#app store analysis

[lale-txt]

if my brain could not fall into a state of freeze when trying to decide what to write, that would be GREAT

[jcmarchi]

Tal Kreisler, CEO & Co-Founder of NoTraffic – Interview Series

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/tal-kreisler-ceo-co-founder-of-notraffic-interview-series/

Tal Kreisler, CEO & Co-Founder of NoTraffic – Interview Series

Tal Kreisler is the CEO and Co-Founder of NoTraffic, a platform that digitizes road infrastructure management, allowing cities to manage their entire grid at the push of a button.

NoTraffic transforms intersections into intelligent hubs capable of real-time traffic management. Their AI-powered platform leverages edge computing to process data locally, ensuring rapid response to changing traffic conditions. The technology includes V2X capabilities for connected and autonomous vehicles and accommodates non-connected vehicles and vulnerable road users (VRUs), providing a comprehensive view of traffic dynamics. NoTraffic is currently operating in more than 25 U.S. states and in Canada, serving millions of drivers per day.

Can you give us a brief overview of NoTraffic and what inspired you to develop an AI-powered mobility platform?

NoTraffic is a first-of-its-kind AI-powered mobility platform, that transforms outdated intersections into smart, cloud-connected hubs. The platform leverages AI, edge computing technologies and V2X communication to optimize traffic flow, reduce congestion, and enhance road safety, while significantly lowering carbon emissions.

The idea behind NoTraffic stemmed from a simple yet frustrating experience experienced by one of our Co-Founders, Uriel Katz, who found himself sitting stuck at a red light at an empty intersection late at night. This unnecessary waiting made him realize that traditional traffic management systems were outdated and inefficient, relying on set timing plans that didn’t adapt to real-time conditions. This sparked the idea of creating a more modern solution—one that leverages AI to dynamically manage traffic based on actual road usage and conditions.

To address this issue we founded NoTraffic in 2017, with the goal of revolutionizing urban mobility and traffic management. Despite not having a background in traffic management, our fresh perspective allowed us to think creatively and approach the problem with an out-of-the box solution. Fast forward to today, and NoTraffic is at the forefront of redefining urban mobility, future-proofing our cities into smarter and more efficient ecosystems.

How does NoTraffic’s AI-powered platform transform traditional intersections into intelligent hubs?

NoTraffic’s platform transforms traditional intersections into smart, connected hubs by integrating AI-driven sensors and edge computing capabilities seamlessly into existing infrastructure, leveraging a fusion of advanced radar and camera technology to achieve 99% detection accuracy, regardless of weather conditions. These sensors detect and identify all types of road users, from vehicles to micromobility users, in real-time, enabling the platform to dynamically adjust traffic signals, optimizing the flow of traffic and enhancing safety on the roads.

The platform’s real-time communication with a cloud-based system ensures continuous learning and updates, allowing intersections to respond intelligently to real time changing conditions, significantly enhancing the efficiency, safety, and overall flow of traffic across urban areas.

The platform is made up of four core components:

Mobility OS  (Operating system): A cloud-based dashboard that allows for real-time adjustments and optimizations, crucial for managing modern urban mobility.

AI-driven Edge Devices: These ensure continuous connectivity, detect road users, and link intersections to the cloud, enabling real-time decisions via edge computing and advanced analytics.

Mobility Store: A first-of-its-kind feature that functions like an app store, allowing operators to remotely add and update mobility applications, ensuring adaptability without costly hardware upgrades.

24/7 Support: Continuous and reliable operation is guaranteed, with prompt issue resolution to maintain safety and efficiency.

Can you explain the role of edge computing in your platform and how it enhances real-time traffic management?

Edge computing plays a critical role in NoTraffic’s platform by enabling real-time data processing directly at the intersection, without having to first upload data to the cloud. This allows the system to make instant decisions, making traffic management both faster and more efficient. This ensures that traffic signals and systems can quickly adapt to changing conditions, such as a sudden increase in pedestrian activity or giving priority to emergency vehicles. By localizing data processing, edge computing speeds up decision-making while also lowering operational costs by minimizing the need for cloud-based resources and additional hardware. This is essential for managing dynamic urban traffic environments, where quick reactions are essential for optimizing traffic flow and improving safety.

How does NoTraffic improve safety at intersections, especially for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists?

Every year, over 700 deaths are caused by red light runners, including fatalities among pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

NoTraffic improves safety at intersections by using AI-powered cameras and radar detection to accurately identify and differentiate between all types of road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and scooters. After identifying them, the platform can adjust traffic signals to prioritize the safety of these vulnerable groups. For example, it can extend green light times or activate pedestrian crossings only when people are actually waiting. The system also proactively prevents potential accidents, such as vehicles running red lights, by adjusting signal phases in real-time. These measures not only reduce accidents but also create safer intersections, easing congestion on roads, sidewalks, and bike paths.

NoTraffic’s Intersection Safety Insights (ISI) is a safety-oriented AI software application, designed to enhance safety by correlating traffic signal phases with vehicle movements across the stop line, enabling precise tracking of red light runners. The technology was deployed at 55 intersections across three major urban traffic corridors in Tucson, Arizona, and was able to significantly reduce red light running infractions. Over a 3-month period, ISI enabled the city of Tucson to reduce red light runners by 42% across these corridors, equating to 294 lives saved annually.

In what ways does your platform reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate traffic congestion in urban areas?

As our roads become increasingly crowded with a mix of cars, bikes, and pedestrians, congestion is on the rise—growing by 12% each year. The resulting gridlock leads to harmful CO2 emissions and a 10.5% increase in traffic accidents, making our roads less safe.

NoTraffic addresses these challenges by optimizing traffic flow at intersections by pairing AI-driven real-time traffic analysis with edge-compute-enabled on-premise sensors that make instant decisions. This easy-to-install software-defined SaaS platform adjusts traffic light patterns based on real-time conditions, minimizing idle times and reducing unnecessary stops and starts. By improving the efficiency of traffic signals, NoTraffic decreases the time vehicles spend idling at red lights, which reduces fuel consumption and lowers emissions. NoTraffic empowers Departments of Transportation and other stakeholders to efficiently manage increasing traffic volume and reduce congestion and CO2 emissions, contributing to a more efficient and environmentally friendly urban mobility system.

One of NoTraffic’s key features available on its Mobility Store is Optimization Mode, which leverages predictions to evaluate thousands of potential traffic scenarios in real time to optimize traffic flow, reduce congestions, and improve overall safety. When deployed at the University of British Columbia, the solution eased campus traffic and improved flow at intersections, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. By using edge based computing, NoTraffic was able to optimize traffic flow by calculating thousands of possible scenarios for every roadway user, and determining the most appropriate one in real-time. Implementation of the solution enabled NoTraffic to reduce carbon emissions by 75 tons per year.

