Many Over 75s are now tech savvy, report shows
A study of 2,000 adults who have a relative aged 75 and over found 30 per cent claim their homes are brimming with the latest gizmos – bucking the stereotype that they shy away from technology. The average person in this age bracket is proficient at using smartphones, laptops and streaming services. While 28 per…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Fake reviews to become illegal under new legislation
Buying, selling or hosting fake reviews will become illegal as part of changes planned in new laws. The UK government's new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill aims to help consumers and increase competition between big tech firms. The bill is being introduced on Tuesday and bans people receiving money or free goods for writing…
7 million drivers plan to cut down car use for short journeys
New research reveals that of the 20 million drivers who regularly use their car for journeys of between one to two miles, some 6.9 million (34%) want to switch to other travel methods. When asked about their travel over journeys of less than 1.5 miles, almost one in seven car owners (13%) said they want…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Twitter users respond to ‘blue check apocalypse’
Since the beginning of Elon Musk’s reign at Twitter, he’s threatened to remove the legacy verification—signified by a white check in a blue circle beside the account name—that predated his tenure. Musk even set April 1st as the date for the purge, which came and went without any changes, either because of ineptitude or a half-effort…
Over half of low-income households in dark about bargain broadband
More than half of low-income households are in the dark about bargain broadband deals that could save them around £200 a year, with just 5% of eligible households havings signed up to a discounted package so far. These special offers, known as social tariffs, are available to an estimated 4.3 million households that receive one of…
People now spend more time on TikTok than any other social app
In the world of social media, there's a new king in town. According to data presented by the Atlas VPN team, people are now spending more time on TikTok than any other social app. The average user spent an astonishing 23.5 hours (23 hours and 28 minutes) each month scrolling through TikTok throughout 2022 — 3…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Some Twitter accounts get blue ticks back
Some Twitter accounts with more than one million followers have had their blue tick badges re-instated by Twitter without paying to subscribe. Beyoncé, Harry Kane, Richard Osman and Victoria Beckham are among those to have their blue tick back. The BBC News Twitter account also has its gold badge again, but has not paid for…
Emergency Alert, Sunday 23rd April – what to expect
On Sunday 23 April, there will be a national test of the UK’s new Emergency Alert service. The alert will work on all 4G and 5G phone networks in the UK on Apple devices that are compatible with iOS 14.5 or later and on Android devices that are able to run Android 11 or later. …
Online sales hold firm despite retail’s March mishaps
The amount of goods Brits bought in March fell by -0.9%. However, e-commerce sales shrugged off the slump as we all spent 0.8% more online, claims ParcelHero Today’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) retail sales figures for March paint a mixed picture. It’s likely that shortages of some foods, particularly fruit and veg, drove down retail sales…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Pope has Twitter ‘blue tick’ removed
Twitter has finally started removing "legacy" blue ticks from verified accounts, with some of the world's best-known figures losing the verification sign. The Pope, author JK Rowling, football star Cristiano Ronaldo, US rapper Jay-Z, and TV stars Ant and Dec have lost their blue ticks on the social networking site, along with the Conservative and…