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Countries That Have Introduced Social Media Age Restrictions

Australia has banned under-16s from using social media. But which other countries have introduced similar measures?

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Social media and young people, young people and social media. As new platforms emerge and smartphones become near-ubiquitous, teenagers’ use of social media spirals out of control. According to research, over 93% of US teens use social media, with a further 70% addicted to the phenomenon. No wonder our parents are so worried.

With Australia recently making history with a ban on under-16s accessing social media, the world is poised for a wave of similar announcements. But which countries have already introduced measures to curb teenagers’ online habits? We’ve put together a list of all the nations that have moved to implement restrictions of some kind. And be sure to check back, as this list will be updated regularly.

Countries That Have Imposed Social Media Restrictions on Young People

United States
Australia
United Kingdom
Norway
France
Germany
Italy
South Korea
Greece

United States

Federal laws pertaining to teens’ social media use are pretty modest. As per the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, under-13s need parental consent before they sign up to the likes of TikTok, Facebook, and X. More recently, the “Protecting Kids on Social Media Act” has mandated that social media platforms need to verify the age of account holders.

In terms of state restrictions, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law a bill to tackle social media addiction among teens. Set to take effect in 2027, the new law will prevent platforms including TikTok from tailoring content to children based on content that they have shared or what the algorithm has gleaned from them.

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Australia

In November 2024, Australia approved the banning of social media for under-16s. The move includes platforms such as TikTok, Twitter and Facebook.

Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, stated there was a “clear, causal link between the rise of social media and the harm [to] the mental health of young Australians.”

As of December 2025, this ban is now in place, and Australians under-16 are unable to create accounts for several social media platforms, including TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

United Kingdom

Across the Atlantic, legislators passed the Online Safety Act in 2023. This landmark bill mandates tougher standards for social media platforms, including when it comes to age restrictions. The bill is expected to come into force from next year.

In the interim, policymakers have called for a clampdown on teens’ social media use. Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle, has claimed that an Australia-style ban for under-16s is “on the table,” promising to “do what it takes” to safeguard young people against the damaging effects of social media, BBC reports.

Norway

Norway recently announced its intention to raise its existing social media age restrictions from 13 to 15. Admitting that it would be an “uphill battle,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called on politicians to protect young people against platforms that are “pitted against small children’s brains,” The Guardian reports.

In spite of the existence of its current ban, research has found that 58% of 10-year-olds and 72% of 11-year-olds are on social media. The government plans to introduce other measures to ensure its new ban fares more successfully. One possible solution that has been mooted is the requirement of bank accounts as a form of verification.

France

In 2023, the French government introduced legislation to ban under-15s from accessing online services without parental permission. While European Union (EU) data regulations stipulate that teenagers must be 16-years-old to consent to having their data processed, individual member states can lower the age limit if they deem appropriate.

As reported by Euro News, President Emmanuel Macron has since called on Europe to standardize 15 as a “digital majority,” giving parents the tools to decide whether or not their children access social media before the age of 15.

Germany

German teens between the ages of 13 and 16 currently need their parents’ permission to use social media. While pretty modest as regulations go, it’s worth noting that Germany’s social media use is relatively low compared with other countries. Findings from Pew Research Center illustrate that 79% of under-40s use social media. By contrast, it is used by 90% of under-40s in France.

While there no plans to pass similar measures to the likes of Australia, child protection advocates are keen for further restrictions.

Italy

Italian law states that under-14s must seek parental consent before they sign up for social media accounts. This would not appear to be deterring young people, according to Higher Health Institute. Reportedly, four-fifths of Italian teenagers use social media daily, 10% of whom exhibit “problematic use.” Alarmingly, a further 40% of 13-year-old girls indicate problematic use, as per the report.

South Korea

South Korea rolled out the now-defunct “Cinderella Law” in 2011. This prevented teens under the age of 16 from using gaming sites between the hours of midnight and 6AM. Originally introduced to curb gaming addiction, the law has now been repealed.

Greece

In December 2024, Greece announced planned regulations to protect social media users under the age of 15. New rules will mean mandatory age checks, and parental controls that give parents the ability to identify and block certain keywords.

The move follows Greece banning mobile phones from schools in September 2024.

Why Do Countries Want to Introduce Social Media Bans for Teens?

There’s a growing body of evidence to suggest that social media and teens should be kept far away from each other.

Young people’s mental health is spiraling. The World Health Organization (WHO) finds that, globally, one in seven teenagers between 10-19 experiences a mental health issue, which corresponds to 15% of the “global burden of disease” among this age demographic.

The causes for this are manifold and complicated. But there’s no denying that the explosion of misinformation, deluge of “beauty filters,” and rampant use of AI that comprise a significant portion of social media play their part. To explicate this link, look no further than the lawsuit that TikTok is currently facing for its part in the mental health crisis.

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Gus Mallett Writer

Gus is a Senior Writer at Tech.co. Since completing his studies, he has pursued a career in fintech and technology writing which has involved writing reports on subjects including web3 and inclusive design. His work has featured extensively on 11:FS, The Fold Creative, and Morocco Bound Review. Outside of Tech.co, he has an avid interest in US politics and culture.

Bitcoin Hits Record-Busting $100,000 Mark Thanks to Trump Factor

Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark, busting previous records, bolstered by Trump's upcoming presidency.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Bitcoin has shattered the $100,000 benchmark for the first time, signaling a milestone in its 14-year history.

The flagship cryptocurrency reached as high as $103,844 on Wednesday evening, according to Coin Metrics, marking a more than 140% gain this year and a 48% increase since the recent US elections in November saw Donald Trump re-elected as President.

Trump’s crypto-friendly appointments, such as Paul Atkins, have helped bolster the currency.

Bitcoin had been sitting at around $69,000 before Election Day, rising to $75,000 when word that Donald Trump had secured the victory as President-elect came out.

Its ascent continued as investors anticipated a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under Trump’s administration.

Central to the optimism was Trump’s announcement of key appointments, including his pick for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins. Atkins, a known advocate for digital assets, co-chaired the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s Token Alliance and has emphasized the importance of innovation in the crypto space.

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Market Forces and Institutionalization Bolster Crypto

Beyond political factors, institutional adoption continues to bolster Bitcoin’s value. The recent launch of BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which gives investors access to Bitcoin through a more familiar route as a stock exchange traded product, has been a game-changer for crypto. Options trading on the ETF’s first day saw a staggering $1.9 billion in activity, reflecting an increased demand from institutional investors.

Adding to the buzz, Charles Schwab’s incoming CEO, Rick Wurster, signaled the firm’s interest in crypto trading pending anticipated positive regulatory shifts under the Trump administration, further illustrating the increasing integration of Bitcoin into traditional financial systems.

Crypto is Anti-Establishment No More

Bitcoin’s rise to $100,000 is a moment of vindication for early adopters who weathered years of skepticism. Initially dismissed for its anti-establishment roots as a peer-to-peer alternative to traditional banking during the 2008 financial crisis, Bitcoin has come into its own as an accepted asset.

“We’re witnessing a paradigm shift,” said Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital told CNBC. “After four years of political purgatory, Bitcoin and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream.”

Bitcoin’s unprecedented rally has sparked excitement and speculation about its future trajectory. Between the Trump administration’s possible reshaping of crypto regulations and growing institutional interest, the cryptocurrency’s next chapter has the potential to be as metamorphic as its journey thus far.

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Big Tech

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Gus Mallett Writer

Telegram Finally Agrees to Child Protection Measures

Telegram has agreed to work with international experts to find and remove child abuse content from its platform.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Telegram has finally agreed to work with an internally recognized organization to stop child sexual abuse material appearing on the platform.

The announcement comes after years of pressure on the Russian-owned company and is being praised as a step in the right direction but with much work still to do.

The controversial social media platform – which has end-to-end encrypted messaging – has always set itself apart as it claims to put user privacy first and foremost. This led to accusations that it had become a safe haven for criminals and it irked the authorities leading ultimately to the arrest of its founder, Pavel Durov, in France.

What Has Telegram Signed Up To?

Telegram has agreed to work with The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). This organization will help Telegram spot abuse material and swiftly remove it to stop its spread. In a statement, IWF explains that this will include access to its “hashes”, which it describes as “unique digital fingerprints of millions of known child sexual abuse images and videos” which means that when this content is shared, it can be spotted immediately.

The IWF explains that it will report directly into Telegram when this content is found. It also has tools to find and block “non-photographic” depictions of child sexual abuse, including AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery.

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“By joining the IWF, Telegram can begin deploying our world-leading tools to help make sure this material cannot be shared on the service,” said Derek Ray-Hill, Interim CEO at the IWF.

Why Had Telegram Not Engaged Before?

Telegram had always insisted that it had its own measures in place to find and remove this material. As its users grew to around 950 million people worldwide, however, so did concern. Telegram remained unmoved. It told BBC News in August that its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving”.

But it stood apart as other social media platforms, including Snap, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok and OnlyFans, had all signed up to IWF and also to National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Telegram continued to insist it didn’t need to and also ignoring pleas to engage from the TakeItDown programme that works to remove so-called revenge porn.

It has also never published a report on how much of this child abuse content it has found, tracked and taken down – again setting it apart from other social media platforms with more proactive and transparent policies.

Arrest of Telegram Founder

The company’s globetrotting, Russian-born founder, Durov, is currently being held in France. He was personally arrested – much to his anger – because authorities got fed up with the platform’s lack of moderation.

Durov was charged by the French judiciary for alleged complicity in allowing criminal activity on the platform. This, they claimed, included the production and dissemination of child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking, and fraudulent activity. He has been barred from leaving the country.

While Durov is claiming that his arrest is unjustified, it does seems to have resulted in some changes for the platform including more interaction with authorities. The company has agreed to share the IP addresses and phone numbers of users who violate its rules with police after valid legal processes have been followed. Durov has also declared that he wants to “turn moderation on Telegram from an area of criticism into one of praise”.

