Instant Messenger

4 Stories

NSA Harvesting Contact Lists From Gmail, Facebook

Snowden leak indicates agency is collecting more than 250M lists per year

(Newser) - The Washington Post has the latest document leak from Edward Snowden, revealing that the NSA has been collecting hundreds of millions of contact lists from email, social media, and IM accounts around the world—including those of Americans. The agency then uses those lists to uncover and map connections and...

How IM Sapped My Ability to Deal
 How IM Sapped
 My Ability to Deal
OPINION

How IM Sapped My Ability to Deal

End of an intense online relationship forces writer to examine IM dependency

(Newser) - After breaking up with his live-in boyfriend online, writer Will Doig realized IM had become an intimate part of their relationship, and the fallout was crushing. "At the first hint of crisis, my response had always been the same"—instant message his boyfriend "for an impromptu therapy...

Techno Savvy Teens Turn Backs on Email

Online chatting, text messages dominate youth communication

(Newser) - If snail mail is going the way of the dodo, then it looks like, among teenagers, email is going the way of, well, the snail: half of all teens prefer instant messaging to old-fashioned emails; and while overall use increased six percent last year, e-missives among the "Facebook generation"...

Murder, She IMed
Murder,
She IMed

Murder, She IMed

A modern love triangle—three people, even more identities, one very real crime

(Newser) - A married 45-year-old former marine carried on a tempestuous IM relationship with an 18-year-old girl. Thomas Montgomery pretended to be an young sniper in Iraq to win the heart of Jessi. When the deceit was exposed, she took up—online—with a younger friend of his. A jealous Montgomery shot...

4 Stories