Quordle today - hints and answers for Saturday July 1 (game #523)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's good fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a new variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #523 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #523) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #523) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 9.

Quordle today (game #523) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #523) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 10.

Quordle today (game #523) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #523) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #523) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• K

• D

• A

• I

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #523) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #523, are…

• KNEAD
• DALLY
• AMAZE
• IDEAL

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

---

Daily Sequence today (game #523) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #523, are…

• WIDER
• APRON
• ISSUE
• MINER

---

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #522, Friday 30 June: WOMAN, BAGEL, SUPER, ARISE
• Quordle #521, Thursday 29 June: ISSUE, MOUNT, OVOID, SANER
• Quordle #520, Wednesday 28 June: CEDAR, RUMBA, WIDOW, TITHE
• Quordle #519, Tuesday 27 June: STRAW, APPLY, MAGMA, CLUED
• Quordle #518, Monday 26 June: SCARE, RIGHT, IRATE, ORBIT
• Quordle #517, Sunday 25 June: GAUNT, SLANG, ROUSE, UNITE
• Quordle #516, Saturday 24 June: BILGE, LEAPT, GLOAT, PLEAT
• Quordle #515, Friday 23 June: FIELD, BRINE, BEGUN, PITCH
• Quordle #514, Thursday 22 June: AMAZE, BINGO, MUMMY, WEIRD
• Quordle #513, Wednesday 21 June: BRIDE, TILDE, LOWER, REVEL
• Quordle #512, Tuesday 20 June: DUVET, BLAST, FILMY, CEASE
• Quordle #511, Monday 19 June: HORDE, LOSER, GUSTO, PRONE
• Quordle #510, Sunday 18 June: SHORN, FRIAR, THREE, UNTIE
• Quordle #509, Saturday 17 June: JUROR, BUSED, SAPPY, VYING
• Quordle #508, Friday 16 June: PASTA, RABID, UNFIT, CURLY
• Quordle #507, Thursday 15 June: COBRA, CORNY, MINCE, CHILI
• Quordle #506, Wednesday 14 June: LIBEL, SAVVY, VAULT, TROLL
• Quordle #505, Tuesday 13 June: LOWLY, CORAL, PLANK, AMISS
• Quordle #504, Monday 12 June: STAMP, BONEY, TRACE, CLOVE
• Quordle #503, Sunday 11 June: QUACK, SCALP, DRIER, FOLLY

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

https://ift.tt/MWDAE4u

Internet shutdowns are on the rise a new tool measures their impact on economies

Governments across the world have been increasingly pulling the plug for the internet and social media services lately. Whether that's to halt the spread of social unrests, disrupt the information flow in times of elections, or prevent cheating during national exams, the shutdowns have a wider impact.

Only in June, Iraq, Algeria and Syria enforced a series of exam-related shutdowns for a total of 52, 50 and 6 hours respectively. In the same month, Senegalese couldn't access social media platforms unless using a VPN service for over a week amid political clashes. The impact of the shutdowns does more than erode humans rights, they also cost billions to economies.

That's why digital right advocate group Internet Society has just launched a new tool to help track the impact of internet shutdowns. NetLoss promises to give "an unprecedented level of rigor and precision" able to go beyond a simple evaluation.

A global rise of internet shutdowns

"Any disruption to the Internet, no matter its duration, has a detrimental effect on the economy. Internet shutdowns disrupt productivity, prevent e-commerce from happening, generate monetary losses in time-sensitive transactions, and increase unemployment," Susannah Gray, Director of Communications at the Internet Society, told TechRadar.

Small and medium-sized businesses are the most heavily impacted, especially those relying on digital connectivity to fully function. This makes the impact of the events leading up to the shutdown even worse.

(Image credit: Statista)

In July last year, internet shutoffs caused a record $10 billion losses to the global economy. The disruptions in Sudan that occurred in April cost the country over $3 million and 560 jobs, Pakistan lost $13 million in May, and when Guinea shut down internet access amid anti-government protests over $500 million was lost and many jobs were cut.

As governments across the world tighten their grip on the online world more and more frequently, experts at the Internet Society believe that measuring the actual costs of these decisions might help to dissuade authorities from enforcing these practices in the first place.

Gray said: "By estimating the cost of an Internet shutdown, policymakers can see the devastating impact such disruptions have on their country’s economy and choose alternative courses of action."

