Netflix has revealed that 33 million viewers worldwide tuned in to watch Anthony Joshua face Jake Paul in their highly anticipated boxing match, making it one of the most-watched live sporting events on the streaming platform to date. The fight ended with Joshua knocking out Paul in the sixth round.

The fight at the Kaseya Centre in Miami was Joshua’s first in over a year. Right from the start, his experience and power stood out, although the match moved at a slower pace than many fans had hoped.

Joshua ended the fight with a clear knockout, settling weeks of debate about whether the match should have taken place. Netflix later celebrated on social media, calling it “the knockout heard around the world.”

Anthony Joshua knocked out Jake Paul in the 6th round

When boxing met the Netflix streaming scale

Beyond the knockout, the fight signalled something bigger for sports and the streaming industry. Netflix’s involvement significantly expanded the match’s audience, drawing in millions of casual viewers who might not typically watch the sport. For many, this was less about titles and rankings and more about spectacle.

Worldwide streaming services have greatly expanded boxing’s audience. Unlike expensive pay-per-view events, this fight was accessible to viewers globally, revolutionising how major boxing matches are watched.

The Joshua-Paul event was a huge financial success. Reports suggest that Joshua and Paul earned a combined total of approximately $184 million. This demonstrates the significant commercial interest in the fight and the increasing popularity of boxing events featuring celebrities.

The fight unfolded as expected. In the beginning, Paul had trouble keeping up, as he was ften falling more than holding on. Conversely, Joshua stayed calm, saving his energy and staying in control.

Read also: Anthony Joshua to fight YouTube star Jake Paul on December 19

Joshua’s dominance was clear by the fifth round. He knocked Paul down twice before winning in the sixth round with a powerful series of punches. The referee stopped the fight, as Paul was unable to continue. Joshua landed almost three times as many punches as Paul during the fight.

The result prompts speculation about prospects. Joshua’s victory maintains his activity and prominence amid discussions for major fights in 2026, potentially including a highly anticipated bout with Tyson Fury. Paul’s defeat stalls his progress and reignites questions regarding the boundaries of crossover boxing.

For Netflix, the takeaway is clear: live sports, particularly boxing’s blend with entertainment, can still captivate a massive global audience.

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Photo by Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash

In the case of B2B startups and smaller tech companies, the cost of creating a strong brand image may be difficult particularly when dealing with limited budgets. Good promotional materials that are cost effective give a chance to have increased visibility, build relationships with clients and give long term impressions without necessarily spending a lot of money. The choice of promotional materials will be able to enhance advertising campaigns without being costly.

Promotional materials are not merely a case of giveaway but they are promotional tools that help convey professionalism and brand identity. To startup companies that are focused on gaining a competitive edge in the environment of competitive technologies, it can be beneficial to pay careful attention to promotional items, as it will help to establish rapport with customers and partners and develop brand recognition in the long term.

Choosing Promotional Products Wisely

When choosing the promotional materials, it is important to ensure that they represent your target audience in order to be cost effective. Tech startups and companies with limited resources tend to have the least resources, and thus products that would be useful, memorable, and related provide the best value. Branded USB drives, notebooks, or technology accessories are among the products that B2B clients can use on their daily basis to stay reminded of the company.

The other factor is quality as opposed to quantity. Offering substandard products can save on initial expenses, but will give a bad impression of the brand. Promoting by buying reasonably priced products that reflect professionalism will mean that promotional products will be perceived as useful, which will strengthen trust in clients and prospects.

Leveraging Corporate Clothing

Corporate wear has two advantages to emerging tech companies. T-shirts, hoodies, and polo shirts are branded clothing that could provide the employees with a feeling of unity, as well as used as walking advertisements at the workplace. These products are usually highly appreciated and will give the brand a long lasting exposure.

Corporate clothing is a strategic tool that tech startups can employ during a trade show, conference, or a meeting with the client. High-quality clothing conveys a tone of contemporary and friendly language, promoting brand recognition and trust. The popularity and effectiveness of these materials can also be improved by selecting multi-purpose and comfortable materials.

Utilizing Corporate Gifts

Corporate gifts are significant to developing the relationship of B2B without putting strain on the budgets. Careful products like branded pens, planners, or mini tech devices may increase customer loyalty and show their value. The trick is to choose presents, which will match the tastes and the workplace of the person receiving the gift.

Startups and emerging technology companies can also look into gifts that have a practical use. Valuable products are likely to be held on and valued to the maximum exposure to the brand. Also, custom corporate gifts provide a feeling of connection, and it indicates that a company considers every client or partner as an individual.

Prioritizing Digital and Hybrid Options

Besides tangible products, digital or hybrid promotional materials should be considered a cost effective solution. Electronic gift cards, branded software solutions or downloadable materials offer value with little production and logistics required to ship. These options enable the tech firms to contact clients far away or widen campaigns without huge overheads.

Brand impact could also be improved by integrating digital solutions with conventional content. An example would be putting a QR code on a branded tech accessory or a notebook that will take customers to company material: this will be a tangible and digital touch point, making B2B customer experience more engaging.

Optimizing Bulk Purchasing and Supplier Partnerships

The promotion materials may be bought in bulk or good relations with the suppliers may be established to save the costs. Negotiation of volume discounts or negotiating package deals which contain several items at reduced prices are usually the advantage of startups. Premeditated campaigns enable the firms to optimise budgets as well as get quality products.

Flexibility and reliability may also be achieved through long term supplier partnerships. Development of relationships with reliable suppliers will guarantee uniform product quality and availability to replenish the warehouses with their products within short notice. This will minimise the chances of incurring excess expenditure on last minute orders but the image of the company remains professional.

Measuring Impact and Adjusting Strategy

The effectiveness of promotional materials needs to be assessed to ensure continuity in cost effectiveness. Startups need to observe the engagement, client feedback, and the ROI to identify the items that add the most value. Frequent analysis will enable companies to optimize the initiatives and invest in materials that can give quantifiable outcomes.

The promotion campaigns are adjusted to the performance insights to be sure that the resources are distributed properly. B2B startups and tech companies can ensure that their promotion materials are as effective as possible and their costs are managed through constant monitoring of results and thus provide the company with greater brand recognition in a competitive market.

Conclusion

Branding requires cost efficient promotional materials which are crucial in the B2B startups and developing technology companies. Considerable choice, tactical application of organization garments and company presents, and incorporation of electronic choices can enhance the promotion endeavors without violating constrained budgets.

Startups can attain sustainable client interaction and brand presence through focusing on quality, relevance, and measurability. Besides increasing visibility these materials reflect professionalism and care, their use is the basis of long-term competitive growth in B2B markets.

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For years, the unofficial motto of Ghana’s cryptocurrency market was “innovate until you get caught.” That era had just ended with the recent passing of the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill, 2025.

Speaking at the Bank of Ghana’s annual thanksgiving service during the weekend, the Governor, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, confirmed that the new legislation effectively ends years of regulatory ambiguity.

“This year also saw the passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, a significant step in preparing the regulatory framework for digital asset activities. The Bill establishes the basis for licensing and supervising participants in this space, ensuring that emerging activity is brought within clear, accountable, and well-governed boundaries,” Governor Johnson said.

Building on his earlier promise at the IMF’s annual meetings in Washington sometime in October, where he announced that a draft bill is being advanced to parliament and that the country aims to have a legal and regulatory regime for crypto in place by December 2025, the governor effectively promised that the days of looking over one’s shoulder are over, stating flatly that “no one is going to be arrested for engaging in crypto.”

But as the initial euphoria settles in Accra this morning, a colder reality is dawning on the nation’s crypto and fintech founders: safety has a price tag. 

Governor Johnson Asiama of the Bank of Ghana

While the new law effectively ends the regulatory “Wild West,” it replaces the fear of police raids with the crushing weight of compliance costs, potentially handing the market keys to well-capitalised foreign giants while local startups struggle to foot the bill.

The passing of the bill is not just a legal milestone, but a market-clearing event. By classifying crypto exchanges and wallet providers as accountable institutions, Ghana has signalled that the free ride is over.

The reality for Ghanaian crypto is no longer about if you can operate, but how much it will cost you to do so.

Ghana’s VASP Bill: From illegal to unaffordable?

The most immediate impact of the VASP Bill will be a consolidation of the market. During the grey market era, barriers to entry were low; anyone with a Telegram group and a P2P connection could run a quasi-exchange.

The new bill changes the math entirely.

Under the new framework, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) must now obtain formal licenses from the Bank of Ghana. This sounds bureaucratic, but it is effectively a financial moat. The requirements, spanning rigorous Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) reporting, and capital solvency mandates, favour incumbents.

Global giants like Binance or Coinbase, which have entire departments dedicated to compliance, can absorb these costs as a line item.

For a lean Ghanaian startup facilitating $50,000 in monthly volume, however, the cost of hiring a compliance officer and paying licensing fees could be existential. 

We are likely to see a wave of acqui-hires, where smaller local players are bought out not for their technology, but for their user bases, as they fail to meet the new capital adequacy standards.

The irony of regulation is that while it legitimises the industry, it often kills the very grassroots innovation that built it.

The regional power play: Accra vs. Lagos

The geopolitical implications of this bill are perhaps more significant than the domestic ones. For the last decade, Nigeria has been the undisputed king of African crypto volume, driving billions in flows despite a hostile relationship with its own Central Bank (CBN).

But capital hates uncertainty, and Nigeria’s regulatory approach has been anything but stable, oscillating between banking bans and reluctant engagement.

Ghana has now leapfrogged its larger neighbour by offering something Nigeria hasn’t: legislative certainty. By passing a clear VASP Bill, Accra is positioning itself as the “Delaware of West Africa,” a safe harbour where Web3 companies can incorporate without fear of sudden policy U-turns.

This could trigger a capital flight of sorts. Venture Capitalists (VCs) looking to deploy funds in West Africa may now mandate that their portfolio companies domicile in Ghana, even if their primary customer base remains in Nigeria.

We have seen this hub-and-spoke model work in other regions (like Singapore vs. Southeast Asia), and Ghana is now arguably the most attractive regulatory sandbox in the ECOWAS region.

The surveillance trade-off: The taxman cometh for crypto ‘bros’

Finally, we must address the visibility aspect of the bill. Governor Asiama noted that the bill brings activity within “clear, accountable boundaries.” In plain English, this means the government can now see the money.

With $3 billion in crypto transactions recorded in Ghana over the 12 months leading to June 2024, the state is aware of the revenue potential. The VASP Bill effectively turns exchanges into deputies of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). While the bill itself focuses on licensing, it creates the data infrastructure for taxation.