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Social Media

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Spotify Wrapped Includes a Custom AI Podcast This Year

Plus, the AI-powered "DJ X" is returning this year to generate custom playlists for users, based on their listening history.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Spotify’s Wrapped annual round-up of users’ favorite tunes has returned, and this year it comes packaged with AI-generated personalized podcasts.

The AI rundown features two synthetic hosts chatting about users’ most played tracks and which artists and genres they prefer; and is powered by Google’s AI tech, NotebookLM.

The tie-in with Google comes as Spotify – like so many other tech ventures – is slimming down its workforce as it fights for users against Amazon, Apple and YouTube’s Music offerings. Apple’s Replay report got to its users a day before Spotify had hit release

What to Expect From Your AI Podcast

The new podcast feature is available in English to free and Premium users in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and Sweden. As well as offering a rundown of what users have streamed, it also will look at their “musical journey” through the year as an “evolution.” It will even offer “a custom Your Music Evolution 2024 playlist,” accessible through users’ Wrapped feed on Home.

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“At Spotify, of course, we love audio, we love podcasts, and we’re always looking to be where our users are listening,” Molly Holder, Spotify’s senior director of product for personalization, said during a press briefing. “This partnership with Google seemed like a very exciting integration and a way for us to do just that.”

DJ X In The House

This year also sees the return of the platform’s original AI-powered voice – its AI DJ X, which users can ask to create playlists for them based on what they have been listening to over the year. This option is now available for Spanish speakers.

However, says Wired, AI-generated podcasts don’t seem to have caught users’ attention to date. It will be interesting to see how Spotify fans react to the new offering and whether the personalized touches hit a chord or a bum note.

Wider Taste Test

The annual roundup is also a chance for Spotify to crunch some data and tell its 640 million monthly active users which artists are topping its world chart and which song was streamed by the most users over the year.

In the US, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter took the title for most-streamed song followed by “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar. And you’ll be less than surprised to find out that it was Taylor Swift who took the title of most-streamed artist both globally and in the US with more than 26.6 billion streams globally. Drake, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen and Kanye West also made the list for US listeners.

For podcasts, “The Joe Rogan Experience” took the number one spot worldwide and in the US chart, with “Call Her Daddy” in second place.

At the moment, the human podcasters are dominating despite the increasing number of AI-generated shows. Still, Spotify is sure to come up with more AI-offerings before the next Wrapped gets unwrapped.

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Artificial Intelligence

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Biden Signs Hybrid Work Deal for Thousands of Government Workers

A deal has been struck to allow 42,000 government employees to continue to hybrid work past the change in administration.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

As his time in office draws to a close, President Biden’s administration has agreed a hybrid work deal for 42,000 government employees.

The contract was agreed between the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Social Security Administration (SSA).

It’s now set in stone until 2029, which will be at the chagrin of incoming President Trump and his new best friend, Elon Musk, who has been open in his disdain towards hybrid working and wants government employees back in the office full-time.

Hybrid Until 2029

The contract secures hybrid working conditions for both the federal and government workers under this AFGE Union. It offers between two and five days RTO, though some workers will have to be in the office full time because of the nature of their job.

“This deal will secure not just telework for SSA employees, but will also secure staffing levels through prevention of higher attrition, which in turn will secure the ability of the Agency to serve the public.” – Rich Couture, AFGE chapter president, to Bloomberg

It has been signed by Biden’s former SSA Commissioner, Martin O’Malley.

Immediate Backlash

There has already been a fiery response to the news from Republican ranks.

“THOUSANDS of federal employees just landed a work from home deal ahead of @realDonaldTrump taking office. This is why I introduced the SHOW UP Act. Our government needs to show up for the people it serves.” – Senator James Comer on X

Musk – as head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency – has already barred his teeth and made its RTO intentions clear.

He and former GOP presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, wrote a Wall Street Journal op ed, in which they stated bluntly: “If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home.”

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Means to an End

The DOGE team has been given the task of mercilessly slashing the size of the federal workforce. Forcing employees out who don’t want to come into the office full-time is a tactic that is already being deployed by some tech companies, including Dell.

“If you require most of those federal bureaucrats to just say, like normal working Americans, you come to work five days a week, a lot of them won’t want to do that. If you have many voluntary reductions in force of the workforce in the federal government along the way, great. That’s a good side effect of those policies as well.” – Vivek Ramaswamy on Fox News Sunday

However, detractors have pointed out that unions will fight the move and that, actually, the majority of federal workers are already in the workplace full time because of the nature of their jobs.

The huge savings Musk is promising might have to be made elsewhere and who knows what that will look like. No doubt we can expect a post on X soon with his grand plan.

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Remote Working

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Gus Mallett Writer

Amazon Launches Six New AI Models for Text, Video and Imagery

Amazon CEO takes to stage to announce six new AI models - the Nova family - with a wide rage of abilities.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Six new AI models are incoming from Amazon, including text, video and image generating offerings.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) unveiled the Nova family at its re:Invent conference with CEO, Andy Jassy, making the announcement on stage.

Only last week, Amazon revealed that it has made a second $4 billion investment in AI startup, Anthropic, as it incorporates AI into every aspect of its business from Audible to shopping.

Text-Generation Options

There are four text-generation models in the Nova family and three of them – Micro, Lite and Pro- are available from today for AWS customers in AWS Bedrock, Amazon’s AI development platform. The fourth model – Premier – will arrive in early 2025.

All of the models are optimized for 15 languages (but primarily English), explains Amazon. What differentiates them from each other is the size and capabilities. Let’s break it down.

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Micro is the smallest offering and has a 128,000-token context window. This equates to a processing ability of up to around 100,000 words. It takes in and outputs text but is the fastest option in the Nova text-generating group as it has the lowest latency.

Next up is Lite, which can analyze text, images, and video. Like Pro, it has a 300,000-token context windows. This means it can process around 225,000 words, 15,000 lines of computer code or 30 minutes of footage.

Pro is faster but Premier is designed to be used to build custom models upon. This means it is best suited to deal with complex workloads.

“We’ve optimized these models to work with proprietary systems and APIs, so that you can do multiple orchestrated automatic steps — agent behavior — much more easily with these models,” said Jassy, adding. “So I think these are very compelling.”

Amazon is already promising upgrades and says that early next year, the content windows in some of the Nova models will expand to more than two million tokens.

Image and Video Generation

There are two options here whose names explain what they do – Canvas and Reel. Canvas will let users generate but also edit images. It offers a range of options to change color schemes but also layouts.

Reel will allow users to create videos up to six seconds in length but a version for creating two-minute videos is incoming. Videos are creating either from entering a prompt or reference images. As Amazon showed in a video, tools include changing the camera motion with pans, 360-degree rotations, and zoom.

Responsible AI at Amazon

Jassy emphasized that both of these tools have “built-in” controls for responsible use. “[We’re trying] to limit the generation of harmful content,” he said. Tools include content moderation abilities and a watermarking option.

In a blog post, Amazon stated that this new family of AI models “extends [its] safety measures to combat the spread of misinformation, child sexual abuse material, and chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear risks.”

More To Come from Amazon AI

As well as the updates to the six current Nova models, Amazon is promising a speech-to-speech model and a native multimodal-to-multimodal—or “any-to-any” modality model. Both are set to be released early next year.

The speech-to-speech model will “…understand streaming speech input in natural language, interpreting verbal and nonverbal cues (like tone and cadence), and delivering natural humanlike interactions,” shares Amazon.

Whereas the any-to-any model will be able to process text, images, audio, and video, but as “both input and output”. This means it can be used as the baseline to develop applications for lots of different tasks including “translating content from one modality to another, editing content, and powering AI agents that can understand and generate all modalities”, the company explains. “This is the future of how frontier models are going to be built and consumed,” added Jassy.

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Artificial Intelligence

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Study: 15% of All Google Search Terms Are Made Up of Just 148 Keywords

New findings reveal fascinating insight into Google searcher behavior, with traffic getting harder to win for businesses.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

According to groundbreaking new data published by SparkToro in partnership with Datos, people’s searching behaviors are becoming more insular, with a quarter of all Google searches dominated by just a few thousand query terms. More widely, the top 10,000 search terms account for nearly half of all search activity.

One of the most interesting findings is that 15% of all Google search terms are driven by just 148 keywords.

The findings, which are based on a longitudinal study of 332 million search queries over a 21-month period, shed new light on how users interact with the world’s dominant search engine. The news will come as unwelcome to many businesses around the world, for whom it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out online.

Users On Google Are Looking for Similar Things

New data from SparkToro and Datos reveals that a significant portion of Google searches are dedicated to a relatively tiny proportion of possible keywords.

Based on an analysis of 332 million queries for more than 320,000 unique query terms, people are visiting fewer websites over time. The study, which took place from January 2023 to September 2024, proves what a lot of brands suspect – that it’s harder than ever to cut through online.

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Remarkably, just 148 keywords account for 15% of all Google searches. Most of these are navigational queries – in other words, people using the search engine to get to a specific destination. Ten of the most popular search queries are: YouTube, Gmail, Amazon, Facebook, ChatGPT, Google Translate, WhatsApp Web, Google Maps, Pornhub, and Google Docs.

Study Shines Light on Searcher Behavior

The study set out to demystify Google search behavior, which accounts for about 90% of the online search market. With the recent proliferation of AI Overviews and other features, the search giant has never been more in the spotlight – and yet so little is known about how people actually use it. Until now.

Classifying data by brand, search intent, and topic, other findings suggest that just 10,000 possible queries make up a staggering 46% of all search activity. At the same time, 44% of all searches are for branded terms, such as “Nike socks,” compared with 56% for generic, unbranded terms, such as “socks.”

In terms of intent, over half (51%) of searches are informational, 14.5% are commercial, and a fraction (0.69%) are transactional. This means that the majority of users seek information, such as the weather forecast in their city, and a lesser portion are looking for financial or business services, such as a tree surgeon. Only a tiny portion are directly looking to make a purchase.

Businesses Facing Uphill Battle to Win Traffic

For businesses, the truth is writ large – winning traffic is harder than ever, and it will only continue to get worse. While a higher portion of organizations jostles for visibility, users gravitate towards big brands and topics. This is borne out by the numbers, with large organizations and individuals getting richer by the day in recent years.

