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Snap launches tools for parents to monitor teens’ contacts

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  • Parental control tool will let parents see who their teens are talking to, but not substance of their conversations.
  • Feature is launching at time when social media companies have been criticised over lack protection for kids.
  • Parents can also confidentially report any concerning accounts.

Snap, owner of the popular messaging app Snapchat, rolled out its first parental control tools on Tuesday, which will allow parents to see who their teens are talking to, but not the substance of their conversations.

The new feature called Family Centre is launching at a time when social media companies have been criticised over a lack protection for kids. In October, Snap and its tech peers TikTok and YouTube testified before US lawmakers accusing the companies of exposing young users to bullying or steering them toward harmful content. 

Instagram also testified in a Senate hearing in December over children’s online safety, after a Facebook whistleblower leaked internal documents that she said showed the app harmed some teens’ mental health and body image. 

Parents can invite their teens to join Family Centre on Snapchat, and once the teens consent, parents will be able to view their kids’ friends list and who they have messaged on the app in the past seven days. They can also confidentially report any concerning accounts.

However, parents will not be able to see private content or messages sent to and from their teens, said Jeremy Voss, Snap’s head of messaging products, in an interview.

“It strikes the right approach for enhancing safety and well-being, while still protecting autonomy and privacy,” he said.

Snap said it plans to launch additional features in the coming months, including notifications to parents when their teen reports abuse from a user.

Prior to Family Centre, Snap already had some teen protection policies in place. By default, profiles for Snapchat users under 18 are private, and they only show up as a suggested friend in search results when they have friends in common with another user. Users must be at least 13 years old to sign up.

Snap’s new tools follow a similar move by Instagram, which launched its Family Centre in March, allowing parents to view what accounts their teens follow and how much time they spend on the app.

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Pakistan launches first-ever lunar mission with iCube Qamar

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China’s Chang’E6 spacecraft carried Pakistan’s first satellite mission to the moon, iCube Qamar, into orbit.

The Institute of Space Technology states that IST worked with Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO and China’s Shanghai University SJTU to design and develop the satellite ICUBE-Q.

The launch event was streamed live on both Chinese state television and the IST website.

Two optical cameras are carried by the ICUBE-Q orbiter to capture images of the lunar surface. ICUBE-Q has now been successfully integrated into the Chang’e6 mission after qualification and testing.

The sixth in China’s sequence of lunar exploration missions is called Chang’e6.

China’s Lunar Mission, Chang’6, will land on the Moon’s far side in order to gather surface samples and bring them back to Earth for analysis.

Pakistan would benefit from the mission since it will carry a Pakistan CubeSat Satellite, called iCube-Q, which was created by IST.

Small satellites known as “CubeSats” are typified by their uniform design and compact size. They are built in the form of a cube and are made up of modular parts that follow predetermined dimensions.

These satellites are regularly placed in orbit for a variety of uses and only weigh a few kilos.

Cubesats are primarily used to support space exploration education, technology development, and scientific research. Many different missions are carried out by these satellites, such as telecommunication, astronomy, remote sensing, Earth observation, atmospheric research, and technological demonstration.

CubeSats provide universities, research centers, and commercial organizations with the chance to engage in space missions and acquire important data for scientific advancement and innovation because of their small size and very low cost when compared to regular satellites.

They act as test beds for novel ideas and technology, opening up space to a wider spectrum of users and encouraging cooperation amongst members of the space community.

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The green colour of WhatsApp ‘angers’ some users.

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After changing its display colour from blue to green, WhatsApp, which was before well-known for its blue motif, caused its users to hold divergent views.

New upgrades to the Meta app always spark a lot of discussion, regardless of how big or small the changes are.

Still, Meta-owned WhatsApp hopes that these modifications would “make it more accessible as well as easier to use” and offer a “modern, new experience” with relation to the updated display color.

A statement from the firm claimed that they had altered WhatsApp’s “looks and feels, including spacing, colors, icons, and more.”

Both iOS and Android users can now view the new WhatsApp update; the green tint on the latter has changed from the previous version.

However, iPhone users will notice that every display element, including the chat-list window and status bar, has changed with the recent design update. WhatsApp used to have a blue color scheme on iPhones.

Furthermore, the formerly blue links shared within the app are now displayed in green.

In addition, WhatsApp has made other improvements to improve its user experience outside of the color shift.

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Punjab will provide fifty thousand solar kits.

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On Tuesday,Tuesday, while presiding over a review meeting on solar household solutions, the CM gave the order to begin the installation of one kilowatt solar systems right away. She also gave the order to introduce the newest solar systems.

Phase-I solar systems would be balloted for by 50,000 protected users who use 100 units each month, at a cost of Rs 12.6 billion.

Home-based solar systems will eventually be made available to other Punjabi consumers. A solar system will consist of a battery, inverter, sophisticated solar plate, and more related accessories.

Attending the meeting were Provincial Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari, MPA Sania Ashiq, Former Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Chief Secretary, Chairman Planning and Development, Secretaries of Energy, Finance, and Punjab Power Development Board (PPDB) Managing Director, in addition to other pertinent officers.

During his inaugural speech as Punjab’s chief minister, Maryam Nawaz outlined her five-year plan and promised to develop a strategy for customers who use fewer than 300 units of power.

According to Maryam Nawaz, the PML-N’s main goals for her term will be to provide jobs, healthcare, and education.

She said, “I am working on a plan to provide solar panels to consumers using up to 300 units of electricity or less in installments.”

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