Meta Partners with UK Banks in Groundbreaking Anti-Fraud Initiative to Combat Global Scams

Tech giant Meta has just gone public with its anti-fraud collaboration that features UK banks.

The company confirmed yesterday how the Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE) program will enable the sharing of data. This will help Facebook’s parent firm in putting an end to scams as per a press release.

Meta's head for counter fraud further commented on the matter, adding how work on this initiative has already begun and thousands of scammer accounts were brought to justice. This indicates how important it is for apps and banks to collaborate to better handle the growing issue.

Meta also feels working together and sharing relevant data linked to these scams is the only way to tackle the matter and get the best outcome. Let’s not forget how financial institutions carry the tendency to share unique data with Meta Platforms and that will be used for training. Only then can Meta take greater action against the issues from around the world.

NatWest and Metro Bank were some of the first financial institutions across the United Kingdom to participate in the FIRE program. Others were scheduled to join in this endeavor.

As per trials carried out during the pilot phase of this FIRE program, the company added how a major scam network was tackled who were involved in the selling of ticket scams. Their main targets were users based in the US and the UK. Meanwhile, more information was shared with the banks and Facebook’s parent firm to ensure 20k scam accounts were deleted.

These scams are a growing problem around the globe and they require industry-based solutions to better handle them, the COO of Metro Bank concluded. They also praised Meta for its great work in the field and for coming together to ensure clients remain protected from online hackers and threat actors.

Through sharing this data, they hope to greatly enhance the process of detecting scams and also ensure enforcement is done at all times. This creates a safe environment for all involved.

For now, new techniques are being used to fight against fraud in the world of card issuance. These criminals continue to become more sophisticated and make use of advanced tech involved in the theft of data from these cards while creating real IDs.

Another report was generated on this front last year where it was concluded that costs linked to transaction fraud were on the rise and that the average total for such frauds was $3.8M, which was a 65% growth from the previous year.

It must be noted that not all companies can take on the liberties that Meta has in terms of fighting fraud. Small-scale enterprises simply do not have the budget to better their defense systems. They also cannot think about linking to bigger payment networks or apps to bring the matter down.

In this case, Meta must be given credit for its efforts.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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• Developer Concerns Rise as WordPress and WP Engine See 19% Traffic Decline, Alternatives Thrive

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Developer Concerns Rise as WordPress and WP Engine See 19% Traffic Decline, Alternatives Thrive

There have been some conflicts raised between WordPress and the hosting company that supports WordPress websites, WP Engine. This conflict has affected the WordPress business users and has raised concerns among developers and advocates. Similarweb conducted an analysis to find out why this conflict has started.

One of the main reasons is the downturn in traffic on WordPress.com and WPEngine.com, plus both of these platforms are fighting for competitors. Many developers love using WordPress and it is the world’s most popular web content management system. But even with the extensibility of the platform, its market shares aren't doing good. There have also been some alternatives to WordPress like Squarespace and Wix which are more simpler to use than WordPress.

WordPress is an open source platform which is led by CEO Matt Mullenweg who also founded WordPress Foundation. Last month, Matt Mullenweg said that WP Engine is a cancer to WordPress. He added that WP Engine is misusing their trademark and isn't supporting their open-source project. This dispute has started a debate on for-profit and non-profit/open-source versions of WordPress.

According to Similarweb, there was a 19% YoY decrease in traffic on WordPress.com and WPEngine.com in August 2024. There was a -16.3% YoY decrease in traffic on WordPress.com in the first eight months of 2024, while there was a -8.6% decrease in the traffic on WPEngine.com in the first eight months of 2024. In comparison, Wix and Squarespace were doing better, with 2% and 5% YoY traffic increase respectively.

The traffic on shopping and buying pages of WordPress.com and WPEngine.com also decreased a lot with -8.69% on WordPress and -38.76% on WPEngine. There was a 28.8% decrease in traffic on the main domain of WordPress.org too.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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• The Smartphone With the Longest Battery Life Will Surprise You — iPhone Didn’t Take the Top Spot!
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

The Smartphone With the Longest Battery Life Will Surprise You — iPhone Didn’t Take the Top Spot!

Tom’s Guide ranked the best smartphones according to their battery lives and it was found that iPhone models have the best battery lives. The battery life was calculated by a standard that required a smartphone to last more than 14 hours with browsing on 5G and having a brightness of 150 nits. At last, only 15 smartphones lasted this much.

The smartphone which had the best battery life was the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro with 18 hours 48 minutes battery life, followed by the One Plus 12 R with 18 hours 42 minutes battery life. iPhone 16 Pro Max got third place with a battery life of 18 hours 6 minutes. iPhone 16 Plus came in eighth place and had a battery life of 16 hours 28 minutes. No other iPhone model was in the top 15 list.