To make matters worse, so-called “zero-click” answers, with AI Overviews prominently among them, already exert sizable control over many of the biggest topics that people are searching for. Specifically, Google’s own answers dominate five out of nine of the top search categories, including Arts and Entertainment, Games, Sports, Finance, and Reference.

This trend is unlikely to abate. Barring devastating ramifications resulting from the Department of Justice’s quest to break up the Google monopoly, companies around the world would be wise to go back to their respective drawing boards.

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Gus Mallett Writer

FBI & NSA Issue Security Warning After Relentless Telecom Attacks From China

Government publishes tips for broadband providers and urges vigilance after huge data breach from Chinese hacking gang.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

In the wake of a spate of attacks on US broadband providers, the government is urging vigilance and telling companies to ramp up their defenses.

The US cybersecurity agency says that the Chinese group behind the attacks in October might well attack again; and companies are still reeling from how much data they stole.

Some of the country’s biggest providers were impacted, including T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies. In what became a horrific month for the industry, a separate impacted more than 200,000 Comcast subscribers.

What Data Was Stolen and When?

In October, CISA and the FBI confirmed the breaches and said that vast amounts of “internet traffic from internet service providers that count businesses large and small, and millions of Americans, as their customers [had been taken].” The data included customer call records and law enforcement request data.

The hackers behind the attacks were tracked to China and revealed to be a group called Salt Typhoon. A Wall Street Journal report suggested that the group actually had access to the breached networks “for months or longer.”

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It also emerged that it was not just regular citizens who were impacted. As Bleeping Computer reports, the hackers also got hold of the “private communications” of a “limited number” of government officials. They even gained access to the U.S. government’s wiretapping platform, says the tech news site.

Is Security Threat Still High?

A senior CISA official told reporters in a press call that there is uncertainty as to whether the networks might still be harboring the cybercriminals. They said: “We cannot say with certainty that the adversary has been evicted, because we still don’t know the scope of what they’re doing. We’re still trying to understand that, along with those partners.”

Because of this, the threat is still high though T-Mobile has come out and said that it isn’t seeing any attackers active within its network.

However, this group has been active since 2019 – also going under the names of Earth Estries, FamousSparrow, Ghost Emperor, and UNC2286 – and has attacked government agencies as well as telecoms outfits in South East Asia as well as the US attack.

What Advice Are Providers Being Given?

In a statement, Dave Luber, NSA Cybersecurity Director, said: “Vigilance is key for defending against network compromise,” said. “Always have eyes on your systems and patch and address known vulnerabilities before they become targets.”

The NSA has worked on a joint advisory with the FBI and international partners offering guidance as to how companies can harden their device and network security. The main aim is to reduce the attack surface exploited by these threat actors, says Bleeping Computer.

Tips include disabling all unused, unauthenticated, or unencrypted protocols; patching and upgrading devices promptly and stringent password protection. The agencies also encourage system administrators and engineers to put tools in place so that they can see network traffic, data flow and user activity. And this includes monitoring traffic from trusted partners as this is how T-Mobile was breached.

Network defenders also need eyes on configuration changes and management connections especially on devices at network perimeters as they could be a potential weakness.

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Privacy and Security

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

How to Delete Your Snapchat Account on Different Devices

Done with Snapchat? Here's how to download your data and shut down your account.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Snapchat is a popular platform for sharing photos with friends, communicating with classmates, or staying in touch with family. But eventually, whether you decide to move to another social media platform or want to reduce your digital footprint, you may want to delete your account.

Unfortunately, it may not be immediately obvious how to delete your Snapchat account. To clear up confusion, we’ve compiled this guide on deleting your Snapchat account and properly backing up your data beforehand.

Key Takeaways

There are only a few easy steps involved in deleting your Snapchat account.
The exact process differs depending on the device you’re using to delete the account.
Once you delete your account, there’s a 30-day time frame where your account is only deactivated. When that period ends, the account gets permanently deleted.
When deleting Snapchat (or any social media accounts), you should download your data beforehand to avoid losing everything.

How To Delete Your Snapchat Account

The exact steps for deleting your account depend whether you’re using an Apple device, an Android device, or a browser on a computer.

Deleting Your Snapchat Account on a Web Browser

Log into your Snapchat account via the accounts portal.
Click Delete my account.
Provide your username and password, and press Continue to confirm the deletion.

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Deleting Your Snapchat Account on an Apple Device

Load up the Snapchat app and click on your profile icon.
On your profile, press the Settings gear icon.
Scroll to Account Actions and press Delete Account.
You’re asked to log into the accounts portal with your username and password.
On the Delete Account page, tap Continue to confirm the deletion.

Deleting Your Snapchat Account on an Android Device

While you can delete your account from the Snapchat app on an Apple device, this isn’t true for Android devices.

To delete your account on an Android, you’ll need to use your mobile browser and follow the steps outlined in the Deleting Your Snapchat Account on a Web Browser section of this guide.

What To Know About the Deletion Process

The deletion process doesn’t happen immediately. There’s a 30-day deactivation period before your Snapchat account is fully deleted.

If you want, you can reactivate your account within this period. To reactivate the account, just sign in. But if this period passes and you don’t reactivate the account, the account gets permanently deleted.

Also, while Snapchat removes most of your data once you delete the account, there are some details it keeps. This includes information about your purchases and when you accepted the Snapchat Terms and Conditions.

If you have any privacy concerns, check out the Snapchat Privacy Policy for a complete look at the information the company collects and keeps.

How To Download Your Snapchat Data

Before deleting your account, consider backing up your data by downloading it from Snapchat. Some examples of the data you’re able to download include your:

Login history and account information
Saved chat history
Snap history
Purchase and shop history
Snapchat support history
Search history
Memories
Friends
Location
Bitmoji

If you don’t download this data, you’ll lose it forever. If you want to preserve it, follow these steps:

Visit http://accounts.snapchat.com/ on your computer or mobile device and log in to your account.
Click My Data.
Choose the type of data you want to download. Then, select whether you want to receive all data or just data in a specific date range.
Confirm your email address and click Submit.
Snapchat sends you an email with a download link to get your data.

Conclusion

Snapchat is a popular platform for sharing photos, videos, and messages, but there are many reasons why someone may want to delete their account. Thankfully, it’s a straightforward process and takes only a few steps. That said, make sure to back up your data before closing your account.

If you want to learn more about the platform, check out our guides on using Snapchat’s new AI image tool and preventing Snapchat from using your face in ads.

FAQs

You can have more than one account, but you’re only able to use your email/phone number for a single account. So once you verify a new account with your email address and/or phone number, they’ll be removed from your previous account.

If you can’t delete your account, there’s a chance Snapchat flagged it for unauthorized activity. According to Snapchat, this security measure ensures unauthorized users don’t alter your account without your knowledge. Snapchat recommends waiting 72 hours and trying again. If you still can’t delete the account, reach out to Snapchat support for assistance.

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Social Media

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Protect Yourself From Romance Scams: What You Should Be Looking Out for

Romance scams are often cruel and convincing in equal measure. Here's how to identify and avoid them.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

A romance scam occurs when a criminal creates a profile online and pretends to build a romantic relationship with a victim in order to exploit them for financial gain. In many cases, these accounts are completely fake, although there are some high-profile examples of romance scams that have involved scammers using their real identities.

It’s becoming easier to orchestrate these scams on platforms like WhatsApp with AI-generated imagery and messages, which means you need to be on your guard when talking to people you’ve never met before, especially if they ask for money.

In this guide, we elaborate on what romance scams are, how they typically progress, and easy steps you can take to avoid them. It’s all about keeping your money, time, and emotions safe.

Key Takeaways

A romance scam occurs when someone creates a fake identity and builds a romantic relationship with you to manipulate you for financial gain.
Romance scams usually follow a predictable pattern—contact, building trust, creating urgency, and asking for money.
To avoid romance scams, maintain a healthy level of caution on the internet, and never share personal information or money with a stranger.
Red flags of romance scams include fast declarations of love, excuses for not visiting you in person, and eventually asking for money.

What Are Romance Scams?

A romance scam is a type of online dating scam in which a scammer creates a fake identity and begins a romantic relationship with you. After building trust, the scammer uses their emotional influence to exploit you financially.

How romance scams work

Romance scams usually progress in a somewhat predictable manner:

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Preparation: The scammer makes a fake profile on a dating app or social media platform, typically with an attractive profile photo.
Contact: The scammer reaches out to you and starts a conversation with the intent of building a relationship.
Building trust: The scammer tells you stories, sends you photos, and shares details about their life in order to create an emotional bond with you and build trust.
Creating a scenario: The scammer fabricates a fake scenario to create a sense of urgency, such as a medical emergency or a sudden desire to buy a flight and visit you in person.
Financial request: The scammer asks for money or personal details from you, assuring you it will help their situation. They use their emotional connection with you and the fabricated sense of urgency to loosen your defenses.
Escalation: If you agree and send over the money, the scammer continues making up new situations, asking for more money until you can no longer comply.

How To Avoid Romance Scams

To protect yourself from romance scams, it’s important to be cautious and recognize the warning signs early. Here are some tips to help you stay safe online.

Be cautious

In every case, the best way to prevent a scam is to avoid it before it even happens. To do this, always practice common-sense caution when interacting with strangers online.

Protect your personal information: Always think twice before sending email addresses, passwords, or physical addresses to someone online. If you’ve never met the person, a good rule of thumb is to simply never send personal information under any circumstances.
Use secure communication channels: Stick to social media sites like Instagram and Facebook or well-known dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, or Hinge.
Trust your instincts: If something seems too good to be true, or if it just feels a little “off,” take a step back and think before engaging further.

Watch for red flags

If a romance scammer has targeted you, there will be many telltale signs. Here are the most common:

They’ll quickly move your interactions away from dating apps or social media, preferring messaging apps or texting.
They’ll try to build emotional bonds quickly, using pet names and declaring love sooner than normal.
They’ll make excuses for why they can’t visit you in person, such as being abroad for work or travel, even though they really want to.
They’ll bring up their financial problems frequently, hoping you’ll proactively offer to help.
They’ll ask you to send them money, gift cards, or other expensive items.
They may ask you to open new bank accounts to receive wire transfers from their business contacts or for investments.

