

Bytes: Week in Review — Trump officials’ Signal leak, 23andMe goes bankrupt and chatbots take on search engines
12 snips Mar 28, 2025
Joanna Stern, a senior personal technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal, dives into the intriguing world of AI chatbots and their new web search capabilities, outpacing traditional search engines. She also discusses the shocking bankruptcy of 23andMe and the looming questions about user data privacy. Additionally, the conversation addresses a significant security blunder involving a Trump official on Signal, highlighting vulnerabilities even in encrypted messaging. Prepare for a thought-provoking exploration of technology's impact on privacy and search!
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Signal Leak
- A Trump administration official accidentally added a journalist to a Signal group chat.
- This leaked sensitive national security information, highlighting human error in secure platforms.
Data Deletion
- 23andMe users experienced difficulty deleting data after the bankruptcy announcement.
- Delete your sensitive information proactively, especially if a company faces financial trouble.
AI Chatbots vs. Google
- AI chatbots provide direct answers, bypassing Google's messy search results.
- This can improve information access, but it may also hurt content creators reliant on ad revenue from clicks.