This was a shocking revelation because many people were saying that iPhone 16’s battery life is disappointing for them. iPhone 16’s battery life is described at 12 hours 43 minutes average but it is still better than previous models whose battery lives lasted 11 hours and five minutes. iPhone 16 Pro didn't make the list even though to make it to the top 15 list, smartphones had to last more than 14 hours. iPhone 16 Pro lasted 14 hours and 7 minutes which is impressive as compared to the other models.

Brand/Model	Phone Battery Life In HH:MM
Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro	18:48
OnePlus 12R	18:42
iPhone 16 Pro Max	18:06
Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra	17:52
OnePlus 12	17:41
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra	16:45
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus	16:32
iPhone 16 Plus	16:29
Motorola Edge Plus (2023)	15:47
Moto G Stylus 5G (2024)	15:01
Nothing Phone 2a	15:00
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	14:37 (tie)
Motorola Razr (2024)	14:37 (tie)
Moto G 5G (2024)	14:36
Nothing Phone 2	14:21

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Meta Allows Threads Users To Track Who Follows And Likes Their Posts From Other Fediverse Servers

Tech giant Meta is adding another unique feature for its Threads users. The head of Instagram just confirmed that all users who have accounts connected to the fediverse will now be able to see who follows, likes, and shares their posts across the different servers. This includes Pixelfed and Mastodon.

This is not the only good news as the company also revealed how edits are now possible. Users will be given the chance to make edits in up to 15 minutes since it was published on the social media app.

If you want to see your list of followers or see the post’s activity, all you need to do is press on the tab for fediverse likes and the whole list will be published. The same will be the case for Fediverse followers.

The news comes as Threads slowly but surely strengthens its relations with the fediverse which has been gaining momentum for the past few months. This was right after users linked accounts to the fediverse in March.

We saw the platform allow users to witness replies on different posts a couple of weeks back. This brought more kinds of content onto the app. We also like to mention that users have been allowed to see Fediverse replies on their posts since the start of June this year so it’s all very new.

While Threads users cannot reply to what’s being published from different servers, the app is working on making this a possibility.

Today, the social media network is the biggest platform to take on ActivityPub that’s more decentralized in terms of social networking that links the fediverse as it tries to hit the 200M user mark as per Meta. The fediverse alone has a user base of 12M users in total.

In terms of the greater time limit for making edits to posts, the app says it wants users to have the freedom to change or edit content which was not possible before. Even if it was introduced, the limit was 5 minutes after which nothing could be changed.

Adam Mosseri mentioned how users linked to the fediverse will have their content shared with users there, after 15 minutes. It’s a smart call as it enables the edit window to pass.

We saw Threads first unveil the chance to make edits to online posts one year back. It was not like archrival app X which made users pay for the survive. On Threads, the editing feature is for free. On the other hand, X does give users a much longer editing window period. Users get up to one hour after posts are published to make a change.

We think users will like both of these new changes made by Meta to Threads. They have been in demand for a while now and seeing the platform take feedback positively will certainly make users happy.

Read next: Microsoft’s Copilot Assistant Gets A Powerful Revamp With Innovative Features
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Microsoft’s Copilot Assistant Gets A Powerful Revamp With Innovative Features

Software giant Microsoft has just rolled out a new and improved Copilot assistant that entails a host of innovative features.

The goal seems to make the LLM offerings much simpler so users can explore a wide array of possibilities. It seems like today’s modern tech era is focusing more on giving users the best AI-powered assistant that can talk and provide quick replies to simple questions.

As per the company, the assistant harnesses the power of AI in a simplified manner so users can reap the benefits. This new revamp makes full use of Inflection AI staff to produce the latest UI where cards serve as protagonists.

Copilot will provide users an entire screen filled with recommendations and these are based on users’ routines, daily activities, and general lifestyle habits. Mircosoft is also boasting about better conversational and visual offerings.

Furthermore, the Copilot Voice is enhanced and offers the best conversational capabilities out there. Microsoft has partnered with Redmond giant who is also a key partner of OpenAI to grant the product innovation and equip this with the best in the world of conversational capabilities.

It’s quite like ChatGPT but with a more natural and distinct flair. What’s interesting is how users can chime in on a conversation and interrupt while it speaks. How cool is that? Similarly, users will get the chance to select between four different voice tone offerings that are more aligned with their tastes.

This new Copilot also brings forward the best visual offerings where users enable the assistant to witness content on screens and then ask questions based on what they see. This combined with Copilot Voice gives rise to the most unique and useful experience.

You can even tell the assistant to look for certain products and request a search for similar products. Did we mention how Microsoft showcased a certain use of this latest product? They did this through handwritten recipes for delicious foods where the assistant highlighted the dish and how long the cooking time would be.

For now, we can confirm that it’s going to be accessible offline and it won’t be allowed to upload any pictures it sees from the users’ browsing history onto the Cloud. In the same way, no sessions get stored on the database. It quickly disappears from the PC’s storage after users are done.

In cases where you might have some kind of trust issue or privacy problem, you don’t have to make use of it. It’s an optional offering. Remember, tech giant Microsoft has spoken about privacy being a major part of their goals since day one.