Users who flocked to crypto to hedge against Cedi inflation or to move funds anonymously will face a rude awakening. 

The mandatory KYC requirements mean that every wallet address on a regulated exchange will be linked to a Ghana Card. The privacy premium of crypto is evaporating. The next major announcement from Accra will almost certainly not come from the Bank of Ghana, but from the tax authorities, armed with a new list of high-net-worth crypto holders provided by the very exchanges they just legalised.

Notwithstanding the possible tax obligations, the passing of the VASP Bill is undoubtedly a victory for legitimacy. It removes the risk of arbitrary arrest and integrates crypto into the formal financial system. But for the small traders and startups who built this $3 billion market in the shadows, the celebration should be cautious. 

The jungle is gone, the zoo now has fences, admission fees, and keepers watching every move. Ghana is open for crypto business, but only for those who can afford the fees.

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Worshippers of a church in Las Vegas, Nevada believe they witnessed a true miracle during a holiday mass.

Father Edmund Nnadozie was preaching at St Thomas More during the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe when the congregation erupted, claiming they saw a face appear in the wrinkles of fabric near the altar.

The cloth had been draped over a pedestal holding a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The feast is celebrated on December 12. 

Parishioners captured images showing the fabric later wrinkling into what they all believed was a shape resembling a human face.

Ben Yzaguirre, who attended that mass, photographed the phenomenon and told local Fox5 Vegas: ‘I believe it’s a miracle, a sign from heaven. It’s beautiful to see, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of that.’

Images of the face have flooded social media, where other worshippers who attended the mass echoed Yzaguirre’s statements.

‘I was there at this Mass. Miracles happen,’ one user shared on X.  While others were quick to dismiss it, saying the worshippers experienced pareidolia, the tendency to see faces in random patterns or groups of objects.

However, Nnadozie told the local news outlet that the timing of the image makes the incident difficult to dismiss as a coincidence. 

‘I looked at it, I’m like, ‘Oh, wait a minute,’ I looked at it again, and that was the face of, you know, it’s Our Lady,’ Nnadozie said, saying there were 800 people there and no one touched the fabric.

Father Edmund Nnadozie was preaching at St Thomas More during the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe when the congregation erupted, claiming they saw a face appear in the wrinkles of fabric near the altar

Pictured is the face appearing in the wrinkled cloth (without being darkened). Many people have said the worshippers experienced pareidolia, the tendency to see faces in random patterns or groups of objects

The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe begins in 1531 when the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared to an indigenous man named Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill, near modern-day Mexico City. She requested that a church be built on the site in her honor. 

To convince the skeptical bishop, Juan Diego gathered roses in his tilma, a simple cloak, despite it being winter when no flowers normally bloomed. 

When he opened the tilma before the bishop, the roses fell to the floor, and an image of the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared on the fabric.

The tilma, which is still preserved today in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, has long been venerated by millions of Catholics worldwide. 

Scientists and historians have marveled at the image, noting that the cloth has lasted nearly 500 years with no significant deterioration, and the exact method of its creation remains a mystery.

For worshippers in Las Vegas, the appearance of a face on a cloth during the holiday mass echoes this centuries-old miracle, inspiring devotion and sparking conversation about faith, wonder, and the enduring power of the Virgin’s image.

Nnadozie told Fox5 Vegas: ”I think maybe Our Lady was sending a message to us, ‘Hey, I’m still around, I know today is a celebration of my day, and I can still show myself.

‘God chooses when a miracle happens, and a miracle can happen in Las Vegas.’

Worshippers believe it was the face of Our Lady of Guadalupe (PICTURED)

The cloth had been draped over a pedestal holding a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The feast is celebrated on December 12. The ‘face’ was darkened in a local news segment 

Yzaguirre said the experience resonates even with those who were not present at the mass.

‘Sometimes the world or the community needs these things as well, and it’s not just for us to keep to ourselves,’ he said. 

In 2018, a church in Mexico claimed to have experienced a miracle when it found a ‘weeping’ Virgin Mary statue that was leaking olive oil.

A sample of fluid was taken from the statue, located at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Hobbs, and sent for a chemical analysis.

‘And we determined it was olive oil, a scented olive oil,’ Bishop Oscar Cantú told the Las Cruces Sun News.

‘Some of the witnesses claimed it smelled of roses, so something similar to the oil I bless and consecrate each year that we use for baptism, for confirmations, and for ordination of the priests.’ 

Church leaders looked at the possibility that something from inside the statue was causing the leak.

‘We examined the interior of the hollow statue,’ Cantú added. ‘There’s nothing on the interior that’s not supposed to be there, except for cobwebs. So we took pictures; we examined it.’

Church officials looked to the Mexican manufacturers to see if there was any fluid that could have lingered from the building process. Wax was found to be used in the process, but it is ‘so hot that all of the wax melts away,’ Cantú asserted.

He said: ‘In that process, they assured us there would be no possibility of any moisture remaining in the bronze. So those are some of the facts that we have established.’ 

 

 

  

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Nigerian merchants can now accept Apple Pay payments through Nomba, as the fintech expands its payments stack to support Apple’s contactless payment service across in-store and online checkouts.

The integration allows merchants on Nomba’s platform to receive payments from Apple Pay users without requiring physical cards or initiating bank transfers to access instant payments from their global customers, including diaspora Nigerians.

“Payments globally are moving toward speed, security, and invisible checkout,” said Pelumi Aboluwarin, Nomba’s CTO. “Our responsibility is to ensure Nigerian merchants are not left behind, but are fully prepared for the future of payments.”

Nomba is the latest Nigerian fintech to support Apple Pay, following Stripe-owned Paystack’s integration in 2021 and a similar launch by cross-border payments fintech Platnova in July 2025. While Apple Pay is widely used in markets such as North America, Europe, and parts of Asia, its adoption in Nigeria has been limited by regulatory constraints and infrastructure challenges.

Unlike a full consumer rollout that would require Nigerian banks to issue Apple Pay-enabled cards, Nomba’s integration focuses on merchant acceptance. Customers globally can pay Nigerian businesses using Apple Pay on their iPhones, authenticated with Face ID linked to their stored card details.  For Nigerian merchants using Nomba, the feature works across physical point-of-sale (POS) terminals and online checkouts.

The integration was enabled through strategic global partnerships and regulatory alignment with licenced foreign entities already approved within Apple’s payments ecosystem. While Nomba did not disclose its partners, Aboluwarin said the company worked with them to “carry out the deep technical and operational work required to extend Apple Pay capabilities into Nigeria in a compliant and scalable way.”

Nomba said integrating Apple Pay in Nigeria required meeting some of the most stringent global security, compliance, and certification standards in payments. The company added that its Money Transmitter (MTL) and Money Services Business (MSB) licences in the United States enable it to partner with global payment processors operating under defined service-level agreements (SLAs).

For Nigerian businesses, accepting international payments often means delayed settlements, withheld funds, and unfavourable foreign exchange rates due to transactions being routed through upstream processors outside the country. Nomba believes its Apple Pay integration will reduce these frictions by allowing faster checkout and improving settlement reliability.

“Even when settlements from upstream processors are delayed, we ensure merchants are paid on time using our own funds,” the company said.

According to Aboluwarin, the addition of Apple Pay is expected to improve customer experience and merchant revenue, particularly for businesses that serve tourists and returning diaspora Nigerians. In 2024, Nigerians living abroad spent ₦60 billion during their December homecoming visits, according to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM). 

Faster checkout, shorter queues, and fewer payment failures could make a meaningful difference for merchants during such high-traffic periods, Nomba added.

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A group of writers, including Theranos whistleblower and “Bad Blood” author John Carreyrou, is filing a lawsuit against Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta, xAI, and Perplexity, accusing the companies of training their models on pirated copies of their books.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because another set of authors already filed a class action suit against Anthropic for these same acts of copyright infringement. In that case, the judge ruled that it was legal for Anthropic and similar AI companies to train on pirated copies of books, but that it was not legal to pirate the books in the first place.

While eligible writers can receive about $3,000 from the $1.5 billion Anthropic settlement, some authors were dissatisfied with that resolution — it doesn’t hold AI companies accountable for the actual act of using stolen books to train their models, which generate billions of dollars of revenue.

According to the new lawsuit, the plaintiffs say that the proposed Anthropic settlement “seems to serve [the AI companies], not creators.”

“LLM companies should not be able to so easily extinguish thousands upon thousands of high-value claims at bargain-basement rates, eliding what should be the true cost of their massive willful infringement,” the lawsuit says.

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As a tech remote worker living in Lagos, you would think you have escaped the struggles of Monday morning traffic and the daily “no fuel, no light” routine until you encounter the real hustle of remote work itself. 

From battling unstable internet connections and power supply to juggling time zones with foreign teammates and trying to stay productive through generator noise, the life of a tech remote worker isn’t that easy.

A few weeks ago, I attended Jobberman’s Remote WorkFest 2025, a hybrid event for remote workers where industry experts shared what it really takes to thrive as a Nigerian remote worker.

This article was inspired by specific sessions led by Olamide Adeyeye, Jobberman Nigeria’s Country Head of Program and Dr Valerie Okorie, a medical doctor who represented AwaDoc.

To avoid missing out on better opportunities, here are ten practical ways to survive and stay relevant as a tech remote worker navigating Lagos life in 2026.

Live at Jobberman’s remote workfest

Read also: When design saves lives: How AwaDoc is using WhatsApp and AI to transform healthcare across Africa

1.  Be a great communicator

While everyone understands that, as a tech remote worker based in Lagos, it’s essential to ensure stable electricity and internet speed, we won’t start with that. The first and important step to take to ensure you’re a survivor of remote work in 2026 is to be a great communicator. 

“You could be the best coder in the room, but if you can’t communicate clearly through many means, you may become invisible,” Adeyeye said in his presentation.

In a traditional office, people can see your effort — your body language, your presence, your energy. But in remote work, your emails, Slack messages, reports, and updates are your voice. They are the only ways your team knows what you’re doing and how valuable you are.

That’s why he described communication as the most important skill employers look for. If an organisation from the U.S., Germany, or Austria wants to hire you, the first thing they are looking for is how and when you communicate. 

“Part of the red flags that employers pay attention to during the hiring process is a delay in communicating. Green flags are proactive communication, proof and not promises, infrastructure issues. So, part of what you’re checking is your internet speed, the processing capacity of your device, and all of that,” Adeyeye added.

2. Master self-management

Remote work is built on trust and discipline. Adeyeye explained that in global teams, most of the work happens asynchronously. This means people work in different time zones and at different hours.