NetLoss—more than an internet shutdowns cost calculator

NetLoss is Internet Society's new tool to estimate the impact of internet shutdowns on economies. It does so through a series of different evaluations that go beyond traditional measures of economic output.

In addition to calculating the amount of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) lost during a shutdown, it tracks the changes of unemployment levels and the losses to the amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). It even gives an estimate of the probability that a country will experience further shutdowns in the future.

The data used for its econometric methodology is publicly available for anyone to read and use. NetLoss seeks to set itself apart from similar existing tools by being fully transparent.

"By understanding the devastating effect of such disruptions on a country’s economy, we hope to encourage policymakers to choose alternative courses of action. We also want to provide a tool that citizens can use to advocate for stable connectivity in their country," said Gray.

Here's a preview of a much anticipated new feature we're adding to the Pulse Platform next week that calculates the economic impact of Internet shutdowns.Stay up to date with current shutdown events via the Pulse Tracker https://ift.tt/AD7N5zn pic.twitter.com/P2bt57kVlyJune 23, 2023

See more

Gray explained that NetLoss was born as an additional way to support the Internet Society's work on defending the open web that started with its Pulse platform. Launched in 2020, Pulse includes an internet shutdown tracker recording past and on-going government-mandated shutoffs worldwide and an up-to-date blog.

"With the launch of the NetLoss calculator, we are now also able to add the estimated financial impact to our incident pages to give everyone a more robust overview of each shutdown event and the impact that it has," she said.

"By understanding the devastating effect of such disruptions on a country’s economy, we hope to encourage policymakers to choose alternative courses of action. We also want to provide a tool that citizens can use to advocate for stable connectivity in their country."

Shutting down the Internet is never a solution

Andrew Sullivan, Internet Society CEO

In the meantime, people living in areas affected by these practices can use a circumvention tool to help them bypass internet restrictions. A virtual private network (VPN) is security software that both spoofs users IP address location and encrypts data leaving a device.

As governments disrupting the internet are also infamous for cracking down on the use of VPNs, we recommend downloading multiple services to be able to hop between these in case they get blocked. 

Check out our best free VPNs page to choose the safest freebie out there. We also suggest considering using a Tor browser for extra security as well as less known anti-censorship apps like Lantern and Snowstorm. It is worth mentioning, though, that these tools cannot help in case of a total internet blackout.

Talking about NetLoss, Andrew Sullivan, President & CEO of the Internet Society, said: "Its groundbreaking and fully transparent methodology will help show governments around the world that shutting down the Internet is never a solution." 

https://ift.tt/8U3QHRq

Meta wants to create a Facebook app store to compete with Apple's App Store and Google Play

Meta is preparing to let users in the EU download apps directly through Facebook ads, setting the company up as a direct competitor with Google and Apple’s digital storefronts.

The new program will start a pilot run with Android app developers later in the year, according to The Verge’s Alex Heath. The move is possibly motivated by a new regulation in the EU, dubbed the Digital Markets Act, which is due to go into effect next spring. According to the new act, Apple and Google are labeled as ‘gatekeepers’ and are required to open up their mobile platforms to alternative methods of downloading apps.

According to the pitch given by Meta to the developers taking part in the pilot, hosting the developer's Android apps and letting allowing Facebook users to download the apps directly. 

In other words, this will mean you won’t get taken immediately to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store when you click an ad for an app, as you do currently; instead, the app can just be downloaded straight onto your phone via Facebook. This could be a game, a mindfulness app, or even one of Meta's own other apps.

Meta claims that developers will see a higher rate of app installs from ads paid for on Facebook, and - somewhat shockingly - the social media giant reportedly doesn’t plan to take a cut of in-app revenue, so developers taking part in the pilot will be free to use whatever billing system they want. Entitlement to app revenue has been a major factor in recent lawsuits and regulations surrounding Apple and Google's app stores.

Cool, but... why?

Tom Channick, a Meta spokesperson, said to Heath in an email “We [Meta] have always been interested in helping developers distribute their apps, and new options would add more competition in this space. Developers deserve more ways to easily get their apps to people that want them.”

It’s currently unconfirmed if Meta plans on running more pilots, perhaps with the Apple App Store, though it seems like taking an initial small-scale approach with Android developers will allow the company to get a feel of how users respond to the new features.

However, it does bring some concerns that this new ease of downloads might result in a lot of sketchy apps being downloaded by less tech-savvy Facebook users.

At least when you go to your phone’s app store you can scroll down and see ratings and user feedback for an app; whereas here, it’s unclear what the interface for the instant download is going to look like, since it’ll be contained in a Facebook ad. Hopefully, as things progress with the pilot, Meta will address this potential issue. 

https://ift.tt/r3zmeKl

Quordle today - hints and answers for Friday June 30 (game #522)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's good fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a new variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #522 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #522) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #522) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 9.

Quordle today (game #522) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #522) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 14.

Quordle today (game #522) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #522) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #522) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• W

• B

• S

• A

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #522) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #522, are…

• WOMAN
• BAGEL
• SUPER
• ARISE

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

---

Daily Sequence today (game #522) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #522, are…

• AGATE
• UPSET
• CEASE
• VISTA

---

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #521, Thursday 29 June: ISSUE, MOUNT, OVOID, SANER
• Quordle #520, Wednesday 28 June: CEDAR, RUMBA, WIDOW, TITHE
• Quordle #519, Tuesday 27 June: STRAW, APPLY, MAGMA, CLUED
• Quordle #518, Monday 26 June: SCARE, RIGHT, IRATE, ORBIT
• Quordle #517, Sunday 25 June: GAUNT, SLANG, ROUSE, UNITE
• Quordle #516, Saturday 24 June: BILGE, LEAPT, GLOAT, PLEAT
• Quordle #515, Friday 23 June: FIELD, BRINE, BEGUN, PITCH
• Quordle #514, Thursday 22 June: AMAZE, BINGO, MUMMY, WEIRD
• Quordle #513, Wednesday 21 June: BRIDE, TILDE, LOWER, REVEL
• Quordle #512, Tuesday 20 June: DUVET, BLAST, FILMY, CEASE
• Quordle #511, Monday 19 June: HORDE, LOSER, GUSTO, PRONE
• Quordle #510, Sunday 18 June: SHORN, FRIAR, THREE, UNTIE
• Quordle #509, Saturday 17 June: JUROR, BUSED, SAPPY, VYING
• Quordle #508, Friday 16 June: PASTA, RABID, UNFIT, CURLY
• Quordle #507, Thursday 15 June: COBRA, CORNY, MINCE, CHILI
• Quordle #506, Wednesday 14 June: LIBEL, SAVVY, VAULT, TROLL
• Quordle #505, Tuesday 13 June: LOWLY, CORAL, PLANK, AMISS
• Quordle #504, Monday 12 June: STAMP, BONEY, TRACE, CLOVE
• Quordle #503, Sunday 11 June: QUACK, SCALP, DRIER, FOLLY
• Quordle #502, Saturday 10 June: WRUNG, TROLL, TAKER, ELATE

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

https://ift.tt/djsVqR2

New Safari 17 preview lets you try out the browser before it hits macOS Sonoma

Apple is giving more people the opportunity to try out Safari 17 before it launches on macOS Sonoma as it has recently released Safari Technology Preview 173.

Up to this point, the only way people could use the revamped Safari was to install the Sonoma beta onto their Mac. With this preview, Ventura users can now see what all the fuss is about without having to commit to downloading the beta.

There are, however, restrictions. Safari 17 on Ventura excludes some of the more impactful changes in the update leaving the browser with mostly developer tools. The preview introduces Live Text support to recognize vertical text in images and videos. A tweaked Responsive Design Mode will further enhance the responsiveness of a webpage. Then there’s the new Feature Flags section offering easier access to experimental features from Apple.

It appears Safari 17 on Ventura is not the most recent build of the updated browser, which is one reason why users on that system won’t get all of the bells and whistles. If you do want all the bells and whistles, you’ll need to first install the Sonoma beta on your Mac and then upgrade Safari to the 173 preview build.

Exclusive to the Sonoma beta

After installing the build, you’ll get four new features; three of which were first seen during WWDC 2023. You have the long overdue inclusion of Profiles to Safari so people can share their Mac computer with friends or family while maintaining their privacy. Private Browsing on Sonoma will now lock your “windows when not in use” while also adding protection against “advanced techniques used to track” people online. Plus, you’ll be able to add websites to your Mac Dock for instant access.

