Technologies

Apple’s plan to scan phones for child abuse worries privacy advocates

The tech giant said its iPhone, iPad and Mac software updates planned for the fall will include a new feature to fight child exploitation.

Apple for years has focused on adding new programs to its phones, all designed to make life easier. Its systems scan emails for new calendar appointments, and its Siri voice assistant suggests to call friends on their birthdays. But Apple’s latest feature is focused on abuse.

The tech giant said in a new section of its website published Thursday that it plans to add scanning software to its iPhones, iPads, Mac computers and Apple Watches when the new iOS 15, iPad OS 15, MacOS Monterey and WatchOS 8 operating systems all launch in the fall. The new program, which Apple said is designed to «limit the spread of child sexual abuse material» is part of a new collaboration between the company and child safety experts.

Apple said it’ll update Siri and search features to provide parents and children with information to help them seek support in «unsafe situations.» The program will also «intervene» when users try to search for child abuse-related topics. Apple will also warn parents and children when they might be sending or receiving a sexually explicit photo using its Messages app, either by hiding the photo behind a warning that it may be «sensitive» or adding an informational pop-up.

But the most dramatic effort, Apple said, is to identify child sexual abuse materials on the devices themselves, with a new technology that’ll detect these images in Apple’s photos app with the help of databases provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Apple said the system is automated and is «designed with user privacy in mind,» with the system performing scans on the device before images are backed up to iCloud. If the program is convinced it’s identified abusive imagery, it can share those photos with representatives from Apple, who’ll act from there. The Financial Times earlier reported Apple’s plans.

While some industry watchers applauded Apple’s efforts to take on child exploitation, they also worried that the tech giant might be creating a system that could be abused by totalitarian regimes. Other technology certainly has been abused, most recently software from Israeli firm NSO Group, which makes government surveillance tech. Its Pegasus spyware, touted as a tool to fight criminals and terrorists, was reportedly used to aim hacks at 50,000 phone numbers connected to activists, government leaders, journalists, lawyers and teachers around the globe.

«Even if you believe Apple won’t allow these tools to be misused there’s still a lot to be concerned about,» tweeted Matthew Green, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who’s worked on cryptographic technologies.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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To be sure, other tech companies have been scanning photos for years. Facebook and Twitter both have worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other organizations to root out child sexual abuse imagery on their social networks. Microsoft and Google, meanwhile, use similar technology to identify these photos in emails and search results.

What’s different with Apple, critics say, is that it’s scanning images on the device, rather than after they’ve been uploaded to the internet.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 14, #1486

Here are hints and the answer for today’s tough Wordle for July 14, No. 1,486.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a pretty tough one. But if you guess the right vowels early, you’ve got a shot. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: Starting off

Today’s Wordle answer begins with a vowel.

Wordle hint No. 4: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with U.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to canceling or reversing something.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is UNDID.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, July 13, No. 1485 was GNOME.

Recent Wordle answers

July 9, No. 1481: NOVEL

July 10, No. 1482: JUMPY

July 11, No. 1483: BRAND

July 12, No. 1484: EXILE

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q.

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

STARE

NOISE

Technologies

The Ridiculously Thin Galaxy Z Flip 7 Is Sturdy AF. Ask Me How I Know

Commentary: Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 comes with a welcome overhaul to its design. And I can definitely vouch for the new phone’s sturdiness.

If you’re concerned about how durable Samsung’s foldable phones are, I’m here to tell you not to worry. And that’s especially true when it comes to the new Galaxy Z Flip 7, which holds its own among today’s best smartphones.

After less than six hours with the Galaxy Z Flip 7, I accidentally performed my own informal drop test. At a catered affair in Brooklyn, I walked outside to get a view of the waterfront, and when I pulled the Z Flip 7 out of my pocket, I fumbled it. I watched helplessly as Samsung’s newest foldable phone fell to the ground. The noise it made when it clacked against the concrete caused everyone around to look at me with a knowing, sympathetic expression that said, «Aw, that’s a shame. Your phone is toast.»

Have you ever dropped your phone? There’s that Schrödinger’s cat-like moment before you pick it up when you’re anxious to see if the phone survived.

Fortunately, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 was fine. The 4.1-inch cover screen didn’t have any cracks or scuffs. The 6.9-inch inner display was unharmed because the phone was shut. The only tell that it kissed the ground was a tiny scuff on the bottom of the phone near the microphones. Samsung’s claim that its new «Armour Flex Hinge» is built to withstand impact is indeed true.

In the early days of foldable phones, one of the biggest unknowns was their durability. It’s amazing that about six years later, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 can handle being dropped on concrete like it had landed on a velvet pillow. Now, I still wouldn’t take the Flip 7 (or any foldable phone) to the beach, as it can only withstand particles that are 1mm or larger. So going to a confetti factory would be fine, but a salt factory is a definite no-no.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7’s thin design

The star of Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event was the Galaxy Z Fold 7. At 8.9mm thick when closed, the Fold 7 is ridiculously thin. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 looks like it also went on Ozempic, but it’s 13.7mm thick when closed. That’s slim, but not Fold 7 slim. Why couldn’t the Flip 7 be super slim like the Fold 7? I just keep imagining a Galaxy Z Flip 8 with the same thinness as the Fold 7.

