Tech News 2026 - Issue 21

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Latest *tech news
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News>* from the
Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes.
Not all changes will affect you. Translations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/21> are
available.

*Weekly highlight*

   - The Abstract Wikipedia team has identified five potential pilot wikis
   to assess their interest in adopting abstract articles on their wikis. T=
he
   pilots are Malayalam, Bengali, Dagbani, Arabic, and Indonesian Wikipedia=
.
   The feedback period will be open until May 22. If your community is
   interested in becoming a pilot, let us know on Meta
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Abstract_Wikipedia>.

*Updates for editors*

   - An experiment to show Reading Lists
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Readers/Reader_Experi=
ence/Reading_lists>
to
   logged-out readers on mobile web will launch on May 18 across German,
   Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Turkish, and Urdu Wikipedia=
s,
   and will run for one month. The effort supports broader goals of helping
   readers save and organize articles for later reading, while encouraging
   habits that could lead to future Wikipedia contributions.
   - To support a bookmark button in the Reading List beta feature, the
   "Tools > Action" menu has been updated to display icons, including the
   watch star indicator that helps editors identify temporarily watched
   articles. The icons now also match those used on mobile, improving
   consistency across platforms. The change is currently limited to the
   actions menu and mainly affects editors with privileged user rights. [1]
   <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T426008>
   - Suggestion Mode
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/VisualEditor/Suggesti=
on_Mode>
was
   released as an A/B test <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:A/B_test> for
   newcomer editors on the mobile website at ~15 Wikipedias
   <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T421189>. The experiment will measure
   the impact that Suggestion Mode has on the proportion of newcomer mobile
   web edit sessions that result in constructive (un-reverted) article edit=
s.
   The experiment will also evaluate the feature's impact on editor retenti=
on,
   and monitor changes in revert and block rates.
   - View all 27 community-submitted tasks that were resolved last week
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Recently_r=
esolved_community_tasks>.
   For example, an issue in the Wikipedia Android app where images could
   sometimes fail to load after opening a recommended reading list
   notification, has now been fixed. [2]
   <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T418231>

*Updates for technical contributors*

   - The Wikidata Platform team
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata_Platform> ha=
s
   published its backend replacement recommendation
   <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata:SPARQL_query_=
service/WDQS_backend_update/Backend_Replacement>
and
   accompanying technical architecture
   <https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikidata_