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With break ups come a lot of complications. And one major part of this is the digital life you once shared: Instagram posts, couples content, and presumably hundreds of selfies and vacation photos that probably aren't an easy reminder.

Enter the Ex-Terminator, a tongue-in-cheek AI tool born out of a collaboration between dating app OkCupid and Photoroom.

SEE ALSO: The best dating apps and sites in April 2024

The tool, available online and free to use, lets users literally erase exes from their best pictures. Using photo editing software Photoroom's "magic brush", anyone can remove a person from a photograph and let the background fill in the gap.

The tool could also be used for other reasons, including privacy: if you want to blur a friend's face to include a picture on a dating profile, for example, this may be the way to do it.

Credit: OkCupid / Photoroom.

OkCupid found that 50 percent of millennials and 54 percent of Gen Z have photos they'd like to erase their ex from. The study, which surveyed over 185,000 OkCupid users, also discovered that 62 percent of single females wouldn't want to see their ex in a photo.

SEE ALSO: What happens when your favourite TikTok couple breaks up

OkCupid and Photoroom say that their tool is "a bid to salvage cherished photos and memories from the clutches of relationships past."

So whether you want to begin the healing process after a breakup, or simply save the pictures where you shine on your own, removing an ex from your best photos is about to get a whole lot easier.

Modern cars are internet-connected and have hundreds of sensors. Lawmakers and regulators have concerns about what’s happening with all that data.

On April 24, President Joe Biden signed a bill that started the clock on TikTok's future in the America: unless TikTok's parent company ByteDance divests from the app within the next year, it will face a ban in the country.

In the days following this decision, the official Biden-Harris TikTok account has posted 10 videos on the app. That's because the president plans to continue using TikTok until the new law is invoked. His campaign joined TikTok in February.

SEE ALSO: Which countries have banned TikTok?

Biden, vying for reelection this year, is harnessing the power of TikTok to reach young voters. The app has a whopping 170 million users in America, and over 60 percent of American teens say they use TikTok. The reach of TikTok appears too valuable for the campaign to forgo, despite the Biden administration touting concerns over national security, propaganda, and the app's China-based owner having access to U.S. user data.

Mixed messages

While it may not be so simple, the current administration seems to be sending mixed messages about TikTok. Not only is Biden continuing to use the platform, the campaign has been courting TikTok influencers to post pro-Biden content for months. Since September, prominent TikTokkers with millions of followers have been invited to visit the White House, according to an investigation by The Intercept.

Not only is Biden continuing to use TikTok, the campaign has been courting TikTok influencers to post pro-Biden content for months.

Back in March, a Democratic congressman was similarly called out for his use of TikTok, despite his voting in favor of banning the app. Rep. Jeff Jackson, a congressman from North Carolina who has over 2.2 million followers on TikTok, frequently posts videos to speak about subjects like the war in Ukraine, artificial intelligence, and his own campaigning efforts. Jackson has lauded the educational value of TikTok, but also explained his viewpoint on the app and its potential ban, saying in a video posted to X that the Chinese government's influence over the algorithm is his biggest area of concern.

"The best-case scenario for TikTok is that it continues to operate but is no longer owned — and potentially controlled — by an adversarial country," he wrote.

Tweet may have been deleted

Democratic party members, including Jackson, have repeatedly stated that their qualms are not with TikTok itself, but who owns it.

"We’ve been clear: we do not want to ban apps like TikTok," White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a statement last week. "What we want — and what the legislation we support would do — is ensure that TikTok becomes owned by an American company so that our and our children’s sensitive personal data stays here instead of going to China and so that Americans’ understandings and views can’t be manipulated by algorithms potentially controlled by the [People’s Republic of China]."

Rob Flaherty, deputy manager of Biden's reelection campaign, defended the administration's continued use of TikTok. "We would be silly to write off any place where people are getting information about the president."

And yet, the campaign's continued use of TikTok and admittance of the app's role in the lives of young people presents a conundrum.

Dr. Jessica Maddox, a professor of digital media technology at the University of Alabama, tells Mashable that the Biden administration's presence on TikTok sends a confounding message.

"It is one hundred percent hypocritical for President Biden and his re-election campaign to still hold TikTok accounts," she says. "This makes me skeptical – if this app was really such a national security threat, why would entities so close to the president being using it? It doesn't make sense, and it makes President Biden lose the optics game of this legislation."

SEE ALSO: Here's how the TikTok ban will likely play out in the courts

Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has also sent mixed messages when it comes to his stance on TikTok. The former president attempted to ban in the app in 2020, also citing concerns over ties to China and censorship of content deemed "politically sensitive" by the Chinese Communist Party. More recently, however, Trump condemned the looming ban on Truth Social, blaming Biden for trying to "help his friends over at Facebook become richer", and accusing the current president of "election interference" (a favoured and false claim Trump has repeatedly made in different variations since the 2020 election).

"Just so everyone knows," Trump wrote in a post his social media platform, "especially the young people, Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok."

Meanwhile, Republicans have been largely in favor of banning TikTok, too, including party members like Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy. The TikTok bill passed, after all, in a rare bipartisan vote, and other prominent prominent Republicans, including Ramaswamy and former vice president Mike Pence, have branded TikTok as "digital fentanyl".

The fear of TikTok

The conceivable irony of the situation is not lost on TikTok users. Comments on recent videos on the president's account are pointing out the hypocrisy of the situation. "I'm confused," wrote one user in a comment. "Why does Biden have a TikTok but wants it banned". Another asked, "If this app is so bad, why are you using it to campaign?"

Those in the pro-TikTok camp have additionally raised concerns that TikTok's algorithms and data gathering are not much different than the likes of other reigning social media sites. Meta-owned platform Facebook, in particular, has presented similar issues to that of TikTok, namely election misinformation.

"The reason they're not willing to look the other way with TikTok actually has very little to do with TikTok itself..." - Dr. Jessica Maddox

Maddox tells Mashable that she believes the the moral panic around TikTok is far more targeted than the criticism directed at similar social platforms.

"As we saw with Facebook's Cambridge Analytica data scandal in 2016, U.S. politicians are more than willing to look the other way when data is misused for political purposes," Maddox says. "The reason they're not willing to look the other way with TikTok actually has very little to do with TikTok itself — this is about bigger geopolitical relations and tensions with China, as well as the U.S. and China battling it out as to who can claim ownership of privatized social media."

Ari Lightman, a professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University, says while he doesn't necessarily believe the U.S. government using TikTok ahead of a ban is hypocritical, the app is an easy target for politicians, calling it a "wildly successful and rapidly growing social platform with ties to a Chinese company."

