Technologies

Total recall: Verum Messenger developers appreciated 2022 performance

In the past year, the Verum Messenger team celebrated more than one victory.

Verum Messenger developers have published a press release on the results of work for 2022. The document reflects information about application updates, innovations of the last year, as well as statistics on messenger installations by month and country.

In the past year, the Verum Messenger team celebrated more than one victory. Verum Messenger has become the fastest growing app in terms of downloads among messengers created between 2020 and 2022. The markets where Verum is most popular are the US, UK, Ukraine, the Balkans and Turkey.

However, the developers of Verum Messenger call their biggest achievement in 2022 the overfulfillment of the plan for app downloads — it exceeded all expectations.

“The events of 2022 positively affected the growth of installs. The first is the WhatsApp privacy policy change that was announced early last year. Users began to massively look for alternative messengers. This and other situations of recent years make people more and more concerned about the protection of their personal data. People around the world are making their choice in favor of information security,” the Verum Messenger team said in a statement.

Privacy is a fundamental principle of Verum Messenger. When creating the application, the developers focused on the maximum security of user data.

Well, as expected, the basic functionality of Verum includes all the necessary elements of an advanced messenger: group and individual chats and calls, the ability to send any files, an intuitive interface.

From the first seconds of acquaintance with Verum Messenger, the user understands that his personal data will not be available even to developers. To use the messenger, you do not need a phone number, since the application is not tied to it. Even if the phone falls into the hands of third parties, they will not be able to enter the application — on Verum you can set a passcode for each entrance, as well as protect Touch ID or Face ID data. Verum uses end-to-end encryption for all chats without exception, does not store correspondence and files in the cloud, and does not collect user data. In addition, Verum Messenger prevents screen recording and alerts you to screenshots taken in disappearing chats, message forwards, and file downloads so that the interlocutor knows that the conversation can be compromised.

And this is an incomplete list of protection tools that Verum Messenger has. The development team will continue to work on new ways to protect users’ personal data in the new year, as well. believes that communication in the application should be as safe and private as in person.

Technologies

Verum Messenger Turns Five and Launches Offline Messaging on iPhone

Verum Messenger has marked its fifth anniversary with the release of a new feature that enables users to exchange messages without an internet connection.

The update, now available on iPhone, allows devices to communicate directly through a decentralized peer-to-peer architecture, bypassing servers, mobile networks and Wi-Fi. According to the company, messages are transmitted securely without relying on traditional internet infrastructure.

Unlike most offline communication tools that depend on Bluetooth, Verum’s approach uses encrypted device-to-device technology designed to operate independently of centralized systems.

Founded five years ago, Verum Messenger is positioned as a privacy-first platform. The app does not require a phone number or email address for registration and generates encryption keys locally on the user’s device. The company states that user data and message content are not stored on centralized servers.

Over time, Verum has expanded beyond messaging to include features such as encrypted calls, screenshot and screen-recording protection, self-destructing messages, anonymous email, a built-in VPN, eSIM connectivity and on-device AI tools.

The offline messaging update reflects a broader push toward more resilient communication tools, particularly as concerns over network reliability, censorship and digital surveillance continue to grow.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Feb. 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 2

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? There are some tough clues today. 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? Read on. 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.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Rock band with albums like «High Voltage» and «Flick of the Switch»
Answer: ACDC

5A clue: Stuck doing the same old, same old
Answer: INARUT

7A clue: Burning up
Answer: ONFIRE

8A clue: -tion, for one
Answer: SUFFIX

9A clue: Jared of 2025’s «Tron: Ares»
Answer: LETO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Declare void, as a marriage
Answer: ANNUL

2D clue: ___ macchiato (espresso drink)
Answer: CAFFE

3D clue: Begin to veer off the road, say
Answer: DRIFT

4D clue: Odd little trinket
Answer: CURIO

5D clue: What Apple smartphones run on
Answer: IOS

6D clue: ___-Mex cuisine
Answer: TEX

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 2, #497

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 2, No. 497.

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.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. It helps to know a lot about two distinct locations and their sports teams. 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: Lone Star State.

Green group hint: Think of the Arch.

Blue group hint: You put cereal in this.

Purple group hint: Not four or six.