How does NoTraffic integrate with connected and autonomous vehicles through V2X technology?

NoTraffic’s platform is designed to fully support V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication, enabling seamless integration with connected and autonomous vehicles. Through V2X, NoTraffic-equipped intersections can exchange real-time data with vehicles, enabling more efficient and safer traffic management.

NoTraffic has commercialized V2X technology with two specialized packages for connected and autonomous vehicles: a Safety Package and an Efficiency Package. These packages provide sets of messages to vehicles using C-V2X or DSRC protocols, supplementing V2X capabilities with data from NoTraffic sensors and providing external blind spot information, Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) enhanced driver decisions, Red Light Runner (RLR) detection, and other safety features.

By integrating V2X communication, NoTraffic’s platform fuses and shares data generated by their proprietary intelligent edge sensors together with connected and autonomous vehicles data and other data sources to manage traffic flows in real time and prevent potential collisions. The system provides vehicles with critical information such as SPaT, collision warnings, and optimal speed recommendations. This real-time connectivity ensures smoother traffic flow, reduces conflicts, and enhances the safe and efficient operation of autonomous vehicles.

What measures are in place to ensure the platform also accommodates non-connected vehicles and road users?

NoTraffic’s platform is built to accommodate all road users, from cars and bikes to pedestrians and emergency vehicles, even in challenging weather conditions. Its advanced sensors enable municipalities to optimize traffic flow for all commuters while reducing congestion on roads, sidewalks, and bike paths.

The platform’s advanced AI sensors can detect and analyse the behaviour of every road user, regardless of their connectivity status. This ensures that non-connected vehicles and pedestrians are always considered in real-time traffic decisions.

What challenges have you faced in scaling the deployment of your platform across different regions?

Scaling the NoTraffic platform across different regions presented significant challenges, particularly due to the complexity of integrating a cloud based interface, known as our Mobility OS (Operating system), with edge devices at every intersection.

One of the main challenges was adapting the cloud-based Mobility OS (Operating System) and edge devices to meet the various technical standards and infrastructure capabilities across different regions. Each region had its own set of rules, regulations, and requirements, and so the platform had to be personalized and adapted to meet the needs of each region, and ensure seamless integration with existing traffic systems. Additionally, managing the high bandwidth requirements needed for real-time communication between the cloud and the edge devices. To address this, NoTraffic implemented edge computing within their hardware, allowing a significant portion of analytics to be processed locally before sending the results to the cloud for further analysis. This reduced bandwidth usage while also making the solution more cost-effective for both NoTraffic and their customers.

Another challenge was the need to update, upgrade, and maintain software for hundreds of thousands of devices across various locations. To combat this, NoTraffic developed robust over the air mechanisms to enable rapid deployment of updates, regardless of location. These mechanisms ensure that updates are seamlessly distributed and installed across all devices, minimizing downtime and maintaining consistency in performance and reliability.

Security was also a critical concern, especially when dealing with infrastructure as critical as traffic management. NoTraffic implemented strict security protocols tailored to each region, ensuring that their data remained isolated and protected, preventing any potential overlap or interference. By leveraging advanced cloud security measures, the company ensured that they were able to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of data, while complying with local regulations.

Through these strategies, NoTraffic successfully navigated the complexities of developing and scaling a platform that combines hardware and software, ultimately delivering a reliable, secure, and cost-effective mobility solution across different regions.

How do you envision the future of traffic management and urban infrastructure evolving in the next decade?

The future of traffic management and urban infrastructure will be driven by the widespread adoption of software-enabled devices that enhance the sustainability and efficiency of cities. Similar to how Tesla reinvented cars, these devices are set to reinvent the rest of the mobility ecosystem. Advanced sensors with built-in communication capabilities, powerful computing, and the capacity to analyse vast amounts of data will become standard. These sensors will offer a wide range of services that can be updated, adjusted, and repaired remotely, ensuring continuous improvement and minimizing the need for physical intervention. The shift towards these smart, software-driven devices will simplify the modernization of infrastructure, reduce waste, and cut down on the need for extensive hardware. Traffic devices and systems will function more like smartphones, where features can be personalized, activated, updated, or repaired remotely, making infrastructure upgrades smoother, more affordable, and less intimidating for municipalities.

One of the key advantages of this technology is the ability to aggregate data and quantify various parameters like traffic improvements, safety enhancements, and emissions reductions. It can also enable the identification of trends and support predictive analytics, offering insights into potential outcomes of specific policies before they are implemented. For example, the economic impact of traffic delays could be measured, or before-and-after studies could assess the effectiveness of traffic management strategies – something that is impossible with current systems.

By reimagining transportation systems with these strategies, future urban areas can achieve enhanced safety and improved mobility while significantly reducing their environmental footprint, leading to more sustainable and livable cities.

What role do you see AI playing in the future of smart cities and mobility solutions?

AI will play a major role in the future of smart cities and mobility solutions through data aggregation and decision-making. Thanks to AI-powered technologies being used in traffic management, cities can now use data to quantify various parameters, such as traffic improvements, safety enhancements, and emission reductions. This data provides a clear picture of the effectiveness of different traffic management strategies, enabling cities to make the most impactful and beneficial decisions, tailored to the specific needs of each area.

AI also enables the identification of trends and supports predictive analytics, offering insights into potential outcomes if specific policies are implemented. For example, using AI cities can now measure the economic impact of traffic delays, or carry out before and after studies to measure the effectiveness and success of new initiatives. By being able to back up decisions with concrete data, cities are able to pinpoint problems and implement targeted solutions, something that would previously have been impossible to achieve.

[techdriveplay]

How Many Smartphone Users Use Android Over iOS?

In the ever-evolving world of smartphones, the rivalry between Android and iOS continues to captivate users and tech enthusiasts alike. Understanding the market share of these two leading operating systems can provide valuable insights into consumer preferences and trends. So, how many smartphone users use Android over iOS? Current Market Share Statistics: Android dominates the global market…

[lalsingh228-blog]

APP Store Monetisation Market to See Huge Growth by 2029

Global APP Store Monetisation Market Report from AMA Research highlights deep analysis on market characteristics, sizing, estimates and growth by segmentation, regional breakdowns & country along with competitive landscape, player’s market shares, and strategies that are key in the market. The exploration provides a 360° view and insights, highlighting major outcomes of the industry. These insights help the business decision-makers to formulate better business plans and make informed decisions to improved profitability. In addition, the study helps venture or private players in understanding the companies in more detail to make better informed decisions. Major Players in This Report Include, Apple  (United States), Tencent (China), Alibaba (China), 360 (China), Google  (United States), Xiaomi (China), Baidu (China), Wandoujia (China), HiMarket (Brazil), 91 Mobile Assistant (India). Free Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/5990-global-app-store-monetisation-market The App Store Monetization is a technique of producing cash from a cellular app that does now not require customers to pay for it. Users are usually hesitant to pay for purposes due to the fact the good sized majority of them are reachable for free. Collecting consumer statistics and promoting it to 1/3 parties, more often than not marketers, is one of the most time-honored methods to monetise an app. In-app advertising and marketing are the most conventional strategy to monetise your cellular apps. For apps that favor to continue to be free in the app store, this method gives a beneficial supply of cash.

Market Drivers

Increasing use of Technologies such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Mobile Apps

Market Trend

Developers are Focusing on Experience rather than Pure Revenue

Opportunities

Growing E-commerce Sector

Challenges

High-quality Native ads Effective, however Creating them is Tough

Enquire for customization in Report @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/5990-global-app-store-monetisation-market In this research study, the prime factors that are impelling the growth of the Global APP Store Monetisation market report have been studied thoroughly in a bid to estimate the overall value and the size of this market by the end of the forecast period. The impact of the driving forces, limitations, challenges, and opportunities has been examined extensively. The key trends that manage the interest of the customers have also been interpreted accurately for the benefit of the readers. The APP Store Monetisation market study is being classified by Monetization (Sponsorships, Freemium, Sell In-App Features, One-time Paid Apps, Paid Apps with Additional Features for a Fee, Sell Merchandize through your App, CPI Network), Technologies (Java, E-Commerce, Microsoft, Mobile, Cloud, Open Source, Others) The report concludes with in-depth details on the business operations and financial structure of leading vendors in the Global APP Store Monetisation market report, Overview of Key trends in the past and present are in reports that are reported to be beneficial for companies looking for venture businesses in this market. Information about the various marketing channels and well-known distributors in this market was also provided here. This study serves as a rich guide for established players and new players in this market. Get Reasonable Discount on This Premium Report @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/request-discount/5990-global-app-store-monetisation-market Extracts from Table of Contents APP Store Monetisation Market Research Report Chapter 1 APP Store Monetisation Market Overview Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Industry Chapter 3 Global Market Competition by Manufacturers Chapter 4 Global Revenue (Value, Volume*) by Region Chapter 5 Global Supplies (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions Chapter 6 Global Revenue (Value, Volume*), Price* Trend by Type Chapter 7 Global Market Analysis by Application ………………….continued This report also analyzes the regulatory framework of the Global Markets APP Store Monetisation Market Report to inform stakeholders about the various norms, regulations, this can have an impact. It also collects in-depth information from the detailed primary and secondary research techniques analyzed using the most efficient analysis tools. Based on the statistics gained from this systematic study, market research provides estimates for market participants and readers. Contact US : Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager) AMA Research & Media LLP Unit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJ New Jersey USA – 08837 Phone: +1 201 565 3262, +44 161 818 8166 sales@advancemarketanalytics.com

[dizitalmedia]

DizitalMedia ASO Services includes:

Optimizing app listing

Reviews and ratings for the app

Keywords Optimization

Competitor Analysis

Boost brand awareness

[whetstonefires]

After seeing your weatherbugapp reblog i installed duckduckgo and tried it.

I don't know much about technology tbh but i downloaded this app less than 30 mins ago and in that time google tried to track me 112 times?? And they tried to collect finger prints? And my first and last name? And my gender? And my country, state and city? My gps coordinates? My postal code? My network carrier? My fricking battery level for whatever reason? Can you please tell me if this is normal at all, because i'm freaking out right now. I just turned 18 and started using mobile banking and stuff and this shit scares me

Why tf does it need to know my screen density???my system volume????my charging status????? What tf are they cooking

Now it's at 476 tracking attempts bro???? barely 5 mins passed.....

I condensed your three asks into one for readability!

And yeah, I'm very far from an expert about any of this, but as far as I know that's just. Normal. That's the normal amount of spying they're doing on your phone. I assume the numbers we see are to some extent because having been foiled, a lot of these scripts try repeatedly, since I can't imagine what use thousands of trackers per phone would be even to the great aggregators.

Tracking the phone stuff like screen resolution and battery level is because (apart from that definitely not being considered remotely 'private' so it's Free Real Estate) in aggregate that data can be used to track what phone use patterns are like on a demographic scale and therefore. Where the smart money is.

Almost all of this is getting sold in bulk for ad targeting and market analysis. This does presumably make it very hard to notice when like. Actually important stuff is being spied on, which is why I feel better about Having Apps with the duckduckgo app blocker thing.

My bank's app reportedly sells data to a couple aggregators including Google. Not like, my banking info, but it's still so offensive on principle that I avoid using the app unless I have to, and force stop it afterward.

The patterns that show up on the weekly duckduckgo blocker report are interesting. Hoopla attempts about two orders of magnitude more tracking than Libby, which makes sense because they're a commercial streaming service libraries pay by the unit for access, while Libby is a content management software run by a corporation that values its certification as a 'B' company--that is, one invested in the public good that can be trusted. The cleanness of their brand is a great deal of its value, so they have to care about their image and be a little more scrupulous.

Which doesn't mean not being a little bit spyware, because everything is spyware now. Something else I've noticed is that in terms of free game apps, the polished professional stuff is now much more invasive than the random kinda janky thing someone just threw together.

Back in the day you tended to expect the opposite, because spyware was a marginal shifty profit-margin with too narrow a revenue stream to be worth more to an established brand than their reputation, but now that everyone does it there's not a lot of reputation cost and refraining would be sacrificing a potential revenue stream, which is Irresponsible Conduct for a corporation.

While meanwhile 'developing a free game app to put on the game store' is something a person can do for free with the hardware they already have for home use, as a hobby or practice or to put on their coding resume. So while such apps absolutely can be malicious and more dangerous when they are than The Big Brand, they can also be neutral in a way commercial stuff no longer is. Wild world.

But yeah for the most part as far as I can make out, these are just The Commercial Panopticon, operating as intended. It's gross but it probably doesn't indicate anything dangerous on an individual level.