The only new addition is a “redesigned text cursor” utilizing your system’s accent color. So if your Mac’s accent color is red, the text cursor will be red too. The rest of the 173 preview build consists of either a developer tool or bug fixes, including newfound support for the JPEG XL image and HEIC file formats and addressing videos going black “when exiting picture-in-picture”. Nothing major. No word when the enhanced search function or passkey sharing will arrive in a Safari or Sonoma beta.

Availability

If you’re interested in trying out Safari 17, head on over to Apple’s Developer website and then download the browser that best fits the macOS you’re running. Your computer will walk you through the process. The best part is it’s available to everyone. You don’t need to be a developer to try it out although developers will probably be the ones to get the most out of the build. 

9to5Mac states that Safari 17 will be its own standalone app so it won’t replace the main browser. You can uninstall it anytime you want. Also, remember this is a preview build. The final product may look different.

• TechRadar's list of the best MacBook and Macs for 2023

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YouTube's test run of the 'three strikes you're out' policy against ad blockers seems like a bit much

Back in May 2023, it was reported that Google had been testing out an anti ad-block experiment for YouTube, one that involved a pop-up stating that ad-blockers are no longer allowed on the website. Following that, you were prevented from using the site unless you disabled the ad-blocker or subscribed to YouTube Premium.

Now the tech giant is reportedly becoming more aggressive in its war against ad-blockers, with a new ‘three strike’ system. Reddit user Reddit_n_Me first spotted this popup, which includes three numbered boxes along with the message “video player will be blocked after 3 videos.” 

It’s then followed by an explanation for this popup, as well as the same buttons from the last popup experiment for “Allow YouTube Ads” and “Try YouTube Premium.”

(Image credit: Reddit)

According to other Redditors in the comments of that post, those who use uBlock Origin haven’t seen this particular popup screen. Of course, it’s a pretty narrow list of users being tested as of now, so we don’t know the full extent of this new experiment.

The ongoing war on ad blockers

Before these more recent experiments began to crop up, Google had already been warring against ad blockers. Back in early 2016, the company briefly banned ad-blockers from its Play Store only to revert its decision not long after. But it didn't stop there. 

In 2022, Google banned Android VPN apps that didn’t use the VPNService API (Application Programming Interface) from the Play Store, claiming that they interfered with advertising. And in that same year, YouTube Vanced, which was used as an ad-free alternative to the social media site, was taken down from the Play Store.

Not to mention that the shift to Manifest v3 API for Google Chrome would disable most ad-blockers outright. Google claims that this shift is to protect users’ security and privacy, as well as offer a material performance boost. However, considering how aggressive the tech giant has been, it’s more likely that this is an effort to kill most ad-blockers, especially since Chrome owns the overwhelming browser market share.

And let’s be real: ads on YouTube are becoming unbearable, as they run longer and occur more often. For instance, if you watch YouTube on your smart TV, you’ll be experiencing "30 second non-skips [adverts] to YouTube Select on CTV" according to a new plan to increase adverts. There are also plans for "bringing new Pause experiences to CTV," meaning that when you pause a video, an ad will play next to that video.

It’s a grim future, to say the least, and one that would either make YouTube nearly unwatchable or force you to fork over both your money and data to big brother Google.

https://ift.tt/NAXeGdo

Quordle today - hints and answers for Thursday June 29 (game #521)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's good fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a new variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #521 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #521) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #521) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 10.

Quordle today (game #521) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #521) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 12.

Quordle today (game #521) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #521) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #521) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• I

• M

• O

• S

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #521) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #521, are…

• ISSUE
• MOUNT
• OVOID
• SANER

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

---

Daily Sequence today (game #521) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #521, are…

• MOVER
• JAZZY
• HASTY
• ERROR

---

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #520, Wednesday 28 June: CEDAR, RUMBA, WIDOW, TITHE
• Quordle #519, Tuesday 27 June: STRAW, APPLY, MAGMA, CLUED
• Quordle #518, Monday 26 June: SCARE, RIGHT, IRATE, ORBIT
• Quordle #517, Sunday 25 June: GAUNT, SLANG, ROUSE, UNITE
• Quordle #516, Saturday 24 June: BILGE, LEAPT, GLOAT, PLEAT
• Quordle #515, Friday 23 June: FIELD, BRINE, BEGUN, PITCH
• Quordle #514, Thursday 22 June: AMAZE, BINGO, MUMMY, WEIRD
• Quordle #513, Wednesday 21 June: BRIDE, TILDE, LOWER, REVEL
• Quordle #512, Tuesday 20 June: DUVET, BLAST, FILMY, CEASE
• Quordle #511, Monday 19 June: HORDE, LOSER, GUSTO, PRONE
• Quordle #510, Sunday 18 June: SHORN, FRIAR, THREE, UNTIE
• Quordle #509, Saturday 17 June: JUROR, BUSED, SAPPY, VYING
• Quordle #508, Friday 16 June: PASTA, RABID, UNFIT, CURLY
• Quordle #507, Thursday 15 June: COBRA, CORNY, MINCE, CHILI
• Quordle #506, Wednesday 14 June: LIBEL, SAVVY, VAULT, TROLL
• Quordle #505, Tuesday 13 June: LOWLY, CORAL, PLANK, AMISS
• Quordle #504, Monday 12 June: STAMP, BONEY, TRACE, CLOVE
• Quordle #503, Sunday 11 June: QUACK, SCALP, DRIER, FOLLY
• Quordle #502, Saturday 10 June: WRUNG, TROLL, TAKER, ELATE
• Quordle #501, Friday 9 June: HAZEL, REACT, SPOKE, CHART

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

https://ift.tt/a3xzS6y

Mozilla wants Pocket users to switch to Firefox accounts which may not be a bad thing

For years Pocket users have been able to get away with not having a Mozilla Firefox account despite the service being on its browser, but they'll soon have to make the switch.

Starting on July 11, 2023, all Pocket users will be prompted to create a Mozilla Firefox account, and it will become mandatory by August 15, 2023. But according to the official blog post, other than changing how you log in, this will not have any effect on your saved items. Also, if you’re a Pocket Premium subscriber, your subscription will not be affected by this move.

(Image credit: Mozilla)

Mozilla stated that this move is to ensure that all users will have Mozilla’s security benefits like two-factor authentication and Mozilla’s privacy policy. And if you log in using your Apple ID or Google login, then not only will you receive these benefits but your account will also be auto-migrated on July 11.

Mozilla’s apps will also be unaffected by the switch, not to mention Pocket will continue to be accessible on other web browsers, including the Pocket browser extension. So, in other words, you’ll have a much more secure browsing experience while maintaining your full breadth of services free of charge.

The full instructions on how to convert your Pocket account to a Mozilla Firefox account are below:

• Beginning July 11, 2023, if you’re already logged in to Pocket, simply log out to be redirected to the Pocket Log In page.
• Enter your email and click Next. If you haven’t already set up your Firefox account, you’ll be prompted with instructions. For Pocket users who log in via Apple ID or Google, please see *below.
• Select Upgrade my account to proceed. (Note: If you select I’m not ready, you will be prompted to transition your account the next time you log in.)
• Log into your Firefox account or create a new one.
• You’ll then be redirected to your Pocket content.

Mozilla previously had been asking users to make the transition, Android Police stated, even setting the mandatory conversion date to June 30, 2022. But now it seems that the company has decided to take things more seriously.

https://ift.tt/3wIRtCK

Quordle today - hints and answers for Wednesday June 28 (game #520)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's good fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a new variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #520 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #520) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #520) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 8.

Quordle today (game #520) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #520) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 14.

Quordle today (game #520) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #520) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #520) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• R

• W

• T

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #520) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #520, are…

• CEDAR
• RUMBA
• WIDOW
• TITHE

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

---

Daily Sequence today (game #520) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #520, are…

• SUNNY
• EXERT
• ALGAE
• BOOTH

---

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #519, Tuesday 27 June: STRAW, APPLY, MAGMA, CLUED
• Quordle #518, Monday 26 June: SCARE, RIGHT, IRATE, ORBIT
• Quordle #517, Sunday 25 June: GAUNT, SLANG, ROUSE, UNITE
• Quordle #516, Saturday 24 June: BILGE, LEAPT, GLOAT, PLEAT
• Quordle #515, Friday 23 June: FIELD, BRINE, BEGUN, PITCH
• Quordle #514, Thursday 22 June: AMAZE, BINGO, MUMMY, WEIRD
• Quordle #513, Wednesday 21 June: BRIDE, TILDE, LOWER, REVEL
• Quordle #512, Tuesday 20 June: DUVET, BLAST, FILMY, CEASE
• Quordle #511, Monday 19 June: HORDE, LOSER, GUSTO, PRONE
• Quordle #510, Sunday 18 June: SHORN, FRIAR, THREE, UNTIE
• Quordle #509, Saturday 17 June: JUROR, BUSED, SAPPY, VYING
• Quordle #508, Friday 16 June: PASTA, RABID, UNFIT, CURLY
• Quordle #507, Thursday 15 June: COBRA, CORNY, MINCE, CHILI
• Quordle #506, Wednesday 14 June: LIBEL, SAVVY, VAULT, TROLL
• Quordle #505, Tuesday 13 June: LOWLY, CORAL, PLANK, AMISS
• Quordle #504, Monday 12 June: STAMP, BONEY, TRACE, CLOVE
• Quordle #503, Sunday 11 June: QUACK, SCALP, DRIER, FOLLY
• Quordle #502, Saturday 10 June: WRUNG, TROLL, TAKER, ELATE
• Quordle #501, Friday 9 June: HAZEL, REACT, SPOKE, CHART
• Quordle #500, Thursday 8 June: TRAWL, CRUDE, BRAVE, FURRY
• Quordle #499, Wednesday 7 June: QUELL, GUISE, UNDUE, PALER
• Quordle #498, Tuesday 6 June: BRICK, TIGHT, SHOWY, ARDOR

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

https://ift.tt/PMInVdG

Meta is making it easier to manage your kids' Instagram and Messenger addictions

Meta is kicking off a sizable security update as the tech giant begins rolling out new parental tools to Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram.

The goal here is to give parents and legal guardians a lot more control over how their teenage children interact with these apps. Messenger's tools will be housed in the new Parental Supervision hub where users can learn “how much time their teen spends on” the platform, receive notifications whenever someone new is added to the contacts list, as well as dictate who can message them. Parents can restrict incoming messages to “only their [child’s] friends, friends of friends, or no one”. Parents will also be able to control “who can see their [kid’s] stories” and get told whenever someone is reported on the account. Teenagers can change some of the security settings themselves, but if they do that, their guardians will get a notification informing them of any adjustments.

This first batch is currently “available in the US, UK, and Canada… with plans to [roll out] to more countries around the world in the coming months.” Later on, Meta will upgrade Messenger a second time by adding time management tools to Parental Supervision.

(Image credit: Meta)

Increased transparency

Instagram’s own Parental Supervision hub is getting an update similar to Messenger’s as Meta seeks to improve transparency between teenagers and their parents.

Right now, the platform shows parents the accounts their child follows as well as who follows them in return. This tool is being expanded to display any mutual friends those accounts may share with your teenager. Additionally, whenever a minor blocks someone, a notice will appear recommending they add their guardian to help supervise the account.

Outside of the Supervision hub, Meta is testing a new privacy feature for Instagram where people must first send an invite before any messages can be sent. Those invites will be limited to just text – no images, videos, or anything else. It’s unknown if everyone will get to try these out or just a handful of people, but hopefully, it launches globally in an official capacity soon. Speaking of global launches, Instagram’s Quiet Mode, which turns off notifications for a more silent experience, is set to release in other countries sometime “[within] the coming weeks.” 

(Image credit: Meta)

As for Facebook, Meta isn't doing much. The company seems to be content with simply bringing over the Take a Break tool from Instagram. According to the announcement, teens will get a notice telling them to take a breather from the app after 20 minutes have passed. Parents can also set daily reminders if they want to stay on top of things. Be sure to keep an eye out for the patch when it arrives. Updates usually release in waves so you may have to wait a bit. 

While these security upgrades are great, your child may have other apps on their smartphone that you're not aware of. Be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the 10 riskiest apps and sites for kids to learn more.

https://ift.tt/pjqi0uT

Quordle today - hints and answers for Tuesday June 27 (game #519)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's good fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a new variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #519 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #519) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #519) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 6.

Quordle today (game #519) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #519) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 14.

