Best of TechCrunchJanuary 2025

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    How to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

    Meta's recent decision to relax its content moderation policies and remove its third-party fact-checking system has led to a surge in users searching for ways to delete their Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts. The post provides detailed instructions on how to download personal data from Facebook and Instagram before deletion and outlines the steps for permanently deleting accounts on these platforms.

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    How OpenAI’s bot crushed this seven-person company’s web site ‘like a DDoS attack’

    Triplegangers, a small company specializing in 3D image files, faced disruption when OpenAI's bot significantly overloaded their ecommerce site, akin to a DDoS attack. The bot attempted to download the company's extensive database of images, leading to site crashes and anticipated high server costs. This incident highlights the importance of properly configuring robot.txt files to block unwanted bots and the challenges small businesses face in protecting their data against AI scrapers.

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    Dub.co is an open-source URL shortener and link attribution engine packed into one

    Dub.co, founded by former Vercel employee Steven Tey, is an open-source URL shortener and link-tracking service designed to enhance transparency in affiliate marketing. The tool simplifies attribution by integrating discount codes directly into links and provides granular tracking for marketers. Dub.co has raised $2 million in funding, offers both free and enterprise plans, and has introduced a new product called Conversions to track marketing effectiveness in real-time.

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    Goodbye, Dell XPS

    Dell is discontinuing its XPS, Inspiron, and Latitude laptop brands in favor of new models named Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max. The company aims to simplify its product portfolio and create uniform branding, though the decision has faced public backlash for potentially causing confusion.