It’s already been scrutinized for these matters by users when Windows Recall was concerned and hence is dealing with the impact today after suffering a major backlash.

Another important point that we did not mention is how not every website will show support for the Copilot Vision. The tech giant is working separately across various e-commerce apps to show support for the visual offerings. It similarly will not function on payment pages and those featuring sensitive fields for data.

There’s a new Copilot Daily service that will act like users’ newscaster, delivering the latest information using AI-based tech. This assistant will then summarize the latest trending alerts, just like how a TV presenter would.

If users are on the lookout for answers that are of a more complex nature, then Microsoft’s Think Deeper will have them covered. Here, the assistant will spend more time responding to users’ requests and providing outputs with detailed replies to complex queries. It’s quite useful when making general comparisons.

Users can experiment with the latest revamped Copilot assistant on their PCs or smart devices. This is accessible through the app on their phones, on the Copilot Windows app, and also from the Copilot Microsoft website. However, Microsoft did confirm that not everyone will have the same features at the moment.

It’s still rolling out to various parts of the world but the US, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, and Australia will be the first to use it. Other countries will be following up soon.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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• Burnout Among Content Creators Declines, But AI Pressure Raises Concerns About Consumer Engagement
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Burnout Among Content Creators Declines, But AI Pressure Raises Concerns About Consumer Engagement

According to a new study by Awin and ShareASale, affiliate marketing platforms, a lot of creators are suffering from burnout, and Instagram is the leading platform driving this issue. However, the overall rate of burnout has decreased since 2022. The survey, conducted in the UK, US, and Germany, showed that 73% of the respondents were suffering from burnout in 2025. This represents a 14% decrease from 2022, when 87% of content creators reported experiencing burnout.

There are a lot of reasons why content creators suffer from burnout. The respondents said the reasons for their burnout included ever changing platform policies, worrying that their content isn't the best, using too much social media and now the rise of artificial intelligence. The survey says that content creators are still confused about generative AI and what it can do to their industry. Content creators are talking about having ownership over their content but some AI companies have used content from those creators to train their AI models.

70% of the respondents say that they think AI is a small threat to their business and 26% said there is somewhat a notable threat by AI to their business, with 16% saying AI is a huge threat. 30% believe that AI doesn't pose any threat to their business. 46% of respondents say that they are afraid that consumers will no longer be interested in digital content because of AI and that is what's causing them burnout. 43% say that the rise of AI content has put extra pressure on them to create outstanding content.

On the other hand, some creators say that AI has helped them in content creation and they are using AI tools for creating thumbnails, brainstorming ideas and writing video descriptions. They are basically doing everything by using AI tools and AI tools.are helping them with productivity. 32% of content creators are already using ChatGPT. This shows that where AI has been a reason for burnout of many creators, it is assisting them with many tasks too.

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Fortnite Maker Epic Games Sues Samsung and Google For Anticompetitive Behavior

Fortnite creator Epic Games just sued Google and Meta for anti-competitive behavior. The company says that both firms discouraged Android users from installing games and apps located outside of their Play Store.

The issue on discussion is the Auto Blocker feature that’s created to stop Galaxy devices from downloading those apps that arise from unauthorized sources. These are enabled through default means and as per Samsung, the Auto Blocker is there to protect users.

The South Korean tech giant argued how the Auto Blocker stopped any Galaxy device from downloading apps from unauthorized sources. Samsung did confirm how it also prevents sideloading for this reason.

Whenever Galaxy devices come across a platform from unknown sources, they get alerts that signal how a download was prevented. Meanwhile, the feature can also go on overriding the Galaxy device setup while the firm even provides options to remove it temporarily, if the user wishes.

The feature was first rolled out by Samsung last year in October and is said to be a coordinated effort that hinders competition in terms of platform distribution.

But Epic Games is not using that justification as a good enough excuse because they state the goal is to undermine the legal action that it has taken against Google in the high-profile lawsuit. This is where the jury agreed that Google was behaving like a monopoly with its Play Store and that all of its rules were anti-competitive in nature.

The CEO for Epic Games mentioned during a press briefing today that there was no evidence that both these companies colluded with their Auto Blocker offering. He does hope to find more evidence on this front while the discovery process gets documented. Similarly, he did not send any request to ask tech giant Samsung to make Epic Games an authorized source in terms of games.

Epic Games did conclude that this legal action that it was taking was on behalf of several stakeholders which included developers and not just the company itself. He says that if their goal was to attain special benefits, they would have just settled the matter in the past with tech giants Apple, Google, and more. But that’s not the case and the last thing is to sell out developers.

This is not the first time that we’ve seen Epic Games file a lawsuit against the tech giant for the sake of safeguarding developers. However, experts do feel that at the end of the day, the firm is also keeping a lookout for its best interests.

The company aims to have the court make Samsung get rid of the Auto Blocker feature soon, especially since it’s a default setting. How successful they actually turn out to be in this regard, only time can tell.

For now, we’re going to keep an eye out on the progress of this lawsuit.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World