"Rather than work on comprehensive privacy rights, regulation of social platforms associated with misinformation, it’s easier to point a finger at a suspect and force a condition — sell to us interests or get banned," Lightman tells Mashable. "If any nation state would like to get data on U.S. citizens it could relatively easily and if they want to develop AI bots to disseminate false information based on that data collection, they could do that fairly easily, as well."

Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images.

Lawmakers have sounded the alarms themselves. "TikTok poses a serious risk to the privacy and mental health of our young people," Democratic Senator Edward Markey said on the Senate floor last week. "But that problem isn't unique to TikTok and certainly doesn't justify a TikTok ban. American companies are doing the same thing, too."

In tandem with Democratic officials having a presence on TikTok, other questions have arisen. Arguments against the platform have been labelled "vague" with a "lack of context". Congress has also been accused of silencing criticism of Israel on TikTok, amid the war on Gaza. This comes as lawmakers, celebrities, and creators accused TikTok of pushing "pro-Palestine" content.

What's at stake?

As America gears up for elections coming this November, young people appear to be disappointed at the new law. While public opinion is largely divided — almost half of American adults say they would support a ban, but a third of Americans disagree that the app poses a security threat, according to YouGov data — many voters have taken to social media to delineate the hypocrisy of the law.

TikTokkers have pointed out that progressive politics have found space on TikTok in a different way to other social media platforms, and the Biden administration now risks alienating young voters. Young voters see the ban as a political concern, but also a personal one. Those voting this year have expressed their disillusionment and condemned the timing of the whole thing.

Tweet may have been deleted

It makes sense that government officials and campaigns turn to a place like TikTok to practice their political prowess and get young people listening. TikTok has grown to become a major source for news, especially functioning as a search engine and alternative to traditional media for Gen Z users. It's also a place for movements to gain momentum.

"A fragmented media environment requires us to show up and meet voters where they are – and that includes online. TikTok is one of many places we're making sure our content is being seen by voters," an unnamed Biden official told Reuters following the ban.

But ultimately, regardless of the outcome, the optics are dicey for users, creators, and young Americans who use TikTok in their everyday lives.

But by posting on TikTok to garner votes, while also purporting the dangers of TikTok, the government's approach has been arguably frustrating to witness: the overall messaging has become blurred, which is where the problem lies.

"To date, we've only been presented with hypothetical scenarios as to why TikTok could potentially be a threat to national security," says Maddox. "With only a hypothetical explanation, young voters don't understand. This is emblematic of U.S. politicians not understanding social media, which we see every time tech CEOs testify on the Hill."

"The United States is absolutely risking alienating young voters with this law," she says.

The truth is, TikTok is a fruitful landscape for conversation and culture, and young people in particular have taken advantage of this since it launched in 2016. Although the app, like its peers, has its fair share of problems, it is also an ecosystem for education, community, and connection. It can't be proven that the government fears TikTok as a tool of communication for these movements, but it is clear that many aren't on board with why the platform's future is now hanging in the balance. And the gap between lawmakers and the public is abundantly clear, too.

TikTok may not be going anywhere — and if an approved U.S. buyer is found, or TikTok wins its fight, the app will remain in user's hands. But ultimately, regardless of the outcome, the optics are dicey for users, creators, and young Americans who use TikTok in their everyday lives.

With the help of Google Cloud, scientists churned through hundreds of thousands of images of the night sky to reveal that the solar system is filled with unseen objects.

Endless Ocean: Luminous deserves credit for one thing: There’s not much else like it.

The latest Nintendo Switch exclusive, courtesy of Nintendo and developer Arika, is an unconventional sort that challenged my notions of what a game needs to be considered “good.” That’s because Endless Ocean: Luminous doesn’t have much at all; it’s pretty much just a game about swimming around and scanning fish. 

To be clear, that’s not a bad thing in and of itself. Endless Ocean: Luminous combines an immaculately chill attitude with a potent sense of mystery in the opening hours, but the game’s single player structure occasionally feels like it’s there to waste your time. A promising multiplayer mode could give it some (sea) legs, but the point is, you better really like looking at sharks if you want to get the most out of Luminous.

Endless Ocean: Luminous plot There is cool stuff to find in the Veiled Sea. Credit: Nintendo

This section is going to be short because, frankly, Endless Ocean has never been about story. 

For those not in the know, Endless Ocean started out as a couple of reasonably well-liked Wii games before going dormant for nearly 15 years, only now re-emerging in the dying days of the Switch. Each game has a thin veil of plot to give some context to your diving activities, but it’s not the main appeal — at least not for me.

Anyway, you play as a faceless diver whose job is to document the various marine lifeforms and other treasures to be found in a fictional region called the Veiled Sea. All of the unique qualities of the Veiled Sea scream "setting for a video game"; it randomly changes every time you dive, you can find fish from all over the world in it, and none of them show any hostility towards humans whatsoever.

The early portions of the story mode do hint at some more interesting ideas, like ancient dead civilizations for example, but it’s immediately undercut by mechanical gatekeeping. Endless Ocean: Luminous blocks progress in the story mode based on how many total scans you’ve performed, so sometimes, you need to load up a non-story solo dive and scan stuff for a while just to do the next mission.

I can’t lie: This totally killed my interest in ever finishing the story mode and seeing what, if any, more juicy concepts it plays around with later. This happens earlier in the progression than it should, and frankly, feels like a way to cheaply squeeze more engagement out of the player. Not a fan.

Endless Ocean: Luminous mechanics Whale sharks are so cool. Credit: Screenshot: Nintendo/Alex Perry

It’s unfortunate that the story mode in Luminous grinds to a halt at points because the game, overall, makes a pretty sweet and unique first impression. 

On my first few dives, I could totally see the vision. Literally all you can do from a mechanical perspective is swim and scan. It’s beautifully simple and eminently approachable, even for people who are more interested in the ocean than video games. Aside from a very minor and unnecessary technique for maximizing swim speed, there’s almost no nuance to it at all.

To be clear, I don’t think any of that is bad. It’s just that Endless Ocean has never been interested in being anything other than what it is. This series originated during Nintendo’s Wii heyday of making games to appeal to non-gamers — and it shows. This is a game where fish don’t attack you and you can’t die.

The thing is, it works, too. Those first handful of free dives feel a little magical, as you can easily spend an hour just exploring a randomly-generated seed of the Veiled Sea, scanning marine life that ranges from the real and mundane to the fantastical and technically extinct. You’ll also occasionally find artifacts around wreckage or just by itself on the sea floor, but that’s not as exciting as finding a great white shark for the first time.

It’s a bummer, then, that by my fifth or sixth dive, I felt like some of the mystery had worn off. It was surprisingly difficult for me to find fish I hadn’t already scanned (even though there are hundreds in the game), and the rewards for scanning started to taper off for me. These mostly include access to later parts of the story and cosmetic upgrades for your diver. Bleh.