When your manager in the U.S. is sleeping, can they trust that you’re doing your work in Lagos without supervision? That’s what self-management means.

It’s not just about doing tasks, it’s about being reliable, predictable, and accountable. You need to manage your time, deliver on deadlines, and stay productive despite distractions like power outages, noise, or Lagos chaos.

3. Build technical and digital competence 

While soft skills are critical, Adeyeye also pointed out that technical competence remains a non-negotiable foundation. Employers still want to know if you can actually do the work.

This doesn’t just mean coding or data science; it also includes your proficiency with digital tools such as project management systems, AI assistants, and collaboration software. You must be comfortable navigating technology, because it’s the backbone of remote collaboration.

To sustain remote work, keep learning and upgrading. Take online courses, join webinars, and practice with global tools. 

4. Become AI-fluent 

Adeyeye’s remarks on AI were both a warning and an opportunity. He noted that artificial intelligence is reshaping the global job market, projecting that by 2030, AI and machine learning will create approximately 170 million new jobs.

In other words, AI isn’t the enemy; it’s the tool. The professionals who survive and thrive will be those who learn to work alongside AI, not compete with it.

For Nigerian remote workers, this means learning to use AI-powered platforms for writing, research, analytics, customer service, or even task automation. AI fluency makes you faster, sharper, and more globally competitive.

5. Build cultural fluency and Emotional Intelligence 

Finally, Adeyeye urged young Africans to develop cultural awareness and adaptability, which are essential for anyone working with international teams.

He explained that thriving in remote work isn’t just about skills but connection. You need to understand different cultures, communication styles, humour, and expectations.

Cultural fluency means being globally aware, respectful, and flexible. It’s a soft skill that can open doors far beyond your technical ability.

Dr Valerie Okorie, a Nigerian medical doctor

The healthy side of surviving in Lagos as a tech remote worker 

According to Dr Valerie Okorie, surviving as a tech remote worker in Lagos is not just about earning in dollars or escaping traffic. It is about staying healthy while doing the work. In her words, “Your body is your engine. If you don’t take care of it, you will pay for it later.”

Here are five practical ways she believes remote workers in Lagos can stay healthy and sane.

6. Keep your body in motion

As a tech remote worker who has been avoiding Lagos traffic all morning, it’s important to ensure a constant body movement and flexibility with your muscles occasionally. 

“Remote work has quietly removed movement from our daily lives. When you remove the commute, you remove the movement. We are always sitting down, and this sitting disease can cause deep vein thrombosis.

Now, when you sit down for 12 hours, what will happen is that your blood will slowly flow to your legs and form clots, small clots. This goes and blocks a vessel up there. In your head, it causes a stroke. In your heart, it causes a heart attack,” she said.

A short walk, a light jog, or even regular stretching during the day can make a big difference.

7. Pay attention to how you sit and work

Many remote workers sit for up to 12 hours with poor posture. Backs are bent, necks are down, and laptops are pressed close. Over time, this causes chronic back and neck pain. 

Dr Valerie reminded remote workers to be conscious of posture. Sit upright, adjust your chair and table, and take short breaks. Your body is not designed to stay in one position all day, no matter how good the pay is.

8. Don’t guess your health, check it!

One of her biggest points was that looking healthy doesn’t always mean being healthy. “You might be slim, but your blood vessels might be full of fat,” she said. Long sitting hours, stress, coffee, and constant snacking can affect blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. 

In order to survive and stay strong as a tech remote worker, Dr Valerie encouraged remote workers to know their health conditions. Checking your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol helps you catch problems early, before they turn serious.

9. Protect your vision with the 20-20-20 rule

Remote tech work often involves jumping from a laptop screen to a phone screen, which causes digital eye strain and blurry vision. High pressure in the eyes can also lead to glaucoma, a condition that can permanently damage your eyesight. 

To prevent this, you should use the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This simple habit acts as exercise for your eyes and helps reduce strain.

10. Don’t ignore your mental health

It is common for remote workers in Lagos to stay indoors for days, only leaving for church or errands. This leads to a Vitamin D deficiency, which can weaken your bones and worsen chronic back pain.

Lack of sunlight is also linked to higher levels of anxiety and depression. You should make it a point to go outside and feel the sun on your skin.

She also spoke about loneliness, a common struggle for remote workers. Call a friend, see people, and don’t replace real connections with endless scrolling; create a shutdown routine.

Read also: Tax: FG partners US, UK, Canada, others to track remote workers earning dollars

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Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, wishing you a happy and healthy end of the year. I myself have a cold.

Today, we are looking back at the biggest stories in tech of 2025 – Elon Musk’s political rise, burst, and fall; artificial intelligence’s subsumption of the global economy, all other technology, and even the Earth’s topography; Australia’s remarkable social media ban; the tech industry’s new Trumpian politics; and, as a treat, a glimpse of the apocalypse offered by one of Silicon Valley’s savviest and strangest billionaires.

Elon Musk, a one-man hurricane

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a memorial service for slain far-right commentator Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona, on 21 September 2025. Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters

At the close of 2024, I wrote that Elon Musk’s support of Donald Trump had made him the world’s most powerful unelected man. In 2025, his reign turned out to be short-lived. He rose fast and haphazardly, like a whizzing firework, only to explode spectacularly in June when he claimed in a post on X that the president of the United States was named in the government’s files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Even in that short period of less than six months, Musk made a tremendous impact. He tore up wide swaths of the US government – tens of thousands of jobs, the security of extremely sensitive data, and entire agencies like USAID – that may never be stitched back together.

After Doge imploded, Musk promised to turn back to his business empire, which saw great success and great failures alike in 2025. His rocket company SpaceX saw continued growth and is poised to conduct an initial public offering next year, perhaps as the most valuable private company in the world. Electric carmaker Tesla, by contrast, faced violent backlash and major competition from its Chinese counterparts, which produced cheaper and more advanced vehicles while Tesla’s innovation and inventory stagnated. These headwinds caused a global sales slump for Musk’s carmaker.

Look back at our reporting on Doge, Tesla, SpaceX, Musk himself:

The “department of government efficiency”

Tesla faces backlash over Musk’s politics

Look ahead: SpaceX expands in preparation for 2026 IPO

Artificial intelligence blankets the world

A pipe lays along a fence line near construction at the Tahoe‑Reno Industrial Center in Storey county, Nevada, on 28 October 2025. Photograph: Bridget Bennett/The Guardian

Artificial intelligence has gone from a niche within tech to the industry’s most prominent focus. The Magnificent Seven – Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla – are investing hundreds of billions of dollars into new software that they hope will do the bulk of humanity’s work before too long. The investment is driving the bulk of the growth of the US’s economy, giving rise to fears of a financial bubble and its popping. The US and China are locked in a cold war-esque race against each other, with startups in each country vying for cutting-edge breakthroughs, as governments around the world are forced to decide how they will regulate a new technological force.

Before AI can arrive at that future, though, it needs brains a la the Tin Man of The Wizard of Oz. Those brains come in the form of data centers. These massive buildings, which house the millions and millions of semiconductor chips booming AI development, have cropped up around the world, met with enthusiasm from leaders eager for tax revenue and deep concern from environmental advocates and, increasingly, local community members. The investment in and construction of data centers wrought huge change in the physical landscape of the Earth in 2025 as tens of billions of dollars chased any available land, electricity, water and semiconductor chips.

More from our reporting in the last year:

Data centers

The future of AI

Multi-trillion-dollar valuations

But does it work?

Tech gets in bed with Trump 2.0

Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend the inauguration of Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on 20 January 2025 in Washington DC. Photograph: ABACA/REX/Shutterstock

Elon Musk made a full-throated and whole-hearted embrace of Donald Trump in 2024 and 2025. He was not alone. Many of his fellows in Silicon Valley did the same, sitting beside the Trump family at the president’s inauguration after donating millions to his inaugural committee. The tech giants continued their embrace of Trump and his policies by scuttling their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, which they championed during Barack Obama’s presidency, and by cooperating with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Trump’s harsh immigration crackdown. What the industry gave, it reaped tenfold in deregulation, friends high up in Washington like JD Vance and David Sacks, and a Trump order for states not to regulate AI signed just weeks ago.

More from our reporting this year:

Donations and Trump’s inauguration

DEI scuttled

Immigrants surveilled

Australia cuts teens off

Millions of children and teens lost access to accounts after Australia’s social media ban took effect. Illustration: Eiko Ojala/The Guardian

This year saw Australia take the extraordinary measure of banning children under 16 from social media. The remarkable measure went into effect just weeks ago after a slew of legal challenges and protests from tech companies.

Read some of our comprehensive reporting on the ban:

Bonus: The Apostle Peter’s apocalyptic prayers

Peter Thiel gave a series of fevered, incoherent lectures about the antichrist and the coming of the end times. Illustration: Guardian Design/Images via Getty Images

In the weirdest news of 2025, billionaire venture capitalist and conservative svengali Peter Thiel gave a series of fevered, incoherent lectures about the antichrist and the coming of the end times. We obtained leaked audio of the talks. You can read for yourself the gibberish he uses to bend the ears of serious academics and San Francisco startup CEOs alike or, if you’d prefer not to give your attention directly to him, engage with a sharp critical interpretation by a professor hailing from the same university as Thiel’s mentor.

Our stories on the gospel according to Peter:

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More than 300 earthquakes have rattled the same region in California over the past month, sparking fears among locals that a big one could soon strike. 

San Ramon in the East Bay has been the epicenter of this seismic activity, which sits on top of the Calaveras Fault, an active branch of the San Andreas Fault system.

The Calaveras Fault is capable of producing a magnitude 6.7 earthquake, which would impact millions of people in the San Francisco Bay Area. The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimates there is a 72 percent chance of this happening by 2043.

The earthquakes began on November 9 with a 3.8 magnitude, and the tremors have not stopped since. The latest, which hit today, measured a 2.7 magnitude.

Sarah Minson, a research geophysicist with the USGS’s Earthquake Science Center at California’s Moffett Field, told SFGATE: ‘This is a lot of shaking for the people in the San Ramon area to deal with.

‘It’s quite understandable that this can be incredibly scary and emotionally impactful, even if it’s not likely to be physically damaging.’

Minson noted that while the swarms seem relentless, they do not indicate a major event is imminent. 

‘Given the magnitude and locations of the earthquakes that have happened so far, there is no significant risk of something happening on one of the major faults,’ she explained. 

