Technologies

WhatsApp’s New Proxy Support Can Help People Chat When Their Access Is Blocked

The feature can help people in countries where WhatsApp is blocked.

WhatsApp on Thursday announced the launch of proxy server support, meant to help connect people to WhatsApp in countries where access is currently blocked — with Iran in particular getting a mention by WhatsApp head Will Cathcart.

What’s happening

WhatsApp adds proxy support for people to access the chat service in countries where it’s blocked.

Why it matters

WhatsApp has over 2 billion active users worldwide, and is an essential communication tool in many countries. Adding proxy support allows a way for users to get around geographic restrictions in countries that choose to block the service.

«While many of us celebrated [the new year] by texting our loved ones on WhatsApp, there are millions of people in Iran and elsewhere who continue to be denied the right to communicate freely and privately,» Cathcart said on Twitter.

Iran blocked access to Meta’s WhatsApp and Instagram in September following protests that erupted from the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. A WhatsApp blog post explains that the new proxy feature will allow people who cannot directly connect to the chat app to instead connect to a server set up by a volunteer or an organization. Access to these proxy servers can be provided on social media, search engines or other private means, and WhatsApp’s blog post links to instructions on how to connect to such servers using the app’s settings menu.

Instructions are also available for anyone hoping to set up a WhatsApp proxy server for others to connect to the service through. WhatsApp’s post says that messages sent using a proxy server maintain end-to-end encryption, meaning texts should not be visible to the proxy server or to WhatsApp.

While proxy servers were already available to connect to through a phone’s settings menu, the new feature should allow for people to set WhatsApp to connect to a specific server for the chat app. Other chat apps like Signal also offer proxy server support for people that need it to access the texting service.

Technologies

Black Friday Is Wrapped but Apple’s Biggest Price Drops Haven’t – Grab Them Before They’re Gone

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 29, #432

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 29, No. 432.

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

It’s Rivalry Saturday, so Connections: Sports Edition gives a big game a nod with two caregories. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fire it on in there.

Green group hint: Buckeyes.

Blue group hint: Wolverines.

Purple group hint: Not double.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Baseball pitching feats.

Green group: Associated with Ohio State.

Blue group: Associated with Michigan.

Purple group: Triple ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is baseball pitching feats. The four answers are immaculate inning, no-hitter, perfect game and shutout.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Ohio State. The four answers are dotting the I, gray, scarlet and The Horseshoe.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Michigan. The four answers are blue, Hail to the Victors, maize and The Big House.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple ____. The four answers are A, crown, double and play.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Nov. 29

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 29.

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.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s Saturday, so it’s a long one. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

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.