SEO
Evidence of New Twitter Features Leaked By Security Researcher
Security researcher and reverse engineering blogger Jane Manchun Wong discovered evidence that Twitter may be bringing end to end encryption to Twitter, plus two more possible changes that are fairly useful.
She made the information public via a series of tweets that leaked details of the new features still under development..
Trivial But Useful Change
The first change that’s coming is the removal of the source field.
The source field is the section beneath every tweet that tells what kind of device was used to post the tweet.
There must be a purpose for that feature but it’s not immediately apparent.
Ultimately this is a trivial change but probably useful in that it reduces clutter.
Yup. The source field is gone from the Tweet details view in this prototype https://t.co/ZTFOnfdXvP pic.twitter.com/KaCOFmKzLE
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 16, 2022
End to End Encryption
End-to-end Encryption (E2EE) is a secure communication protocol that is completely private, with zero access from any other party other than those who are participating in the messaging.
In general this is a good idea. But there are also some who raise legitimate concerns about adding E2EE to messaging that might not necessarily be tied to a phone in the same way that WhatsApp and Telegram are.
Jane Manchun Wong Discovers Evidence
Jane Manchun Wong is notable reverse engineering expert who has been interviewed and profiled on sites like BBC News and MIT Technology Review.
According to the BBC profile on her:
“She discovered that Airbnb was testing a new flight integration feature that alerted hosts on the website when their guests’ planes landed safely.
And she sounded the horn when Instagram began experimenting with augmented reality profile pictures.”
MIT Technology Review wrote this about her:
“Wong, 27, has a preternatural ability to crack difficult code—along with a sizable Twitter following that includes some of the biggest names in tech and journalism.
As she gets into the back end of websites’ code to see what software engineers are tinkering with, they await her discoveries with interest. “
Exploring the Twitter Android app she recently discovered that the E2EE feature might be coming to Twitter’s Direct Messaging (DM) service.
She tweeted and posted a screenshot of the evidence:
“Twitter is bringing back end-to-end encrypted DMs
Seeing signs of the feature being worked on in Twitter for Android:”
Twitter is bringing back end-to-end encrypted DMs
Seeing signs of the feature being worked on in Twitter for Android: https://t.co/YtOPHH3ntD pic.twitter.com/5VODYt3ChK
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 16, 2022
Jane also posted another bit of evidence:
Early prototype of Twitter’s upcoming end-to-end encrypted DMs “Encryption keys” screen: https://t.co/rcnd7h68lO pic.twitter.com/EMXSlI188j
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 16, 2022
Jane Requested End to End Encryption
Back in November 9, 2022, she responded to a tweet from Elon Musk who was requesting suggestions for Twitter.
She tweeted:
“Revive end-to-end encrypted DMs!”
Revive end-to-end encrypted DMs! https://t.co/pBEQro3E4e
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 9, 2022
Is Twitter DM End to End Encryption a Good Idea?
Lea Kissner, the former Twitter Chief Information Security Officer shared her observations about possible pitfalls.
She tweeted:
“For context: I have a PhD in cryptography, my thesis is on privacy-preserving cryptographic protocols, and I’m publicly known to have worked on several novel E2EE systems (from Zoom and Google).
So: 1) YMMV because every system is a bit different 2) this is not my first rodeo”
Among her concerns was the possibility of abuse.
She explained in a follow-up tweet:
“Note that just looking at WhatsApp or Signal doesn’t give you nearly enough understanding about what abuse will be like on a non-phone-number-based network. They have a *much* easier time and it’s still not solved.”
She also noted the complexity involved when rolling it out to multiple devices:
“5. Multiple devices. All of this gets more annoying (though still tractable) when users have more than one device, *especially* if you don’t want the server to be able to just willy nilly add devices (because that compromises security).”
But in the end she affirmed that end-to-end Encryption is doable for Twitter.
I’m sure I’m forgetting something and all of this is doable, but note:
1) like all cryptographic systems E2EE is subtle and quick to anger and must be done carefully
2) note that nowhere in this list did I include the actual part that does the encryption/decryption stuff— Lea Kissner (@LeaKissner) November 16, 2022
Block for Illegal Content in South Korea
The third feature Jane discovered is actually a good one because it works to defeat cyberstalking and the publication of illegal videos uploaded by cyberstalkers and creeps.
She tweeted:
“Twitter is working on a media warning for users in South Korea
“If you upload any Illegally Filmed Content, Twitter may delete or block access to the content and the uploader may be sanctioned.””
Apparently this is aimed at the issue of illegally filmed videos of people and cyberstalking.
Twitter is working on a media warning for users in South Korea
“If you upload any Illegally Filmed Content, Twitter may delete or block access to the content and the uploader may be sanctioned.” pic.twitter.com/GUW1XGIaPY
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 16, 2022
This is actually a very useful feature that hopefully will help combat spycam videos and similar media that was taken without a person’s knowledge or agreement.
Will Features Actually Roll Out?
It looks like the Twitter team may be actively working on these useful features. It will be interesting to see how fast they can roll it out with the reduced workforce.
Featured image by Shutterstock/RealPeopleStudio
SEO
Google Declares It The “Gemini Era” As Revenue Grows 15%
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, announced its first quarter 2024 financial results today.
While Google reported double-digit growth in key revenue areas, the focus was on its AI developments, dubbed the “Gemini era” by CEO Sundar Pichai.