Verify identities

There’s nothing wrong with getting to know a potential partner online, but it’s essential to verify their identity before becoming too emotionally invested.

Here are some easy ways to do that:

Find the person on other apps: For example, if you met this person on Tinder, see if you can find their Instagram or Facebook accounts as well. Do their photos look like stock images, or are they authentic and varied? Do they have friends who also seem genuine and active on social media?
Use reverse image search: Upload an image to a search engine to find where else that image appears online, helping you verify if it’s authentic or stolen.
Schedule live calls: It’s very difficult for a scammer to maintain their fake identity during a live video call, so requesting one is a good way to weed out scammers. That said, deepfakes and other AI technologies are becoming more advanced every day, which means this may not be the case for long.

Avoid sending money

Romance scams almost always culminate in a request for money or other valuable items like gift cards or smartphones. Here’s how to deny the request without feeling bad about it:

Never send money to strangers: Make a rule that, no matter what, you’ll never send money or private information to someone you haven’t spent significant time with in person. Inform them of this rule early on. This will help protect you from both financial fraud and identity theft.
Don’t feel guilty: Romance scammers specialize in guilt-tripping their victims. If you’re not totally certain the person is a scammer, and you’re feeling guilty, offer them emotional support, but stand firm in your resolve not to send money.

Report suspicious activity

Victims of romance scams often fail to report them because they feel stupid and ashamed that they were tricked—or even that they came close to being tricked.

Don’t be embarrassed: In 2022 alone, nearly 70,000 people fell prey to a romance scam—and those were only the reported ones!
Know where to go: Report romance scams to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center.
Seek help if you’ve been scammed: Organizations like the Financial Crime Resource Center were specifically created to help get justice for scam victims.

Reporting your romance scam experience could be the very thing that keeps other potential victims from falling for such scams in the future.

Final Thoughts

Romance scammers create fake profiles, using a romantic connection to exploit their victims emotionally and financially.

To avoid them, be cautious about sharing personal information online, be aware of the common red flags, and verify the identities of online strangers before trusting them. In general, make a rule never to send money to someone you haven’t met in person.

Romance scams often take place on secure messaging apps like Telegram. If you’re a Telegram user, you might want to check out our article on Common Telegram Scams and How To Avoid Them.

FAQs

The best way to outsmart a romance scammer is to prevent them from getting to know you in the first place. Never share personal information with a stranger online, and always use secure communication channels.

Romance scammers exhibit several common red flags. They prefer to move your interactions away from dating apps, using pet names, and declaring love for you early on. They also create a sense of urgency and ask you for money or other valuable items, telling you it will greatly help their situation.

Romance scammers will act like they really want to come and visit you in person but will constantly make up excuses for not being able to. Ultimately, they never will.

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

US Government Targets Data Brokers To Protect Consumers

Data brokers might be treated more like credit bureaus in the future... if this law actually gets passed.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is hoping to protect the sensitive data of millions of consumers by changing what data brokers can sell.

The rule will see data brokers change status to “consumer reporting agencies” if they sell information about consumers’ income, credit history, credit score, or debt payments.

The move aims to stem the flow of sensitive data getting into the hands of cybercriminals, since this data is not just coming from the thousands of data breaches that happen each year.

What Is the Proposed Rule?

The rule will see data brokers change status to be treated “like credit bureaus and background check companies,” says The Verge. This means that they will have to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and its restrictions on how they obtain information – for example, the data provided in consumer reports.

The rule also changes the consent levels for consumers.

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To comply with the FCRA, data brokers will have to get clear consent for data sharing and also permission to sell sensitive personal or financial information from consumers.

How Could the Rule Help Consumers?

The rule, which is aimed at private companies, gives consumers more control over their data. The CFPB also hopes it might stop some data from getting into the wrong hands.

CFPB director Rohit Chopra talked about the massive National Public Data breach that happened in October in which 200 million Social Security numbers were leaked and then offered for sale on the dark web. “These aren’t just isolated incidents: they represent a systemic vulnerability in how our personal data is bought and sold,” Chopra said in a press call.

Chopra added: “Data brokers – the outfits that collect and sell detailed information about our personal and financial lives – are making this data available to anyone willing to pay a price.”

This includes hostile foreign nations. “By selling our most sensitive personal data without our knowledge or consent, data brokers can profit by enabling scamming, stalking, and spying,” he added.

What Are the Next Steps?

Well, this rule might actually never come into being. The CFPB is accepting comments on the proposed rule until March 3, 2025. However, according to the Washington Post, Trump and company are already eyeing up the CFPB and could limit its powers and funding, accusing it of regulatory overreach. This proposed rule might stay a proposal.

A CFPB spokesperson wouldn’t comment on “what a future administration may do” but said that there was “broad bipartisan recognition that data brokers pose real dangers both to Americans’ privacy and to national security.”

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Big Tech

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Russia Behind Removed Covert Influence Campaigns, Says Meta

Meta says AI wasn't the main factor behind the two million scam accounts that it has gotten rid of across 2024.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Fake news and misleading political influencer campaigns were among the content that have been taken down so far this year by Meta.

The social media firm says that it is stopped around 20 covert influence operations around the world this year, with the majority of malicious activity coming from Russia.

Already this month, Meta released a report in which it revealed it has removed two million scam accounts this year alone, though in both cases, AI has played a surprisingly small role.

What Did Meta Remove?

According to Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs at Meta, the company was tackling more than one new operation every three weeks.

The “coordinated inauthentic behavior” incidents recorded in the company’s Adversarial Threat Report, included one Russian network using both fake news websites and Facebook accounts to target people in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

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The Guardian reports that a different operation used AI to create fake news websites “…using brands such as Fox News and the Telegraph to try to weaken western support for Ukraine, and used Francophone fake news sites to promote Russia’s role in Africa and to criticize that of France.”

AI Plays a Role

Clegg reports that it was “striking” how little AI had been used to try and influence Meta users. He said: “There were all sorts of warnings about the potential risks of things like widespread deepfakes and AI enabled disinformation campaigns. That’s not what we’ve seen from what we’ve monitored across our services. It seems these risks did not materialize in a significant way, and that any such impact was modest and limited in scope.”

It did play a small role though. The company had to remove just over 500,000 requests to generate AI images using Meta’s own tools and images subjects, included Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, JD Vance and Joe Biden in the month leading up to the US election.

Clegg warned against complacency, saying that Meta is fully expecting AI will play a larger role in the future and the present status-quo is “very, very likely to change.”

Elections Upcoming

With elections coming up next year in both Australia and Canada, the UK-based Centre for Emerging Technology and Security is warning that AI-enabled threats are already damaging democracies, and, like Clegg, has encouraged alertness.

Meta has been waging a war against Facebook and Instagram ‘Spamouflage’ accounts since around 2017 and has deleted thousands of fake accounts posting propaganda and fake content. The company has also changed its advertising rules so that AI-generated content now has to be disclosed.

However, Meta is pushing for its monitoring functionality to be backed up by regulatory guidance, especially as AI-generated content becomes harder to spot and more prolific.

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Gus Mallett Writer

What Is a Netflix Tagger Job, and How do You Get One?

In this guide, we'll provide an overview of the Netflix Tagger role, as well as the qualifications and skills you'll need.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

If Netflix hires you as a “tagger,” you’ll get paid to enjoy movies and TV shows for up to 20 hours per week. Sounds good?

In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about Netflix tagger jobs, including qualifications, expected pay range, and how to go about getting one.

Key Takeaways

A Netflix tagger job involves watching Netflix and categorizing movies and shows based on various attributes.
Qualifications for a Netflix tagger job include a background or degree in entertainment or film studies, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently.
Netflix tagger positions pay anywhere from $15-$45 per hour, requiring around 16-20 hours of work per week.
To apply for a Netflix tagger job, visit Netflix’s official jobs page.

What Is a Netflix Tagger Job and How to Get One

A Netflix tagger job, officially known as a “content analyst” or “editorial analyst,” involves watching Netflix shows and movies, then categorizing or “tagging” them based on different characteristics.

These tags can include genre, mood, cast, themes, plot elements, and even the type of characters or specific tropes.

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The goal is to help Netflix’s algorithm recommend content more accurately to users based on their viewing habits.

Two quick examples:

If a tagger classifies a specific movie as “sci-fi,” “adventure,” and “female lead,” it will become much simpler for Netflix to recommend that show to customers who’ve been proven in the past to enjoy sci-fi adventure shows with female leads.
Similarly, if a tagger hears a profane word in a show that seems to be marketed toward young viewers, they can tag the show with “profanity,” and Netflix will know to remove it from lists that should contain only clean shows.

It’s a behind-the-scenes job with the ultimate goal of improving the user experience through better calibrated movie and show recommendations—something all streaming services strive for.

Qualifications for a Netflix Tagger Job

To qualify for a Netflix tagger job, you’ll likely need some sort of background in media, film, or a related field. An educational background or college degree isn’t required, but it’s highly preferred. Work experience in the entertainment industry, television industry, or similar field is also a big plus.

Here are some other ideal qualifications for a Netflix tagger role:

Strong analytical skills and attention to detail, since the job involves categorizing content accurately
Good communication skills, since you’ll often need to document your findings
Familiarity with a wide range of genres, film tropes, film history, and pop culture
Ability to work independently, since much of the job is self-directed
Deep knowledge of Netflix’s platform
Willingness to spend large blocks of time focused on movies and shows you might not naturally find entertaining

Average Pay of a Netflix Tagger Job

Netflix tagger positions pay between $15 to $45 per hour, and you’re usually required to work anywhere from 16 to 20 hours per week. This translates to an average salary range of $12,000 to $45,000 per year.

Though the pay can be substantial, most taggers see their work as an easy way to make extra money.

How to Apply for a Netflix Tagger Job

The only way to apply for a Netflix tagger job is through Netflix’s official jobs page. Be aware of fake job listings on other sites.

