By June 30th, Google writes, it will lower most app store fees in the US, UK, and European Economic Area to 20 percent or less, down from 30 percent. By the end of the year, it will launch a “Registered App Stores” program outside of the US, so that you can download and install third-party app stores (like the Epic Games Store) from the web without the friction that Google erected previously.
https://www.theverge.com/policy/889252/google-app-store-fee-reduction-20-percent-epic-v-google
Wonder 3D can create detailed 3D assets from both text prompts and 2D image references. Could it empower a revolution in game art and 3D printing, or has AI slop merely entered the third dimension?
https://www.creativebloq.com/ai/autodesks-new-ai-3d-generator-could-open-game-art-and-3d-printing-to-everyone
Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence models had “elevated errors” on Monday, as the app held its spot as the most popular free app on Apple ’s App Store. On Friday, President Donald Trump ordered every U.S. government agency to “immediately cease” using Anthropic’s technology. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X shortly after that the Pentagon would be labeling the company a “supply-chain risk to national security.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/02/anthropic-claude-ai-outage-apple-pentagon.html
Not a fan of AI? Tired of every app and device adding some sort of AI functionality? Then Firefox has some good news for you. The popular web browser, which is run by the non-profit-owned tech company Mozilla, has just rolled out a new update that comes with an AI killswitch.
https://mashable.com/article/mozilla-firefox-adds-ai-killswitch
Amazon is adding three new personalities to its AI-powered voice assistant, Alexa+. Users can tune their voice assistant to be Brief, Chill, or Sweet. If set to Brief, Alexa Plus will provide shorter, more direct responses, with just the details you need. Switching to Chill will make the voice assistant respond in a laid-back, friendly tone, while choosing Sweet will transform it into a constant cheerleader with upbeat responses.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/brief-chill-or-sweet-amazons-alexa-plus-now-lets-you-pick-your-ais-personality
Discord stressed it would meet any specific legal obligations it has for age verification of users, and that age verification will be part of the platform in the future. However, the platform said it was now developing "more verification options" for users that would not require facial or ID scans. One such option in development is credit card verification.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgv0yg4n9lo
A new hobbyist developed app warns if people nearby may be wearing smart glasses, such as Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, which stalkers and harassers have repeatedly used to film people without their knowledge or consent. The app scans for smart glasses’ distinctive Bluetooth signatures and sends a push alert if it detects a potential pair of glasses in the local area.
https://www.404media.co/this-app-warns-you-if-someone-is-wearing-smart-glasses-nearby/