The multiplayer has a ton of potential. Credit: Nintendo

Thankfully, there is one saving grace to the monotony of Endless Ocean: Luminous’s solo experience: multiplayer. Luminous features shared dives for up to 30 players online, and though I only got to do about an hour of this during the pre-release review period, it was easily my favorite part of the game.

In multiplayer, everything works the same, except there’s up to 29 other people around. Players can tag their discoveries with unlockable emoji, interact via an expansive list of emotes, or simply work together to uncover the whole map. Little ambient missions will give everyone something to work towards, but you can also just futz around with strangers for an hour if you want.

I found this experience distinctly relaxing and unlike anything I’ve done in a multiplayer game in quite some time. The lack of voice chat actually added to the experience, too, as I never had to deal with anyone getting mad at me for not playing objectives or whatever. Luminous is not that kind of game, to its credit. 

Endless Ocean: Luminous graphics

As with any Switch exclusive, Luminous has to work without the bounds of graphics hardware that was outdated when the Switch launched seven years ago. Considering that, it does a good enough job.

What the environments and animals lack in high-fidelity detail, they make up for in legibility. Environmental points of interest and rare fish are easy to spot from a reasonable distance, even in the murky depths you’ll occasionally find in the Veiled Sea. These depths, while free of danger to the player, effectively heighten the atmosphere of Luminous, often making the ocean feel oppressive and creepy.

Endless Ocean: Luminous soundtrack and audio

I’ll keep this short. The music in Luminous is mostly ambient and unintrusive. It’s the kind of thing you’d listen to during a bubble bath or while you’re trying to sleep. I don’t hate it, but I’m not throwing it on my running playlist, either.

The only audio gripe I have with Luminous is that the fictional AI companion who gives you instructions in the story mode appears to be a text-to-speech program rather than a human voice actor imitating one. It sounds cheap and unseemly for a first-party Nintendo game. 

Endless Ocean: Luminous challenge and difficulty

As I’ve covered, Luminous essentially has no challenge to speak of, by design. It’s a game about cozying up with a bottle or wine or an edible and looking at whales. I dig that, but you might not.

Endless Ocean: Luminous performance

Endless Ocean: Luminous runs at a fairly consistent 30 frames per second on Switch and I didn’t encounter any noteworthy bugs in my time with it. No complaints here.

Is Endless Ocean: Luminous worth getting? Do you find this awe-inspiring? This game might be for you. Credit: Screenshot: Nintendo/Alex Perry

At $50, Endless Ocean: Luminous comes in just below full price but still somewhere above what one might consider “budget.” Regardless, this isn’t a traditional game and probably shouldn’t be viewed using a traditional dollars-to-hours lens. 

If you like the ocean and the hundreds of weird little freaks who inhabit it, Endless Ocean: Luminous is about as close as any recent video game will let you get to them. The basic acts of diving and scanning are pleasurable to a point, and where that point resides will have a lot to do with how much you care about marine wildlife. 

I just have a hard time recommending Luminous on the strength of its solo offerings alone. The 30-diver multiplayer mode has a ton of promise and could provide hours of (ideally stoned) fun for a group of friends or strangers, but I didn’t have nearly as good a time playing the game by myself. 

At least Endless Ocean: Luminous exists, though. We probably need more games like this and fewer gargantuan open-world RPGs.

The company had expanded quickly to keep ahead of rivals, but like other pandemic darlings, its business lost steam after lockdowns were eased.

As dissatisfaction with online dating grows, the app that put women in control is shifting course.

Earlier this year, new Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones said in a Fortune interview that Bumble was rethinking women making the first move — the dating app's signature for its ten-year run. Today, Bumble officially announced updates to the "first move," as well as other feature upgrades and a fresh brand identity.

Since Bumble's inception in 2014, only women could message matches first. In the case of same-gender connections, anyone could message first. In 2022, Bumble announced that non-binary users can make the first move as well. 

SEE ALSO: Dating culture has become selfish. How do we fix it? Bumble Opening Moves

Now, Opening Moves is Bumble's "evolution" to this concept. Women users have the option to set a question for their matches to respond to, either from Bumble's recommended options or by writing their own. Non-binary users and those looking for same-gender connections can set and respond to an Opening Move, as well. Otherwise, men looking for women can't set an Opening Move, Bumble told Mashable.

Bumble's new Opening Moves feature. Credit: Bumble

In Bumble's press release, Jones cited how tiring online dating can be as a reason for this feature. "In listening to our community, many have shared their exhaustion with the current online dating experience, and for some, that includes making the first move," said Jones. "We're also hearing from women that empowerment today is not only about control but it's also about agency, and we're excited to offer more choice in how women make the first move with our new Opening Moves feature."

New Bumble profile changes

Bumble is rolling out other changes and updates to profiles in addition to Opening Moves. For one, the app refreshed its logo, font, and colors. 

The app is also expanding Dating Intentions badges. Bumble senior product manager Dara Alsulayman explained in a demo video shared with Mashable that, "We've heard a lot from our members that misalignment in dating intentions is one of the biggest pain points, and we feel this stems from dating intentions on dating apps and Bumble not necessarily reflecting how people feel about dating intentions." Some people feel that dating intentions on apps are rigid, so Bumble has added more options and the ability to pick up to two intentions, Alsulayman continued.

Up until now, users could express on their profile whether they're looking for a relationship, something casual, marriage, or "don't know yet." Now, users have more options:

• Fun, casual dates

• Intimacy without commitment 

• Life partner

• Ethical non-monogamy

Bumble's expanded Dating Intentions. Credit: Bumble

Bumble also updated its interface in terms of how interests, values, and causes look. Now, common interests (and Spotify artists) are at the top of profiles. Causes and communities have their own section in profiles too.

The app took a page from Hinge and added prompts to profiles to show off personality — though they're optional on Bumble.

Previously, Bumble required all users to upload two photos. Now, it's four. Alsulayman cited a finding that the more photos a user has on their profile, the more success they have in "finding meaningful connections."

Bumble also TikTok-ified Best Bees, a page featuring curated profiles based on your swipes and preferences. Now, Best Bees is called For You. Alsulayman said Bumble updated the algorithm to incorporate member feedback.

Given how much dating and the app space has changed in the last decade, these changes don't come as much of a surprise. In the demo video, Alsulayman said the team believes these features "usher in a new chapter in Bumble's evolution."

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for April 30 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for April 30

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Tuesday, April 30, 2024:

Across"Everything must go!" event

• The answer is sale.

Lowest pocket pair in poker

• The answer is twos.

Is a chatty catty?

• The answer is meow.

Cook, as cookies

• The answer is bake.

Brewery offerings

• The answer is ales.