Though Netflix tagger jobs have been around for more than 10 years, they’re pretty rare. So if you see a job listing for a Netflix tagger pop up on the jobs page, be sure to jump on it!

Conclusion

Netflix taggers are people who get paid to watch Netflix movies and shows and categorize them, playing a crucial role in improving the accuracy of Netflix’s recommendation algorithm.

Netflix prioritizes hiring those with backgrounds in entertainment or film, and prefers candidates with strong analytical skills, familiarity with many different genres, and the ability to work with little supervision. Netflix tagger jobs pay $15-$45 per hour, with an expected 16-20 hours of work per week.

If you’re looking for a remote job in general, you’ll like our article Best 9 Websites for Finding Remote Jobs.

FAQs

Yes, Netflix tagger jobs are totally legit. Netflix pays employees known as “taggers” to categorize movies and shows based on attributes like cast, plot, themes, and genre.

People with backgrounds or degrees in entertainment or film studies have the best shot at becoming a Netflix tagger. Netflix isn’t strict on this, however. If you believe you’re qualified and want to give it a shot, apply on Netflix’s jobs page.

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Big Tech

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Intel CEO Told to Retire or Be Removed

Intel CEO shown the door as board votes no confidence in his plans and pushes for a successor to take on NVIDIA.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

After three years as CEO – and decades before that in the lower ranks – Pat Gelsinger has been forced out of his role at Intel.

The board of the company, which is floundering in the face of competition from the likes of NVIDIA, gave the computing veteran the choice between resigning and retiring or getting fired.

Intel is in the process of slashing 15,000 workers with thousands more planned, leaving employees fearful that their fate might be similar to that of their soon-to-be former CEO.

Board Rebellion

The news of Gelsinger’s imminent departure came after the CEO met with his board, who made it clear that they had lost faith in him and didn’t think he was the person to turn the company’s fortunes around.

Bloomberg reports that his focus on turning Intel into a made-to-order chip manufacturer – making chips for other companies – was criticized.

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He had planned to expand the company’s factory network in order to facilitate this, including building a huge new facility in Ohio.

Government Aid

Intel received almost $7.9 billion in federal grants to build chip manufacturing factories in the country. The money came via the 2022 Chips and Science Act, which set aside $39 billion in grants, $75 billion in loans and loan guarantees, and 25% tax credits for American chipmaking.

However, the fate of this program is itself as precarious as Intel’s. It has already caught the attention of President-elect Donald Trump who called the program “so bad.”

Politics aside, the board felt that this direction had been at the detriment of creating new products that could win market share. In particular, Intel is flagging behind NVIDIA in AI computing and simply doesn’t have the resources of its rivals.

Shares Rise… Then Slump

The news of the CEO’s departure saw Intel’s shares rise 6% in New York on Monday. However, they then retreated, marking a year-to-date decline of more than half. Investors have clocked that whoever replaces Gelsinger long-term has a gargantuan mountain to climb.

In the interim before a new CEO is appointed, the company said in a statement that Intel’s Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner and Executive Vice President Michelle Johnston Holthaus will serve as interim co-CEOs.

“We know that we have much more work to do at the company and are committed to restoring investor confidence. As a board, we know first and foremost that we must put our product group at the center of all we do. Our customers demand this from us, and we will deliver for them.” – Frank Yeary, independent chair of the board of Intel

Yeary will serve as interim executive chair.

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Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

The Best Free AI Training Courses You Can Start in December 2024

Educators, data scientists, and UX designers: There's a free AI training course for all in this handy guide to courses.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Several years into its hype cycle, AI innovations are still making headlines all the time. Most recently, Jeff Bezos teamed up with Samsung to invest $700 million into the AI chip startup Tenstorrent so it can compete with industry heavy hitter Nvidia.

Granted, AI is far from perfect, with critics calling out copyright concerns, environmental impacts, and executives cynically wielding automation as a threat to weaken the labor market. But if you’re just an average worker hoping to stay on top of the latest technology, a quick AI training course might help you upskill just enough to retain your edge.

AI tools are everywhere these days — and in some cases, such as the AI summaries that Google won’t let anyone turn off, they’re here whether you want them or not. Here are the most helpful, most interesting, and easiest free AI training courses you can check out this December.

Vanderbilt: Generative AI for Educators & Teachers Specialization

⏰Length: 24 hours

Vanderbilt University’s course aims to help teachers get to grips with AI tools.

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They’ll definitely already be familiar with the concept: Any teacher in 2024 has undoubtedly fielded plenty of AI-generated essays, or tried to figure out if a homework problem was solved with AI. Worse, these chores are even harder than you’d think, since even AI detector bots can be wrong.

Now, though, those teachers can “master techniques for using ChatGPT to enhance rather than harm education,” according to this course, which is led by Dr. Jules White.

Learners will be able to work through four modules, learning concepts and tasks including how to use generative AI to “amplify and augment your creativity and critical thinking,” how to brainstorm lesson plans, how to personalize learning materials, and how best to generate quick analysis.

The course is designed to stretch out over three months, although you’ll only have to complete two hours for each week across that time period — a fairly reasonable amount of time for a harried educator to try to slip into a busy work week.

You can check out the course and sign up over here on the Coursera website.

Microsoft Copilot: Data Science Specialization

⏰Length: 19 hours

Microsoft Copilot is the generative artificial intelligence chatbot offered by Microsoft since 2023, when it launched with OpenAI’s GPT-4 engine powering it. The tool can be used to “supercharge” your data science workflow by automating tasks and code-writing itself. But you’ll need to know how to use it. Enter this Coursera course.

In addition to defining key AI concepts and showing users how to get Copilot to help with basic tasks, this course will help users identify GenAI use cases in data science, whether that means working with data augmentation, feature engineering, anomaly detection, or generative modeling.

At a hefty 19 hours in length, this free training course is aimed at beginners, and can bring them up to speed on the ins and outs of the AI tool offered by one of the biggest business software providers in operation today. As far as upskilling goes, this will likely turn your manager’s head.

Get started today with this month-long course by heading over to the Coursera website here.

Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals: AI Overview

⏰Length: About 3 hours

Love Microsoft but need a shorter training course? Or perhaps you work more often with Microsoft Azure, the company’s cloud computing platform, than you do with Microsoft Copilot. Whatever the case, this quick three-hour tour of the core concepts you need to know for Azure and AI is here to help.

It’s another beginner-level course, so you won’t need to worry about previous AI experience. Everyone who signs up can learn about core AI terms — machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing all get their own videos. You’ll also dig into the basics of less well-known AI concepts, from document intelligence and knowledge mining to clustering or the difference between binary classification and multiclass classification.

The final module explains how users can operate Azure AI services in order to build applications for themselves. By the end, you’ll understand how authentication works, and be able to complete an exercise by yourself.

Get started today: It’s all available for free on Microsoft’s own learning website.

LinkedIn: Using AI Tools for UX Design

⏰Length: About 2 hours

This course takes a look at how AI can help tech creatives working in the user experience (UX) design business. Eric Nordquist leads the sessions, exploring popular tools including Midourney, DALL-E 2, Jasper AI, and others in order to cover how each one can best be deployed during the lifecycle of a user experience design project.

Like many courses hosted on the LinkedIn Learning platform, this one is video based and, at a tidy two hours long in total, is very short. You’ll be able to dig in and wrap it up all in a single weekend afternoon, if you want.

For long-time designers who just need to pick up a “just the basics” understanding of how AI tools can help them, this course is a targeted look at the benefits of AI for UX. Once you’re finished, you might have more time for other LinkedIn courses — AI-focused or otherwise. You’ll have some time to chose from those courses, since you’ll be able to check out this course with a generous month-long free trial. After that, however, it stops being free.

Check out the “Using AI Tools for UX Design” course over here.

AWS: Generative AI Learning Plan for Model Builders

⏰Length: 15 hours

They can’t all be for beginners: This course requires at least a year of experience with natural language processing (NLP) and training language models both, as well as a basic grasp of Python language programming. If that’s you, you’re ready to learn all about how Amazon SageMaker can help you deploy your own small or large language model.

Amazon SageMaker includes distributed training libraries as well as access to another Amazon-branded tool, SageMaker HyperPod, which “is capable of splitting workloads across more than a thousand AI accelerators.”

Over the course of fifteen hours, you’ll work through four modules that offer an in-depth look at various language models available through SageMaker. One entire module, “Customizing and Evaluating LLMs Using Amazon SageMaker JumpStart,” is dedicated to teaching you how to deploy and examine existing models, giving you the hands-on experience you need to understand them.

By the time you finish, you’ll have completed tasks as complicated as demonstrating “the use of Amazon SageMaker-LangChain integration to build a RAG application using a Falcon model.”

Sound fun? Get started today on the AWS website.

Figuring Out If AI Works for You

Right now, many AI tools are free to use for anyone with an internet connection. Once we’re all hooked in the technology, however, monetization efforts might speed up. For now, millions of people are leaning on ChatGPT for help with their English homework or their work emails.

For the average person, it doesn’t take much AI knowledge to craft a few prompts that can shave a little time off their day. We’re still waiting to see if AI will impact the world beyond that: Artificial General Intelligence might, in theory, replace a human mind, but there’s no telling when or if that level of technology will ever manifest.

Until we know for sure, buckle down with a few AI tips and wait out the evolution of this new tech: Check out the best prompts here, try out an AI resume template here, or look into free PDF analysis.

Just remember to double-check your results: AI is a powerful tool, but it loves to hallucinate.

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Artificial Intelligence

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

7 Common Telegram Scams: What the Scammers Want and How to Avoid Them

Fraudsters are using the app to exploit unsuspecting users every day. Read on to learn more about the tactics they're using.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

Telegram scammers are only getting smarter, and filtering out potential fraudsters from your legitimate contact list isn’t easy.

Questions relating to Telegram’s safety have swirled around the internet for years now, and it’s crucial you know how to spot the most common Telegram scams.

For each one, we address how it starts, what the scammers want, and how to avoid them. You’ll learn how to recognize these scams and protect yourself from financial loss, allowing you to message your friends in peace.

Key Takeaways

Telegram scammers are almost always after money, either asking for it directly or exploiting personal information to obtain it later.
Scammers often impersonate your friends or organizations, using this deceit to gain your trust.
Most Telegram scammers use pressure tactics, pushing you to make quick decisions before you verify who they are.
You can steer clear of most scams simply by exercising a healthy skepticism of emergency requests and too-good-to-be-true offers, which often indicate suspicious activity.

7 Common Telegram Scams and Ways To Avoid Them

Our team researched and collated a list of the seven most common Telegram scams and specific actions to avoid them.

If you believe you’ve been contacted by a scammer through Telegram, immediately block them and report the account to Telegram to prevent them from scamming others.

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1. The Romance Scam

How it starts:
The romance scam almost always begins on a separate app. Typically, someone with an attractive profile picture will match with you on a dating app, send you a DM on a social media platform such as Instagram, or contact you on another popular messaging app. After you’ve built a connection, they’ll ask to move the conversation to Telegram.

What they want:
Romance scammers usually exploit their emotional connection with you to ask for money directly. They may make up an emergency, such as a hospital bill that needs to be paid urgently, or ask for money to buy a flight to visit you.

How to avoid it:

Always verify any claims of emergencies independently, such as by calling the hospital to confirm a bill or asking for official documentation, like an invoice, before considering any payment.
Never send money to people you haven’t met in person, even if you know them well online.

2. The Phishing Scam

How it starts:
Phishers generally begin their scam with an unsolicited Telegram message. The message may contain a link to a fake version of a familiar website where you’re prompted to enter your login details to access your account. The phisher also might claim to have leaked personal photos or information and provide a link to a site where you have to input personal details to view or delete the content.

What they want:
In most cases, phishers want to take money from you indirectly by first obtaining your personal information. You input your details into their fake website, and they access it from the backend. Then, they use those credentials to log into your bank accounts and transfer out your money, or even steal your identity and open a credit card in your name, which they then use to purchase whatever they want.

How to avoid it:

Don’t click on suspicious links from unknown sources.
Always double-check URLs to ensure they’re legitimate. Fake URLS from phishing links may have misspellings, extra characters, strange extensions, or lack a valid security certificate.
Never give out personal details through unverified websites. Verified sites have a padlock icon and “https” at the beginning of the URL.

3. The Loved One In Need Scam

How it starts:
You’ll receive a Telegram message from someone posing as a close friend or family member who’s in an emergency. For instance, they’ll tell you they’re stranded in the middle of nowhere or just got into a car accident. They may even give a convincing reason why they’re contacting you on Telegram and not via a regular text message.

What they want:
These scammers are looking for your money or personal information—whatever they can get their hands on. They’ll usually ask for money through Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, or another personal money transfer app.

How to avoid it:

Call or message your loved one through their known phone number and verify if they genuinely need help. Be cautious if you call through
Telegram, as scammers can use AI to impersonate your loved one’s voice.
Always be cautious of any urgent requests for money, regardless of who they seem to come from.

4. The Investment Scam

How it starts:
A so-called business professional will send you a Telegram message outlining a potential investment, usually one with very high profits for minimal effort. The investment might involve cryptocurrency, real estate, or another high-profit industry that people often find confusing. This makes it easier for scammers to deceive you, and they’ll usually pressure you to act quickly before it’s too late.

What they want:
Investment scammers are always after your money—which is why they ask you to invest. But some are also after your identity, which they can use to impersonate you to conduct illicit business dealings.

How to avoid it:

Research any potential investment by checking official company websites and consulting trusted financial news sources. You could also ask the opinion of a licensed financial advisor or use resources like the SEC’s database to check the legitimacy of the investment.
Immediately steer clear if you’re being pressured to invest quickly.

5. The Fake Reward Scam

How it starts:
You’ll receive an automated Telegram message informing you that you’re the winner of a new iPhone, a sum of cash, or some other prize. Sometimes, the scammer will affiliate the giveaway with a big brand name or a celebrity in an attempt to seem more legitimate.

What they want:
Fake reward scammers are primarily after your email address, phone number, password, or personal financial data, which they ask you to enter to obtain your “reward.” They may also ask for a “processing fee” before you can claim the “reward,” but the bulk of their scam relies on using your information to exploit you later on.

How to avoid it:

Be skeptical of automated prize notifications. If you didn’t enter a giveaway in the first place, you definitely didn’t win.
Never provide personal information or make payments to receive “rewards.” While some legitimate giveaways may ask for basic details, like your name or email, they should never request payment or sensitive information, such as your Social Security number.

6. The Job Listing Scam

How it starts:
An ad will pop up on Telegram from a job recruiter, usually advertising a remote work position with a high salary and low qualifications. The job description is typically vague so as to make the ad enticing to as many people as possible.

What they want:
Though the job listing scammer may ask for a small sum of money upfront for a “training” or “application” fee, what they’re really after is your personal information. This includes your bank login details, Social Security Number, or any PINs.

How to avoid it:

Research the company advertised in the job listing before applying.
Avoid jobs that ask for upfront payments.
Use LinkedIn to verify recruiter identities.
Be cautious of unrealistic job offers. Again, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

7. The Bot Tech Support Scam

How it starts:
A bot, posing as a company support team, contacts you on Telegram. Usually, the message will alert you to some urgent problem with your account or software. The “company” may encourage you to call them through Telegram.

What they want:
Bot tech support scammers want your personal information, such as login credentials or banking details. They’ll usually try to obtain the information through malicious links or directly through a phone call that connects you to a fake, automated help center.

How to avoid it:

Never trust unsolicited messages from individuals you don’t know, and check for signs that a message might be from a bot. Signs include generic responses, repetitive phrases, or messages sent at odd hours.
Verify any message claiming to be from a reputable company or help center. You can do this by visiting the company’s official channel or website to confirm whether you’re messaging the official Telegram account or by calling their customer service directly.

Conclusion

Scammers use Telegram to impersonate loved ones, trusted companies, or attractive individuals, and then pressuring you into making a quick decision. Their ultimate goal is always to steal your money or personal information for their own benefit.

Always practice general skepticism of any unsolicited messages, confirm the identities of any “friends” and “companies” independently, and never provide personal details or send money to strangers. If you can, block and report suspicious accounts to Telegram to help prevent further scams.

To learn how scammers can target you on other apps besides Telegram, read our recent article about a new LinkedIn job scam.

FAQs

If you believe you’ve been contacted by a scammer on Telegram, immediately block their account and report them to Telegram by tapping on one of their messages and hitting “Report.”

Strangers can contact you on Telegram if they have your phone number or if you’re in the same Telegram group chat. If you’ve been contacted by a stranger, it’s likely they’re a scammer.

People use Telegram because it’s fully encrypted and allows iPhone and Android users to message each other.

Tags

Privacy and Security

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Are Ads Coming to ChatGPT?

OpenAI CFO says company is looking at ad models but is cagey about timeframes and what this could look like for users.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

As OpenAI restructures to become a for-profit company, users might start seeing ads pop up when using the company’s products.

The company’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, said in an interview that it’s not a case of whether or not ChatGPT users might start seeing ads but “when and where.” However, she also suggested it won’t be any time soon.

The company is expanding with some big name hires from Meta and Microsoft; as it pushes ahead with a huge restructuring plan to move away from its not-for-profit past.

Exploration but No ‘Active Plans’

In an interview with the Financial Times, Friar nodded to the changes – that have been marked by dramatic comings and goings – and said that the “current business is experiencing rapid growth.”

She shared that the company “see[s] significant opportunities within our existing business model,” and says that OpenAI is “…open to exploring other revenue streams in the future.” However, she also stated that the company has “no active plans to pursue advertising.”

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But tongues are wagging not least because both Friar and chief product officer Kevin Weil have proven track records in building out ad-supported products. Friar previously worked at Square, Salesforce, and Nextdoor, while Weil’s resume includes time at Instagram.

Friar acknowledged this, telling the publication:

“The good news with Kevin Weil at the wheel with product is that he came from Instagram. He knows how [introducing ads] works.” – Sarah Friar, CFO at ChatGPT

Details Scant

However, Friar could not be drawn on what having ads could look like for its customers, including its ChatGPT users. When asked after the interview for clarity, she said in a statement:

“OpenAI is stepping up efforts to generate revenue from its products, such as its AI-powered search engine, as it seeks to capitalize on its early lead in the booming AI sector.” – Sarah Friar, CFO at ChatGPT

But discussions are definitely taking place. The newspaper quotes “people with knowledge of the[se] discussions” that OpenAI’s exec team is “divided” on how the company could incorporate ads and the impact this might have. However, the report says chief executive Sam Altman “is warming up to the idea.”

Friar suggested that ads are just one option that the company is considering. “I don’t preclude [ads],” she said. “But for now there’s lots of low hanging fruit in the way we are doing things.”

Rising Costs

Introducing advertising might be one of the easiest options to raise cash as developing its AI models is costing OpenAI billions, with the company reportedly on track to spend more than $5 billion.

Ads could target ChatGPT’s 250 million active weekly users. However, Friar suggested that ad models can be problematic, not least because companies can feel conflicted in balancing customer and advertising clients’ needs. The ad market is also sensitive to the general ups and downs of world economics.

But as Anthropic furiously iterates to catch it up, and bags another $4 billion investment from Amazon, OpenAI will be considering how it make money to stay ahead, and fast.

Tags

Artificial Intelligence

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Apple Accused of Staff Surveillance and Censorship in Lawsuit

Apple accused of forcing employees to give access to their devices and for restricting what they can say about their jobs.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

In the second case in less than two months, Apple is being accused of illegally surveilling and censoring employees.

A lawsuit has been brought against the company by a current employee who claims that the company is forcing its staff to sign policies, which gives over access to their devices and iCloud accounts.

This comes as the company is fighting allegations from the US National Labor Relations board that it is monitoring and restricting employees’ conversations on Slack.

Apple Surveillance Lawsuit

The new lawsuit, which was first reported by Semafor, was brought by Amar Bhakta, who works for Apple as a digital ad tech operations manager. It hinges on the policies that new hires have to sign when they come on board. The Business Conduct Policy has come under specific scrutiny.

