Hey, y'all. Writing to you from New York City, I'm your host, Jordan Parker Erb.
What did you do in the brief window that Instagram was down yesterday? Maybe you laid face down in the dark or maybe you didn't even notice the outage. Either way, it appears to be back up, so we can all return to our regularly scheduled Instagramming.
Speaking of Instagram: We reported that its parent company, Meta, likely has your contact information, even if you never shared it yourself — and even if you never signed up to use any of its services, including Instagram, Facebook, or Messenger.
Below, we break down how to delete it.
Let's get started.
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1. Facebook probably has your phone number, even if you never shared it. If any of your friends shared their address books with the platform, they inadvertently offered up your information — even if you never signed up to use any core Meta service, including the Facebook app, Messenger, or Instagram.
- Now, there's a secret tool to let you delete your info. Facebook quietly rolled out the service, which lets people check whether the firm holds their contact information (such as their phone number or email address), and delete and block it.
- Though the tool appears to have been available since May 2022, the company does not seem to have said anything publicly about it — and it's not easy to find on your own.
- The tool is well-hidden, and apparently only available via a link that is embedded 780 words into a fairly obscure page in Facebook's help section for non-users.
How to wipe your phone number from Facebook.
In other news:
2. Celebrities have ditched — or are considering ditching — Twitter. Stephen King said he'll quit Twitter if it forces users to pay to remain verified. Meanwhile, Shonda Rhimes has already left the platform, saying she's "Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned." Here are some of the other figures who've left Twitter.
3. Women in venture capital are writing the rules of maternity leave. As more women enter the male-dominated industry, firms are crafting policies on the fly to accommodate new mothers — but many say that doesn't necessarily mitigate an investor's urge to clock in while on leave. How they're bending venture capital's culture to their will.
4. Apple's iPhone production could be hamstrung due to a COVID-induced worker exodus. Photos and videos show workers fleeing from Foxconn, China's biggest iPhone factory, by climbing over fences and walking down highways on foot amid COVID fears. Here's how that might affect Apple's output.
5. For one entrepreneur, being laid off from Shopify was "empowering." Just minutes after being laid off, Clifford Myers created his comedy business, The Other Comedy Company, which uses improv games to help teams meet their goals. He explains how he set up his business, and what Shopify taught him about entrepreneurship.
6. Elon Musk wants a Vine reboot. After asking his Twitter followers if he should bring back Vine, Musk has asked engineers to revive the short-form video app by year's end. Get the full rundown here.
7. Internal memos show what it's like to toil at Elon Musk's Twitter. In an internal message, staff were told "the expectation is literally to work 24/7" to make Musk's changes. In a separate leaked memo, engineers were told to work with "maniacal" urgency and bring their ideas to Musk directly.
8. One woman convinced doubters to give up their F-150s to go electric. Skeptics swore they'd never go for an electric pick-up — but Linda Zhang and her team were able to convince truck-loving Americans to go electric. Take an inside look at how she did it.
Odds and ends:
9. Early Black Friday deals on Amazon are already here. You read that right: We're expecting Amazon to continue rolling out early deals before Black Friday. From Amazon devices to Apple products, we have a guide to getting the most savings this year.
10. Tour the luxurious interior of Mercedes-Benz's $141,000 Tesla rival. In Mercedes-Benz's new EQS, a screen-filled and immensely comfortable interior — think massaging, heating, and cooling seats — stunned Insider's transportation reporter. Get a look inside the EQS.
What we're watching today:
- Uber, Airbnb, and others are reporting earnings. Keep up with earnings here.
- WebSummit kicks off today in Lisbon, Portugal.
- The LA Blockchain Summit starts today.
- It's Tim Cook's birthday.
Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.