[cocoatonedcurls]

become an academic weapon 📚🔫✨

hi all !!

with my GCSEs this year, and only a few weeks before back to school, I decided to really lock in yesterday 🫣

so I thought I'd take all the info I've come across while scrolling through studytok and put it into a little post for everyone looking to improve in their studies (& for my benefit as well 🙈)

motivation

this is probably the biggest factor when it comes to locking into your studies, motivation can quite literally make or break your academic achievements (😦)

so, its very important you motivate yourself, and moreover, stay motivated 😭

i've made it sound daunting but motivating yourself is lowkey easier than you think, here's a few ways to do it:

picturing yourself in 10 years, where all your studying and hard work has paid off - you can't be that person without doing the work that they did 😬

you can also do the opposite of the above - imagine how disappointed you'll be if you didn't work as hard as you could have and failed

"revenge studying" - the most toxic yet probably the most widely effective technique - working hard so you can beat than the people who are better than you

make studying aesthetic - create pinterest boards, look at quotes and tiktoks, make success your greatest desire

make it an addiction - if you're bored? study. had a bad day? nothing like setting yourself up for the best future. having a great day? go make it better by making yourself smarter.

get a motivational study app - i LOVE 'Study Bunny' I've been using it for two days now and it genuinely motivates me to be more productive to keep my bunny happy 🙃

resources

obviously, you need some help where you can get it despite all the controversies surrounding studying and the use of the internet, there are some amazing online resources you can use that will actively help you 📚

Quizlet/Anki - both of these flashcard platforms are incredibly useful - Quizlet is a fun platform and you can search for flashcards made by other people - Anki, in my opinion, is better than Quizlet for memorising, and you can import flashcards from Quizlet.

Mindnote - A mindmap making software online, a user-friendly interface + is quick and easy to make them - Great for visual learners

YouTube - the teachers on YouTube are incredibly helpful and can explain any topics you're confused about very quickly and very thoroughly

Spark Notes - great for English literature, with in-depth analysis of your texts and modern translations

Physics & Maths Tutor - free past papers and topic questions for core subjects and a few others, great for active recall

Study Bunny/Flora - helps keep track of your progress and keeps you motivated, I recommend Study Bunny because I can see how much work I've done of each subject and tick off things on my checklist

these are just a few out of many other resources so go do some of your own research, especially if there are websites that help with a specific subject

techniques

different study techniques work best for different people, no technique is a one-size-fits-all, some people are visual learners, others perform best by memorising & etc.

active recall - the only one-size-fits-all method - is a cognitive function that you carry out to remember things in tests, so practising this is a must -> the best way to do this is by completing topic questions and past papers using minimal amounts of notes. basically just testing yourself before the actual test

Spaced-out revision - one of the best ways to make sure things stick in your mind, revise a topic/subject and revisit it every few days, eg. 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, 30; and by the 30-day mark it should be stuck in your mind because your brain believes its something that you need to know in the long run and stores it in your long term memory

Flashcards - great to memorise content for the test, especially subjects that are tested with orals

Scribble method - scribbling on a piece of paper while revising the content in any form, reading, listening, etc. helps your brain store the information you're consuming more effectively

Feynman method - basically just explaining the topic you're revising to someone, this helps you develop your understanding and catches out any areas you're unsure about to revise later

making mindmaps - this is great for visual learners, especially if you use different colours for each section of the map so that you can associate each concept with each colour and recall them easily

again, those are just a few that come to mind. do your own research and find out what works best for you 😇

while studying

knowing how to study effectively is also a crucial aspect of success (obviously) 🤭

here are a few tips:

don't listen to music with lyrics, instead you can listen to lofi tracks, cafe/library asmr, brown noise, jazz music (my favourite)

set yourself a study slot, like 2 hours every day at a specific time & set a focus filter on your phone for the duration of your study time

make an aesthetic/cute study space so you can enjoy your time in that space and it doesn't feel like a chore

get a whiteboard to make learning more interactive & fun

light a specific candle whenever you're studying so your brain knows to associate the scent with working

have regular breaks eg. every half hour for 5-10 mins

reward yourself afterwards, so you associate studying with a good experience

consistency is key, the more you study the easier & more fun it becomes 🙃 the more you study the more you are likely to succeed and fulfil your dreams ✨

remember though, academics is not everyone's thing:

"you cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree"

everyone is good at something, and it doesn't make anyone lesser or greater 🫶

if you try your best, that is all that matters 🫠

- li 🌘

[bull-shit-suji]

kuro modern au stuff that i word vomited into my notes app

kind of a Vincent summoned sebastian to save ciel so ciel doesnt actually owe sebas anything

amnesia? idk

single dad moment! except theres this other dad whos kinda find.. (cough agni)

i think vincent was like do NOT let ciel know ur a demon so sebastian keeps it a secret but he doesnt have a good handle on like. Humans. so he kinda does a bad job and ciel definitely knows that he's weird but doesnt say anything. will go out of his way to gaslight you when sebastian does weird shit because he thinks its funny

"hey uhh is your dad levitating?"

"no?"

"he's flying above the school rn"

"that's a bird"

u think suddenly being a butler is hard? have fun being a dad bitch

alois is there but thats complicated. claude and hannah are DIVORCED but on decent terms (i think claude is like. toxic alpha male podcast type guy) and claude sees alois on alternating weekends!

are they demons? i dont know

i think ciel and alois can be friends. platonically. alois would probably say yes if ciel wanted to be romantic but i Promise you he does not. they are just pals :)

im saying ciel has a crush on elizabeth because i can (she's not his cousin here). emo boy x sunny church girl. said sunny church girl has to ask the mcdonalds employees for the blue raspberry slushie they forgot to put in ciel's order because emo boy is too scared.

IM 13 EVERYTHING SUCKSSSSS

grelle is actually living her best life transitioned with anne so they are ciel's aunts on his late mom's side. i think grelle likes ciel. mom figure moreso than anne is.

ciel owns four bongs and definitely a vape or two. come on now

he's also probably got celiac and is lactose intolerant he is just a feeble boy i think

he listens to twenty one pilots. sorry! sorry.

ciel is goth alois is punk those r kinda just the rules

ciel is insanely smart top of the class this shit is easy for him.

yells at sebastian daily. figured out what happened with his real parents around the age of uhhhh 12 or 13? has been an absolute terror ever since

"it was really nice of your dad to bring cookies for the field trip!"

"i hope he fucking chokes on one"

"oh!"

sebastian and claude are pta rivals.

"is this lemon bread store bought? my, how... efficient!"

"you made these from scratch? i can tell."

"i've never seen an interesting looking salsa! very exciting."

ciel purposefully invites alois over constantly bcus it pisses sebas off. alois is Terrified of that man.

"go grab the chips from the kitchen"

"but... what if mr michaelis is in there?"

"mr m- you mean my dad? tell him he can shove a faucet up his ass"

"id rather die on the spot"

sebastian will yell at ciel and is maybe a little emotionally unavailable but he's trying!!! it's hard :(

does that Dad thing where he comes into ciels room and is like hey bud......... what r u up to..

ciel and seiglinde r also palls. the smartest people in school

lizzie is a JOCK. she plays softball.

alois is a theater kid come on now

ciel is best at writing and literature analysis, specifically fiction. enjoys history, language, and Some sciences as well.

nerd

au where myspace is still a thing ciel has a myspace account

he definitely writes shitty poetry

wants to major in business

alois is a glee and pitch perfect truther

[mariacallous]

Major technology companies, including Google, Apple, and Discord, have been enabling people to quickly sign up to harmful “undress” websites, which use AI to remove clothes from real photos to make victims appear to be “nude” without their consent. More than a dozen of these deepfake websites have been using login buttons from the tech companies for months.