Quordle today (game #519) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #519) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #519) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• A

• M

• C

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #519) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #519, are…

• STRAW
• APPLY
• MAGMA
• CLUED

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

---

Daily Sequence today (game #519) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #519, are…

• CHEER
• VOICE
• LIGHT
• SPURT

---

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #518, Monday 26 June: SCARE, RIGHT, IRATE, ORBIT
• Quordle #517, Sunday 25 June: GAUNT, SLANG, ROUSE, UNITE
• Quordle #516, Saturday 24 June: BILGE, LEAPT, GLOAT, PLEAT
• Quordle #515, Friday 23 June: FIELD, BRINE, BEGUN, PITCH
• Quordle #514, Thursday 22 June: AMAZE, BINGO, MUMMY, WEIRD
• Quordle #513, Wednesday 21 June: BRIDE, TILDE, LOWER, REVEL
• Quordle #512, Tuesday 20 June: DUVET, BLAST, FILMY, CEASE
• Quordle #511, Monday 19 June: HORDE, LOSER, GUSTO, PRONE
• Quordle #510, Sunday 18 June: SHORN, FRIAR, THREE, UNTIE
• Quordle #509, Saturday 17 June: JUROR, BUSED, SAPPY, VYING
• Quordle #508, Friday 16 June: PASTA, RABID, UNFIT, CURLY
• Quordle #507, Thursday 15 June: COBRA, CORNY, MINCE, CHILI
• Quordle #506, Wednesday 14 June: LIBEL, SAVVY, VAULT, TROLL
• Quordle #505, Tuesday 13 June: LOWLY, CORAL, PLANK, AMISS
• Quordle #504, Monday 12 June: STAMP, BONEY, TRACE, CLOVE
• Quordle #503, Sunday 11 June: QUACK, SCALP, DRIER, FOLLY
• Quordle #502, Saturday 10 June: WRUNG, TROLL, TAKER, ELATE
• Quordle #501, Friday 9 June: HAZEL, REACT, SPOKE, CHART
• Quordle #500, Thursday 8 June: TRAWL, CRUDE, BRAVE, FURRY
• Quordle #499, Wednesday 7 June: QUELL, GUISE, UNDUE, PALER
• Quordle #498, Tuesday 6 June: BRICK, TIGHT, SHOWY, ARDOR
• Quordle #497, Monday 5 June: STUNG, SHAPE, QUAIL, BLURT

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

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Is social media good for mental health? Young people think it is

The tides may be turning on how young people view social media. YouGov’s most recent bi-annual survey of social media’s mental health impact in the US shows 18-29-year-olds in the US feel like it’s a net positive for their mental health - but why when this feels so very counterintuitive to everything we’ve collectively seen so far?

This particular demographic is largely made up of digital natives; Gen Zs and late Millennials (or Zillenials, as I self-identify). Yet, if you ask most people how they feel social media impacts their mental health, a majority will probably have a negative association. It’s inherently addictive, can affect our body image, and exposes us to all kinds of toxic and negative opinions that can lead to feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety.

Statistics have generally supported this idea, including YouGov’s US survey as well as its UK respondents (and even Facebook itself). Overall, 31% and 33% respectively agreed social media has a negative impact, versus 19% and 13% expressing a positive impact.

Broadly speaking, Gen Zs are an age group that hasn’t known life without social media - but it’s not just them who apparently feel the benefits. YouGov’s results show that even 30-44-year-olds can’t quite make up their mind in recent years. Is it that young people simply don’t know any different, or are we finding new ways to adapt?

According to YouGov’s most recent survey, 40% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 in the US expressed that social media brings more of a positive impact versus the 27% who feel it does not - a fairly steep shift from results from last June, which saw 28% respond positively and 33% negatively.

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(Image credit: Future / YouGov data)

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(Image credit: Future / YouGov data)

In 30-44-year-olds, results are becoming increasingly muddied; most recently, 29% felt social media had a positive impact while 33% disagreed, versus December’s results which saw 33% find it positive versus 27% negative. Broadly speaking, these respondents are millennials, the last generation to have experienced their youth both with and without social media’s iron-fisted grip.

YouGov’s US data doesn’t go as far back as the beginning of the pandemic in the US, but from the end of 2020 until now there’s been a fairly clear correlation; young people are increasingly perceiving the benefits of social media.

Supporting this, three other YouGov surveys in 2021, 2022, and 2023 asked respondents if they felt social media had a positive impact on society, and progressively, people are more inclined to say it has - with a more drastic shift in opinion seeming to have occurred in just the space of the last few months.

