Streaming superstar Tyler "Ninja" Blevins announced on Thursday that he's ditching TikTok, the video-sharing app beloved by Generation Z, over privacy concerns.

"I have deleted the TIK TOK app off all my devices," Blevins tweeted to his 6 million followers. 

"Hopefully a less intrusive company (data farming) that isn't owned by China can recreate the concept legally, such funny and amazing content on the app from influencers," he added.

Blevins was the most-watched game streamer on Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch before he signed an exclusivity deal with Microsoft's streaming service Mixer in August 2019. Microsoft shut down Mixer on June 22, releasing Blevins from his contract. Blevins indicated this week that he might return to YouTube.

Blevins did not elaborate on why he thought TikTok was more intrusive than other social media apps like Facebook and Twitter. But his announcement is indicative that growing US political hostility towards the app may be filtering down.

TikTok is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, a fact which has made it a target for US politicians.

And Blevins' announcement comes the same week the Trump administration said it is considering banning the app.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Monday the US government was "certainly" considering banning TikTok on the grounds that it could constitute a national security threat. Pompeo said US citizens should be wary of downloading the app or else he thinks their data could end up "in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party."

On Tuesday President Trump weighed in, saying a TikTok ban could be a way for him to punish China for the coronavirus pandemic.

TikTok denies that it is a security risk, and has sought to distance itself from its Chinese roots. 

"TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy in the US," a TikTok spokesperson told Business Insider on Wednesday following Trump's remarks. "We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked," they added.

TikTok itself does not operate in mainland China, but is the international version of its sister app Douyin, which is live in China.

On Friday TikTok confirmed its withdrawal from Hong Kong after China implemented a sweeping new national security law in the previously semi-autonomous region.

In June, a Picasso painting was sold for cryptocurrency for the first time.

Swiss luxury goods firm Idoneus acquired the painting "Danse du ventre devant homme impassible" (or "Belly dance before impassive man") for an undisclosed amount. Idoneus used its own "IDON" token to make the purchase, and said it is pioneering the use of its cryptocurrency for luxury purchases.

The sale of a Picasso for cryptocurrency exemplifies its widening acceptance in the art world, estimated to be worth $64 billion globally in 2019 by Art Basel and UBS.

Now, artists and collectors are not only trading in cryptocurrencies but using the blockchain tech that underpins them to try and determine authenticity and ownership.

Reduce fraud in the art world

One platform trying to digitally guarantee the provenance of art is the Blockchain Art Exchange.

Launched by crypto enthusiast and art curator Sascha Bailey, son of the famous fashion photographer David Bailey, at the end of 2018, the platform allows artists to tokenize their digital artwork.

The theory goes like this: By tokenizing the work using blockchain's distributed ledger technology, the transaction is permanently recorded on a shared database without any need for third parties to authenticate it. Once recorded, no one can alter the entries. 

This means that collectors are not just trading a digital image, but a virtual certificate of authenticity, according to Bailey. The main appeal of this is that it helps to protect buyers against fraud. Experts estimate that around 20% of the paintings in major galleries could be fraudulent. 

Another potential advantage is protection of the ownership of the artwork beyond the lifetime of the platform. 

"Even if the gallery that you bought it from shuts down, then you still own the artwork," explained Bailey. "You wouldn't expect a gallery to come to your house and burn your artwork after they close down. Whereas, with digital artwork, until now, that's kind of what happened."

This is currently only around a million-dollar industry, according to Bailey, but it has grown rapidly and he expects this to continue.

The pandemic has accelerated adoption.

The Blockchain Art Exchange saw month-on-month growth in sales of 400% in June, compared with only 47% pre-pandemic.

Many people in the traditional world of fine art who were previously on the fence about the technology have now decided to buy in, according to Bailey.

Contemporary artist Lincoln Townley is creating his own 'art coin'

Contemporary artist Lincoln Townley, who is famous for his figurative portraits of Hollywood stars like Meryl Streep, also sees potential for blockchain in the art market. 

"This hasn't even scraped the surface yet," Townley told Business Insider. "It's very, very deep waters that no one seems to be that happy to set sail in. Well, I certainly am. I look at myself as having the biggest ship out there."

He added: "There's a very big market for people that are looking now into alternative investment, but asset-based. The ones that take on the cryptocurrency as an investment are, I wouldn't say they were gamblers as such, but they take on more risks."