Bhakta alleges that the company insists that all workers use Apple computers, phones, and cloud services and this “subjects its employees to surveillance and forces their patronage through the monetization of employee personal data as a condition of their employment.”

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Apple Activities Described as Invasive and Illegal

In particular, the lawsuit points to the fact that employees are asked by Apple to install an electronic sim card or virtual private network, says Gizmodo. This allows the company to access data stored on employees’ devices as well as tracking their locations. This is particularly problematic when many employees use their personal Apple devices for work.

Additionally, the lawsuit talks about Apple’s stipulation that staff use its iCloud service. This means it gets unrestricted access to data that “…can include email, contacts, reminders, entire photo libraries, internet browsing data, health data, messages, ‘smart home’ data, passwords, apps, files, documents, calendars, notes and backups,” the lawyers state.

Allegations of Censorship by Apple

Echoing the previously mentioned Slack case in October, Bhakta’s case also includes the allegation that Apple’s policies restrict what information its employees can share and this is in violation of California’s labor law.

He shared that he was told by Apple that he was not allowed to give public talks about his area of expertise. He says that he was also asked to remove a post on LinkedIn, in which he had talked about workplace conditions.

“Being able to speak openly about my work is so important to me professionally and personally,” Bhakta said in a statement. “It’s disappointing that Apple, whose ethos is privacy and confidentiality, would try to monitor and censor me. That hurts my ability to advance professionally. I hope this complaint causes Apple to change their approach to monitoring employees outside of work and reminds employees that they have the power to stand up too.”

Apple has yet to comment on the case.

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Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Fully Remote Jobs You Can Apply for in December 2024

Which companies are hiring for remote positions? We've highlighted some of the best roles on the market.

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Updated on December 11, 2025

As the dust settles on Thanksgiving and the festive season looms, you’ve probably got a lot on your mind – where should I get my turkey from? What should I get for the in-laws? How am I going to keep the peace between Grandma Mildred and Auntie Jean?

You might also be thinking it’s high-time for a career change – but where to start? Luckily, here at Tech.co, we don’t think you should sweat the small stuff. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive list of the hottest remote jobs at the likes of Netflix, Discord, Apple, and more.

Read on for a rundown of the best remote tech jobs for December. And be sure to check out our list from November – some of those roles are still open!

Netflix

The streaming titan boasts a sterling 4.2 rating on Glassdoor, with 13,000 employees across no fewer than 22 different offices. Workers get their share of perks, including discounted subscriptions, cellphone bill reimbursement, and more. The company currently has 48 open remote roles – we’ve listed our picks below.

Be sure to check out the careers hub for a complete list, and to apply.

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Apple

One of the biggest companies in the world, Apple lays claim to an impressive 4.1/5 on Glassdoor, with employees particularly keen on the benefits package, pay, and culture. It’s also lauded for its progressive view on remote and hybrid working, with 85 current remote vacancies on its website. You can find a selection of them below.

You can find the full list on the Apple careers page, and make sure to check out our list of fully remote Apple jobs in November, where you’ll still find some open vacancies.

Discord

The popular messaging platform and VoIP has several open roles, most of which are remote-friendly. According to its website, “we believe great work isn’t tied to a physical space, [so] most of our roles offer flexibility.” We’ve outlined our favorites below.

View the full list here. Please note – some of these roles may require a degree of office-based work.

Founded in 2009, the flagship social media platform is a great place to go for recipes, décor, and fashion inspiration. And with over 520 million users every month, it’s clearly doing something right. The company prides itself on its generous vacation allowance, wellness benefits, and suite of professional development tools. You can find a selection of their remote roles below.

Head to the Pinterest careers page for a complete list of remote roles – there are 70 in total!

Amazon

The e-commerce giant is one of the biggest brands in the world, with thousands of employees based around the world. It also offers a number of remote-eligible roles on its careers page, but if you’re interested, you’ll have to act quickly – the company is currently engaged in a war of words with staff over its return-to-office (RTO) mandates. Check out our picks below.

There are many more on the website, but to reiterate, you’ll want to act quickly to snap up one of these roles!

Landing a Remote Job

With 2025 on the horizon, there’s never been a better time to take stock and evaluate whether or not the career you have is the one you want. And if you’ve got your sights set on a role that offers remote and hybrid working, there are opportunities aplenty.

We can only show you the door – the next step is applying and hopefully landing one of these great opportunities. Fortunately, to make your life a little easier, we’ve also put together some tips on how to nail a job interview, as well as a list of things to not do.

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Remote Working

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Video Interview Tips: How to Impress Your Prospective Employer

Find out how you can nail your upcoming video interview and secure your dream job with these six need-to-know tips.

Written by

Updated on December 11, 2025

If you’re a newbie to the world of work, have only faced in-person interviews, or are simply looking for your next opportunity, it’s quite likely that a video interview is coming your way.

But while video interviews may be convenient, they’re a double-edged sword. One minute you’re sitting comfortably at home and the next, you’re nervously adjusting your camera angle, hoping your WiFi doesn’t decide to take a vacation mid-call. If you’re keen to prevent common hiccups, you’re in the right place!

Read on for our six key tips on preparing for video interviews and our answers to frequently asked questions.

Key Takeaways

The only difference between an in-person and video interview is that an in-person interview happens face to face and a video interview happens remotely.
Make sure your background is tidy, your tech is set up correctly, and any issues have been resolved ahead of time.
During the interview, sit up straight and maintain eye contact with the interviewer.

What Is a Video Interview?

A video interview is the same as a standard interview for an in-person job, remote role, or internship. The only difference is that it happens remotely via a video link as opposed to on site like a standard interview.

You should prepare for a video interview just like you do for an in-person interview. But you’ll need to take additional steps to ensure your tech is set up and ready to go.

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There are a few different types of video interviews. These include:

Live video interview. These are the closest to the standard in-person interview format. The only difference is they happen via a live video link or video conferencing tool. Think MS Teams, Zoom, or Skype.
One-way video interview. One-way video interviews are where candidates record and answer a written or video interview question. This format allows employers to review your responses at their convenience, making it easier for them to sift through candidates.
Group video interview. Group video interviews are where one interviewer will interview a group of candidates. These are usually used for customer service, hospitality, or retail roles.
Panel video interview. A panel video interview is where a panel of interviewers interviews one candidate. These are usually used for senior or managerial positions where multiple perspectives from different departments are needed to evaluate the candidate.

When will I complete a video interview?

You might complete a video interview if you’re applying for a remote or international role, or one with a large pool of applicants. Remote job interviews are becoming increasingly popular as they allow hiring managers to connect with candidates from all over the world, saving time and resources. Plus, they give you and the interviewer the flexibility to interview from the comfort of their own home.

6 Video Interview Tips To Help You Stand Out From The Crowd

Follow these six pro tips to ace your next video interview.

1. Limit distractions

This first one’s a biggie—make sure everyone in the house knows you’re doing a video interview. This will prevent friends or family from popping in to say hello or offer a coffee. In addition, pets should be secured in a different room, your cell phone should be on mute, and notifications should be off on your computer.

The goal is to create a calm, focused environment where you can shine without interruptions. You wouldn’t expect to see someone’s pet cat during an in-person interview, right?

2. Do a tech run beforehand

Doing a tech run in advance ensures no surprises pop up during the interview. Test your camera and microphone to make sure they’re working properly, and check your internet connection for any potential hiccups.

If you do identify any issues, try to rectify them in good time. You can use the following solutions to common tech problems:

Spotty WiFi – Have your cell phone nearby to act as an emergency hotspot if necessary. This option is available through your phone settings under the “mobile hotspot” tab. Also make sure your cell is fully charged and that you have a good signal.
Poor microphone quality – Purchase a headset with a built-in microphone to act as backup. A headset with a built-in USB connector is less likely to disconnect than a Bluetooth one, so it’s a safer option.
Poor speaker quality – Using external speakers can make a huge difference in sound clarity. Consider investing in decent external speakers to help you hear everything clearly during the interview.
Camera issues – Camera issues can usually be resolved by switching the camera off and on again. Alternatively, consider investing in a quality webcam if your built-in camera isn’t cutting it.
Software glitches – Software glitches can be prevented by ensuring the desktop app you’re using is up to date. Double-check there are no pending updates before the interview. Equally, if the desktop app won’t load, you can try accessing the browser version. Be sure you know how to use both before the interview.
Misaligned video and audio – Occasionally, the audio may lag behind the video. This can cause you to speak over the interviewer or get thrown off when they respond. If you notice this happening, try leaving the meeting briefly and rejoining to see if that syncs things up.

Finally, ensure you know your login in details for whatever video-interviewing platform you’ll be using to avoid disruptions or a late start to the interview process.

Pro tip: Be sure to take a phone number or alternative contact for the interviewers in case you experience unexpected difficulties. This way, if everything shuts down, you can quickly reach out to them and let them know what’s going on. It shows professionalism and ensures that you’re still on their radar, even if tech decides to throw a curveball.

3. Utilize on-screen tools

Use the benefits of a remote interview to your advantage and make the most of on-screen tools. For example, screen sharing, the chat function, and the ability to share links and resources. This can enhance the interview experience and give you an edge over other candidates. Just make sure you’ve practiced this ahead of time so you can do it smoothly during the interview.

4. Tidy the room

Although the virtual backgrounds offered by video interviewing tools may be tempting, keep things professional by showing a netural space that’s clutter free. This is more professional and keeps the focus on you and what you’re saying.

Also, try to sit in front of a natural light source like a window or sunlamp. Natural light is much more flattering than synthetic light, making you look bright and awake on camera.

5. Be mindful of body language

Body language is all the more important when the interviewer can only see half of your body. So, sit up straight, don’t lean on the table, and try to use hand gestures as you speak. This not only conveys confidence but also makes you appear more engaged in the conversation.

Also, don’t forget to smile and make eye contact (more on this below). Smiling builds rapport and helps create a positive atmosphere. It also shows enthusiasm and friendliness, which can make you and the interviewer feel more at ease.

