On the Radar: Apple and Google Nudify Apps, How Parental Screen Time Impacts Kids and WordPress Hackers

Apple and Google Must Purge ‘Nudify’ Apps, City Demands

What? The city of San Francisco recently demanded that Apple and Google remove all “nudify” apps from their respective app stores. According to a TechCrunch article, investigators found “dozens of apps” allowing for “deepfake NCII [non-consensual intimate images] in exchange for payments.”

So What? A nudify app is one that uses software—often AI—to digitally remove clothing from subjects in a photograph. When the Tech Transparency Project first shared the study with Apple and Google, the companies removed some of the apps, but not all.

Now What? The move by San Francisco is another step in preventing AI-powered abuses. However, parents who hope to keep their children safe can protect them by not posting photos of their children online—or, if you really want to share photos with family and trusted friends, keeping your account private.

Study Finds Parental Screen Time Can Increase Anxiety in Children

What? A new study, titled “Mommy, do you love your phone more than me?”, found a correlation between parental phone use and a child’s insecure attachment to that mother and father. In other words, the more time a parent spends on his or her phone in front of his or her child, the more likely it is that that child will become more insecure.

So What? We’ve known for decades now that higher rates of tech and social media use were positively correlated with higher rates of anxiety and depression. However, this study indicates that our tech use may influence more than just our own mental health.

Now What? We often scroll on our phones without even consciously choosing to. Consider ways you might spend time with family away from screens or help initiate a digital detox in your household. (Plugged In’s Screen Fast might be a good way to start.) And for more tech news, read our free Parents’ Guide to Technology.

Hackers Gain Control of WordPress Websites

What? Experts warn that millions of websites that use WordPress, the world’s largest content management system, may be compromised following “two recently patched vulnerabilities that are being actively exploited in the wild,” according to technology news site TechRadar. Another tech news site, TechCrunch, explains that websites operating under WordPress versions 6.9.0 through 6.9.4, and 7.0.0 to 7.0.1 are vulnerable to full website takeover.

So What? That same TechCrunch article estimated that roughly 90 million websites are at risk of exploitation.

Now What? WordPress urges users to update their websites immediately to avoid the issue. As the software is often used for companies and blogging alike, parents and children will want to make sure that, if they have a site, any critical information on it is protected through WordPress security updates.