A WIRED analysis found 16 of the biggest so-called undress and “nudify” websites using the sign-in infrastructure from Google, Apple, Discord, Twitter, Patreon, and Line. This approach allows people to easily create accounts on the deepfake websites—offering them a veneer of credibility—before they pay for credits and generate images.

While bots and websites that create nonconsensual intimate images of women and girls have existed for years, the number has increased with the introduction of generative AI. This kind of “undress” abuse is alarmingly widespread, with teenage boys allegedly creating images of their classmates. Tech companies have been slow to deal with the scale of the issues, critics say, with the websites appearing highly in search results, paid advertisements promoting them on social media, and apps showing up in app stores.

“This is a continuation of a trend that normalizes sexual violence against women and girls by Big Tech,” says Adam Dodge, a lawyer and founder of EndTAB (Ending Technology-Enabled Abuse). “Sign-in APIs are tools of convenience. We should never be making sexual violence an act of convenience,” he says. “We should be putting up walls around the access to these apps, and instead we're giving people a drawbridge.”

The sign-in tools analyzed by WIRED, which are deployed through APIs and common authentication methods, allow people to use existing accounts to join the deepfake websites. Google’s login system appeared on 16 websites, Discord’s appeared on 13, and Apple’s on six. X’s button was on three websites, with Patreon and messaging service Line’s both appearing on the same two websites.

WIRED is not naming the websites, since they enable abuse. Several are part of wider networks and owned by the same individuals or companies. The login systems have been used despite the tech companies broadly having rules that state developers cannot use their services in ways that would enable harm, harassment, or invade people’s privacy.

After being contacted by WIRED, spokespeople for Discord and Apple said they have removed the developer accounts connected to their websites. Google said it will take action against developers when it finds its terms have been violated. Patreon said it prohibits accounts that allow explicit imagery to be created, and Line confirmed it is investigating but said it could not comment on specific websites. X did not reply to a request for comment about the way its systems are being used.

In the hours after Jud Hoffman, Discord vice president of trust and safety, told WIRED it had terminated the websites’ access to its APIs for violating its developer policy, one of the undress websites posted in a Telegram channel that authorization via Discord was “temporarily unavailable” and claimed it was trying to restore access. That undress service did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment about its operations.

Rapid Expansion

Since deepfake technology emerged toward the end of 2017, the number of nonconsensual intimate videos and images being created has grown exponentially. While videos are harder to produce, the creation of images using “undress” or “nudify” websites and apps has become commonplace.

“We must be clear that this is not innovation, this is sexual abuse,” says David Chiu, San Francisco’s city attorney, who recently opened a lawsuit against undress and nudify websites and their creators. Chiu says the 16 websites his office’s lawsuit focuses on have had around 200 million visits in the first six months of this year alone. “These websites are engaged in horrific exploitation of women and girls around the globe. These images are used to bully, humiliate, and threaten women and girls,” Chiu alleges.

The undress websites operate as businesses, often running in the shadows—proactively providing very few details about who owns them or how they operate. Websites run by the same people often look similar and use nearly identical terms and conditions. Some offer more than a dozen different languages, demonstrating the worldwide nature of the problem. Some Telegram channels linked to the websites have tens of thousands of members each.

The websites are also under constant development: They frequently post about new features they are producing—with one claiming their AI can customize how women’s bodies look and allow “uploads from Instagram.” The websites generally charge people to generate images and can run affiliate schemes to encourage people to share them; some have pooled together into a collective to create their own cryptocurrency that could be used to pay for images.

A person identifying themself as Alexander August and the CEO of one of the websites, responded to WIRED, saying they “understand and acknowledge the concerns regarding the potential misuse of our technology.” The person claims the website has put in place various safety mechanisms to prevent images of minors being created. “We are committed to taking social responsibility and are open to collaborating with official bodies to enhance transparency, safety, and reliability in our services,” they wrote in an email.

The tech company logins are often presented when someone tries to sign up to the site or clicks on buttons to try generating images. It is unclear how many people will have used the login methods, and most websites also allow people to create accounts with just their email address. However, of the websites reviewed, the majority had implemented the sign-in APIs of more than one technology company, with Sign-In With Google being the most widely used. When this option is clicked, prompts from the Google system say the website will get people’s name, email addresses, language preferences, and profile picture.

Google’s sign-in system also reveals some information about the developer accounts linked to a website. For example, four websites are linked to one Gmail account; another six websites are linked to another. “In order to use Sign in with Google, developers must agree to our Terms of Service, which prohibits the promotion of sexually explicit content as well as behavior or content that defames or harasses others,” says a Google spokesperson, adding that “appropriate action” will be taken if these terms are broken.

Other tech companies that had sign-in systems being used said they have banned accounts after being contacted by WIRED.

Hoffman from Discord says that as well as taking action on the websites flagged by WIRED, the company will “continue to address other websites we become aware of that violate our policies.” Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer says it has terminated multiple developer’s licenses with Apple, and that Sign In With Apple will no longer work on their websites. Adiya Taylor, corporate communications lead at Patreon, says it prohibits accounts that allow or fund access to external tools that can produce adult materials or explicit imagery. “We will take action on any works or accounts on Patreon that are found to be in violation of our Community Guidelines.”

As well as the login systems, several of the websites displayed the logos of Mastercard or Visa, implying they can possibly be used to pay for their services. Visa did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment, while a Mastercard spokesperson says “purchases of nonconsensual deepfake content are not allowed on our network,” and that it takes action when it detects or is made aware of any instances.

On multiple occasions, tech companies and payment providers have taken action against AI services allowing people to generate nonconsensual images or video after media reports about their activities. Clare McGlynn, a professor of law at Durham University who has expertise in the legal regulation of pornography and sexual violence and abuse online, says Big Tech platforms are enabling the growth of undress websites and similar websites by not proactively taking action against them.

“What is concerning is that these are the most basic of security steps and moderation that are missing or not being enforced,” McGlynn says of the sign-in systems being used, adding that it is “wholly inadequate” for companies to react when journalists or campaigners highlight how their rules are being easily dodged. “It is evident that they simply do not care, despite their rhetoric,” McGlynn says. “Otherwise they would have taken these most simple steps to reduce access.”