6. Make eye contact

While it can be tempting to look at the picture of the interviewer on the screen, try to look directly into the camera as you speak. This creates the illusion of eye contact and helps establish a stronger connection. It might feel awkward at first, but it makes a world of difference.

Pro tip: We know staring into a camera to make eye contact feels impersonal and unnatural. To avoid this, place a smiley face sticker by the camera. This trick can help you remember to maintain eye contact while also giving you a visual cue that feels more friendly and engaging.

Final Thoughts

Video interviews are becoming increasingly common in our modern world. They’re convenient and flexible, and offer all the benefits of a face-to-face interview in a more comfortable, remote setting.

While most of the preparation for a video interview is the same as an in-person interview, you’ll need to take a few additional steps. Setting up your tech, having a backup plan, and creating a distraction-free environment are all crucial to ensuring you present your best self.

Overall, treat the video interview just like you would an in-person one— take a deep breath, prepare in advance, and be yourself. Good luck!

FAQs

Video interviews are just as legit as in-person interviews, with the added convenience of a remote setting.

Yes, you should always look at the camera during a video interview. Try sticking a smiley face sticker next to your camera to help you remember.

Tags

Remote Working

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Phone Interview Tips: How To Ace a Remote Interview

Phone interviews can be daunting. Luckily, there's lots you can do to ensure you're prepared.

Written by

Updated on December 11, 2025

Ever more companies are using phone interviews for both remote and on-site roles. But for candidates, they can be daunting. You might feel uneasy about the lack of face-to-face interaction—no body language or eye contact to guide you—or be unsure about how to approach them. Or maybe you’ve got accessibility issues that make them more difficult.

Mastering phone interviews is a critical skill in today’s job market, and the key to advancing in the hiring process—especially for remote jobs. The good news? coming across well in a conversation over the phone is easier than seems, as long as you prepare for the interview properly. Below, we walk you through seven essential steps to nailing your next phone interview.

Key Takeaways

As for in-person, so for the phone: Know the company and role inside out, and practice answering interview questions in advance.
Ensure that your interview space is quiet, you’ve got good sound quality, and you’ll be free of interruptions for the duration of the call
Master verbal communication by speaking clearly, confidently, and enthusiastically—without relying on body language
Actively listen to your interviewer and respond thoughtfully

The Role of a Phone Interview

Phone interviews cover straightforward information about things like salary range, job responsibilities, and start date availability. Recruiters also use them to screen candidates before inviting those shortlisted to an in-person or video interview. For remote and virtual jobs, the entire interview process may take place without any in-person meetings.

While it’s tempting to think phone interviews are less important than “the real thing,” they actually carry a lot of weight. It’s your chance to make a strong first impression and demonstrate top-notch communication skills and role fit.

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If you can ace the phone interview, it gives you a good chance of continuing to the next stage of the process.

7 Phone Interview Tips To Help You Stand Out From The Crowd

1. Prepare like it’s an in-person interview

Research the company and review the job description. What does the company value? What skills are they looking for? Tailor your responses to show that you’re the perfect fit.

Preparation shows you’re professional and boosts your confidence during the interview.

Consider mock interviews with friends: perfect for honing your communication skills. Practice speaking out loud to ensure you’re speaking clearly and not rushing too much, and take your friends’ feedback on board.

When the real call happens, you’ll be more comfortable and polished. You don’t want to sound scripted, but if you’re confident and ready to discuss your strengths, weaknesses, and relevant achievements, you’ll pass with flying colors.

2. Create a quiet, distraction-free environment

Technology is essential for a successful phone interview. For in-person interviews, employers and recruiters control the environment: During phone interviews, you do.

Make sure you have the best possible sound quality and time and space with zero interruptions—ideally no people (or pets) around.

If you’re not on an old-school landline, fully charge your cell phone and make sure you’re somewhere with a strong network signal or Wi-Fi connection (depending on how the interviewer calls you). Nothing disrupts conversation flow like bad audio or, worse, dropped calls. If you’re using a headset, test it ahead of time.

3. Use the power of your voice

Without visual cues, your voice is what carries you in a phone interview, so use it to your advantage.

How you speak can show interviewers that you’re confident, enthusiastic, and professional—all traits you want to demonstrate as early in the hiring process as possible. This means you need to be aware of your tone, pacing, and clarity.

Standing while you talk in a phone interview can boost your confidence, energy levels, and perception of control—just like eye contact in video and in-person interviews. Even smiling while you speak can positively affect your tone of voice, and your interviewer will feel this even if they can’t see it.

Equally, be wary of speaking too quickly—which can come across as nervous—or speaking too slowly, revealing a potential lack of energy. Leave a small gap at the end of each question before you answer so you don’t talk over your interviewer. By pausing after questions and taking a deep breath, you’ll fall into a natural pace and avoid rushing your answers.

4. Listen actively and engage thoughtfully

Active listening is a great skill for any interview, but it’s critical over the phone. Without visual cues like body language and facial expressions, you rely solely on your interviewer’s tone of voice and the words they use.

Never interrupt while they’re speaking, and pay close attention to what they’re asking you. If you need clarification, don’t be afraid to ask. This shows that you’re engaged in the conversation and committed to providing a strong answer.

Do this, and you can give higher quality, thoughtful, and relevant responses that raise your chances of impressing the interviewer and making it through to the next round.

Active listening also means verbally acknowledging your interviewer’s points. Over video or in person, you can nod and smile. But in a phone call, you need to instead rely on small verbal cues like “I see” and “that’s a great question.” They keep the conversation flowing and demonstrate your attentiveness.

5. No visual feedback? No worries

Unfortunately, one major drawback of phone interviews is being unable to gauge your interviewer’s reactions to your answers. Did they hit the mark or not?

But there are ways around this. You can offer follow-up questions—such as “would you like me to go into more detail?” or “did I answer your question fully?”––to clarify whether your answer was received well or not. This shows you’re engaged, helps you better feel the flow of the conversation, and gently nudges your interviewer to engage with you.

6. Interview questions: Prepare for the classics

Whether your interview is over the phone, in person, or via video, you’re going to get them: the classic interview questions.

You can expect to discuss your previous work experience, strengths, weaknesses, and your interest in the role. You might also get quizzed on workplace behavior, so get ready to talk about specific situations where you’ve demonstrated your skills. Practice answering how your past experiences align with the job you’re applying for.

Since you can’t rely on body language to emphasize your points, make sure your answers are clear and well-organized. Consider using the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to structure your responses in a way that’s easy for the interviewer to follow. Even if they can’t see you, they’ll be impressed that you’re demonstrating important skills.

7. Close on a high note

As your phone interview wraps up, you need to leave a strong final impression. Thank your interviewer for their time, and ask about the next steps in the interview process. This shows that you’re proactive and genuinely interested in the role and working with the company, making it more likely that you’ll be shortlisted for the next round.

Better yet: Follow up with a thank-you email, reiterating your interest in the position and mentioning something specific from the conversation for bonus points. The same applies to successful video and in-person interviews, reinforcing the impression you made during the interview.

Conclusion

Acing a phone interview is about preparation, communication, and focus—just like it is in person.

The difference is that there aren’t any visual cues so it’s crucial to rely on voice, environment, and active listening to project your winning character and impress your next employer.

Follow the seven tips above, and you’ll be well-prepared to tackle your next phone interview and land your dream job.

To learn more, check out our 39 Job Interview Questions to Expect, with Answers and The 13 Things You Should Never Do In a Job Interview (But Everyone Does Anyway).

FAQs

Recruiters tend to use phone interviews as screening interviews to shortlist candidates for the next stage of the hiring process – often for video or in-person interviews.

When you’re on the call:

be polite and professional
tell the interviewer if the line is bad or you can’t hear
sound engaged and interested
be clear and confident

Thank your interviewer for their time and ask them about next steps—or a timeline for when they’ll come back to you with a decision. Exude enthusiasm: Tell them you’re confident that you’re the right choice for the position and you’re ready to get to work.

Tags

Remote Working

Written by:

Gus Mallett Writer

Countries That Have Imposed Social Media Restrictions on Young People

United States

Australia

United Kingdom

Norway

France

Germany

Italy

South Korea

Greece

Why Do Countries Want to Introduce Social Media Bans for Teens?

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Market Forces and Institutionalization Bolster Crypto

Crypto is Anti-Establishment No More

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What Has Telegram Signed Up To?

Why Had Telegram Not Engaged Before?

Arrest of Telegram Founder

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What to Expect From Your AI Podcast

DJ X In The House

Wider Taste Test

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Hybrid Until 2029

Immediate Backlash

Means to an End

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Text-Generation Options

Image and Video Generation

Responsible AI at Amazon

More To Come from Amazon AI

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Users On Google Are Looking for Similar Things

Study Shines Light on Searcher Behavior

Businesses Facing Uphill Battle to Win Traffic

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What Data Was Stolen and When?

Is Security Threat Still High?

What Advice Are Providers Being Given?

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Key Takeaways

How To Delete Your Snapchat Account

Deleting Your Snapchat Account on a Web Browser

Deleting Your Snapchat Account on an Apple Device

Deleting Your Snapchat Account on an Android Device

What To Know About the Deletion Process

How To Download Your Snapchat Data

Conclusion

FAQs

Can I have more than one Snapchat account?

Why can’t I delete my Snapchat account?

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Key Takeaways

What Are Romance Scams?

How romance scams work

How To Avoid Romance Scams

Be cautious

Watch for red flags

Verify identities

Avoid sending money

Report suspicious activity

Final Thoughts

FAQs

How do you outsmart a romance scammer?

How do you know if someone is romance scamming you?

Will a romance scammer ever meet you in person?

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What Is the Proposed Rule?

How Could the Rule Help Consumers?

What Are the Next Steps?

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What Did Meta Remove?

AI Plays a Role

Elections Upcoming

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Key Takeaways

What Is a Netflix Tagger Job and How to Get One

Qualifications for a Netflix Tagger Job

Average Pay of a Netflix Tagger Job

How to Apply for a Netflix Tagger Job