Twitter finally has a transparent application process for verifying accounts. Verified accounts are usually granted to public figures or organizations and have a blue checkmark to designate authenticity, but there’s never been any clear path to getting verified. Now, anyone can request it.
- All you have to do is fill out a form requesting verification. That doesn’t mean that everyone will suddenly have the blue check mark, though; Twitter says that they’ll only give the badge to accounts “determined to be of public interest.” The only real perk—aside from appearing ostensibly important—is the added option to filter out replies from unverified accounts. [Twitter via PR Newswire]
- In other news, Google has a new Arts & Culture app. You can use it to search for specific works, pop it into a Google Cardboard viewer for a 360 degree tour of famous locations, and even look up the visiting hours of museums if you want to visit in real life. [Google]
- Earlier today a judge ordered an indefinite ban of WhatsApp in Brazil, after the company has failed to cooperate with a criminal investigation. WhatsApp says that they can’t comply because they don’t store the encrypted messages that are sent through the app. Hours later though, Brazil’s Supreme Court overturned the ban. [Reuters and AFP]
- Apple is partnering with GlaxoSmithKline for their first clinical study that makes use of ResearchKit, Apple’s software platform designed to use iPhones in medical studies. Patients who use the app will input their symptoms and perform a wrist exercise that uses the phone’s sensors to track their movement, as the study concerns rheumatoid arthritis. [Bloomberg]
Source: LifeHacker
