If you’ve been dealing with Google Messages issues—particular with regards to sending photos and videos—you aren’t alone. Messages users are complaining about images that are slow to load when sent via RCS. Media shows up blurry for minutes at a time before users can actually open them. Photos and videos are also arriving compressed, which is something to be expected on SMS, not RCS.

Luckily for those affected, Google has taken notice. In a Tuesday post on the company’s support website, a community manager acknowledged the “frustrating issues” with sending media in Google Messages, and shared some good news: The Google team has been “actively working on this,” and has issued updates dedicated to “significantly improving media receiving performance.”

There doesn’t appear to be a new update to install to solve the issues on the users’ end, which likely indicates these changes are happening behind the scenes on Google’s side. Still, it doesn’t hurt to keep Google Messages itself updated. Head to its Play Store page to make sure you’re running the latest version of the app. If not, you’ll want to hit Update. Hopefully, following all these changes, you’ll shake these media issues for good.

Despite the company’s optimism about the update, the post does suggest the problems here could be complicated. It doesn’t help that Google avoids identifying the specific features in question that they’ve addressed, simply noting them as slowdowns and failures with media. As such, Google encourages users to continue sharing any issues they run into. Whether that means Google knows these particular issues could still be present when sending and receiving media in Google Messages isn’t clear, but it’s good context moving forward.

How to report Google Messages bugs to Google

If after today, you’re still experiencing these media problems, or any issues at all with Google Messages, you should tell Google about them. To do so, open the app, tap your profile icon in the top right, then choose Help & feedback. Tap Send feedback at the bottom of this page, then choose whether you’d like Google Play services to access your device logs. (Choosing not to is fine.) From here, you can write out your feedback, and including screenshots or system logs if you like, before sending the feedback as an email.

The final (final) deadline for the Department of Homeland Security’s REAL ID requirement is upon us, and unlike so many instances in the two decades since the new rules were passed, it doesn’t appear that air travelers are getting another extension to obtain an identification that complies.

The 2005 REAL ID Act aimed to standardize state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards by 2008, though the rollout was delayed until 2020, then 2023, then 2025. Starting May 7, anyone age 18 and over passing airport security or entering certain federal buildings with their license will need a REAL ID.

Many states have issued REAL IDs in recent years upon license renewal or upgrade, so if yours has a gold or black star in the corner, you are already good to go. However, if you’ve procrastinated this change, you may still be able to fly with an alternative ID.

Alternatives to REAL ID for air travel

If you need to go through a TSA checkpoint after May 7 and don’t have a REAL ID-compliant license, you can use one of the following alternative forms of identification:

• U.S. passport

• U.S passport card

• DHS Trusted Traveler card (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)

• State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (available to residents in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington only)

TSA will also accept IDs like Enhanced Tribal Cards, permanent resident and border crossing cards, Department of Defense IDs (and other federal worker credentials), and foreign passports. TSA does accept expired IDs up to a year after expiration, and you may still be allowed to clear security without a valid ID upon completion of an identity verification process.

To get a REAL ID, you’ll need to check your state’s requirements. Typically, these include proof of your legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, address, and residency status. You’ll also need to go in person to have your photo taken and pay a fee. REAL ID is only required for clearing security at airports (and some federal buildings)—you do not need one to drive or vote.

Google I/O, the company’s annual developer’s conference, doesn’t start until May 20, but expectations are already swirling about what will be announced during the event. Here’s what we think might show up at this year’s Google I/O, plus details on how to watch.

When and how to watch Google I/O 2025

This year’s Google I/O is scheduled for May 20 and 21, with the first keynote beginning at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET). The event will be live streamed online at io.google and on YouTube. Anyone can view the keynotes and sessions without registering, though developers can register for free to receive event communications.

What’s coming to Google I/O 2025

The schedule for I/O 2025 hasn’t been published, and what we think we’ll see is (so far) based on rumors, speculation, and leaks. That said, there are a few things we can reasonably expect—or at least hope for.

First is the launch of Android 16, which Google has already pegged to Q2 2025. According to Android Police, leaks suggest an official release date of June 3, meaning an announcement at I/O is likely. Public betas have been rolled out with new features for photography, security, device management, foldable detection, and small tweaks to accessibility and health functionality.

Another possible release date announcement could come for Wear OS 5.1, which has some relatively minor new features and stability improvements. And while Google isn’t expected to launch Wear OS 6—which would follow suit with the release of Wear OS 4 in July 2023 and Wear OS 5 in July 2024—or even announce any of its features, it could hint at what we’ll see in Wear OS in the future.

Finally, Google recently confirmed the launch date for the first Android XR-powered headset and revealed more details about specs and features. This came following Samsung’s extended reality (XR) prototype reveal during January’s Galaxy Unpacked event. Other hardware news is less likely, as the Pixel 9a is expected to drop in March ahead of I/O.

Of course, AI is expected to be heavily featured at I/O 2025, with possible updates about Project Astra. The “advanced seeing and talking responsive agent,” announced at I/O 2024, is billed as a next-gen AI assistant that can receive real-world inputs and respond to what it sees. The event lineup could also include updates on Gemini features like Circle to Search, AI Overviews, and integrations with Android, Search, and YouTube—and maybe even the official switch from “Hey Google” to “Hey Gemini.”