The earthquakes began on November 9 with a 3.8 magnitude, and the tremors have not stopped since. The latest, which hit today, measured a 2.7 magnitude

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake on the Calaveras Fault would be classified as a major seismic event capable of causing significant damage in densely populated East Bay communities.

By comparison, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, a magnitude M6.9, widely labeled ‘the Big One’ at the time, caused widespread destruction, and the USGS uses the 6.7 threshold when discussing the long-term probability of a ‘Big One’ in the Bay Area.

USGS research geophysicist Annemarie Baltay said she is not unusually concerned that the recent earthquakes signal anything larger on the horizon for San Ramon.

‘These small events, as all small events are, are not indicative of an impending large earthquake,’ Baltay told Patch.

‘However, we live in earthquake country, so we should always be prepared for a large event,’ she said. 

Scientists say that when fluids like water or gas flow through small cracks in rock, they can weaken the surrounding rock, triggering clusters of minor earthquakes that occur in quick succession. 

‘It is also possible that these smaller earthquakes pop off as the result of fluid moving up through the earth’s crust, which is a normal process, but the many faults in the area may facilitate these micro-movements of fluid and smaller faults,’ Baltay told the Patch.

Records from the USGS highlighted similar swarms in 1970, 1976, 2002, 2003, 2015 and 2018.

San Ramon in the East Bay has been the epicenter of this seismic activity, which sits on top of the Calaveras Fault, an active branch of the San Andreas Fault system

‘This has happened many times before here in the past, and there were no big earthquakes that followed,’ Minson told SFGATE.

Scientists studying the 2015 San Ramon earthquake swarm found that the area contains several small, closely spaced faults rather than a single big one.

The quakes moved along these faults in a complex pattern, suggesting the faults interact with each other.

The study also found evidence that underground fluids may have helped trigger the tremors.

Researchers looked into other possible causes, like tidal forces, but found no clear connection.

Overall, the findings showed that the fault system under San Ramon is more complicated than previously thought, which could help explain why these earthquake swarms occur. 

Roland Burgmann, a UC Berkeley seismologist who worked on that study, told SFGATE that because the first quake in November was the strongest, he believes the entire series is more than just a swarm; it’s a tense aftershock sequence, each tremor echoing the power of the one that started it all.

Minson echoed the conclusion, saying the smaller earthquakes were likely aftershocks from the 3.8 magnitude earlier this month.

Clusters of earthquakes often appear in regions with volcanic or geothermal activity, but San Ramon does not fit that profile.

Scientists suggested the tremors could be driven by underground fluids forcing their way through the crust and triggering a series of small faults.

Minson noted that the area’s fault system is intricate, with the Calaveras Fault ending nearby and the movement potentially leaping to the Concord-Green Valley Fault to the east.

‘We think that what’s going on, which makes this like geothermal areas or like volcanic areas, is that there are a lot of fluids migrating through the rocks and opening up little cracks to make a bunch of little earthquakes,’ Minson told SFGATE.

Emily Brodsky, a seismologist at UC Santa Cruz, warned that the recent tremors in San Ramon are puzzling, making it hard for scientists to draw any firm conclusions about what’s really happening beneath the surface.

‘Although it’s the kind of thing you might expect to happen before a big earthquake, we can’t distinguish that from the many, many times that have happened without a big earthquake,’ she told SFGATE. ‘So what do you do with that?’ 

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Why do people keep getting hacked despite new security features? The answer is simple: human error. It’s rarely high-tech hacking; it’s usually a simple mistake. Here are the 11 most common ways users accidentally expose their accounts.

Password habits that make hacking too easy 

Poor password management remains the most common failure in digital security. Weak or compromised passwords provide the entry point for most automated attacks and other hacking-related breaches globally. Mistakes that can get your social media hacked in this category are: 

Mistake 1: Using weak and predictable passwords 

Most people choose passwords they can remember— a fact well known to hackers, therefore, they use programs that run through your publicly available personal details and easy sequences such as: 

• 12345 
• Your pet’s name 
• Your birthday or your partner’s birthday 
• Your favourite artist 
• Etc 

Hackers and cyber criminals prioritise these password options in brute-force and dictionary attacks. 

Fix: Use long random passwords, a password manager would handle remembering them for you, or make use of a passphrase. 

Mistake 2: Reusing the same password everywhere 

The average individual is burdened with remembering multiple passwords for Instagram, X, Facebook, Bumble, etc. This often leads to the dangerous coping mechanism of reusing the same password across multiple accounts.

This practice facilitates credential stuffing, an automated cybercrime technique in which attackers purchase extensive lists of stolen password/username combinations (often obtained from data breaches of small websites) on the dark web. They then use automated bot software to rapidly “stuff” these stolen pairs into login fields across other platforms. 

Fix: Use a single password for each account. 

Common password mistakes and corresponding security risks 

User mistakeUnderlying cause Security risk Consequence Utilising simple passwords Easy to remember, convenient Brute force, dictionary attacks Account compromise Reusing passwords Difficulty in remembering multiple passwords Credential stuffing Widespread account takeover across multiple platforms Storing passwords insecurely Discouraged by the complex procedure Physical or digital theft Compromise of all data 

MFA is designed as an essential second defence layer in case your password gets compromised. It’s a network of multiple verification methods, such as a password combined with a temporary code, a biometric scan, or an app notification, to confirm identity. Mistakes in this category include: 

Mistake 3: Not turning on two-factor authentication 

Two-factor authentication (2FA) significantly reduces the rate of successful account takeovers, providing protection even when a user’s password has been stolen. 

However, adoption remains inconsistent. Users often neglect 2FA due to perceived inconvenience, poor usability, and a general inclination to disregard security recommendations that complicate daily routines. 

Fix: Turn on 2FA everywhere you can and use an authenticator app, not just sms codes. 

Mistake 4: Falling for MFA fatigue (push bomb) 

Hackers have pivoted from attempting to crack the MFA to manipulating human users into bypassing it. To do this, they spam your phone with login approval notifications—the technique is psychological; the goal is to wear down the user’s patience and vigilance, leading them to authorise the login attempt in a moment of frustration or distraction. There are also advanced tricks like 

Ignore any phone calls or communications from any IT specialist asking you to click links, approve a push notification, or type/click a number shown on your screen.  Call the relevant customer support for clarity. Also, if you didn’t try to log in, don’t approve anything. 

Social media platforms are built on a strong foundation of trust between users, brands, and colleagues. Hackers leverage this foundation by crafting compelling, fabricated scenarios to exploit human vulnerabilities. 

Mistake 5: Believing phishing messages or fake alerts 

Phishing attacks on social media are often in the form of targeted impersonation. Hackers create fake accounts mimicking real people, executives, or established brands, often building trust by liking content or joining similar groups before sending a direct, malicious private message. 

• Spear phishing: Hackers use publicly available personal information to craft personalised messages. These messages are designed to promote immediate response. Examples of such messages include: 

1. “Your account will be disabled.” 
2. “We detected unusual activity”
3. “Click here to verify your account” 

Fix: Always verify a message through an official channel—not the link, the number in the message, or the account that sent the message. 

Mistake 6: Trusting fake support accounts on social media 

This is a specialised and growing threat called angler phishing. Hackers exploit customer service interactions on social media platforms such as X, Facebook, and Instagram to steal and gain access to users’ accounts. To do this, hackers monitor public timelines for users’ complaints or questions and rapidly deploy fake customer service accounts to reply. Here is how it works: 

• You post a complaint or ask for help 
• A fake “support” account jumps in 
• They send you a link or DM that looks official 
• You click… your account is gone. 

Users often miss critical red flags, such as a support account being recently created, the number of followers, or a website URL or username that looks suspicious. Also, an account with a blue check on X doesn’t guarantee authenticity; anyone can buy one. 

Fix: Never trust support accounts that message you first. Always contact companies through their actual website or social media accounts.

Many users click “allow” without checking the permissions they’re granting a third-party app or the security risk it poses. These are the ways that granting third-party apps can expose you to hacking: 

Mistake 7: Giving third-party apps too much access 

Some apps ask for far more access than they need. If those apps are ever hacked, hackers can use those permissions to post on your behalf and steal your information. Many third-party apps and games request broad access to a user’s social media data upon installation. 

It is a significant mistake to grant permissions that are not strictly essential for the app’s functionality— such as allowing a simple game to access location data, contact lists, or media. 

Fix: Only give apps the permissions they need. Review your connected apps regularly. 

Mistake 8: Forgetting to remove old app permissions (OAuth) 

The OAuth framework allows third-party services access via an authorisation token without requiring the user’s login credentials. Even if you stop using an app, its access stays active until you revoke it. Changing your passwords doesn’t revoke OAuth access; the tokens remain valid. 

Users mostly forget to perform proactive pruning; the routine review and removal of permissions granted to apps no longer in use. If an app developer abandons support for their application, it becomes outdated and vulnerable to security flaws. 

Fix: Revoke unused app permissions every few months. 

Even with good passwords, a few small habits can undo all your hard work. Mistakes in unsafe connections and device maintenance can create attack pathways that often bypass strong password defences. Case studies include: 

Mistake 9: Using public WiFi without protection 

Using a public WiFi network in unsupervised locations makes users vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, where a hacker intercepts communication between the device and the network. 

Alternatively, a specific risk arises from connecting to “rogue hotspots” or “evil twin” networks. These fake WiFi mimic legitimate names such as Airport WiFi or a hotel network to trick users into connecting. Connecting to an evil twin network allows the hacker to intercept data and steal authentication cookies or session IDs, leading to data theft. 

Fix: Never log in to sensitive accounts on public Wi-Fi unless you use an excellent VPN. 

Mistake 10: Staying logged in on shared or public devices 

Leaving social media accounts logged in on shared or public devices, such as library computers, cybercafés, or shared household tablets, grants anyone with physical access immediate unauthorised access to private data and messages, and the ability to impersonate the user. 

Fix: Always log out of shared and public devices. 

Mistake 11: Ignoring software updates 

The single greatest failure in digital device security is repeated neglect or refusal to install timely security patches and software updates for operating systems, browsers, and applications. Hackers often exploit outdated software vulnerabilities that developers have already addressed. An unpatched system can be easily exploited to introduce various forms of malware, including keyloggers, spyware, or ransomware. The malware targets the theft of social media information, authentication tokens, or session data. 

Fix: Turn on automatic updates and forget about it. 

