WhatsApp is now fully blocked in Russia, Anthropic beefed up Claude's free tier, and Meta turned Threads algorithm complaints into an official feature episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 12, 2026 · 7 MIN

WhatsApp is now fully blocked in Russia, Anthropic beefed up Claude's free tier, and Meta turned Threads algorithm complaints into an official feature

from Engadget News + Next · host Engadget

-After warnings from lawmakers last year, WhatsApp has been blocked in Russia for as many as 100 million users, the Financial Times reported. Russian authorities removed the app from an online directory, effectively wiping it from Russia's internet. -Anthropic is upgrading Claude's free tier, apparently to capitalize on OpenAI's planned integration of ads into ChatGPT. -Meta is turning those "Dear algorithm" posts into an official feature that it says will allow Threads users to tune their recommendations in real time. With the change, users can write a post that begins with "dear algo" to adjust their preferences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 12, 2026

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WhatsApp is now fully blocked in Russia, Anthropic beefed up Claude's free tier, and Meta turned Threads algorithm complaints into an official feature

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