In the wake of the controversy surrounding PayPal’s Honey browser extension, Google Chrome has updated its policies to ban the practices that the extension was observed to be engaging in. Chrome’s updated extension policies for affiliate ads includes wording that seems to be a direct response to many of the tactics Honey was accused of participating in, such as injecting affiliate codes without providing discounts. Given that Chrome powers most browsers available now, expect this to have major ramifications on shopping extensions going forward.

If you’re out of the loop about the Honey controversy, a multi-year investigation by YouTuber MegaLag recently uncovered evidence of unexpected behavior. Honey was accused of allowing retailers to control which discount codes you could access, and as a result, not letting you discover the best available deals, despite advertising to the contrary. The extension was also observed to be inserting its own affiliate codes in every shopping website you visit, and was seen replacing other affiliate codes with its own, which means that it effectively was pocketing others’ commissions. Additionally, Honey actually confirmed to MegaLag that it deliberately engages in some of these practices.

According to Chrome’s updated affiliate ads policy, extensions now cannot add affiliate links, codes, or cookies without providing a tangible benefit to users. Extensions will also have to prominently describe their affiliate policy before installation, in the user interface, and on the Chrome Web Store page. Google described some common violations of this policy to make it clearer for developers too, where the company said extensions can’t insert affiliate links without providing any discounts or cashback offers. It also banned extensions from inserting affiliate links in the background without “related user action”.

According to Google, this means that extensions cannot insert shopping-related cookies while you’re browsing without letting you know. They also can no longer insert or replace affiliate codes or promo codes without the user’s knowledge. Honey, and other extensions that let you find the best deals, will have to change the way they operate in order to comply with these policies.

In case your favorite shopping-related browser extension is affected by Google’s new policies, you can still use other tools for price comparison. Lifehacker’s in-house deals expert Daniel Oropeza has a full list of his favorite price-tracking tools for you to check out. It includes a few browser extensions and even a price-tracking tool by Honey itself (don’t worry, this one is not a browser extension), which are all very useful for deal hunters. My personal favorite is Slickdeals, a site I’ve relied on for over a decade to find great deals. More than its price tracking, I value Slickdeals’ community a lot. The best deals are heavily upvoted and the comments below each deal help me quickly determine whether a deal is actually a steal. 

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2025 – Today, following the inaugural meeting of the Make America Healthy Again Commission, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced their continued work on the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Guidelines). 

Breaking news: Apple has released another security update, and you should install it right away. While it seems like there’s always a new update for us Apple users to install on our devices, this one is a bit more exciting than usual, targeting what the company has described as “an extremely sophisticated attack.”

Apple’s latest security patch

On Tuesday, March 11, Apple dropped a series of updates for its devices. That includes iOS 18.3.2 for iPhones; iPadOS 18.3.2 for iPads, macOS Sequoia 15.3.2 for Macs, Safari 18.3.1, tvOS 18.3.1, and visionOS 2.3.2 for Apple Vision Pro.

With the exception of tvOS, which doesn’t contain release notes at this time, all of these updates appear to patch the same singular vulnerability: “Impact: Maliciously crafted web content may be able to break out of Web Content sandbox. This is a supplementary fix for an attack that was blocked in iOS 17.2. (Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 17.2.)”

It appears an out-of-bounds write issue (which happens when a program writes data that does not belong to it) allowed bad actors to attack users running versions of iOS older than 17.2. Apple’s language implies that these are capable actors with specific targets, and while Apple doesn’t say, it’s possible that involves high-profile personalities such as politicians or journalists. The company says the issue was blocked in iOS 17.2, but since there are users who were attacked running earlier versions of iOS, it seems this update was necessary regardless.

As with most security updates, we don’t have all the details here. Companies like Apple keep some of the story to themselves, so bad actors don’t know exactly what the companies know. Even if you’re running iOS 18.3.1, you’ll want to install the latest security patch on all of your eligible Apple devices right now to protect yourself.

Security patches vs. software updates

Some platforms separate security patches and software updates as two distinct processes. Not Apple. Usually, the company couples security patches and software updates together, which creates some interesting situations. You can have a feature-filled software update that is also full of security patches, a feature-filled software update with few (or no) security patches, or a software update with few (or no) features, and any number of security patches.

It’s this latter category that this post will focus on exclusively. See, every now and then, Apple will discover a critical security vulnerability on its platforms. This isn’t necessarily Apple’s fault: Software inherently contains security vulnerabilities, and the goal is to discover these before bad actors do. However, whenever these security flaws do come to light, it’s imperative to push them out to users as quick as possible—especially if that flaw has already been used by bad actors.

These are the times when you see software updates on your iPhone or Mac that look like a weirdly long string of numbers—iOS 18.3.2, for example. iOS 18 is the big update, with all the keynote features; 0.3 is the minor update, that comes with some new features; and while it’s possible a 0.0.2 update could come with new features, it usually denotes security patches and bug fixes.

There is an exception to this rule: Apple’s Rapid Security Responses. These are strictly security patches—not feature updates—and are deployed when it’s absolutely critical to patch a security flaw on customers’ devices. You’ll know when one of these hits your device, since it not only says “Security Response,” but also includes an (a) to denote this isn’t a standard update.

This isn’t a Security Response, though: This is an update, that just so happens to be a security patch. I know—not confusing at all.

How to install a security patch on your Apple device

Again, security patches like 18.3.2 are just software updates. As such, you can install these patches just as you would any other Apple update. On most Apple devices, you can head to Settings (System Settings for macOS) > General > Software Update, then follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the latest update.