Table: Top 5 user mistakes and how to protect yourself against harm 

To make it easier to protect your Instagram, X, Facebook, and other social media accounts against a hack, read and implement the following: 

Common user mistakes Consequences How to minimise risk Password reuse Credential stuffing, automated ATOUse a password manager; use unique passwords for all accounts Ignoring and disabling MFAFailure leads to full compromise Enable MFA, don’t use push sms, use key-matching or hardware keys Falling for phishing Private data theft, malware injection  Verify sender, contact sender via known official channels only Excessive third-party permission Data leak, malware attack, account abuse Periodically review and revoke unused app permissions Neglecting software updates Known vulnerabilities exploitation Enable automatic updates for operating system, browser, and core applications 

In conclusion, social media account breaches are rarely caused by a single technical vulnerability; rather, they are a result of preventable user behaviours. Practices such as reusing weak or predictable passwords across multiple platforms significantly increase the risk of compromise. Effective protection, therefore, demands more than basic awareness— it requires a proactive and disciplined approach to account security. Users must remain vigilant, avoiding links from unknown sources and exercising caution even with messages from familiar contacts, as compromised accounts are often used to spread malicious content. By adopting consistent security habits, individuals can greatly reduce their exposure to online threats.

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Nick Donahue’s parents were in the business of building houses, which means he spent his childhood hearing about the U.S. construction industry. His dad built homes for major developers, and his mom sold to big-box builders across the East Coast.

Donahue was particularly interested in why designing a custom home cost a fortune and took forever, and why most people had to settle for whatever the developers were offering that year. So when he dropped out of NC State and moved to the Bay Area, he eventually did what you might expect a college drop-out to do in San Francisco: he started a company to fix it.

That effort, Atmos, went through Y Combinator, raised $20 million from investors like Khosla Ventures and Sam Altman, and tried to use tech to streamline the custom home design process. It had designers on staff who worked with clients while software handled the back-end. It grew to 40 people and $7 million in revenue, and they designed $200 million worth of houses, and built 50.

All that sounds great until you hear Donahue describe it. “It became this extremely operational business,” he told me on a Zoom call last week. “Kind of like a glamorized architecture firm.”

It never quite replaced the humans, in other words. Then the Federal Reserve started jacking up interest rates, and suddenly clients who’d spent months designing their dream homes couldn’t afford them anymore. Nine months ago, Donahue shut it down.

Here’s where most founders would take a break, maybe write a few LinkedIn posts about what they learned. Instead, Donahue regrouped and started another company.

Drafted is now nearly five months old, and it’s everything Atmos wasn’t. No designers on staff. No operational complexity. Just AI-driven software that generates residential floor plans and exterior designs in minutes. You tell it what you want – bedrooms, square footage, whatever – and it spits out five designs. Don’t like them? You can generate five more and keep going until something clicks.

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Right now, Drafted has six employees, four from Atmos, and it’s raised $1.65 million at a $35 million post-money valuation from Bill Clerico, Stripe’s Patrick Collison, Jack Altman, Josh Buckley, and Warriors player Moses Moody.

Clerico led the round because he’d also been an angel investor in Atmos, and had watched Donahue will houses into existence despite rising interest rates. When Donahue told him about the new company over coffee, Clerico didn’t need convincing. “Nick, please take our money,” he apparently said repeatedly over a two week period until Donahue agreed.

The pitch is straightforward. Right now, if you want a custom home, you’ve got two options: hire an architect (expensive, slow), or buy a template plan online (cheap, inflexible). Drafted sits in the middle, offering customization at template prices. A complete plan costs between $1,000 and $2,000. 

The economics work because Drafted built its own AI model, trained on real house plans from homes that were built and passed permitting. Practical constraints are considered, and Donahue says the specialized model costs almost nothing to run: two-tenths of a penny per floor plan, compared to 13 cents for general-purpose AI.

Drafted only does single-story homes right now, but multi-story and lot-specific features are coming. The bigger question is whether there’s actually a market for this.

The numbers aren’t huge. Of the million new homes built in America each year, only 300,000 are custom designed. Most people buy existing homes or pick from whatever tract homes the big builders are offering. 

Clerico’s argument is that this is a chicken-and-egg problem. Make custom design cheap and fast enough, and many more people will do it. Donahue compares it to Uber, which didn’t just replace taxis but made on-demand car service something that nearly everyone uses. “There’s really no reason in the future why everyone shouldn’t have a totally custom designed home,” Clerico says.

Or maybe most Americans will keep being price-conscious buyers who take what’s available. The housing market has a long track record of rebuffing disruption.

There’s also the “moat” question. Asked what’s to keep an LLM player or even another vertical player from buying similar data sets and creating the same product, Donahue talks about brand, pointing to his friend David Holz, who founded the video and image generating AI outfit, Midjourney. Despite the plethora of new image-generation models being launched, Midjourney’s usage barely moves, Holz has told Donahue; its customers keep coming back to make AI images.

Similarly, Donahue thinks if they move fast enough and please enough customers, Drafted can become the place for people to design houses.

Time will tell. Since opening to the public, the outfit has begun seeing about 1,000 daily users. Not huge numbers, but they show steady growth for such a young product.

In the meantime, Donahue has something pretty valuable that could give Drafted an edge: deep knowledge of a problem and the insights gleaned from taking a crack at it once already.

Pictured above, the Drafted crew, left to right: Martynas Pocius, Albert Chiu, Martina Cheru, Carson Poole, Stephen Chou, and Nick Donahue

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Aside from hugging a fluffy hot-water bottle, sipping the Christmas whisky and ramping up the thermostat, an electric blanket or heated throw is the best way to ward off the winter chill. When you consider that more than half of a typical household’s fuel bills goes on heating and hot water, finding alternative ways to keep warm – and heating the person, rather than the whole home – seems like a good idea.

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Many of the best electric blankets and heated throws cost about 2p to 4p an hour to run, so it’s hard to ignore their potential energy- and money-saving benefits.

Electric blankets are ideal for using on your mattress, with the most convenient examples arriving with timers and auto-shut-off features for peace of mind, and dual control panels to keep both sides of the bed happy. Heated throws are better for snuggling on the sofa – they’re practical but also look good, with tactile finishes in materials such as bamboo and pure cotton.

I was tasked with sleeping on the job to discover the best of both, testing the most popular electric blankets and heated throws from well-known homeware brands such as Silentnight, Slumberdown and Dreamland. Here are my top picks.

At a glance

£44 at AO£25 at Asda£139.99 at Boots£79.99 at Amazon£32 at Dunelm£38.99 at Amazon£199.99 at Dreamland

Why you should trust me

I’ve been a lifestyle journalist for more than two decades. Over the years, I’ve tested everything from breadmakers and bedding to beehives and biscuits – thankfully, not all at the same time.

Lately, my focus has been bedding, testing numerous mattresses, pillows, weighted blankets and bed linen – so I know what makes for a decent night’s sleep. Testing electric blankets was the logical next step.

Whatever I’m testing, I’ll find practical and useful ways to rigorously measure the value of the product and dig deep to go beyond the marketing jargon.

How I tested

I used an infrared thermometer to determine how fast the blankets warmed up – and how evenly. Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian

Without a Cern-grade laboratory at my disposal, I tested 20 of the most popular electric blankets and throws at home. In bed. In my pyjamas. I wanted to assess how each blanket and throw felt while sleeping or resting, and judge its quality and durability.

Alongside measuring the max temperature each blanket hit, I timed how long it took to get there – I have zero patience when cold, so quick and efficient heating is crucial. Using an infrared thermometer, I measured the temperatures on the highest settings at 10 minutes, 30 minutes and an hour after being switched on. Since the weight of your duvet and room temperature can affect the temperature of electric blankets, I kept things fair by using all the electric blankets on the same bed, and all the heated throws on the same sofa, with a consistent room temperature of 18C.

No one wants a hot back and frosty feet, so I considered how evenly each blanket heated up by taking temperature readings at three different points after an hour on full power. I also used a plug-in power consumption meter to determine each blanket’s hourly running cost based on the Ofgem price cap as of 1 January 2026, which is 27.69p a kWh.

Below you’ll find the 13 best of the 20 models I tested. Those blankets and throws that brands didn’t want returned will be donated to Hope for Food – a Bournemouth-based charity supporting local families in need.

The best electric blankets and heated throws in 2025

Best electric blanket overall:
Carmen C81190 fitted electric blanket

Carmen

C81190 fitted electric blanket

£44

What we love
It’s easy to fit on to the bed and heats quickly

What we don’t love
It doesn’t have a timer

Double, £44 at AO

This electric blanket includes two controllers so you can operate each side of the bed independently – always a good thing when you’re sharing. It comes in both double and king-size versions, and is made from polyester with a cosy fleece finish.

Why we love it
The Carmen feels great, heats up effectively and is great value. It’s one of the easiest blankets to fit on to your bed, with a generous elastic skirt sewn on to it rather than the usual, clumsier straps. The skirt ensures the blanket secures neatly under each side of the mattress and stays in place.

It heats up quickly, reaching an impressive 28.1C in its centre after just 10 minutes – and this was without a duvet on top. I measured the heat at the sides a little cooler, but the temperature increased steadily over an hour, reaching 30.2C in its centre after 30 minutes and up to 33C after an hour. As soon as a duvet was placed on top, it got even warmer and retained its heat effectively long after I had turned off the blanket.

While it’s machine washable, the manufacturer recommends you only do this a total of three times in its lifespan, so it will mostly be a spot clean.

It’s a shame that … there’s no timer. But for peace of mind, it does have overheat protection that will automatically shut it down if the built-in thermal fuse detects a hotspot or fault in the heated cables.

Sizes available: double, king size
Dimensions (double): L193 x W137cm
Number of heat settings: three
Timer included: no, but it does have auto-shut off
Running cost on maximum: 4p/hour (0.078kWh each side)
Temperature after an hour: 33.2C
Guarantee: three years
Machine washable: yes

Carmen

C81190 fitted electric blanket

£44

What we love
It’s easy to fit on to the bed and heats quickly

What we don’t love
It doesn’t have a timer

Best budget electric blanket:
Slumberdown Sleepy Nights

Slumberdown

Sleepy Nights

£25

What we love
Generous straps make it easy to fit on the bed

What we don’t love
It doesn’t include a timer

Note: stock is running low in double and king size. Toasty Nights is a similar blanket with quilting

Super king, £25 at AsdaSmall double, £27 at Amazon

Generous straps for easy positioning and three adjustable heat settings make this electric blanket a good budget buy. It comes in six sizes, can be machine washed for easy maintenance, and arrives with a two-year guarantee.

Why we love it
Feeling super soft against the skin, this microfibre blanket was simple to set up, with bonus points awarded for the long cord.

The lengthy, elasticated straps meant I didn’t have to wrestle too much with the corners of my thick Sealy mattress to position the blanket securely, plus it stayed in place nicely.

