds a new Photo Mode, which lets users share multiple still photos in a post, along with captions of up to 2,200 characters; also unveils new editing tools to easily adjust clips, sounds, images and text.
• Snapchat brings parental controls to India through its ‘Family Center’ tool, a few months after its debut in the U.S. and other key markets.
• Meta's WhatsApp tests the ability to make groups with up to 1,024 people, just months after increasing the group capacity to 256 to 512 in June 2022.
• The European Court of Justice (ECJ) rules against a German law requiring telecoms companies to retain customer data for four or ten weeks and to make it available, if necessary, to law enforcement authorities, citing breach of E.U. laws.
• Google removes the OG App, an Instagram clone that aimed to offer a non-algorithmic feed and an ad-free experience, from its Play Store, weeks after Apple booted the app off the App Store late last month for violation of its policies.
• Gen Z social media app BeReal surpasses 53 million installations, with monthly active users climbing 2,354% since 2022.
• Global PC shipments fall 15% YoY to 74.3 million units in Q3 2022; Lenovo, HP, and Dell decline YoY by 16.1%, 27.8%, and 21.2%, respectively, as Apple grows 40.2% YoY.
• Samsung announces the first third-party TV makers to ship devices with its Linux-based Tizen, a year after licensing the OS, in Europe and Australasia in 2022; list includes Atmaca, HKC and Tempo.
• Google continues to discontinue products; to shut down the Assistant Driving Mode Dashboard, a car-optimised experience that allowed users to access audio controls, as well as shortcuts for calling and texting, on November 21, 2022 three years after launch; asks users to switch to Driving Mode in Google Maps for Android.
• Meta's WhatsApp faces criticism for becoming a "spammers' paradise in India," where it boasts of 550 million users, with the launch of WhatsApp Business in 2020 fuelling a surge in messages from brands and businesses without obtaining explicit consent from users.