DownTotal bargain

The answer is steal.

Roused from slumber

• The answer is awoke.

Home improvement chain

• The answer is Lowes.

Letter mi_ ing from thi clue

• The answer is ess.

Degree for a corporate exec

• The answer is MBA.

The inquiry is intended to pressure the tech giant to more aggressively police Facebook and Instagram ahead of the European Union’s closely watched elections in June.

Dearest gentle reader, it's almost time to return to the Ton for another simmering season of courting, crushes, and conniving in Netflix's Bridgerton.

Having spent the last two seasons pursuing the romantic, deeply horny long-games of the Duke of Hastings and Daphne Bridgerton, then Kate Sharma and Anthony Bridgerton, and a spinoff season on Queen Charlotte and her beloved King George, Season 3 shifts attention to another leading pair.

This time, based on the fourth book in Julia Quinn's novel series, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Shondaland and new showrunner Jess Brownell focus on the covert heart of the series, Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), and her longtime crush Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).

SEE ALSO: All your 'Bridgerton' Season 2 crushes, ranked

But before we get there, what happened again last season and where did everyone end up? We've done a quick rundown of everything you need to remember from Season 2 of Bridgerton before you watch Season 3, from the enemies-to-lovers tale of the Viscount and Viscountess to the worst friendship fallout in the Ton, all of which culminated in the gilded Featherington Ball.

Penelope and Eloise's friendship sits in ruins BFFs no more. Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

At the end of Season 1, Penelope Featherington was revealed as the secret identity of the Ton's prolific scandal sheet publisher, Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews). But while we're allowed in on it as viewers, there's only a few people within the series who know, and by the end of Season 2, unfortunately one is now her best friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie).

Eloise has been hunting Lady Whistledown's identity for two seasons, but in Season 2 her enthusiasm made her a target of Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) as her number one suspect. If you remember, the Queen despises the author's influence and recruited Eloise to find out who they really were in Season 1. In Season 2, Eloise followed the trail to the printing shop used by Whistledown, where she met young printer and covert women's rights campaigner Theo Sharpe (Calam Lynch), and their romance blossomed. Unfortunately for Eloise, her visits (along with her outspokenness on society) drew the Queen's suspicions. Eloise swore her innocence to the monarch, but it was no use, as the Queen threatened Eloise and her family with social ruin unless she confessed to being Lady Whistledown.

SEE ALSO: It's time for 'Bridgerton' to say gay

With Eloise about to falsely confess with a counterfeit society paper, Penelope took matters into her own hands, writing a scathing blast about her best friend's visits with Theo — "unchaperoned, with improper company, political radicals in fact" — to disprove Eloise's guilt. The pamphlet diverted the Queen's wrath but socially ruined Eloise. Suffice to say her romance with Theo crumbled too.

Following this, Penelope rested her pen after being "done ruining the lives of others" through gossip. However, in the Season 2 finale, Eloise figured out her friend's secret identity when Penelope flexed her keen powers of observation at the Featherington Ball. While Pen danced with Colin, Eloise stole into her friend's room and discovered her secret stash of money hidden beneath the floorboards (the profits made from her publications) and confronted Penelope, running through the juicy details only Pen would have known about. It's a horrible fight, with Eloise feeling deeply betrayed, and the two parted on non-speaking terms.

However, Penelope's fight with Eloise did not obliterate her penchant for writing, as we saw her return to her writing desk at the end of Season 2.

Colin scorned Penelope romantically in public Pen heard what you said, Colin! Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

It's one of the biggest moments in Bridgerton Season 2 that will be important for Season 3, and honestly, we're still reeling from it. Penelope has long yearned for the affections of her friend Colin, though has remained firmly in the Regency friend zone — including through Colin's engagement to Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker) in Season 1. But things seemed slightly flirty in Season 2.

Channelling big "I've just returned from my gap year" energy after returning from Greece, Colin strolled around Season 2 with suddenly mature pep in his step. Though he danced often with Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen), he sent Penelope mixed signals, praising her "constant and loyal" personality throughout the season. Penelope's hopes were high at the Featherington Ball, and when Colin asked Pen to dance, he dropped some big words: "I will always look after you, Penelope. You are special to me." 

However, after her fight with Eloise, Penelope stumbled upon Colin speaking about his dance to a group of young men on the terrace. When they questioned him on his intentions with Pen, he scoffed, "Are you mad? I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington. Not in your wildest dreams."

NO! NOOOOO. NO. We were all crushed right there with Pen in this scene, and this is where Season 3 will pick up. Perhaps, if there's forgiveness elsewhere on the horizon, we can still hope for a Peneloise romance?

Kate and Anthony are happily married These two. Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

After the steamy enemies-to-lovers romance between Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), the pair were finally married at the end of Season 2. Remember the Viscount was engaged to Kate's sister, Edwina (Charithra Chandran), but she absconded from the altar the minute she realised her sister and Anthony were very obviously in love. This pissed off Queen Charlotte for a moment, as she does not like to be wrong about things, and she'd chosen Edwina as her "diamond" of the season.

The Bridgertons and Sharmas were publicly ruined by the scandal, but not for long — and MVP Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) never abandoned them, despite being socially ostracised by association.

At the end of the season, after Anthony and Kate had sex in the garden, Kate galloped off into a storm, fell off her horse, and was badly injured. Anthony was riddled with guilt. However, his mother Viola, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell), helped him embrace his true feelings, speaking to their shared unprocessed grief over Lord Bridgerton's sudden death years earlier. Anthony proposed at Kate's bedside, a move she assumed was a "misguided obligation of duty". Deciding to return to India, she sent him away. 

"Be the sister I know that you are" 😭 Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

Edwina and Kate's sisterly relationship was rattled after the wedding fail, however Edwina's wisdom and forgiveness helped them through Kate's guilt. After Edwina gave her sister the major "be the sister I know that you are" pep talk at the Featherington Ball, Anthony and Kate danced together in full view to a string version of "Wrecking Ball", despite the judgmental stares of the Ton. But Queen Charlotte stepped in to quiet the haters, with Edwina giving her blessing. Both the Bridgertons and the Sharmas are saved from ruin, hurrah!

In the garden, Anthony declared his love for Kate, and she the same, and we left them in newlywed bliss playing croquet on the lawn with the rest of the Bridgertons.

The Featheringtons almost lost it all — again Lord Jack Featherington almost got away with passing off glass as gemstones. Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

While the Bridgertons and the Sharmas spent much of the end of Season 2 in social ruin, the Featheringtons had clawed their way back from financial destitution after Lord Featherington's gambling debts saw him murdered in Season 1. Their troubles seemed solved with the arrival of the family's smarmy cousin Jack (Rupert Young), whose engagement to Prudence Featherington (Bessie Carter) proved one of the ickier pairings in the Ton. The season crescendoed with the family's opulent Featherington Ball, a grand show of stability and wealth. With the Queen herself in attendance, the Featheringtons were back in the game.