[feminist-space]

"Just weeks before the implosion of AllHere, an education technology company that had been showered with cash from venture capitalists and featured in glowing profiles by the business press, America’s second-largest school district was warned about problems with AllHere’s product.

As the eight-year-old startup rolled out Los Angeles Unified School District’s flashy new AI-driven chatbot — an animated sun named “Ed” that AllHere was hired to build for $6 million — a former company executive was sending emails to the district and others that Ed’s workings violated bedrock student data privacy principles.

Those emails were sent shortly before The 74 first reported last week that AllHere, with $12 million in investor capital, was in serious straits. A June 14 statement on the company’s website revealed a majority of its employees had been furloughed due to its “current financial position.” Company founder and CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles district said, was no longer on the job.

Smith-Griffin and L.A. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho went on the road together this spring to unveil Ed at a series of high-profile ed tech conferences, with the schools chief dubbing it the nation’s first “personal assistant” for students and leaning hard into LAUSD’s place in the K-12 AI vanguard. He called Ed’s ability to know students “unprecedented in American public education” at the ASU+GSV conference in April.

Through an algorithm that analyzes troves of student information from multiple sources, the chatbot was designed to offer tailored responses to questions like “what grade does my child have in math?” The tool relies on vast amounts of students’ data, including their academic performance and special education accommodations, to function.

Meanwhile, Chris Whiteley, a former senior director of software engineering at AllHere who was laid off in April, had become a whistleblower. He told district officials, its independent inspector general’s office and state education officials that the tool processed student records in ways that likely ran afoul of L.A. Unified’s own data privacy rules and put sensitive information at risk of getting hacked. None of the agencies ever responded, Whiteley told The 74.

...

In order to provide individualized prompts on details like student attendance and demographics, the tool connects to several data sources, according to the contract, including Welligent, an online tool used to track students’ special education services. The document notes that Ed also interfaces with the Whole Child Integrated Data stored on Snowflake, a cloud storage company. Launched in 2019, the Whole Child platform serves as a central repository for LAUSD student data designed to streamline data analysis to help educators monitor students’ progress and personalize instruction.

Whiteley told officials the app included students’ personally identifiable information in all chatbot prompts, even in those where the data weren’t relevant. Prompts containing students’ personal information were also shared with other third-party companies unnecessarily, Whiteley alleges, and were processed on offshore servers. Seven out of eight Ed chatbot requests, he said, are sent to places like Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Australia and Canada.

Taken together, he argued the company’s practices ran afoul of data minimization principles, a standard cybersecurity practice that maintains that apps should collect and process the least amount of personal information necessary to accomplish a specific task. Playing fast and loose with the data, he said, unnecessarily exposed students’ information to potential cyberattacks and data breaches and, in cases where the data were processed overseas, could subject it to foreign governments’ data access and surveillance rules.

Chatbot source code that Whiteley shared with The 74 outlines how prompts are processed on foreign servers by a Microsoft AI service that integrates with ChatGPT. The LAUSD chatbot is directed to serve as a “friendly, concise customer support agent” that replies “using simple language a third grader could understand.” When querying the simple prompt “Hello,” the chatbot provided the student’s grades, progress toward graduation and other personal information.

AllHere’s critical flaw, Whiteley said, is that senior executives “didn’t understand how to protect data.”

...

Earlier in the month, a second threat actor known as Satanic Cloud claimed it had access to tens of thousands of L.A. students’ sensitive information and had posted it for sale on Breach Forums for $1,000. In 2022, the district was victim to a massive ransomware attack that exposed reams of sensitive data, including thousands of students’ psychological evaluations, to the dark web.

With AllHere’s fate uncertain, Whiteley blasted the company’s leadership and protocols.

“Personally identifiable information should be considered acid in a company and you should only touch it if you have to because acid is dangerous,” he told The 74. “The errors that were made were so egregious around PII, you should not be in education if you don’t think PII is acid.”

Read the full article here:

https://www.the74million.org/article/whistleblower-l-a-schools-chatbot-misused-student-data-as-tech-co-crumbled/

[neolxzr]

you do see my point though, I was saying that yes a piece of media can have a character imply they are queer, but it’s frustrating when they won’t explicitly confirm such, because of (in the case of… checks app store purchase statistics…. A multi million dollar game franchise!) the need to market to as many people as possible. Shumika will never be “canon” because some people just don’t like shumika and won’t spend money on the game if shu and mika are in a relationship, whether or not that’s because they like the ship or the characters or are genuinely homophobic or whatnot. If the writing team cared about telling a love story, they would tell a love story, not go “well maybe they’re in love, it’s up to viewer interpretation!” like this works, sometimes it adds to the meaning of the work, but enstars really doesn’t have an excuse for their constant “this character might have feelings for this other character, but we’ll never have them say it out loud!” except the fact it makes them a lot of money, since they can market to people who like a character being the way they want that character to be, whether that’s with that character being in love with another in game character or self-shipping or whatever else. Outside of shipping, this is why some characters like Shinobu haven’t changed despite wanting to change (he continuously talks about how he wants to be more mature and taken seriously but his cards continue to make him look small and cute because his fans like that about him and god forbid we change anything!) I just think enstars should not be your first thought when someone asks you about a good piece of queer media because they’re doing just about the same job as large cast games with characters of the same gender (minus Arashi) who continue to have characters go “we’ll do all these things to imply we could be in love, but we’ll never have our characters actually date! teehee!”

i can understand being frustrated about your ships not being "confirmed", but the obsession with what is "canon" and "not canon" is just straight up not a very interesting discussion to have. what happyele's or the writers' agenda is is not of particular importance to me. one of the first things they teach you in classes about media analysis is that once a work is out there, the intentions of the creator no longer matter. the only thing that matters in your analysis is your own thoughts and the way you interpret a text.

if we were having a conversation about how much the creator of something sucks, then sure, talk about that all you want, but i am specifically referring to discussions about the piece of media and these characters and their relationships and their growth and the themes of the work etc. those things are removed from whether or not the company writes the way they do because of profit motives or whatever. companies make money, that's just what to expect. if you want art that is free of profit motives, read something by an independent creator.

even so, it feels strange to place enstars into the bucket of "stuff that should be gayer but the bad company that makes it wont let it be" because the characters ARE so very openly queer. there are so many instances in it where characters pour their heart out to each other or offer themselves to another character in beautiful and poetic ways, and i think it's wrong to claim it doesn't count because they didn't confirm their relationship status at the end of it. if you ask me, there is absolutely no way to interpret enstars in a way completely free of queerness. there is so much explicitly queer text that ignoring it is just plain incorrect. but, if homophobic people like this game and choose to look the other way at all of the gay shit, again, that is not my problem.