Townley first sold a painting for bitcoin in 2017 and is working on his own blockchain-encrypted 'art coin'. His entire new collection, Universe, can be bought using cryptocurrency.

Embracing blockchain has been part of a wider digital transformation undergone by Townley's studio. He is about to launch a virtual reality gallery that will exhibit his works and studio online in their entirety, with information on the process of creating and curating his art.

This way, he can cut out the middle man — the art agents and galleries — who take 50% commission on sales and are often responsible of upwards of 40 artists. When he wants to sell a piece, he sends the details to curated WhatsApp groups of his collectors. From the first message to receiving payment, it can take less than 24 hours. 

According to Townley, this is all evidence that the traditional "stuffy" art world is in decline. He said: "The model doesn't work anymore; it's dead, it's over, it's gone."

Opening it up to a new wave of investors who are interested in the tech as well as the art, is transforming the industry. 

Crypto is highly risky, highly variable and not regulated

As with much of the wider crypto space, the people advocating for blockchain-led change in the art world are often driven by an ideological affinity with the movement.

For crypto artist Vesa Kivinen, his initial interest in blockchain came from a disillusionment with the handling of the global 2008 financial crisis and what he sees as the failure of the existing monetary system.

Like most crypto adopters in the art world, he sees blockchain technology as a way of democratizing art. 

"It's giving an opportunity to new voices to come into the industry that would otherwise have a very terrible time trying to get in with their expression into the legacy art world," said Kivinen.

Bailey, Townley, and Kivinen are all aware of the risks of relying on a technology that is largely unregulated. With the market still very much in its infancy, it's a "bit like a gold rush of the Wild West," said Kivinen.

As with cryptocurrencies, buyers using these platforms put themselves at risk of being scammed.

"At the moment, everyone in the industry is incredibly well-behaved because everyone is early adopters," said Bailey. "I do think there is a potential for misuse as with all technology. But I think the pros for the people who want to use it legitimately outweigh the cons massively."

Bailey says platforms like Blockchain Art Exchange are still accountable to customers. "We still hold the responsibility of what comes on [the platform]," he said. "Unlike with bitcoin, where there is no party to hold accountable."

And traditional art institutions are buying in.

In December 2018, British auction house Christie's auctioned the Barney A. Ebsworth Collection, the first art auction of its price level to be recorded on the blockchain.

"Christie's leadership is reflected and supported by continued investment in digital platforms and initiatives that work for our clients," a Christie's spokesperson told Business Insider. "It is early days and this was a pilot blockchain project for this reason. We'll see where this might lead but this sale has been a great starting point for us all."

NOW WATCH:

Quibi — a new streaming video subscription service — offers a lot of short-form content intended to be watched on your phone while on the go. 

However, it's also possible to stream Quibi to your TV using Chromecast and AirPlay. If you know you're going to be somewhere that you don't have access to the internet, you can download Quibi videos for offline viewing. 

When it comes to downloading on Quibi, there are a couple of caveats. First, not all videos are available for download. If you tap the three dots and don't see a download option, that content can't be downloaded.

Second, not all videos will remain permanently on your phone after downloading. Some videos will expire and disappear from the Downloads folder, so don't wait too long to watch anything you've downloaded. 

If you're on an ad-supported Quibi subscription, you may need to watch a short ad before the download begins. Otherwise, the video will download right away.

When you're ready to download on Quibi, here's how to do it. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Apple)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $699.99 at Walmart)

How to download episodes on Quibi

1. In the Quibi app, find a video you want to watch (but don't tap it to start playing).

2. Tap the three dots in the corner of the video. 

3. When a pop-up menu appears, tap "Download Episode."

4. Close any video that is playing and go to Quibi's home screen. 

5. Tap "Downloads" in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen to see a list of now downloaded videos. 

6. Tap the title you want to watch. 

It's pretty common to have to delete a slide in PowerPoint. Maybe your presentation is going on a bit too long and you need to cut content. Or maybe you were keeping a slide for notes that you don't want to appear in your presentation.

Regardless of the reason, there's good news: PowerPoint makes it very easy to delete slides, no matter what version of it you have. 

In fact, the solution is so intuitive, you may have missed it altogether while looking for a delete button or a trash bin somewhere in the application.

If you need to delete a PowerPoint slide, here's how you do it, using any version of PowerPoint on your Mac or PC.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Apple Macbook Pro (From $1,299.00 at Apple)

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

How to delete a slide in PowerPoint

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and right-click (or hold Control as you click) any slide you want to delete in the left sidebar.

2. From the drop-down list that appears, select "Delete" or "Delete Slide."

Once you rent or buy a movie or TV show on Amazon Prime Video, it should be immediately available for you to watch. 

Purchased shows and movies are yours forever, though you only have 30 days to start watching rented content; After that, the rental expires and the video disappears from your queue. 

But no matter what kind of device you are using, the process for finding and watching these purchases is basically the same. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Amazon Prime (From $99.99 a year at Amazon)

Samsung 50-inch Smart TV (From $399.99 at Best Buy)

How to see your Prime Video purchases on the mobile app

1. Start the Prime Video app on your mobile device.

2. At the bottom right of the screen, tap "My Stuff."

3. At the top of the screen, tap "Purchases."

4. You should see a list of all purchased and rented TV shows and movies. To start watching, just tap the one you want. 

How to see your Prime Video purchases in a web browser 

1. Open the Prime Video website in a browser. 

2. At the top of the screen, in the row of links that starts with Prime Video, click "My Stuff."

3. Click "Purchases & Rentals."

4. You should see a list of all purchased and rented TV shows and movies. To start watching, just click the one you want. 

Uber's quiet involvement with a group trying to shape public debate around cities' use of scooter and e-bike trip data has scared off several of its big-name supporters, WIRED first reported Thursday.

The group, Communities Against Rider Surveillance, is backed by 25 organizations including Uber and aims to "raise awareness of real-time location tracking and encourage a public dialogue before cities implement surveillance tools that put people at risk," CARS spokesperson Keeley Christensen told Business Insider.

But despite sharing some of the same worries about data privacy, advocacy groups Fight for the Future and Algorithmic Justice League withdrew from CARS after learning that Uber is one of its main backers, according to WIRED. Racial equality group MediaJustice told Business Insider it similarly "immediately pulled out" after becoming aware of the connection.

"It was frustrating to have to pull out of this coalition," Fight for the Future deputy director Evan Greer told Business Insider.

"We share their concerns about the ways that transportation data, even when anonymized, could be abused by government agencies, law enforcement, and others," Greer said, "But Uber's involvement and backing of the effort was not clearly disclosed to us. We think companies should engage in advocacy transparently."

Uber and CARS both refused to disclose the sources of the coalition's' funding. Christensen referred Business Insider to her statement to WIRED, which said that CARS "is grateful to have support from a wide and diverse group of organizations" and that Uber had been listed on its website "since day one."

"Any suggestion by proponents of real-time location tracking that there is some sort of sleight-of-hand here is both misleading and an effort to cloud the serious privacy issues at stake," Christensen told Business Insider.

Other members of CARS contacted by Business Insider raised similar worries about Uber's track record as a company, but said they would continue to support the coalition's work around privacy.

"I have concerns about Uber, of course (rotten pay for drivers, horrible corporate environment, etc, etc)," said Patient Privacy Rights President Dr. Deborah Peel, but she added that "the rest of the coalition is organizations that speak for the public's best interest."

Tracy Rosenberg of Oakland Privacy said she took issue with Uber's "corporate performance in many aspects" but that she was aware of its involvement in CARS. "On the limited issue of whether raw mobility trip data should be transferred to cities directly or to third parties, we believe unequivocally that it should not be."

An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that the company is glad to be a founding member of CARS and to see more organizations speaking out on the issue, saying Uber believes government demands for trip-level data violate riders' privacy.

CARS' advocacy is focused specifically on Mobility Data Specification, a data-sharing standard developed by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation that is used by cities to track scooter and e-bike locations. As urban streets have become increasingly crowded with ride-share companies' vehicles, cities like Los Angeles have passed regulations on their use, some of which have included requirements that companies like Uber — which until recently owned scooter and e-bike startup Jump — share anonymous, near-real-time data on individual trips.

That approach has prompted concerns from the ride-hail companies, citing rider privacy and, implicitly, the potential it will expose their trade secrets. In March, Uber sued LADOT over its collection of trip-level data.

"Some cities are taking a responsible approach to transportation planning. They're starting by asking what problems they want to solve, and what information they need to get there," Christensen said. "But Los Angeles is moving in the wrong direction" by not being more transparent about how it will use, store, and secure data.

Meanwhile, privacy advocates ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation filed their own lawsuit against the city in June, saying it was an overreach of government surveillance and could lead to misuse of the data by law enforcement agencies. (Los Angeles city officials have released "data protection principles" that discuss how they intend to ensure people's privacy).

In their heated battle with ride-hail companies over which data they should be required to provide, cities' distrust of the companies has been fueled in part by Uber's own checkered history around transparency and data privacy as well as its persistent opposition to regulation. In 2017, The New York Times revealed Uber was intentionally deceiving authorities by serving up a fake version of its app to local officials. Later that year, WIRED reported that Uber tried to cover up a data breach involving 57 million users by paying the hackers a $100,000 ransom.

Forgetting a password can feel like the end of the world, especially when it's the password to an account like your Apple ID. Your Apple ID gives you access to your iCloud, devices, and more, and without it, you're locked out of an essential part of your personal and even professional life. 

For those who have access to at least one of their Apple devices, the process for resetting your Apple ID is pretty straightforward on a browser. If you don't have your device, you'll have to use workarounds like the Find My iPhone app.

You can also download the Apple Support app onto someone else's device and try to reset your password that way. Any information you enter during the process will not be stored on the device. 

Here are a few ways you can reset your Apple ID password. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Apple)

Apple Macbook Pro (From $1,299.00 at Apple)

How to reset your Apple ID password with the Find My app on your own or someone else's device

1. Download the "Find My" app (previously known as Find My iPhone) if it's not already there, then open it on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, or iPod Touch you're using.

2. On the sign-in screen erase the Apple ID field if it isn't empty. 

3. If you don't see a sign on screen, choose "Sign Out," then clear the Apple ID field. 

4. Tap "Forgot Apple ID or Password" link. 

5. Enter the device's passcode. 

6. Enter your new password and enter it again to verify it. 

7. Select "Next" in the upper right-hand corner to confirm the change. 

8. Select "Next" and follow the prompts to receive confirmation of the password change.

How to reset your Apple ID password with the Apple Support App using someone else's iPhone or iPad

1. Download the Apple Support app.

2. After opening the app, tap "Products" at the top of the screen.

3. Scroll down until you see "Apple ID," and tap it. 

4. Select "Forgot Apple ID Password."

5. Choose "Get Started."

6. Tap the "A different Apple ID" link. 

7. Enter the Apple ID you want to reset the password for. 

8. Select "Next" and follow the prompts to receive confirmation of the password change.

How to reset your Apple ID password on your web browser using your phone number and one of your devices

1. Go to your Apple ID page. 

2. Click the "Forgot Apple ID or password?" link. 

Billionaire Jack Dorsey, the cofounder of Twitter, is spending millions to experiment with universal basic income.

Dorsey's experiment is part of a larger initiative called Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. On Thursday, the group announced the program could impact as many as 7 million Americans across 14 different cities, including Los Angeles; Atlanta; Newark, New Jersey; and Jackson, Mississippi. The involved mayors say they plan to launch guaranteed income pilot programs in their cities at an unspecified future date and lobby federal lawyers to consider a national one, too.

The coalition behind the experiment says giving people a guaranteed income could lift people out of poverty and cushion the economic and career blows of the coronavirus crisis.

Dorsey, who has built up a net worth of $7.5 billion, will sink $3 million from his nonprofit into the program, according to the announcement. The UBI program comes shortly after Dorsey's widely publicized pledge to donate $1 billion to coronavirus relief efforts.

The group did not specify who will be eligible for payments and how much they will receive each month under their plan. In a statement, it said that it envisions the basic income as a flexible supplement to existing social programs. At least two cities — Jackson, Mississippi; and Stockton, California — represented in the mayors' coalition already have working guaranteed income pilot programs, while Chicago, Newark, and Atlanta have task forces exploring programs of their own, according to the group's website.

Proponents and past research claim that a guaranteed income could be the best way to level the wealth divide between the richest and poorest Americans, a chasm that has grown even wider during the coronavirus pandemic. Critics of basic incomes say the economic effects of such proposals haven't been thoroughly researched and could stop recipients from working, Business Insider previously reported.

Still, Dorsey isn't the only wealthy American experimenting with universal basic income. Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced in May that he will give $500 to 20 New Yorkers every month for the next five years through his nonprofit in an effort to test the effects of the policy.

