After years of Microsoft-built web browsers being a punchline, Edge has turned things around—thanks to

WhatsApp may be moving towards allowing people to be found by usernames rather than just phone numbers, according to a new update to the software. The system would let people choose a unique username that could then be used to start new chats. That would allow people to more easily share their contact details without also giving away their phone number. The new update is found in a beta version of the app that has been made available for Android, according to WABetaInfo, which has a track record of finding unannounced features in the app. That beta version shows a part in the settings that allows people to choose a WhatsApp username. “This is your unique username,” the app says, alongside the separate option to choose a name, which is available in the app now and shows alongside messages. The option to select a username will be found within the WhatsApp settings and then the “profile” option, the report indicated. It is inside the latest beta version of the Android app – though is not fully supported even in that system, being still under development and not visible to early testers. There is no real indication of how those usernames might work. WABetaInfo speculated that the system could be relatively limited – such as simply allowing communication with businesses without giving up a phone number to them – to the more general usage as a way to speak to other people on the app. Conversations initiated using usernames appear to keep end-to-end encryption, the report said. WhatsApp has recently rolled out a host of changes intended to protect the privacy of users. Those have included new changes that let people control the information they give up alongside their chats, letting people leave group chats more quietly and allowing people to choose specific people who can see when they are online, for instance. The company has said repeatedly that its aim is to allow WhatsApp conversations to feel like real life, with the privacy and temporary nature that brings. Other related features have included the option to delete messages and edit them after they are sent. Throughout all those changes, however, WhatsApp has always used the phone number as a way of creating and verifying accounts, as well as finding other people on the app. As such, it has meant giving up your phone number in order to talk to anyone, including businesses who may abuse it with spam calls or other marketing. Read More WhatsApp will let you edit messages after they are sent — but there’s a catch Major WhatsApp update enables secret chats WhatsApp unveils new feature to protect ‘your most intimate conversations’

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2023--

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition suffered an embarrassing blow over key climate legislation after Germany’s top court stopped

How would you feel if you gave birth to a beautiful newborn, only to clock they have a tail? It sounds outlandish, but it can happen in very rare cases when humans can be born with these boneless rear-end appendages, which are sometimes up to 18 centimetres long. To date, official records have tallied about 40 babies born with these 'tails' which are easily removed through surgery. So how does it happen? Experts used to think the tails were evolutionary accidents, leftovers from our primate ancestors. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But thanks to research, experts have realised they probably come from an incomplete fusion of the spinal column, or what's known as a spinal dysraphism. Human babies that are born with tails tend to have serious associated neurological defects. In 2008, a paper argued that "true vestigial tails are not benign" because they may be associated with underlying dysraphism. Roughly half of the cases reviewed were associated with either meningocele or spina bifida occulta. So it is not just a harmless evolutionary quirk after all, but more research needs to be done, scientists say. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

More than 100 US and EU lawmakers appealed to the leaders of their countries and the United Nations

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 29, 2023--

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., said it’s “time to move on” from speculation that there will

By Gilles Guillaume PARIS (Reuters) -French car maker Renault said on Wednesday its electric vehicles unit Ampere, which it plans

The North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) said on Thursday it has concluded a two-day simulation with power

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 13, 2023--

The defense contractor spent heavily on acquisitions, then struggled during the pandemic. Now with new senior leadership working to fix its operational problems, its shares could fly.