why is canonization the only thing that matters? is a shitty BL with awful writing better and more worthwhile than enstars as a queer narrative because the characters had explicit gay sex on screen? are poorly written gay characters in the background of other media with nothing going on more worth talking about than shumika or wataei or rinniki or whoever else just because they say the words 'i'm gay' out loud?

queerness is so much more than all of that. it is so much more than labels and it is so much more than relationships that are easy to understand. it is so much more than the extremely narrow view of it that the internet has concocted about it over the last few years, where you’re only allowed to talk about queerness if you yourself are openly queer and out of the closet, and even then you’re only allowed to make art that makes for “good representation.” that is just so incredibly limiting. i would rather tons of companies who are trying to profit off fujoshis make vaguely gay media with unconfirmed romances and relationships that aren't easily defined by labels than have less queer art in the world.

more queer art means more queer people who will find something to really connect to. more queer art means telling more queer stories. why should who is allowed to write lgbtq media be limited? why should the kind of media people are allowed to make be limited?

its fine to criticize happyelements if youre unsatisfied with the way they do things, im not always 100% in love with everything they do either. i wouldn't even consider enstars to be the worlds' best example of a queer piece of media. but no one is forcing you to like or engage with it or give the company money if you're unhappy with how they write and market their game. they don't owe anyone explicit confirmation that any of their characters are dating, and it doesn't even matter if they do provide that confirmation or not.

regardless of who made it or for what reason, queer stories are worth talking about, "canon" or not.

[elizabethvictoriafashion]

Economical Analysis of Fashion Based Stores: Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation. They are known for on-trend hipster fashions with quirky home-decor items.

One store based in York; 26-27 High Ousegate, York, YO1 8RX. Their location is inside the city centre, meaning they are in the area for tourists. They are also near Shammbles Market and on the same street as the Coppergate Shopping Centre. Due to their location and fame, Urban Outfitters receives alot of attention.

With the store only only having 4.1 stars, Urban Outfitters targets towards young adults with its unique products. The company sells women and men's fashion, footwear, beauty products, accessories, activewear and home decor.

Due to the company being so large and rich, Urban Outfitters is rather successful with their advertising team. They use apps such as instragram ( https://www.instagram.com/urbanoutfitters?igsh=czNkaTFqbjBhNHdm ), facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/share/oZRrnvUZ1fGCRCmj/ ) and online store/website ( https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/en-gb/?msclkid=cf2a90570da81a655e49f751d1f9a138 ).

The store's products are decent but not good quality, despite their price range being £3 - £2,000.

Urban Outfitters is a quirky, hipster styled store that is a great place to buy all things unique and bohemian.

[tinkertechy]

I need to Scream about ChromeOS

It's been a long week and this is something I can rant about without doxxing myself too much.

So I teach kids about computers. And before anyone says 'But they're the technology generation, they know all about it!' remember that you didn't know how to drive a car before you were 16, and cars have been around for over a century. But I digress.

You know why Kids don't know anything about computers? Because we've set them up with the *worst possible computer* to learn about computers on: Chromebooks. Yeah, yeah pandemic and learning form home and all that, but this started well before the pandemic; Shutdowns just exacerbated it.

Chromebooks are designed to be simple. But they're *designed to be simple*. I want to teach kids how to read a file system? Google Drive is all they got. Want to teach kids how to check computer specs and how well their computer is currently running? Nope-you *might* be able to check the RAM if you're lucky. Diagnose how much space is left on your storage? Good luck; Drive doesn't even show how much space they have left. Compare and Contrast different applications for a particular use? It's the Chrome Store or nothing. The entire environment is designed to be a glorified web browser. You never leave the Chrome environment.

There's no native apps on the Chromebooks because they have all the memory and internal storage of a 6 year old with ADHD. Everything has to be through a web browser, and since most of my students are elementary age they can't really make accounts for most stuff without their native school account which, guess what? is through Google. The whole system is designed to be as simple to use with as few buttons as possible. Which, as a teacher managing hundreds of kids, is helpful to a point. But it holds the kids back just as much. When something goes wrong, it's so simple that you feel like an idiot for not being able to figure out what went wrong. There's no room for troubleshooting or critical thinking here.

Oh, and by the way the entire OS is designed at a basic level to be readable by kids who *know how to read*. Teaching the lowest levels how to log in, click on a link for TypingClub or read basic instructions can be grueling. Google Classroom is optimal for middle school and maybe 9th grade and that's about it. They use touchscreens for everything, so it's hard to get them to learn to use a mouse in the first place. (It's also aesthetically ugly, but that's my personal opinion)

There also seems to be fewer resources or standards for teaching about computers; my state's standards are very comprehensive from a programming or analysis standpoint, less so from a 'they should be able to type X words per minute' or 'be able to format a report' or 'write an email with neutral tone' or 'be able to move a file from Google Drive to a flash drive,' stuff that Every student should know how to do. Stuff that most adults take for granted because they were either taught or grew up in an age where everyone had to figure it out for themselves because there were no teachers yet.

And, while this is a more niche one because I don't know how most schools operate, Chromebooks just add to the student's load. They haul them back and forth to EVERY class and were 'supposed to replace textbooks', yet somehow they still have a mountain of textbooks they haul around in a wheeled backpack because *there's so many books they can't use a normal one*. I helped a student lift their bag the other day and it must have weighed 20 lbs! (Definitely more than the car battery I had to haul home from the store, but that's another story.)

I have accounts for kids that can't even spell their own last name yet, let alone know how to type. It's hard to teach about computer security when half the school needs to have a sticker with the username and passwords for up to 4(!!!) different online accounts for various programs. And kids will share that information anyway because they don't think anything major of it yet, and half the time it's not hard to figure out.

(This isn't even getting into side tools and peripherals to teach kids about computers. Anything you want/find is niche and will be extremely expensive)

So how would I fix this? (Because I don't like to rant about something when I can't offer a solution.)

Get them on actual computers and not glorified web browsers.

Assess whether or not Chromebooks are helping students in the classroom or just creating more work. Their primary use should be in the event of a shutdown or virtual school day to allow all students to work from home regardless of personal computers.

Build an Operating System/UI that's designed to grow with the student: Kindergarten and 1st grade are primarily picture based, larger cursor, as little clicking as possible to get to activities. More options and standardized UI appear as the student grows until high school where it's a normal system.

Actual Standards. Not just 'this is a monitor' (Most of my students didn't know this) and 'Here's how to program a thing' (Which is fun, but can be advanced) but 'How to save my work' 'How to write an e-mail' and 'what is a file type?' A minimum typing speed should also be required.

Keyboards designed to teach how to type. Colored keys, letters in a font that match the typing program, maybe a bit bigger than a normal keyboard. And to wrap it up, some fun quotes from my students: "That's not a Computer, that's a PC!"

