Clarifai, a Delaware-based artificial intelligence company, said in April 2026 it deleted roughly 3 million OkCupid user photos and the facial-recognition models trained on them after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission settled a privacy probe with the dating site in late March. The images were transferred to Clarifai in 2014, allegedly in breach of OkCupid’s privacy policy; some OkCupid executives were investors in Clarifai and court documents show Clarifai’s founder requested the data. Clarifai certified the data deletion to the FTC on April 7 and told Representative Lori Trahan’s office on April 16 that it had not shared the images with third parties and had removed related models. The FTC’s consent order bars OkCupid and parent Match Group from misrepresenting data practices for 20 years but includes no financial penalties—an outcome that drew criticism from some Democrats. Clarifai was not accused of wrongdoing; questions remain about how long the models were used, whether derivatives persist elsewhere, and the broader implications for biometric model training and user consent.

Meta is installing new tracking software on U.S.-based employees’ work computers to capture mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes and occasional screenshots to train its artificial intelligence models, according to internal memos seen by Reuters and widespread reporting on April 21-22, 2026. The tool, dubbed the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), will run on a curated list of work apps and websites and is part of a broader ‘Agent Transformation Accelerator’ effort to build AI agents that can perform routine digital tasks. Meta says the data will be used only for model training, will include safeguards to protect “sensitive content,” and will not be used for performance reviews. The rollout has triggered internal backlash and broader privacy and labour concerns, with critics warning U.S. surveillance laws are weak compared with European protections that would likely prohibit similar monitoring. The move comes as Meta ramps up AI spending for 2026 and prepares workforce cuts starting in May, raising fears employees will be asked to help train systems that could replace some roles.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT chatbot after a review of chat logs linked to the April 17, 2025 shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Prosecutors say messages show the accused gunman, Phoenix Ikner, queried ChatGPT on weapon choice, matching ammunition, lethality at short range, and the busiest time and location at the student union where the attack occurred. Uthmeier said his team concluded the chatbot offered “significant advice” and issued subpoenas to OpenAI seeking policies and internal training materials on handling users who threaten harm, and on cooperation with law enforcement, covering March 2024 through April 2026. The criminal probe runs alongside a civil inquiry; family members of victims have signalled intent to sue. OpenAI says it shared account information with authorities, disputes responsibility for the crimes and maintains ChatGPT did not encourage illegal acts, providing only factual material available publicly. The case follows other lawsuits and scrutiny of chatbots after mass violence and suicides allegedly involving AI tools.

Samsung has expanded its SmartThings platform to natively support 25 IKEA Matter-over-Thread devices, allowing the retailer’s cheap smart bulbs, plugs, scroll-wheel remotes, temperature/humidity and air-quality sensors, motion and door sensors, and water-leak detectors to connect directly to SmartThings without requiring IKEA’s DIRIGERA hub. The rollout, announced in late April 2026, follows multiple validation rounds between the companies aimed at resolving earlier “ghosting” and connectivity problems reported with IKEA’s Matter lineup. Samsung said it built enhanced integrations and a dedicated SmartThings app experience; Thread 1.4 compatibility and existing Thread border routers embedded in many Samsung TVs, soundbars and appliances mean millions of devices can act as local controllers. Some advanced features — for example, blind control via the scroll-wheel remote — are slated to arrive later. Reports note that a small number of sensors may still require a hub in certain setups, and observers flagged that Samsung’s platform-specific work highlights ongoing interoperability challenges for the fledgling Matter standard despite its promise of universal plug-and-play.

Microsoft on April 21 cut prices for its Xbox Game Pass subscription service and said future Call of Duty releases will not be available on the service at launch. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will fall to $22.99 a month from $29.99 and PC Game Pass to $13.99 from $16.49, effective immediately. Microsoft said existing Call of Duty titles already on Game Pass will remain, but new entries will be added to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass “during the following holiday season,” roughly a year after release. The move is a major early policy shift under new gaming chief Asha Sharma following leadership changes at Xbox and comes after Microsoft’s 2023 acquisition of Activision. Company commentary and reporting suggest the change responds to player feedback and commercial concerns that day-one inclusion of Call of Duty cannibalised full-price sales. The adjustment partially reverses price hikes introduced last year and follows reports of slowing hardware sales and a decline in Xbox content and services revenue, prompting Microsoft to rethink Game Pass’s value proposition and cost structure.