The Guardian

Tech companies including Apple and Google made it clear they would not comply due to privacy concerns India’s government has backtracked on an order for all smartphones to be pre-installed with a state-owned security app after a mass outcry over privacy concerns and refusal by technology companies to comply. The department of telecommunications confirmed it had revoked its previous order for all …

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox; Eyes Out/Blumhouse Games Psychedelic visuals and a promising premise are let down by tired game design in this first-person horror with an appearance from the synthpop pioneer Video games have delivered a feast of singular and wondrous sights in 2025: ecological fantasias teeming with magical beasts; stunning, historically obsessive recreations of feudal Japan . But here …

Researchers uncovered 354 AI-focused accounts that had accumulated 4.5bn views in a month Hundreds of accounts on TikTok are garnering billions of views by pumping out AI-generated content, including anti-immigrant and sexualised material, according to a report. Researchers said they had uncovered 354 AI-focused accounts pushing 43,000 posts made with generative AI tools and accumulating 4.5bn vi…

Chief executive tells staff it is ‘critical time’ for chatbot as it faces intense competition from Google’s new Gemini 3 Sam Altman has declared a “code red” at OpenAI to improve ChatGPT as the chatbot faces intense competition from rivals. According to a report by tech news site the Information , the chief executive of the San Francisco-based startup told staff in an internal memo: “We are at a …

Australia’s under-16s social media ban might take weeks to work but all platforms are on notice, government says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast YouTube will comply with the federal government’s under-16s social media ban, but its parent company Google has warned the laws “won’t keep teens safer online” and “funda…

Elon Musk-owned electric carmaker also called for support for the secondhand market, documents reveal Business live – latest updates Tesla privately warned the UK government that weakening electric vehicle rules would hit battery car sales and risk the country missing its carbon dioxide targets, according to newly revealed documents. The US electric carmaker, run by Elon Musk, also called for “su…

Independent senator David Pocock asked the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, in Senate estimates last night about Guardian Australia’s investigation into Roblox and what children may experience on the platform. With Roblox not subject to the under-16s social media ban, Pocock asked whether Roblox was deemed as a gaming platform or a platform that is 'actually enabling social interactions'.…

Banks of servers operating 24/7 generate massive amounts of heat, requiring power to run and cool them Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Datacentre power demand in Australia could triple in five years and is forecast to exceed by 2030 the energy used by electric vehicles. Datacentres now draw about 2% of electricity from the National Grid, abo…

Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 (version tested); Retro Studios/Nintendo The bounty hunter – Nintendo’s most badass and most neglected hero – returns in an atmospheric throwback sci-fi adventure that’s entirely untroubled by the conventions of modern game design In a frozen laboratory full of cryogenically suspended experimental life forms, metal boots disturb the frost. A lone bounty hunter in a famili…

From TheraGuns to koala breathing lights, here are good gizmos for mom, whether your budget is $20 or $220 The 163 best holiday gift ideas for 2025, vetted by the Guardian US staff Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things The best gift you can give a mom this holiday season is some time to herself. A day with no responsibilities where everyone else ha…

Anthropic’s chief scientist says AI autonomy could spark a beneficial ‘intelligence explosion’ – or be the moment humans lose control Humanity will have to decide by 2030 whether to take the “ultimate risk” of letting artificial intelligence systems train themselves to become more powerful, one of the world’s leading AI scientists has said. Jared Kaplan, the chief scientist and co-owner of the $1…

The use of ‘nudify’ apps is becoming more and more prevalent, with hundreds of teachers having seen images created by pupils, often of their peers. The fallout is huge – and growing fast ‘It worries me that it’s so normalised. He obviously wasn’t hiding it. He didn’t feel this was something he shouldn’t be doing. It was in the open and people saw it. That’s what was quite shocking.” A headteacher…

As the Xbox 360 turns 20, we celebrate its most influential and memorable games – both exclusives, and those that came to the console first Originally featured as a minigame in Project Gotham, this 80s-style twin-stick shooter was rebuilt as a standalone digital-only release, attracting a huge new fanbase. Fast, frenetic and super stylish, with lovely vector visuals, it was the game that first sh…

Exclusive: Swedish carmakers push to retain target as Germany lobbies to help its own industry by softening cutoff date As the battle lines harden amid Germany’s intensifying pressure on the European Commission to scrap the 2035 ban on production of new petrol and diesel cars, two Swedish car companies, Volvo and Polestar, are leading the campaign to persuade Brussels to stick to the date. They a…

Our experts found the best deals and sales that are actually worth your money. Here are our picks for pillows, bath towels, suitcases and more Snag these tech , travel , home and kitchen Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something …