(Image credit: Future / YouGov data)

Granted, it’s been a fairly turbulent time online. From Elon Musk’s Twitter shenanigans to wide-scale service outages, influencer cancellations, and the seemingly unending popularity of TikTok, we’re chartering unknown waters online. 

 Masochism or malleability

To help understand these results, I asked some US friends and colleagues between the ages of 18-29 about their thoughts on social media and mental health, and while the majority disagreed with the survey results, the margin was still smaller than I expected; 37.5% still felt social media was broadly positive versus the rest who disagreed.

I asked all of the respondents to tell me what they felt about social media being positive for their mental health, and many mentioned some of the more obvious benefits; staying connected to family and friends, and keeping entertained and informed on current events. 

Others mentioned finding inspiration for creative interests on platforms like Pinterest and TikTok and accessing resources for mental health - and a couple specifically highlighted newer “de-influencer” movements that create mindfulness and wellness content.

On the other hand, trolls, overstimulation, and unrealistic standards for body image and lifestyle were among the most regularly mentioned negative aspects. One respondent highlighted Twitter, especially in its post-Elon Musk era, as a particularly negative site thanks to its low moderation standards and algorithmic changes, and others felt an influx of negative or insincere content detracted from their mental health. 

Emily Hemendinger, Assistant Professor, Clinical Director, and DBS Coordinator with the OCD Program at the University of Colorado has particularly focused on the relationship between social media and body image, and while she recognizes the positive effects of keeping connected and driving social change, she notes that social media “comes with the baggage of being a driver of hate, harassment, misinformation, and unrealistic standards for body image, self-worth, and life in general.” 

Hemendinger notes that the YouGov poll is just one source of information, whereas other sources including the Surgeon General and Pew Research’s findings show young people are reporting the negative impacts of social media. 

From her anecdotal experience, these other findings track; “As a therapist, I am seeing more young people now who are bringing mental health issues to therapy related to the negative impacts of social media. I think we need to wait and see.”

 Muddying the waters

So, why might there be such mixed responses to questions surrounding individuals’ experiences of mental health on social media? Hemendinger thinks this is down to the love-hate relationship many of us have with our social apps: ”People go on ‘social media cleanses’ because they say they hate social media or it’s not helping their mental health. But those don’t last long. They keep getting drawn back in.

“We get huge dopamine surges from scrolling. So of course, that helps our mental health,” Hemendinger explains, presenting some explanation of how this works within the human mind. “Social media is addictive and addictions are ego-syntonic, meaning they feel good and align with our values and self, at least in the beginning,” she says, “Simply put, a lot of addictions feel really good to our brains at least for some time.”

Social media comes with the baggage of being a driver of hate, harassment, misinformation, and unrealistic standards for body image, self-worth, and life in general.

Emily Hemendinger

However, that’s only one side of the coin; “Overtime addictions become ego-dystonic because of the impact they have on our lives.” Things become ego-dystonic when they become inconsistent with one's fundamental beliefs and personality. “For young people, social media may still be ego-syntonic for them,” Hemendinger adds.

This tracks with the results from my own smaller survey, wherein most respondents felt their opinion on social media was increasingly negative. Some highlighted a sense of obligation to remain on social media, while others see fewer and fewer people using social media - at least, not as regularly. Increased awareness of the profitability of user data and marketing on social media has increased some respondents’ skepticism, and negative content facilitated by anonymity concerns others.

(Image credit: shutterstock/V3rc4)

Adapt to survive

Despite the many valid concerns, it’s a reality that social media is here to stay. Hemendinger highlights legislation under consideration by policymakers in the US to regulate or restrict social media, as well as misinformation online, but it may well be the case that some younger people are one step ahead already.

Hemendinger considers that “perhaps because the demographic was 18-29, this demographic is better able to discern what is helpful versus unhelpful social media. As a result, they can curate their feeds to be less toxic and more aligned with what makes them feel good.”

Whether younger people just haven’t yet recognized or experienced the ways in which social media may be damaging to their mental health or they’ve genuinely circumnavigated some of its effects to find greater benefits, social media remains as divisive as it’s ever been. 

For now, it’s a waiting game as we watch how a blend of regulatory action, user behavior, and new moderation tools might shape the next generation of social media platforms; or, indeed, if we collectively decide it’s better to head outside and touch grass.

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