In the season finale, however, at the Featherington Ball, Colin Bridgerton exposed Jack as a charlatan selling fake glass jewels as gemstones. Having previously been interested in investing in the gems, Colin demonstrated the scam by smashing Cressida's "ruby" necklace into smithereens in front of Penelope, Lady Featherington (Polly Walker), and Jack himself. Out of respect for the Featheringtons, Colin did this dramatic exposé in private, telling Jack to return the money he'd spent on this crooked scheme and to leave town — a move that made Pen fall even harder for her crush.

J'accuse! Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

Jack tried to convince Lady Featherington to leave town with him for America, suggesting a romantic future for the two of them despite his engagement to her daughter (the two had kind of been in cahoots the whole season). But if there's one thing you shouldn't come between, it's Portia and her daughters. Lady Featherington sent Jack packing without a penny and the forged signature promise that once one of her daughters has a son the Featherington estate will transfer to him. Byeeee.

Will had a tough start opening his gentlemen's club Colin had to eat some humble pie after Will told him so about Jack. Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

What of Will Mondrich (Martins Imhangbe), the best mate of the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page)? In Season 2, Jack Featherington had also blackmailed his way into holding court in Will's new bar, after convincing the boxer to throw a match to split the winnings — Will wanted to provide for his wife Alice (Emma Naomi) and their children. Will had opened a gentlemen's club that aimed to be a more inclusive alternative to the posh White's club (IRL it's the oldest gentlemen's club in London, founded in 1693). But business was slow and he was indebted to Jack, who wielded it over him.

When Colin got wrapped up in Jack's dealings, taking a meeting at the bar, Mondrich tried to warn him of Jack's shady side, but Colin defended him as the head of the Featheringtons. So, at the end of the season, after Jack's corruption was exposed, Colin ate humble pie with Mondrich and brought all his mates back to his bar, apologising. But as you've already read, it's not all Colin needs to apologise for.

How to watch: Bridgerton Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix. Season 3 will drop in two halves, with Part 1 streaming on May 16 and Part 2 on June 13.

Conan O'Brien described his experience on "Hot Ones" during an episode of "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend".

It's been a week since I snatched the Rabbit R1, an AI pocket companion with a conspicuously loud orange chassis. I'm not ready to give a full review just yet, but I want to give you a rundown of my experience so far.

While the Rabbit R1 has its benefits and advantages, it has its quirks and flaws, too.

It's clear that Jesse Lyu, Rabbit's CEO, rushed this device to market. I get it, though. If I were in his shoes, I, too, would be jumping out of my skin to show off its LAM (Large Action Model) that makes it a shinier AI assistant than ChatGPT. But as the old saying goes, all that glitters isn't gold.

Without getting too much into the weeds of things, the LAM allows Rabbit R1 to step in and do stuff on your behalf. For example, it can supposedly — emphasis on supposedly — order DoorDash for you, with nothing but your voice in natural language. Something ChatGPT and its ilk cannot do.

But if the thought of an AI running errands for you, particularly when your money is involved, sent a chill down your spine, your uneasiness may be justified.

SEE ALSO: Rabbit R1: 7 things it can do that steals ChatGPT's shine Rabbit R1: 7 things it does terribly

When Lyu boasted that the R1 could order DoorDash on users' behalf, I was skeptical, but excited to try the feature.

Jesse Lyu ordering DoorDash at the Rabbit R1 event. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

I've tried to order DoorDash with the Rabbit R1 every single day since I received it on April 23, but unfortunately, I haven't had any success.

1. Ordering DoorDash isn't the best experience

At first, Rabbit R1 wouldn't even populate the DoorDash UI, telling me that it's not available at this time.

"There seems to be an issue with the food," the Rabbit R1 told me. Credit: Mashable

However, after removing my DoorDash account from Rabbit Hole (a companion browser site that also lets you connect Uber, Midjourney, and Spotify) and reinstating it again, I got a little further toward submitting my order — but not by much.

Tweet may have been deleted

Even after finally accessing the UI, scrolling through my options, and selecting my choice (e.g., Chipotle), I received an error message. Truth be told, the waiting process was so slow, I could probably order Chipotle faster on my phone.

Among users with a slightly better experience, some have expressed frustration in seeing a limited menu while others reported that the Rabbit R1 paid the courier the highest tip option without asking first.

2. Limited 'natural language' processing

The Rabbit R1 needs clearly defined prompts for some tasks to work.

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

For example, if I were to say, "Record me speaking right now," the Rabbit R1 will not "understand" that I want it to record me. It will, instead, save a note — something I didn't ask it to do — and upload it to the Rabbit Hole.

To get Rabbit R1 to begin recording, I'd have to say, "Start a recording session," specifically.

Here's another example. If you want to play some games with Rabbit R1, naturally, you'd want to say, "Play a game with me." Unfortunately, with this prompt, Rabbit assumes that I want it to play a song from the Spotify catalog. Instead, I need to use the words "Let's play a game" for it to totally comprehend my request.

3. Lack of animations that tell you it's 'thinking'

While using the Vision feature (the camera capability that lets it identify and describe things), there were countless times that I experienced a lengthy pause between the Rabbit R1's responses that I thought it finished its reply — only to be met with more talking about five seconds later.

I tested the Rabbit R1 inside Mashable's office. Credit: Mashable

I didn't realize that Rabbit hadn't finished speaking because there wasn't an animation to indicate that I should wait for a complete response. A three-dot bouncing animation would do, for example, to inform me that there's more to come.

4. Time isn't its forte

I haven't been able to set my Rabbit R1 to my local time yet.

I haven't been able to change it to my local time, but an update is reportedly underway. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

As such, I haven't been able to set up an alarm with it. Hell, I can't even set timers with this device. Fortunately, Rabbit said that it's aware of these issues and a fix is on the way.

5. Inconsistent Spotify performance

The Rabbit R1 has been a bit buggy for me. To paint you a picture, the Rabbit R1 has a cool Spotify UI that shows an album cover and an orange bar trailing around it that displays that the song is progressing.

Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

When I ask it to play a song, and the Rabbit R1 is working properly, the orange bar will trail around the album cover while blaring the tune from the low-tier speakers. However, sometimes, I will see the orange bar progressing — with no audio. This happens to me far too often for it to be just a one-time misfortune.

6. Power efficiency

If I'm only using Rabbit R1 to tap into Perplexity, the LLM that underpins it, for run-of-the-mill questions and basic prompts, I can get one day and some change out of the Rabbit R1.