The Numbers: 15% Revenue Growth, Operating Margins Expand
Alphabet reported Q1 revenues of $80.5 billion, a 15% increase year-over-year, exceeding Wall Street’s projections.
Net income was $23.7 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $1.89. Operating margins expanded to 32%, up from 25% in the prior year.
Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s President and CFO, stated:
“Our strong financial results reflect revenue strength across the company and ongoing efforts to durably reengineer our cost base.”
Google’s core advertising units, such as Search and YouTube, drove growth. Google advertising revenues hit $61.7 billion for the quarter.
The Cloud division also maintained momentum, with revenues of $9.6 billion, up 28% year-over-year.
Pichai highlighted that YouTube and Cloud are expected to exit 2024 at a combined $100 billion annual revenue run rate.
Generative AI Integration in Search
Google experimented with AI-powered features in Search Labs before recently introducing AI overviews into the main search results page.
Regarding the gradual rollout, Pichai states:
“We are being measured in how we do this, focusing on areas where gen AI can improve the Search experience, while also prioritizing traffic to websites and merchants.”
Pichai reports that Google’s generative AI features have answered over a billion queries already:
“We’ve already served billions of queries with our generative AI features. It’s enabling people to access new information, to ask questions in new ways, and to ask more complex questions.”
Google reports increased Search usage and user satisfaction among those interacting with the new AI overview results.
The company also highlighted its “Circle to Search” feature on Android, which allows users to circle objects on their screen or in videos to get instant AI-powered answers via Google Lens.
Reorganizing For The “Gemini Era”
As part of the AI roadmap, Alphabet is consolidating all teams building AI models under the Google DeepMind umbrella.
Pichai revealed that, through hardware and software improvements, the company has reduced machine costs associated with its generative AI search results by 80% over the past year.
He states:
“Our data centers are some of the most high-performing, secure, reliable and efficient in the world. We’ve developed new AI models and algorithms that are more than one hundred times more efficient than they were 18 months ago.
How Will Google Make Money With AI?
Alphabet sees opportunities to monetize AI through its advertising products, Cloud offerings, and subscription services.
Google is integrating Gemini into ad products like Performance Max. The company’s Cloud division is bringing “the best of Google AI” to enterprise customers worldwide.
Google One, the company’s subscription service, surpassed 100 million paid subscribers in Q1 and introduced a new premium plan featuring advanced generative AI capabilities powered by Gemini models.
Future Outlook
Pichai outlined six key advantages positioning Alphabet to lead the “next wave of AI innovation”:
- Research leadership in AI breakthroughs like the multimodal Gemini model
- Robust AI infrastructure and custom TPU chips
- Integrating generative AI into Search to enhance the user experience
- A global product footprint reaching billions
- Streamlined teams and improved execution velocity
- Multiple revenue streams to monetize AI through advertising and cloud
With upcoming events like Google I/O and Google Marketing Live, the company is expected to share further updates on its AI initiatives and product roadmap.
Featured Image: Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock
SEO
brightonSEO Live Blog
Hello everyone. It’s April again, so I’m back in Brighton for another two days of Being the introvert I am, my idea of fun isn’t hanging around our booth all day explaining we’ve run out of t-shirts (seriously, you need to be fast if you want swag!). So I decided to do something useful and live-blog the event instead.
Follow below for talk takeaways and (very) mildly humorous commentary. sun, sea, and SEO!
SEO
Google Further Postpones Third-Party Cookie Deprecation In Chrome
Google has again delayed its plan to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome web browser. The latest postponement comes after ongoing challenges in reconciling feedback from industry stakeholders and regulators.
The announcement was made in Google and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) joint quarterly report on the Privacy Sandbox initiative, scheduled for release on April 26.
Chrome’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout Pushed To 2025
Google states it “will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of Q4” this year as planned.
Instead, the tech giant aims to begin deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome “starting early next year,” assuming an agreement can be reached with the CMA and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The statement reads:
“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem. It’s also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June.”
Continued Engagement With Regulators
Google reiterated its commitment to “engaging closely with the CMA and ICO” throughout the process and hopes to conclude discussions this year.
This marks the third delay to Google’s plan to deprecate third-party cookies, initially aiming for a Q3 2023 phaseout before pushing it back to late 2024.
The postponements reflect the challenges in transitioning away from cross-site user tracking while balancing privacy and advertiser interests.
Transition Period & Impact
In January, Chrome began restricting third-party cookie access for 1% of users globally. This percentage was expected to gradually increase until 100% of users were covered by Q3 2024.
However, the latest delay gives websites and services more time to migrate away from third-party cookie dependencies through Google’s limited “deprecation trials” program.
The trials offer temporary cookie access extensions until December 27, 2024, for non-advertising use cases that can demonstrate direct user impact and functional breakage.
While easing the transition, the trials have strict eligibility rules. Advertising-related services are ineligible, and origins matching known ad-related domains are rejected.
Google states the program aims to address functional issues rather than relieve general data collection inconveniences.
Publisher & Advertiser Implications
The repeated delays highlight the potential disruption for digital publishers and advertisers relying on third-party cookie tracking.
Industry groups have raised concerns that restricting cross-site tracking could push websites toward more opaque privacy-invasive practices.
However, privacy advocates view the phaseout as crucial in preventing covert user profiling across the web.
With the latest postponement, all parties have more time to prepare for the eventual loss of third-party cookies and adopt Google’s proposed Privacy Sandbox APIs as replacements.
Featured Image: Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock
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