"That's a TV!" (It's a monitor)

"You're doing a writing challenge? Why don't you just use AI?"

"Ms. Teacher, (That's exactly what they call me) I found a weird thing!" (It was their Drive.)

"Why did you paint all those?" (I pass a hard drive around so kids can see it. They all sniff the yellow paint I sprayed it with last week.)

"I wanna play the ice cream game." (There is no Ice Cream game. They just want to play random internet games)

(Students sign out by turning off the computer)

(A student looks up a minecraft video on YT because he wasn't paying attention when I gave out instructions and thought I wouldn't notice.)

Next rant: The double standards of 'forbidding the use of AI' for students while using it behind the scenes for teachers.

[daemonhxckergrrl]

For people using Google Accounts

apparently Google are updating their 'inactivity period' for accounts to 2 years. this has already gone into effect, but account deletions don't start until December.

they're claiming it's a "strong privacy practice" to "protect your private information". to me it sounds like an easy way to clear up space (yes they have tons of datacentres, but i bet there's multiple TBs of data sitting into accounts that haven't been touched in years), as well as force encourage people to use Google accounts and services more regularly if they only use them sporadically.

also i'm damn sure some of that data may be deleted but certainly not all of it. large files may go but all the profile data both directly connected to those accounts (visible to the account holder) - and any extra data only visible internally - i highly doubt is being deleted.

when your business is data mining, profile-building, large-scale statistical analysis of people, why would you throw any of that away ?

this email says that all you have to do to keep your account active is to sign in at least once every two years. yet, they also provide the following as alternatives (all of which require that account to be signed in ??? so clearly it's about encouraging use of their services)

[ID: screenshot snippet of an email from Google. it reads "Other ways to keep your account active include: reading or sending an email, using google drive, watching a youtube video, sharing a photo, downloading an app, using google search, use sign in with google to sign in to a third-party app or service". /end ID]

for anyone wanting to read the full email, the text is under this cut:

Every day, Google works hard to keep you and your private information safe and secure by preventing unauthorised access to your Google Account with our built-in security protections. And keeping you safe means having strong privacy practices across our products that minimise how long we store your personal files and any data associated with them. We want to protect your private information and prevent any unauthorised access to your account even if you’re no longer using our services. Therefore, we are updating the inactivity period for a Google Account to two years across all our products and services. This change starts rolling out today and will apply to any Google Account that’s been inactive, meaning that it has not been signed in to or used within a two-year period. An inactive account and any content in it will be eligible for deletion from 1 December 2023. What this means for you: These changes do not impact you unless you have been inactive in your Google Account for two years or have not used your account to sign in to any Google service for over two years. While the changes go into effect today, the earliest that we would enforce any account deletion would be December 2023. If your account is considered inactive, we will send several reminder emails to both you and your recovery emails (if any have been provided) before we take any action or delete any account content. These reminder emails will go out at least eight months before any action is taken on your account. After a Google Account is deleted, the Gmail address for the deleted account cannot be used again when creating a new Google Account. How to keep your account active? The simplest way to keep a Google Account active is to sign in to the account at least once every two years. If you have signed in to your Google Account recently in the last two years, your account is considered active and will not be deleted. Other ways to keep your account active include: - Reading or sending an email - Using Google Drive - Watching a YouTube video - Sharing a photo - Downloading an app - Using Google Search - Use Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service There are some exceptions to this policy. Examples include: A Google Account with YouTube channels, videos or comments; an account that has a gift card with a monetary balance; or an account that has a published application, for example, one that hosts an app on the Google Play Store. Other exceptions to this policy are available here. Google also offers tools to help manage your Google Account and provide options to back up your data, including the ability to download your data using Google Takeout, and allowing you to plan for what happens to your data if you’re inactive for a specific period of time with the Inactive Account Manager. Our priority is to make it as easy as possible for you to keep your account active, if you want to, and we’ll ensure that you have adequate notice before any account is impacted by this change. So before an account is deleted, Google will send email notifications to the Google Account and its recovery email (if one has been provided). You should verify that your recovery email is up to date. Learn more - Inactive Google Account policy - How Google retains data that we collect - Updating our inactive account policies (only available in English)

i left the links in mostly out of laziness but if anyone wants to read their various policies then go ahead !

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Twst honestly sounds so much fun and from what I've seen I'd probably love malleus *cough*I definitely don't favor mammon*cough*

Unfortunately the app isn't available in my counrty's app store😔

I am excited to see if you post more abt it tho, love your analysises

It's so much fun!! I love the story and the characters! It somehow made me fall completely in love with characters I didn't think I'd like

It's also kind of obvious that they're working with a much bigger budget than om....?

Oh! They're nothing alike! Mammon is hiding a soft, caring, competent person under his usual loud, obnoxious, asshole personality. Malleus is an awkward, dorky, lonely person that is rarely seen as such because people are scared to come closer and from afar all they see is someone who is stoic, dour & condescending

Mammon is probably the most emotionally intelligent character in om (save for mc) while Malleus needs so so much therapy

Mammon x MC's vibe is "best friend who you get into endless trouble with who cackles when you trip over your own feet but also cleans, bandages and kisses your scraped knee" while Malleus x MC's vibe is literally a fairytale romance - from chance meetings to secret meetings to hidden identities - you could write a fantasy romance about their meeting and interactions and it'd hit almost all the tropes and it's not even a dating sim andifmdjfx

The only problems I have with twst are;

1. Om spoiled me rotten. Twst expects me to grind so much and I'm tired om just gives me shit i barely have to do any work

2. MC's not so much a character as they are a PoV for the player and it's kind of annoying? I don't want the story to be about MC, the best part of twst are all the other characters, but i'd also like characters to respond to mc? 8 outta 10 times it feels like MC's just in a corner talking to a brick wall while everyone else is hanging out. The most impact they had on the story so far was in book 3 I think? And the most significant interactions they have are with Malleus because it's usually just the two of them and so he actually responds to them. You do get used to it after a while and twst MC is funny, snarky, kinda blunt when pushed to it, cunning when necessary and according to some of the things they say & think in book 6 they do have some insecurities about having no magic/not being able to help. I just wish they got to interact with the other characters properly? Specially because, from what little we get of them, they have a lot of potential to be an interesting character on their own

It wasn't available in my country either! But you can download QooApp and then download twst through it

Honestly I can't see myself writing any analysis for twst? Om drops bit and pieces of lore everywhere and never bothers to pick them up so it's easy to make connections. Twst rarely drops anything that isn't already connected to something else, there are no loose threads that I can weave something out of. Also twst's characters (or the main 7 at least) actually monologue in detail about their issues. In om it's like pulling teeth - which is what makes it fun