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

However, while using the Vision feature and Spotify playback, the Rabbit R1 drains pretty quickly, lasting only several hours. Keep in mind, though, that this is another issue Rabbit says it will fix in an upcoming update.

7. Handwriting-to-digital format

You have to admit that it's pretty cool that it can snap a picture of my handwritten chart and email me a digitalized version of it.

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

However, the Rabbit R1 didn't seem to get this handwriting-to-digital format transcription quite right. Is my handwriting that bad?

Rabbit R1 sent me a .csv of the chart I wrote. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable Featured Video For You Rabbit R1 hands-on review Rabbit R1: 7 things it does well

During my seven days testing the Rabbit R1, there are some things that it does get right, specifically its Vision feature.

1. Suggest recipe ideas based on ingredients it 'sees'

I'll admit that it's pretty cool that I can point the Rabbit R1 at bunch of ingredients and make it tell me what I can cook with what I have on hand.

Tweet may have been deleted

As someone who is trying to ditch their reliance on UberEats and DoorDash (ironically), having Rabbit R1 give me recommendations for recipes based on what it sees in my refrigerator is helpful.

2. Rich visual descriptions

I've also been impressed with the rich, detailed descriptions the Rabbit R1 provides, whether it's describing a person in front of me or a vibrant object.

Tweet may have been deleted

The Rabbit R1 could potentially be useful for someone with low vision.

3. Striking, nostalgic design

This bright orange device will definitely be a conversation starter wherever you take it.

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

With the bobbing bunny on the screen, it takes Millennials like myself back to the 90s. We were obsessed with pocket toys and digital pets.

4. Spanish and French Translation

I could only test the Rabbit R1's Spanish-to-English and French-to-English capabilities, and while using it with friends and family with the native tongue, it had no issues translating from one language to another.

The Spanish-to-English translation worked well on stage, too. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

However, it's worth noting that you do need to press and hold the side button whenever someone starts speaking, which can get tiresome. At times, I found myself cutting off the translation by either holding the side button too late or letting go too early.

5. Games (and even DnD)

There are games you can play with the Rabbit R1, including 20 questions, word association, and trivia questions.

Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

None of them are compelling enough to be addicting, but they give you a little something to do to pass the time. I've even seen some colleagues claim they've played Dungeons and Dragons with Rabbit R1, too, which I believe since the AI was pretty good at co-creating a fantastical fairytale with me one night.

That being said, the Rabbit R1 might make a decent gift for kids between the age of five and eight.

6. Summarizing web pages

Another Vision feature that deserves some praise is the fact that the Rabbit R1 can "see" a webpage and summarize it in a snap.

I used it to summarize by Rabbit R1 hands-on impressions. Credit: Mashable

This can be helpful for those moments when you don't feel like reading lengthy articles — and you just want "CliffNotes."

7. Note taking and voice recording

Although you need to use specific verbiage to prompt Rabbit R1 to take notes and start a voice recording, I haven't had any issues with them.

Credit: Mashable

With the former feature, I can ask Rabbit R1 to save notes for me, allowing me to access them in the Rabbit Hole. This is useful if you don't want to forget something — this bright-orange device will quickly immortalize your thoughts.

You can record audio, too, which Rabbit R1 can summarize. These clips are also accessible via the Rabbit Hole.

Final thoughts

Before I give a proper review on the Rabbit R1, I want to see if the next big update, set to reportedly fix battery life drain and the local time issue, will adjust my current perception of it. So far, this device is equally as frustrating as it is intriguing — and there are just as many cons as there are pros.

In the meantime, I've had the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses on my mind, another wearable that claims to push the envelope with AI. Once I get the Rabbit R1 review out of the way, I think it's time for a face-off between the orange box and Meta's spectacles.

Opens in a new window Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses $329.00 at Amazon
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iPhones come with so many new features these days, it can be hard to keep track — and sometimes to even know they exist. We hear ya. But some of those features can be extremely useful.

For instance, did you know you can hide photos on your iPhone? You can even create hidden photo albums on an iPhone, too. The "Hide" feature on your iPhone is definitely one you should be using, and not just because it's there. We're big fans of privacy here at Mashable, and we can think of multiple reasons (some obvious, some less so) why someone might want to hide their iPhone photos. Let's walk you through them, shall we?

Why would anyone want to hide iPhone photos?

We'll begin with the most obvious reason: Nudes. Yours? Someone else's? There's nothing wrong with that at all. A lot of us take them! But do you really feel comfortable knowing you're an accidental iPhone misplacement away from a total stranger having access to your intimate pics?

SEE ALSO: How to safely store your nudes

I lose my iPhone probably twice a day, and I barely ever leave home. On the chance that you lose your phone, you want to make it as difficult as possible for people to find those pics.

Maybe you're not worried about losing your phone, or about strangers looking at your photos. Maybe you're more concerned about showing your friends some great photos you just took and accidentally scrolling by something private. Or perhaps you don't want certain pics appearing in your Home Screen photo widget. I mean, it happens.

There are a bunch of apps you can use to hide nudes and other ways to safely store sensitive images on your phone, but you don't necessarily have to worry about those if you use your iPhone's "Hide Photo" feature.

Nudes may not be the only photos on your iPhone you want to hide. Maybe you don't take them at all, and that's fine, but consider the various other possibilities. For holidays, birthdays, or any special gift-giving occasion, you may have taken a photo of something you want to give to somebody else. And if you're hanging out with that person, you don't want them to accidentally find their present on your phone when it was supposed to be a secret! Hiding photos is a sneaky good move when it comes to keeping surprise presents an *actual* surprise.

Or maybe you have a not-so-secret selfie stash you don't necessarily want everyone to see. We're certainly not anti-selfie, but if you like taking selfies and aren't comfortable having them in a super-accessible place, a hidden album on your iPhone may be a perfect place to keep them.

How to hide photos on iPhone

First, make sure you've updated your iPhone's software to the latest iOS. Now let's hide those photos.

Total Time

• 2 min

What You Need

• iPhone

Step 1: Open Photos on your iPhone and find the pic/s or video/s you want to hide.

To grab a whole batch, tap "Select" in the upper righthand corner, then tap the images you want to hide.

Step 2: Tap the "More" icon on the top right corner of your iPhone screen.

It's the three dots in the corner.

Credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple

Step 3: Tap "Hide".

It's marked by a symbol of an eyeball with a line going through it.

Credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple

Step 4: When prompted, tap "Hide Photo."

Your files will now be stored in your "Hidden" album.

Credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple

Step 5: Tap "Hidden" to see the hidden photos on your iPhone.

You can find the album by tapping "Albums" on the menu at the bottom of the screen, then "Hidden" which is characterized by the same eyeball icon as before. As Apple notes, with iOS 16, your Hidden album will be locked by default. To open it, you'll need to authenticate with your Apple ID or Face ID if you've set it up (more on that below).

Credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple How to activate a hidden album on your iPhone (and how to lock it with Face ID)

Perhaps you're not satisfied with simply hiding individual photos and you'd like to learn how to make and navigate hidden albums on your iPhone as well. If that's the case, here's what you do:

Total Time

• 1 min

What You Need

• iPhone

Step 1: Go to your iPhone Settings and scroll down to "Photos." Tap it.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap the "Show Hidden Album" toggle.

When the toggle is lit up green and switched to the right, that means the "Hidden" album designation (not the photos themselves) will appear under "Utilities" in your "Albums" tab in Photos. When "Show Hidden Album" is switched off, the Hidden album on your iPhone will no longer appear under "Utilities", meaning no one can even see it exists. You can switch it off without fear of your Hidden photos being deleted. Once you switch it back on, your Hidden album will be right where it was before.

Credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple

Step 3: To set up Face ID to view your Hidden album, simply tap the toggle to green.

This will require Face ID for both your Hidden album and Recently Deleted.

Please note that if someone knows all the information we discussed in this story — how to hide photos on an iPhone and how to access hidden albums on iPhones — then they know enough to be able to access your stealthily stored away photos, even if you've taken these precautions. The "Hide Photo" feature on iPhones is not a 100 percent fail-safe way to keep your photos hidden, though making sure you've got Face ID set up is a really strong recommendation.

Be that as it may, making use of the "Hide" iPhone feature for photos is still a great idea, because there's always the chance that someone looking through your phone doesn't know this information. Therefore, using the "Hide" feature still means you're better off than you were before, and it costs you nothing, so we'd say it's easily worth a try.

This article originally published in January 2021 and was most recently updated in April 2024.

From 2-in-1s with new Intel Core Ultra hardware to dual-display stunners and AI-ready gaming stations, the best Windows laptops run an impressive gamut. (Some of them, dare we say, will tempt even the most devoted Macbook disciples.) Users who need a new laptop for everyday productivity, creativity, or entertainment have no shortage of options — and that's for better or worse.

To help you have an easier time picking out your next PC from the crowded Windows market, we've broken out our best laptops rundown into this separate guide to the best Windows machines of 2024. They've each been rigorously hands-on tested by Mashable staff members or contributors for performance and build quality, and we stand by their value (or at least think they're worth finding on sale).

Keep reading to learn more about our favorite models, and check back soon: We'll be consistently updating this guide with additional picks in the coming months.

FYI: We've listed the pricing and specs of our testing units, which may not apply to each laptop's base model.

A favorite celestial target is getting the James Webb Space Telescope treatment.

The Horsehead Nebula, a cosmic masterpiece about 1,300 light-years away from Earth in space, got its name from a portion looking like a seahorse in profile, buoyed by thick waves of gas and dust. Actually, it's a bit of a Rorschach test: The sign of a true nerd is if you see a knight chess piece.

Other telescopes have snapped detailed photos of this object before. But now infrared cameras on the Webb observatory, a joint operation of NASA and the European and Canadian space agencies, are showing off with an extreme close-up.

The nebula, also called Barnard 33, is in the constellation Orion. The cloud is composed of other famous markers, such as the Great Orion Nebula, the Flame Nebula, and Barnard's Loop. It is one of the closest places to our solar system where new massive stars are under construction.

SEE ALSO: Webb telescope's Pillars of Creation shows us things Hubble couldn't

The new image reveals the horse's mane as a "dynamic region" that transitions from a mostly neutral, warm area of gas and dust to surrounding hot, ionized gas, according to the Space Telescope Science Institute. Formed from a collapsing cloud of star stuff, it glows because it's under the spotlight of a nearby hot star.

Tweet may have been deleted A comparison of telescope images of the Horsehead Nebula. From left: ESA's Euclid, Hubble Space Telescope, and James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: ESA / Euclid / Euclid Consortium / NASA / J.-C. Cuillandre / G. Anselmi; NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team; NASA / ESA / CSA / K. Misselt / M. Zamani

But even now, scientists can see this iconic wonder won't last forever. The gas clouds surrounding it have already disappeared. Though the horsehead pillar is made of denser clumps of material that aren't as easy to erode, it too will eventually recede into the night.

In terms of the universe, it'll be gone in a flash. On a human timescale, well, that's about 5 million years from now.

This famous nebula, first discovered more than a century ago, is now well-known as a "photodissociation region," or PDR. Ultraviolet light shining from young, massive stars makes a toasty nest of gas and dust in between the plasma (super hot gas) surrounding the stars and the clouds from which they were born. That extra dash of UV radiation affects the chemistry of the region and creates a lot of heat.

Webb telescope investigators zoomed in on the Horsehead Nebula with the mid-infrared camera, capturing the glow of dusty silicates and soot-like molecules. Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / K. Misselt / A. Abergel

The light beaming from such regions gives scientists a unique way to study the processes that cause interstellar matter to evolve, not just in the Milky Way galaxy, but throughout the universe.

"As UV light evaporates the dust cloud, dust particles are swept out away from the cloud, carried with the heated gas. Webb has detected a network of thin features tracing this movement," the institute explained. "The observations have also allowed astronomers to investigate how the dust blocks and emits light, and to better understand the multidimensional shape of the nebula."

The Webb telescope launched from Earth in December 2021, and is now orbiting the sun nearly 1 million miles away. NASA says the observatory has enough fuel on board to support research over the next 20 years.

Webb was built to see farther than Hubble, using a much larger primary mirror — 21 feet in diameter versus just under eight feet — and detecting invisible light at infrared wavelengths. In short, a lot of dust and gas in space obscures the view to extremely distant and inherently dim light sources, but infrared waves can penetrate through the clouds.

The largest chunk of Webb's time — about one-third of the program — is spent studying galaxies and the gas and dust that exists between them.

By now, you've likely heard that mobile software developers no longer have to go through Apple's App Store in the EU in order to distribute their apps on the iPhone. In addition, Apple also now has to allow "alternative marketplaces" (i.e., third parties) run App Stores on the iPhone.

This was all possible due to a new EU law that went into effect called the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA classifies certain Big Tech companies' platforms as "gatekeepers," and in order to spur competition, the DMA requires that big corporations open up these gatekeeper platforms to third parties.

According to the EU, it's now classifying the iPad operating system, iPadOS, as a "gatekeeper." This means that all those changes that Apple was forced to make in the EU to open up the iPhone's iOS will soon have to be made to iPadOS as well.

SEE ALSO: 5 new iOS features you’re not getting because you’re outside the EU Why is iPadOS now classified as a 'gatekeeper'?