Yang made his universal basic income proposal — a scheme, called the Freedom Dividend, that would pay every American adult $1,000 monthly — a central part of his presidential campaign. Once considered an unlikely policy proposal championed only by Silicon Valley titans like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, guaranteed income has since gained traction with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

UBI proposals can be traced back as far as the 16th century, but have been floated throughout American history by a wide range of leaders including Thomas Payne and Martin Luther King, Jr. The one-time $1,200 stimulus checks Americans received earlier this year as a part of the CARES Act were essentially an interim universal basic income, Business Insider previously reported.

Theaters across the US have been closed since mid-March and blockbuster movies set for July like Warner Bros.' "Tenet" and Disney's "Mulan" have been pushed to August. With coronavirus cases surging in some states, it's likely that they will be delayed again.

Given the circumstances, movie studios face an unprecedented choice: resort to digital rentals and purchases via premium video-on-demand services (PVOD) or wait for theaters to reopen. Jeff Bock, the Exhibitor Relations senior media analyst, isn't confident about the latter.

"With this current COVID surge, it's obvious to me that most movie theaters won't be opening any time soon," Bock said. "Probably at the earliest fall, but if Broadway is any indication, maybe 2021."

Studios have already experimented with PVOD as an alternative, but mainly with smaller titles like family movies ("Trolls World Tour" and "Scoob!") and comedies or indie fare ("The King of Staten Island"). But if theaters remain closed for the foreseeable future, the pressure would be on to consider PVOD as a more viable option for bigger-budget titles like superhero movies.

A new study provided to Business Insider suggests that audiences would be willing to pay more for those titles than others from the comfort of their own homes.

TV tracking app TV Time surveyed 6,891 respondents who are active users of the app in the US from April 29 to April 30. The results were balanced to account for demographic differences between the US population and TV Time users. Respondents were asked what would be a reasonable amount to pay, between $0 and $50, for a PVOD release in several genres.

The superhero genre, typically the highest grossing at the box office, came out on top with an average amount of $14.17.

Action/adventure and drama followed at $13.49 and $12.38, respectively. Horror ($11.12) and art house movies ($9.45) were the genres respondents said they would pay the least amount of money for.

Below are the average prices respondents said they would pay for each genre:

While respondents were willing to pay nearly $15 for a superhero movie, digital releases are typically $20, which may be a steep price for many at-home consumers. 20% of respondents said they had bought a movie digitally after coronavirus safety guidelines were put in place at the time of the survey in late April.

51% of respondents cited "too expensive" as a reason they had not purchased a digital movie.

It would be difficult for studios to match the profits they make from superhero blockbusters at the global box office with $20 digital releases, let alone $15.

A more likely scenario is that studios would evaluate releases on a movie-by-movie basis. Disney moved "Artemis Fowl," originally set to hit theaters, to Disney Plus and is doing the same with the upcoming "The One and Only Ivan." But it's unlikely that a movie like Marvel and Disney's "Black Widow," which was pushed from May to November, would be released on PVOD services given Marvel's ability to attract audiences to theaters. 

A person familiar with Sony's thinking told Business Insider that the studio believes in the traditional theatrical window. Other studios have also recently expressed solidarity with theaters, even Universal, which has been the major studio to be the most aggressive in experimenting with PVOD.

After "Trolls World Tour" debuted on digital platforms in April, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said that movies would be released on both digital and to theaters once they reopen. AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron said that Universal's movies would not be shown at AMC venues in the future, prompting Universal to reiterate its commitment to the theatrical experience.

But Shell's comment could offer a preview of what's to come for the relationship between studios and theaters. Not releasing blockbusters to theaters would further anger exhibitors and would be a risk, as blockbuster releases bring in huge profits. But theaters also rely on these blockbusters to stay afloat. So it's hard to believe Universal and AMC wouldn't reach a compromise, as Universal will release sure-thing blockbusters next year like "Fast and Furious 9" and "Jurassic World: Dominion." Whatever course studios choose for PVOD will likely be temporary.

"PVOD has been and will remain part of the conversation so long as theaters aren't up and running, but it remains a worst-case scenario for the vast majority of high-profile releases," said Shawn Robbins, the Box Office Pro chief analyst. "Tentpoles, and the studios that depend on them, simply cannot thrive financially without the theatrical window."