The blanket heated up to 22.1C in just 10 minutes and 25C in 30 minutes. After an hour on its highest setting, it reached a comfortable 29.5C – more than enough heat for me.

When I measured the temperature across the blanket, I found it was hotter in the middle than on the sides. However, I didn’t notice any cold spots when my duvet was on top, trapping in the heat.

It’s a shame that … it doesn’t have a timer. The manufacturer suggests leaving this blanket on its lowest setting if you want to keep it on all night.

Sizes available: small single, single, small double, double (currently out of stock), king (currently out of stock), super king
Dimensions (king size): L150 x W142cm
Number of heat settings: three
Timer included: no
Running cost on maximum: 3p/hour (0.094kWh)
Temperature after an hour: 29.5C
Guarantee: two years
Machine washable: yes

Slumberdown

Sleepy Nights

£25

What we love
Generous straps make it easy to fit on the bed

What we don’t love
It doesn’t include a timer

Best quilted electric blanket:
Dreamland Pure Comfort bamboo underblanket

Dreamland

Pure Comfort bamboo underblanket

from £99.99

What we love
It includes breathable bamboo material

What we don’t love
It costs more than your average blanket

King, £139.99 at BootsKing, £99.99 at Amazon

The king-size version of this underblanket has dual control panels for operating each side independently. There are six heat settings to choose from, and three timer options for one, three or nine hours.

Why we love it
This blanket reached 22C at its centre after just 10 minutes, and within an hour, temperatures had risen to a snuggly 32C. I found that the middle and end of the blanket heated well, but the top section remained cool to the touch, working well for under your head.

It costs more than your average electric blanket, but is worth it for the quilted, breathable bamboo finish. The filling, like many other electric blankets, is polyester. The control panels on either side were easy to navigate, even when I was sleepy-eyed.

It’s a shame that … there are no timer options between three and nine hours.

Sizes available: single, double, king, super king
Dimensions (king size): L200 x W150cm
Number of heat settings: six
Timer included: yes, one, three or nine hours
Running cost on maximum: 4p/hour (0.129kWh)
Temperature after an hour: 32.2C
Guarantee: three years
Machine washable: yes

Dreamland

Pure Comfort bamboo underblanket

from £99.99

What we love
It includes breathable bamboo material

What we don’t love
It costs more than your average blanket

Best heated throw overall:
Beurer HD150 heated snuggle blanket

Beurer

HD150 heated snuggle blanket

from £79.99

What we love
It feels very smooth and snuggly against your skin

What we don’t love
It can be awkward to fold and a little cumbersome to store

Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian£89.99 at Simply Be£79.99 at Amazon

Ideal for the sofa, this Beurer blanket has a very soft and sumptuous fleece finish. Its six heat settings are all adjustable via the central control panel. I tried the XXL design – a little oversized on my three-seater sofa, but ideal for sharing comfortably with another person. It also comes in a smaller 180 x 130cm size.

Why we love it
The soft-to-touch surface of this heated blanket proved just the right level of cosy for a night on the sofa watching Strictly. Plus, it feels padded enough to disguise the heating elements inside the blanket – not something that can be said of all heated blankets.

It heated up fast – reaching temperatures in the low 20s in just 10 minutes – yet it used surprisingly little energy. After an hour, it felt very hot, so I turned it down to setting two, which was more comfortable. Its three-hour automatic switch-off timer means that you can just set and forget about it.

It’s a shame that … it didn’t heat up evenly. While the middle was warm, sections around the edges didn’t feel it at all – which might be a problem if you’re sharing it with a blanket hog.

Sizes available: small, large
Dimensions (large): L200 x W150cm
Number of heat settings: six
Timer included: three-hour automatic switch-off
Running cost on maximum: 2p/hour (0.055kWh)
Temperature after an hour: 32.2C
Guarantee: three years
Machine washable: yes

Beurer

HD150 heated snuggle blanket

from £79.99

What we love
It feels very smooth and snuggly against your skin

What we don’t love
It can be awkward to fold and a little cumbersome to store

Best budget heated throw:
Dunelm fleece electric throw

Dunelm

Fleece electric throw

£32

What we love
It heats evenly and feels a manageable thickness

What we don’t love
There’s no timer

Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian£32 at Dunelm

This smooth fleece blanket comes in three attractive colours – taupe, charcoal and navy – to match most neutral decor schemes. A handheld digital LED controller allows you to flick between its six heat levels.

Why we love it
For less than £35, this heated throw is good value – and at this price, you could even buy it as a gift. The deep navy colour looked great on my sofa, and while it’s not the fluffiest heated throw I’ve tested, it felt lovely to touch – neither too thick nor too heavy. It was the perfect size for one person – and will just about cater for two, if you’re willing to snuggle up close.

The blanket warmed up steadily, reaching a comfortable temperature at its max. After 10 minutes on its full heat setting, it measured 19.7C at the centre. An hour in on full power, this rose to 40.3C. While heat wasn’t evenly distributed, this didn’t make much difference to the overall feeling of warmth.

It’s a shame that … it doesn’t have a timer, other than a four-hour automatic shut-off, but you’ll need to make sure you switch it off using the controller and at the plug after use.

Sizes available: one
Dimensions: L130 x W160cm
Number of heat settings: six
Timer included: no, but automatic shut-off after four hours
Running cost on maximum: 3p/hour (0.1kWh)
Temperature after an hour: 40.3C
Guarantee: one year
Machine washable: yes

Dunelm

Fleece electric throw

£32

What we love
It heats evenly and feels a manageable thickness

What we don’t love
There’s no timer

Best heated fleece throw:
Russell Hobbs microfleece heated throw

Russell Hobbs

Microfleece heated throw

from £39.99

What we love
The microfleece finish feels so soft

What we don’t love
Its darker shades might look harsh in some colour schemes

Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian£39.99 at Currys£39.99 at Debenhams

With its soft microfleece finish, this heated blanket is large enough to cover one person comfortably and also works well for two. It features one digital control panel with multiple heat and timer functions, and an automatic switch-off function for peace of mind. If you intend to sleep with it, Russell Hobbs recommends using it on a lower heat mode, up to setting three.

Why we love it
The first thing I noticed about this heated blanket, aside from its soft feel, was its generous 250cm cable. It meant I could drape the blanket over me comfortably on the sofa without accidentally tugging the plug out of the wall socket.

The blanket’s microfleece finish felt tactile and comforting, and it was thicker than some of the standard fleece throws I tested, such as the Dunelm fleece electric throw (above). While I could feel the wiring lines inside this blanket, they’re well hidden in the blanket’s sumptuous design.

The white digital control panel here is a little bulkier than some others on test, and stands out against the jet-black finish of the blanket I tested. Nevertheless, it was easy to use, with heat settings ranging from one to nine. If you want to use the blanket for more than an hour, the timer function lets you go up in one-hour increments up to nine hours and then jumps to a single 12-hour setting. On its highest heat setting it reached 29C in 30 minutes and a toasty 41.9C after an hour. In addition, the heat seemed to distribute well across the blanket’s surface.

It’s a shame that … the throw doesn’t come in pastel colours; the darker shades (such as the black I tested) could look harsh against some softer interior schemes.

Sizes available: one size
Dimensions: L180 x W130cm
Number of heat settings: nine
Timer included: yes, one-nine or 12 hours
Running cost on maximum: 4p/hour (0.134kWh)
Temperature after an hour: 41.9C
Guarantee: two years
Machine washable: yes, under 40C

Russell Hobbs

Microfleece heated throw

from £39.99

What we love
The microfleece finish feels so soft

What we don’t love
Its darker shades might look harsh in some colour schemes

Best fluffy heated throw:
Glamhaus heated throw

Glamhaus

Heated throw

from £35.99

What we love
It heats up quickly and feels great against skin

What we don’t love
No storage bag included

Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian£35.99 at Robert Dyas£37.50 at Amazon

Available in a choice of jewel-like colours, including deep pink, “scuba” blue and green, this electric over-blanket is reasonably priced at less than £50 (£35.99 at the time of writing). The blanket is made from polyester and has a white fluffy trim that contrasts nicely against the vibrant hue of its main body.

Why we love it
It may be standard polyester, but the velvety fleece-like finish of this blanket feels luxurious to touch. Its white trim instantly made my sofa look festive, but it will look great throughout spring, too, adding an extra layer of cosiness to your living room.

It’s thick and feels more substantial than some other budget heated blankets I’ve tried, so it feels warming even when it’s not switched on. It heated up quickly, too, and within a minute there was a satisfying amount of heat from its centre. The heat felt comfortable rather than scorching, with the heated wires nicely disguised within the throw. The heat also radiates out to the sides effectively, providing an even warmth across the surface. After 10 minutes, I measured the centre of the blanket at 27.2C on its highest setting, and it reached 34.2C after 30 minutes and a sleep-inducing 40.3C after an hour.

The control panel is easy to use and doesn’t give you a bewildering number of heat and timer options – there are six heat settings and a three-hour timer, which feels plenty. It comes with the safety of an auto-shut-off feature and can be conveniently machine-washed at 30C too – both features I’d expect to find in a good-quality heated blanket.

It’s a shame that … it doesn’t come with a storage bag, which would make it neater to store while not in use. It’s hard to fault this blanket, though, as it’s such good value.

Sizes available: one size
Dimensions: L160 x W130cm
Number of heat settings: six
Timer included: yes, three hours
Running cost on maximum: 3p/hour (0.096kWh)
Temperature after an hour: 40.3C
Guarantee: one year
Machine washable: yes, at 30C

Glamhaus

Heated throw

from £35.99

What we love
It heats up quickly and feels great against skin

What we don’t love
No storage bag included

Best heated duvet:
Dreamland Love Mornings heated duvet

Dreamland

Heated duvet

from £199.99

What we love
It offers soothing heat from above, which works well

What we don’t love
Cables will hang out of the end of the duvet cover

King, £199.99 at DreamlandKing, £199.99 at Amazon

Dreamland offers a wide range of heated bedding products – I also have my eye on the brand’s electric heat pads for specific areas, including your feet, neck, back and hands.

Having tried the underblanket (reviewed above), I was keen to see how this heated duvet would compare. Like the underblanket, the duvet is machine washable with the controller removed, and can be tumble-dried, too.

Why we love it
I was instantly impressed by the tidy stitching and smooth finish of this heated duvet, which is filled with polyester and has a 100% cotton cover. With an October chill in the air, I set up the duvet on my bed, under a breathable cotton Nectar duvet cover.