The European Commission opened an investigation into whether the iPadOS should be labeled as a "gatekeeper" in September, on the same day it classified iOS as one.

The EU opened the investigation into the iPadOS "despite not meeting the quantitative thresholds laid down in the DMA" because it "constitutes an important gateway for business users to reach end users and therefore should be designated as a gatekeeper," according to Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission's Executive Vice President in charge of competition policy.

According to the DMA, a platform receives a "gatekeeper" classification if its annual revenue is more than €7.5 billion or has a market cap of more than €75 billion. Its core platform must be provided to at least three EU member states. In addition, the platform must have more than 45 million monthly active users and more than 10,000 active annual business users all residing within the EU.

The EU says its investigation determined that iPasOS's business users "exceeded the quantitative threshold elevenfold, while it's end user numbers were close to the threshold and are predicted to rise in the near future." It also says that its decision was made due to both end users and business users being "locked-in to iPad OS" and this "disincentivizes users from switching to other operating systems" on other tablets.

According to the EU, Apple now has six months to ensure that the iPadOS complies with the DMA. 

But even then, based on how Apple changed iOS, there's a chance there will be additional investigations to follow. Shortly after other tech companies like Microsoft and Spotify criticized Apple's DMA-based iOS changes, the EU launched an investigation into whether Apple's new "DMA-compliant" iOS policies are actually DMA-compliant.

TL;DR: As of April 29, save time scouring the app store and get a bundle of apps for everything from revealing hidden Mac files, shutting down apps, organizing files, and more for $39.99 (reg. $221) when you get the Big Mac Utility Bundle. 

You may love your Mac, but you might not be using it to its full potential. Whether you're trying to troubleshoot, save memory by shutting down background apps, or just organize your files, some Mac operations aren't the most intuitive. That's why you find third-party apps that make it easier for you. 

The Big Mac Utility Bundle is a collection of 16 apps for everything from generating a color palette to batch-converting media or revealing all those hidden system files. And instead of paying $221 for lifetime access to all these apps, you can get them for $39.99. 

Unlock your Mac's potential

The Big Mac Utility Bundle comes with a set of 16 Mac apps that cover a broad range of functions. Instead of hunting down all of these apps individually, this bundle gives them all to you for life, and you can install them on up to two devices. 

Mac running a little slow? Don't fuss with the control panel. AppKiller instantly closes all open Mac apps with one click. That could come in handy if you're tired of slow startup apps keeping you from getting to work. 

Sometimes background apps aren't the only reason your Mac is running slow. If you need to troubleshoot, you might need to find your system files, but those may be hidden on your device. Use FileUnhider to instantly hide or reveal all your Mac files. 

If it's your internet that's crawling along, try WiFi Radar Pro to scan, monitor, and troubleshoot your network, and that's just a taste of the apps in this bundle. You also get tools to create icons for apps, batch-convert media and photos, convert text to audio, and a whole lot more. 

Apps for productivity, troubleshooting, and more

Whether you're troubleshooting or trying to customize your computer, being able to access more of your Mac is a major convenience. 

Get apps for enhancing your own productivity and unlocking more of your computer when you get the Big Mac Utility Bundle for $39.99.

StackSocial prices subject to change. 

Opens in a new window Credit: EnSili The Big Mac Utility Bundle $39.99 at the Mashable Shop
$221.83 Save $181.84 Get Deal

TL;DR: Through May 5, upgrade your computer for security and productivity when you get Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office Pro 2019 for $49.97.

Your computer might age a bit quicker than your budget when it comes to an upgrade, but there's more than one way to give your tech an overhaul. Whether you need to get some work done, ensure digital security, or just want an upgraded interface, see how much you can get from this Microsoft bundle featuring Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office Pro 2019. 

This two-part bundle gives you lifetime access to Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office 2019. Windows 11 Pro is the latest operating system from Microsoft with a whole menu of upgrades to look through, but Microsoft Office 2019 is actually an older software version of modern apps. The real upgrade there is on your budget because you can get Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office 2019 on your PC for life with no recurring payments for only $49.97.

No more subscription fees

Windows 11 Pro is a pretty major update over most versions of Windows 10, whether you're looking for security features or just basic computing. 

Remote workers, business owners, and security-minded users can look out for TPM 2.0, smart app control, encrypted authentification, support for biometrics login, and advanced antivirus defenses. Even the basic interface gets an update with 11 Pro. Windows have been rounded, and there are a few other small changes like a centered taskbar. And you might enjoy new snap layouts, desktops, and improved voice typing. 

This version of Microsoft Office is a little different from Microsoft 365, but it does come with older versions of many of the same apps. This license includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access. You can install them on one computer one time and use them as long as you'd like. There are no recurring fees of any kind. 

Save on security and productivity

There's not much time left to give your computer a productivity overhaul with two awesome additions. 

Score a Microsoft Office Pro 2019 lifetime license plus Windows 11 Pro for only $49.97 until May 5 at 11:59 p.m. PT. No coupon needed. 

StackSocial prices subject to change. 

Opens in a new window Credit: Retail King The All-in-One Microsoft Office Pro 2019 for Windows: Lifetime License + Windows 11 Pro Bundle $49.97 at the Mashable Shop
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TL;DR: As of April 30, lifetime access to Consultio Pro is on sale for $29.99 (reg. $199). It gives you access to a variety of AI-driven experts to help steer your decisions.

No one is beyond needing support in this life. Whether professionally or personally, support can come in a variety of forms. If you are unsure of your next move, this software can be of use. Consultio Pro offers over 50 AI-driven chatbot experts in an array of fields to support you. Lifetime access to Consultio Pro is just $29.99 for a limited time.

Each expert presents data-driven, evidence-based information to you so you can make a more informed decision. It's like having an expert sounding board available to you any day, any time, that also can access helpful data and facts in an instant. And because it's AI-powered software, every time you ask a question, it makes the experts more proficient and nuanced in their answers.

Access financial, marketing, lifestyle, and tech innovation coaches, to name a few. Consultio offers an incredible span of topics where you can find advice and decision-making support. Because you have real-time access without the need for the long waits that come with appointments, it can be easier to make decisions in a timely manner.

This is a great option for small businesses looking to grow who can't yet afford the high price of consultant fees. It's also a solid option if you are stepping into a new role at work and could use a little help getting comfortable in your new role. And if you are in a profession like real estate, this platform can offer advice on market analysis and predict trends, too.

You'll get access for life on an unlimited number of devices, with updates included. 

If you're looking for help deciding on your next professional or personal steps, this offer might be for you.

Consultio Pro lifetime access is on sale for $29.99 for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Plus 8 Group Consultio Pro: Lifetime Access $29.99 at the Mashable Shop
$199.00 Save $169.01 Get Deal