For some perspective, here’s how the Flip 7 compares to its clamshell kinfolk:

Galaxy Z Flip 7 thickness vs. other flip phones

Phone	Closed	Open
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7	13.7mm	6.5mm
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6	14.9mm	6.9mm
Motorola Razr Plus	15.32mm	7.09mm
Motorola Razr Ultra	15.69mm	7.19mm
Motorola Razr (2025)	15.85mm	7.25mm

The Galaxy Z Flip 7’s big cover screen

The original Galaxy Z Flip had a tiny, 1.1-inch pill-shaped cover display. It was perfect for showing the time but pretty much useless for anything else. The defining feature on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is its 4.1-inch cover display. The screen looks incredible. I was checking my notifications on the screen under direct sunlight and was able to read everything. One of the hang-ups I had reviewing the Galaxy Z Flip 6 was switching from the inner screen to the cover display outdoors. There would be times on sunny days where I could barely make out what was on the cover display, despite having no issues with the main screen.

Samsung has increased the maximum brightness of the Flip 7’s cover screen to 2,600 nits, which is the same as the inner display. Both screens now top out at 120Hz, too, which should make for a much more consistent experience by having system animations, gameplay and scrolling through a social feed look super smooth.

The 6.9-inch inner screen is big, but it doesn’t feel unwieldy when I use it. The Flip 6 had a 6.7-inch display, but that extra 0.2 inches on the Flip 7’s screen makes it feel much bigger, which my middle-aged eyes are grateful for.

In terms of functionality, the cover screen’s natural state is widgets. And some, like Spotify’s widget, are all I need in lieu of using full apps. But I want apps on the home screen, so I need to enable this functionality in the Labs section of Settings and download the MultiStar app. It takes a couple of minutes to set up, but I do wish the interface supported apps by default.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7’s cameras

The Flip 7 has three cameras: a 50-megapixel wide-angle, a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 10-megapixel selfie camera (in the main 6.9-inch screen). The cameras are the same as those on the Flip 6 and Flip 7 FE. But the phones run on different processors, so differences or improvements in photos and videos (if any) will come from Samsung’s processing and machine learning.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the Galaxy Z Flip 7 so far:

Galaxy Z Flip 7 final thoughts for now

Samsung gave its foldable line a major overhaul. And while the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels like an entirely different phone from previous Folds, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 seems like a nice refinement. I will say that I’ve had only two days with the phone. And as enamored as I am with the larger cover screen, I’m excited to see how the battery life measures up.

Samsung gave the Flip 7 a 4,300-mAh battery (compared with the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s 4,000-mAh battery), but I wonder if the increased capacity will be offset by the power needed for its Exynos 2500 chip and those larger, brighter displays.

I have a lot more testing to do. But as I work my way toward a full review, I’ll try not to drop the Flip 7 anymore.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 specs vs. Motorola Razr Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

	Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7	Motorola Razr Ultra (2025)	Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6
Cover display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	4.1-inch AMOLED, 948×1,048p, 120Hz refresh rate	4-inch pOLED, 2,992×1,224p, up to 165Hz variable refresh rate	3.4-inch AMOLED; 720×748 pixels; 60Hz refresh rate
Internal display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.9-inch AMOLED, 2,520×1,080p, 1-120Hz refresh rate	7-inch AMOLED; 1,272×1,080p, up to 165Hz variable refresh rate	6.7-inch AMOLED; 2,640×1,080 pixels; 1-120Hz refresh rate
Pixel density	Cover: 342ppi. Internal: 397ppi	Cover: 417 ppi. Internal: 464 ppi	Cover: 306 ppi. Internal: 425 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	Open: 2.96×6.56×0.26 Closed: 2.96×3.37×0.26	Open: 2.91×6.75×0.28 Closed: 2.91×3.47×0.62	Open: 6.5 x 2.83 x 0.27 Closed: 3.35 x 2.83 x 0.59
Dimensions (millimeters)	Open: 75.2×166.7×6.5 Closed: 75.2×85.5×13.7	Open: 73.99×171.48×7.19 Closed: 73.99×88.12×15.69	Open: 165.1×71.9×6.9 Closed: 85.1×71.9×14.9
Weight (grams, ounces)	188 g (6.63 oz)	199 g (7 oz)	187 g (6.6 oz)
Mobile software	Android 16	Android 15	Android 14
Cameras	50 megapixel (main), 12 megapixel (ultrawide)	50 megapixel (wide), 50 megapixel (ultrawide)	50 megapixel (wide), 12 megapixel (ultrawide)
Internal screen camera	10 megapixel	50 megapixel	10 megapixel
Video capture	4K at 60fps	4K	TBD
Processor	Samsung Exynos 2500	Snapdragon 8 Elite	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
RAM/storage	12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB	16GB + 512GB, 1TB	12GB + 256GB, 512GB
Expandable storage	No	None	None
Battery	4,300 mAh	4,700 mAh	4,000 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Yes	Side	Side
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	None	None	None
Special features	One UI 8, IP48 water resistance, 25-watt wired charging, Qi wireless charging, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, Galaxy AI	IP48 rating, 68-watt wired charging, 30-watt wireless charging, 5-watt reverse charging, dual stereo speakers, Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic cover display, 3,000 nits peak brightness on cover display, 4,500 nits peak brightness on main display, 5G.	IP48 rating, 25-watt wired charging, wireless charging + powershare, 3x optical zoom (up to 10x digital and 30x Space Zoom with AI Super Resolution tech)
US price starts at	$1,100	$1,300	$1,100

Correction, Jul. 12: The Galaxy Z Flip 7 runs on Samsung’s Exynos 2500 chip.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, July 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Oh, come on, New York Times — that 8-Across answer in the Mini Crossword today is just a bunch of letters! It could almost be any letters that seem to make a sound! Stumped by this or any other answer today? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.