The dual controls lead out at the end of the duvet, so you can run them up the side of the bed to plug it in. This means you’ll be able to use it with a buttoned cover, but not one that has a zip.

Dreamland states the heat-up time as five minutes, and while it was slightly warm after a few minutes, I did have to go hunting for the warmer spots during my tests. After 10 minutes on the highest setting, I measured the temperature at 26.6C at the centre, and after an hour it was 36.3C, which felt comfortable – although this probably isn’t a heat level I’d like to sleep in all night.

The duvet’s dual controls worked well for my partner and me: I could blast the heat on my side while he, who prefers cooler climes, didn’t need to have it on at all.

It’s a shame that … it doesn’t come with a cover. Also, while having the heat filter down from the duvet above me felt cosy on a really cold night, I prefer the heat from an electric blanket underneath.

Sizes available: single, double, king size
Dimensions (king size): L225 x W220cm
Number of heat settings: six
Timer included: yes, one, three and nine hours
Running cost on maximum: 3p/hour (0.101kWh a side)
Temperature after an hour: 36.3C
Guarantee: two years
Machine washable: yes

Dreamland

Heated duvet

from £199.99

What we love
It offers soothing heat from above, which works well

What we don’t love
Cables will hang out of the end of the duvet cover

Best heated throw for one person:
VonHaus pink heated throw blanket

VonHaus

Pink heated throw blanket

from £37.99

What we love
Its silky finish and pretty pink hue

What we don’t love
It could be thicker

Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian£37.99 at VonHaus£37.99 at Amazon

With nine temperature settings, this soft and silky pink blanket offers a good range of heat options up to a maximum of 43C. It has a one-hour default timer, plus one that can be set for up to nine hours in total. If you’re going to sleep with it or are using it for extended periods, VonHaus recommends setting the heat to level one for the duration.

Why we love it
Measuring 160 x 130cm, I found this heated blanket just the right size for one. While its vibrant pink finish might not go down so well with some, personally, I didn’t mind it. It’s machine washable at 30C (with the control panel removed) on a gentle cycle and low spin, and the 2.15m cord length should be long enough to reach a nearby socket.

The blanket felt smooth underhand with an almost silk-like finish, but I could feel the wiring inside. Nevertheless, it was subtle, and the blanket’s layers of fabric are well structured to make it easy to fold or lay flat on the sofa or bed. It heated up evenly, but not as quickly or as hot as others on test, reaching 25.5C within 30 minutes and 34C after an hour.

It’s a shame that … the pink colourway may not to be everyone’s taste.

Sizes available: one
Dimensions: L160 x W130cm
Number of heat settings: nine
Timer included: yes, up to nine hours
Running cost on maximum: 4p/hour (0.156kWh)
Temperature after an hour: 34C
Guarantee: two years
Machine washable: yes, up to 30C

VonHaus

Pink heated throw blanket

from £37.99

What we love
Its silky finish and pretty pink hue

What we don’t love
It could be thicker

Best heated cushion:
Beurer HK48 cosy heated cushion

Beurer

HK48 cosy heated cushion

from £34.99

What we love
The fact that it both props you up and heats you up

What we don’t love
The control panel is very basic

Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian£42.39 at Lakeland£34.99 at Amazon

This heated cushion, made by German brand Beurer, would make an excellent gift.

Of its two sides, it’s the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 fleecy fabric that warms up for a soothing effect; the other side is a breathable cotton with a removable pad inside. The cover is removable and machine washable on a gentle wool cycle at 30C, but it can only be cleaned up to 10 times in its lifespan. For an extra £9.99, replacement covers are available in five attractive colours, including green, red and orange.

Why we love it
An alternative option to your standard heated throw, this cushion provides a more targeted approach to warming and could work well for general pain relief. It comes with three heat settings, and felt great positioned near the lower back and under the neck, upper legs, knees and ankles.

The cushion was super-quick to heat, reaching 34C in 10 minutes, and a very warm 43.4C after an hour. It never really felt too hot, and the heat seemed to radiate to the sides nicely. The three heat settings are useful, but a timer alongside would have enhanced the design. That said, it does come with a 90-minute auto-shut-off feature.

It’s a shame that … the control panel isn’t a little more hi-tech, but it does the job effectively.

Sizes available: one
Dimensions: H40 x W30cm
Number of heat settings: three
Timer included: no, but it has 90-minute auto-switch off
Running cost on maximum: 0.6p/hour – less than 1p (0.023kWh)
Temperature after an hour: 43.4C
Guarantee: three years
Machine washable: the cover is machine washable at 30C wool cycle; the inner pad is not washable

Beurer

HK48 cosy heated cushion

from £34.99

What we love
The fact that it both props you up and heats you up

What we don’t love
The control panel is very basic

The best of the rest

‘Good for transitional seasons when you don’t want anything too heavy’: the Silentnight luxury heated throw. Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian

Slumberdown Elegantly Warm luxury heated throw

Slumberdown

Elegantly Warm luxury heated throw

from £48

What we love
It gets satisfyingly hot

What we don’t love
Its heat settings aren’t as intuitive as we’d like

Photograph: Emily Peck/The Guardian£60 at Argos£48 at Amazon

Best for: those looking for a stylish, neutral colour

This heated throw looks elegant and feels luxurious – just as the name suggests. My review sample arrived in the Mole colourway, which will suit both modern and traditional interiors.

The blanket’s 10 heat settings allow for good control, although I found it difficult to “feel” a difference past heat setting six. The blanket reached a hot 31.9C after 10 minutes of being turned on; and while the borders didn’t get as warm, the heat did seem evenly distributed across the surface.

Made from polyester, the blanket is washable at 40C on a wool cycle, but it can only be air-dried.

It didn’t make the final cut because … when you turn it on, it starts at setting five. It would make more sense if it started at setting one.

Sizes available: one; dimensions: L160 x W130cm; number of heat settings: 10; timer included: yes, up to ten hours; running cost on maximum: 3p/hour (0.104kWh); temperature after an hour: 42.5C; guarantee: two years; machine washable: yes, up to 40C

Slumberdown

Elegantly Warm luxury heated throw

from £48

What we love
It gets satisfyingly hot

What we don’t love
Its heat settings aren’t as intuitive as we’d like

Snuggledown Intelligent Warmth

Snuggledown

Intelligent Warmth

from £100

What we love
Each side can be controlled independently

What we don’t love
Its filling is polyester, which is less breathable

King, £100 at ArgosKing, £125 at John Lewis

Best for: couples who share a bed and can’t agree on temperature

With a sustainable 180-thread-count pure cotton cover, the surface of this electric blanket is luxuriously soft and breathable, while the quilted finish adds extra padding and warmth to the mattress before the blanket is even turned on. The fastening straps for the corners and the blanket’s base material ensure a secure fit to the mattress.

There are two control panels that let you tailor each quarter of the mattress to suit your upper and lower body, so it’s a great option for bed sharers or those who like to keep their feet at a different temperature from the top half of their body. On the highest setting, the blanket radiated an even temperature that felt even warmer once I added my duvet.

It didn’t make the final cut because … it may have a pure cotton cover, but its filling is made from polyester.

Sizes available: single, double, king, super king; dimensions (king size): L200 x W150cm; number of heat settings: nine; timer included: yes, up to nine hours; running cost on maximum: 2p/hour (0.062kWh); temperature after an hour: 27.6C; guarantee: two years; machine washable: yes

Snuggledown

Intelligent Warmth

from £100

What we love
Each side can be controlled independently

What we don’t love
Its filling is polyester, which is less breathable

Silentnight luxury heated throw

Silentnight

Luxury heated throw

from £39.99

What we love
It’s lightweight and heats evenly

What we don’t love
It’s not as thick as some of the throws we’ve tried

£41 at SilentnightFrom £39.99 at Amazon

Best for: smaller sofas and people who don’t want to share

A simple control panel with nine heat settings adjust the temperature of this heated throw, which reached just over 33C after an hour of being plugged in. There’s no timer, but it turns off automatically after two hours, which should be more than long enough to warm you up.

The throw is thin and light, so it would be good for transitional seasons when the weather is a little warmer and you don’t want anything too heavy. The box says it costs 1p an hour to run on the lowest setting, which sounds about right – I measured it as 3p an hour on maximum.

It didn’t make the final cut because … it’s quite thin, meaning you can feel the wiring inside.

Sizes available: one; dimensions: L160 x W120cm; number of heat settings: nine; timer included: no, but two-hour automatic shut-off; running cost on maximum: 3p/hour (0.102kWh); temperature after an hour: 33.6C; guarantee: three years; machine washable: yes

Silentnight

Luxury heated throw

from £39.99

What we love
It’s lightweight and heats evenly

What we don’t love
It’s not as thick as some of the throws we’ve tried

What you need to know

How much do electric blankets cost to run?

In my tests, the average king-size electric blanket costs 3p an hour to run. This shows that even if used for a few hours a day, it could cut down on your heating use and save you money over the year – depending on how much you spend on the blanket in the first place, of course.

“There are factors to consider when calculating the costs, as not all electric blankets are the same,” says John-Paul Drake, energy expert at Love Energy Savings. “Some come with timers, different heat settings and various efficiency ratings. But it could be wise to take advantage of both an electric blanket and a lower thermostat setting as an optimal way to save money on energy bills this winter.”

How much should you spend on an electric blanket?

Prices for an electric blanket range from about £30 to £140, depending on the size. Expect to pay anything from £20 to £150 for a heated throw.

Are electric blankets safe?

Electric blankets should be used with caution, and never by young babies and toddlers. Most manufacturers do not recommend use by young children, unless they’re supervised by an adult and have a clear understanding of how to use them safely. Always check the manufacturer’s guidelines for safe use. Not always obvious on the box, but the latest electric blankets should have passed electrical safety checks. Look for safety marks such as “BEAB approved” (British Electrotechnical Approvals Board) or “KEMA-KEUR safety tested” for peace of mind. For more advice on electric blanket safety, read this advice from London Fire Brigade.

Consider safety features such as an automatic switch-off timer that will turn off the blanket after a set time, or overheat protection, which switches off the device if it senses it’s getting too hot.

An electric blanket should fit securely on your mattress, starting just below the area beneath your pillow to stop your head from overheating. It shouldn’t be folded or creased, as this can damage the wiring inside. The safest place to leave your blanket when it’s not needed is flat on your bed.

Is my electric blanket compatible with my mattress?

Electric blankets are compatible with most mattresses, but can potentially cause damage to some mattresses made from memory foam or latex. “Memory foam mattresses are heat-sensitive, and there has been a concern in the past that they could soften too much when heated by an electric blanket, damaging the foam’s structure and reducing support,” says Chelsea Brown, lead product adviser at Opera Beds.

