💻 Windows Face Unlock Fails at Night, WhatsApp Adds Ads, China’s Brain Tech Leap

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💻 Windows Face Unlock Fails at Night, WhatsApp Adds Ads, China’s Brain Tech Leap

Plus: Reddit's AI Ads Evolve, Amazon & Roku Unite.

Jose Montes de Oca

Jun 16, 2025

Transcript

Good morning. It’s Monday, June 16. Today we are covering:

Windows Hello face unlock no longer works in the dark, and Microsoft says it's not a bug
WhatsApp Introduces Ads in Its App
China Joins US in Brain Implant Race With Clinical Trial
Reddit releases new AI-powered 'community intelligence' ad tools
Amazon Ads & Roku Set Landmark Pact Giving Brands Access To 80% Of Connected-TV Households

Let’s dive in

Windows Hello face unlock no longer works in the dark, and Microsoft says it's not a bug

By Zac Bowden via Windows Central

Windows Hello facial recognition no longer works in the dark due to a security update requiring both IR sensors and a visible face via webcam, as detailed in Microsoft’s April 2025 Patch Tuesday notes.
The change addresses a spoofing vulnerability but compromises usability in low-light conditions, since most webcams can’t detect faces without external lighting.
Users have found a workaround by disabling the webcam, which reverts authentication to IR-only scanning, though this disables webcam functionality for other tasks like video calls.

𝕏: Have you noticed that Windows Hello face unlock no longer works in the dark? Turns out, it's not a bug. Microsoft has changed how Windows Hello works, and now it can no longer recognize you in dark environments - Zac Bowden (@zacbowden)

WhatsApp Introduces Ads in Its App

By Eli Tan via The New York Times

WhatsApp will begin displaying ads for the first time in its app, limited to the Updates tab, affecting roughly 1.5 billion daily users; personal messages will remain ad-free and end-to-end encrypted.
The company is also launching paid subscriptions for creators and ad tools for one-way broadcast channels, as part of Meta’s broader monetization strategy across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.
While WhatsApp emphasizes user privacy and optional cross-platform data sharing, the move revives concerns over its shift away from its original ad-free model, particularly given its user base in privacy-sensitive regions.

𝕏: Remember when everyone said Facebook wouldn't figure out how to monetize mobile? They're going to generate so much $ from the 3B MAUs on WhatsApp. - Ryan Hoover (@rrhoover)

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China Joins US in Brain Implant Race With Clinical Trial

By Karoline Kan via Bloomberg

China has completed its first successful clinical trial of a brain-computer interface (BCI) that enables users to control external devices with their thoughts, becoming the second country after the US to achieve this milestone.
Conducted in March 2025, the trial involved a wireless invasive brain implant in a patient with tetraplegia, who was able to play racing games and chess using only brain signals within weeks of the procedure.
The trial was led by the Shanghai-based Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, marking a major advance in neurotechnology and human-computer interaction research in China.

Reddit releases new AI-powered 'community intelligence' ad tools

By Kerry Flynn via Axios

Reddit launched two new AI-powered ad tools—Reddit Insights and the Conversation Summary Add-on—that help brands analyze and display user conversations across the platform using data from over 22 billion posts and comments.
These tools mark a shift from manual insights to scalable, self-serve products, with Publicis, Hershey, Comcast, Jackbox Games, and Lucid Motors among the early testers, aiming to enhance targeting, sentiment tracking, and community engagement.
The launch supports Reddit’s broader strategy of community-driven marketing powered by generative AI, contributing to a 61% YoY increase in Q1 ad revenue and a growing suite of tools like Reddit Answers, which combines AI summaries with deep links into community discussions.

𝕏: Exclusive: @Reddit has launched two ad tools that help brands understand and showcase conversations happening on the platform The products, announced today during @Cannes_Lions, are powered by what Reddit calls "community intelligence" - Kerry Flynn (@kerrymflynn)

Amazon Ads & Roku Set Landmark Pact Giving Brands Access To 80% Of Connected-TV Households

By Dade Hayes via Deadline

Amazon Ads and Roku have formed a landmark advertising partnership set to launch in Q4 2025, enabling media buyers to reach over 80% of U.S. connected-TV households through a unified platform spanning Prime Video, The Roku Channel, and additional Fire TV and Roku OS content.
Early trials showed significant performance gains, including a 40% increase in unique viewer reach, a 30% drop in ad frequency per user, and triple the value for advertisers compared to previous spend efficiency.
The initiative leverages a custom identity resolution service for improved ad targeting and reflects a deepening commercial relationship between the two tech rivals, described by executives as a “new canvas” for marketers and a “giant leap for advertisers” offering previously unattainable capabilities.

𝕏: New: Amazon and Roku have partnered to combine their logged-in audiences, meaning marketers using the Amazon DSP can now target ~80 million authenticated users. The tie-up allows each firm to draft off the strength of the other, giving Amazon Roku's scale and Roku Amazon's data. - Mark Stenberg (@MarkStenberg3)

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