Technologies
WeTransfer Backtracks on AI File Training After Backlash: What You Need to Know
The company has updated the changes to its policies after some users objected to new terms.
WeTransfer, the service that allows users to send large files to others, is explaining itself to clients and updating its terms of service after a backlash related to training AI models.
The company published a blog post, “WeTransfer Terms of Service — What’s Really Changing,” that details more updates the company made to its policies, after users noticed that recent changes seemed to suggest WeTransfer was training AI models on the files users are transferring.
In the blog post, the company says: “First things first. Your content is always your content.”
The post goes on to say, “We don’t use machine learning or any form of AI to process content shared via WeTransfer.” WeTransfer explains that its use of AI would be to improve content moderation and enhance its ability to prevent the distribution of harmful content across its platform.
The company adds that those AI tools aren’t being used and haven’t been built yet. “To avoid confusion,” it says, “we’ve removed this reference.”Â
A representative for WeTransfer did not immediately return an email seeking further comment.
The backlash over the terms prompted users such as political correspondent Ava Santina to write on X, “Time to stop using WeTransfer who from 8th August have decided they’ll own anything you transfer to power AI.”Â
What this means for users
Anxieties are high about what information users share or store in services such as social media accounts is accessed by companies to train AI models. WeTransfer may be used for highly sensitive file transfers, raising fears that private information might be accessed by AI. According to the company, this isn’t the case.
To further explain, the company said in its post:
- “YES — Your content is always your content. In fact, section 6.2 of our Terms of Service clearly states that you ‘own and retain all right, title, and interest, including all intellectual property rights, in and to the Content’.”
- “YES — You’re granting us permission to ensure we can run and improve the WeTransfer service properly.”
- “YES — Our terms are compliant with applicable privacy laws, including the GDPR.”
- “NO — We are not using your content to train AI models.”
- “NO — We do not sell your content to third parties.”
When the Terms of Service change
While eagle-eyed experts understood the potential implications of what WeTransfer’s new terms could mean for people using the service, it’s unlikely that most people would be able to spot such changes.
“Expecting users to fully understand Terms of Service is unrealistic. These documents are often too complex to navigate,” says Haibing Lu, associate professor at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.Â
Lu told CNET that companies would do well to clearly highlight any changes they make to AI-related terms and explain them clearly to give people a real choice. “That’s what true transparency looks like,” Lu says. “Companies are increasingly risking backlash when they update Terms of Service to include AI, especially when users’ data is involved.”
Companies including Adobe, Slack and Zoom have had similar issues with terms changes related to AI, but it’s not just AI that’s the problem, Lu says — rather, it’s the lack of transparent communication.
In the case of WeTransfer, Lu says the company’s response, including revising the terms and blogging about them, “was a smart move and helped rebuild trust. It showed they were listening and willing to act fast.”
WeTransfer could include more understandable language in its terms, or communicate the changes better or sooner, Lu says, adding: “Transparency shouldn’t start after a backlash.”
Technologies
Bank of America Warns Bond Market Echoes 2022 Conditions
Bank of America warns that current bond market conditions mirror those of 2022, when rising yields and rate hikes triggered a significant equity correction. The firm advises investors to consider hedging strategies as real yields break out of trading ranges.
The bond market is giving 2022 vibes right now, and not in a positive way, according to Bank of America. Yields skyrocketed to multiyear highs this week, as oil prices stay elevated and new U.S. data suggests the Federal Reserve may need to hike rates even more to quell inflation. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield reached levels not seen since 2007 above 5.2%. The 30-year bond yield also spiked to its highest levels since 2004. Equities, for their part, weathered the move higher well. The S & P 500 is up around 1% week to date. The Nasdaq Composite jumped nearly 2%. But for BofA technical strategist Paul Ciana, this may be the calm before the storm. US10Y YTD bar US 10-year yield in 2026 “We see parallels with 2022, when the US 10-year real yield broke out of a trading range and rose from approximately -1% to +1.5%. Around that period, the SPX, Euro and Bitcoin formed important peaks and declined, while equity, rates and FX volatility accelerated higher,” Ciana wrote. “The comparison does not require an identical outcome, but we do think it argues for greater caution.” Stocks entered a bear market in 2022, as the Fed quickly raised rates to fend off a massive surge in inflation. The S & P 500 fell more than 19% that year, marking its worst annual performance since 2008 — when it tumbled 38%. Ciana noted investors can hedge by scooping up put options on the SPY ETF , which tracks the S & P 500. “Investors seeking protection may consider one- to three-month SPY 750 puts or 750/730 put spreads,” he said. “The lower strike corresponds to the July lows.” “However, the rise in real yields is quite stretched on weekly RSIs. If yields retrace lower and positive SPX seasonals follow through, hedges may not perform,” he said, referring the relative strength index, a popular indicator that helps assess whether an investment may be overbought or oversold.
Technologies
Anthropic warns investors of AI’s ‘existential risk to humanity’ in IPO prospectus, reports say
Anthropic’s IPO filing dedicates 80 pages to the risks of AI, nearly double the 48 pages it spends discussing its business plans, according to Reuters.
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Technologies
U.S., Iran hold separate mediator talks as Mideast oil exports hit war-time high
Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire, as Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded to war-time high.
Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire.
Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February.
An outright export ban by Washington on diesel would keep roughly 1.2 million barrels a day at home, and risks overwhelming Gulf Coast storage, according to Kpler.
The building of the destroyed Shajareh Tayebeh primary school is pictured surrounded by rubble in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province on August 10, 2026. Six months on, a team of AFP journalists obtained rare access to the school which has remained largely in ruins, its collapsed walls and twisted steel now surrounded by portraits of the children killed as Iranian flags flutter above the rubble. Iran says the attack on the school involved two separate US Tomahawk missiles but neither the United States nor Israel has officially claimed responsibility for the strike. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /
Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. and Iranian officials have reportedly held separate indirect talks with mediators on Monday, reviving efforts to end seven months of war as Tehran presses for a response to a revised ceasefire framework and Middle East crude exports climb to their highest level since the conflict began.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York, where he remained after the United Nations General Assembly, and reportedly said he expects Washington’s reply by Tuesday. “We talked about ideas and how to find solutions to fulfil Iran’s conditions,” Araghchi said, adding that he planned to return to Tehran once a response arrives. “Whenever the Qataris have a response, they know how to get it to us.”
Iran’s proposal, first presented on the sidelines of last week’s General Assembly, calls for a four- to five-day U.S. timeline to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions on Iranian oil and end the naval blockade of Iranian ports, with nuclear talks beginning within seven days. Tehran has tied any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to those steps.
President Donald Trump had on Sunday called the plan “unacceptable” and rejected it, telling reporters Iran wants a swift deal because of the economic pressure it is under. Speaking at the White House Monday, Trump said U.S. officials had spoken separately with mediators but gave no further details, adding: “We’re going to win. It’s going to go pretty quickly.”
The diplomatic push comes as physical supply data shows the war’s toll on the oil market easing. Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February, Kpler data showed. “Middle East crude exports at just under 80% of pre-conflict levels,” the tracking firm said in a note on Monday.
The Strait of Hormuz itself remains far from normal. Kpler’s real-time tracking showed total clearance through the strait at 10,591 kilobarrels a day on Saturday, against a pre-war baseline of 17,133.
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