“Most modern electric blankets shouldn’t reach high enough temperatures for this to be an issue, but you should use them with caution. Memory foam is designed to mould to your body, so directly placing an electric blanket on top can also prevent the mattress from fitting your body snugly. Consider using a mattress topper under the electric blanket or keeping it on a low heat to prevent damage to your mattress.”

Emily Peck is a lifestyle journalist who’s been writing and editing for more than two decades. She covers design and interiors, gardens, technology, wellbeing and fitness for various magazines and newspapers. She recently relocated from London to Dorset

This article was originally published on 27 December 2024. Reviews published in the Filter may be periodically updated to reflect new products and at the editor’s discretion. The date of an article’s most recent update can be found in the timestamp at the top of the page. This article was amended on 23 December 2025; six new products were added after testing, and prices were updated throughout.

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Two burglars who used the Grindr dating app to trick victims into letting them into their homes have been jailed.

Rahmat Khan Mohammadi, 23, and Mohammed Bilal Hotak, 27, would arrange to meet victims at their London properties, and persuade them to provide their phone passwords by asking to play music on YouTube.

The Afghan refugees then stole the devices and left before making online or contactless payments, as well as occasionally transferring funds to themselves.

Mohammadi targeted 11 victims in his five-month crime spree between 24 October 2024 and 24 March 2025.

Hotak offended multiple times between 24 October 2024 and 23 December 2024.

Mohammadi was jailed for five years and Hotak for three and a half years at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday.

Sentencing both men, Judge Adenike Balogun said: “I have taken note of the psychological trauma as well as the inconvenience caused to the victims, and the distress that all of them have expressed at allowing you into their homes – into their private space – only to be violated.”

Prosecutor David Patience had alleged that the men were targeted because of their sexuality and the offences could in effect been seen as hate crimes.

The judge said: “I’ve considered that matter very carefully and it seems to me that the presumed sexual orientation of the victims presented an opportunity for you to commit the crime, and in that respect I do find that the victims… were targeted because of their perceived vulnerability.”

However, she said they were not picked because the two men held “hostility” towards the victims’ sexuality.

Rather, it was because they knew that Grindr – an app used for gay introductions – was “an opportunity to gain easy access into the homes of the victims”.

She added: “I suspect you were – and I put no higher than that – banking on the victims not reporting the crime.”

Image:
Rahmat Khan Mohammadi. Pic: Metropolitan Police

Frequently using a Grindr profile with no photo, they would send one of someone else if an image was requested by a potential victim.

For several meet-ups Mohammadi would ask to bring a friend which would be Hotak.

Once inside, they would ask the victim to turn on music, usually on YouTube because the phone could not be locked while a video was playing.

Distraction tactics to encourage the victim to leave the room included taking a shower before sex, making a drink and showing one of them where the toilet was.

Image:
Mohammed Bilal Hotak. Pic: Metropolitan Police

John Kearney, defending Hotak, told the court that the men chose Grindr because “there is no comeback”.

He said: “The application itself has enabled completely anonymous people to be invited as complete strangers into the homes of the victims”.

One victim spoke about the “severe psychological trauma” of being targeted, and the impact of losing photos of deceased family members stored on his phone.

He said: “The suspects used Grindr, a gay dating app, as a hunting ground.”

Another victim described being led into “a dark wet park late at night,” and encouraged to undress before his phone was taken from him.

He called the theft “invasive and degrading,” and says he remains afraid to date people he has met online.

A jury found Mohammadi, of Weald Lane in Harrow, north-west London, guilty of 10 counts of burgling a dwelling, nine of fraud by false representation and one of theft.

Hotak, of Richmond Road in Hackney, east London, was convicted of five counts of burgling a dwelling, five of fraud by false representation and one of theft.

Mohammadi was acquitted of a further 10 charges and Hotak of 13.

Superintendent Owen Renowden, the Metropolitan Police’s hate crime lead, called their crimes “callous, calculated, pre-planned”.

“Their actions had a devastating impact on their victims,” he said. “Nobody should be made to feel unsafe in their own homes and they will have to live with the trauma these men have caused them.”

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A ‘bomb cyclone’ bringing heavy downpours, flooding, and landslides is set to hammer the West Coast on Christmas Eve and further endanger holiday travelers. 

The entire California coast is under a severe storm warning this morning, with major coastal cities from San Francisco to Los Angeles expected to see at least two to four inches of rain and near hurricane-force winds reaching 70mph in certain parts of the Bay Area and Northern California.

Some areas inland have been warned that an extreme ‘firehose’ of rainfall could deliver as much as eight to 16 inches of rain throughout California, including in the Los Angeles basin and the Sierra Nevada and Transverse mountain ranges.

A bomb cyclone is an extremely intense storm that forms from a low-pressure system that rapidly strengthens, usually in a day or so. It typically forms over the ocean near the West Coast, bringing extreme weather in just hours.

Between Tuesday and Christmas Day, over 1,300 flights are expected to be cancelled at airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and dozens of smaller travel hubs throughout the region. 

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter storm warning for much of Northern California and the state’s mountainous areas along the Nevada border.

Meteorologists with AccuWeather have predicted that heavy snow, likely exceeding four feet, could be dumped on the entire region; however, even more is expected at the highest elevations between Wednesday and Friday.

AccuWeather chief on-air meteorologist Bernie Rayno said: ‘We’re probably looking at at least 10 feet of snow this week over the ridges and peaks of the Sierra Nevada.’

A ‘bomb cyclone’ is predicted to deliver several inches of rain throughout California, with the heaviest downpours expected on Christmas Eve

At least one person died in Redding, California, about 160 miles north of Sacramento, after heavy rains pelted northern California with nearly 10 inches of water over the weekend

The heavy rain hitting California right now has been fueled by a strong ‘atmospheric river’ slamming into the West Coast. 

This giant river in the sky acts like a long, narrow band of air loaded with a huge amount of water vapor that flows through the atmosphere. The Christmas storm is actually the second atmospheric river to hit California in a week.

A first river brought deadly flooding to Northern California on Sunday and Monday, killing at least one person in Redding, about 160 miles north of Sacramento.

Heavy rains pelted the region with nearly 10 inches of water in just 24 hours during the first storm.

On Christmas Eve, the heaviest rain from this second atmospheric river is expected to pound California, bringing one to three-inch downpours of rain along the coastal plains through midday.

Northern areas such as San Francisco and Sacramento could see ongoing rain adding up to five inches through the end of the week.

Meanwhile, Southern California, including Los Angeles and San Diego, faces a high risk of flash flooding and landslides, with some spots getting between four and six inches of rain on Wednesday, making this one of the wettest Christmas Eves on record.

Strong wind gusts measuring between 40 and 60mph could cause power outages, fallen trees, and dangerous driving conditions throughout the state. Flooding is expected in urban areas, along rivers, and in burn scars from this year’s wildfires.

This week’s storm has been fueled by an atmospheric river, funneling large amounts of moisture over California

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings (Seen in pink) in the California mountain ranges and severe storm alerts (Seen in purple) along the entire coast

Forecasters said this monster storm will officially turn into a bomb cyclone if the air pressure at its center drops really fast over 24 hours this week.

Air pressure is basically how heavy the air is pushing down on everything. In storms, the center has lower pressure, lighter air pushing down, which pulls in winds and makes the storm stronger. 

For this second atmospheric river to develop into a bomb cyclone, that pressure has to fall by at least 24 millibars in one day. Millibars are a unit experts use to measure air pressure.

This would be the equivalent of the storm suddenly sucking in large amounts of air quickly, which makes it explode in power, bringing hurricane-force winds and heavier rain to the West Coast this week.

AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham warned: ‘Regardless of whether the storm rapidly strengthens and experiences the required 24 millibars of pressure drop in 24 hours (0.71 of an inch of mercury), the storm will intensify enough to create strong winds along the coast of Northern and Central California.’

Over 1,500 flights had already been delayed globally as of Tuesday morning, with Flight Aware’s Misery Map revealing that flights between New York and Los Angeles were the most affected domestic trips so far.

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Sun King, an off-grid solar energy company that designs and sells solar products, has launched a pay-as-you-go (PayGo) installment payment model for smartphones, allowing customers to purchase smartphones without paying the full cost upfront.

The company is extending the model, which it has long applied to solar home systems, to enable customers to acquire smartphones from global brands such as Samsung, Tecno and Infinix through small, periodic payments. 

Sun King’s expansion into smartphone financing comes as rising smartphone prices continue to deepen Nigeria’s digital access gap, pushing millions of people out of the digital economy. Currency depreciation and inflation have driven up smartphone prices, making even entry-level devices increasingly unaffordable for low-income households, students and informal workers.

“For years, we have helped Nigerian households and businesses overcome the barrier of high upfront costs for reliable and sustainable solar power,” said Omoyemi Tuga, vice president for pay-as-you-go sales in West and Central Africa at Sun King.  “We are now extending the same approach to smartphones.”

Tuga said combining installment payment plans with the company’s nationwide sales network, which spans all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory through community-based agents and retail outlets, would make it easier for customers to own smartphones.

Founded in 2007, Sun King designs and sells off-grid solar products to households and small businesses across Africa and Asia, targeting markets with limited or unreliable electricity access. In October, the company, as part of its efforts to strengthen its operations, set up its largest manufacturing plant in Kenya. It also closed a $40 million equity round in December to accelerate the distribution of its solar system in Sub-Saharan Africa.

For its smartphone PayGo model, the company said it has a range of entry-level and mid-range devices, including the Samsung A06, Tecno Pop 10, and models from Infinix’s Smart and Hot series. Sun King agents or retail shops handle onboarding in person, allowing customers to begin using their devices after making the initial payment.

“For many Nigerians, a smartphone is the primary way to get online, study, find work, run a business, or access everyday services,” the company said. “However, the upfront cost keeps many people, especially young people, women and low-income families from owning the devices they need.”

It argued that its financing model removes one of the biggest barriers to digital participation. Sun King’s new expansion pushes it to join existing players offering smartphone financing in Nigeria through a pay-as-you-go model. Other companies, such as Kenya-based M-KOPA, have long used a similar financing model to sell smartphones and other devices across African markets, including Nigeria. Local players like CD Care also offer device financing and after-sales services through installment plans, targeting consumers who cannot afford upfront purchases. 

Sun King did not disclose key commercial details for its PayGo model for smartphones, including interest rates, repayment duration, default thresholds or enforcement mechanisms for the instalment plans.

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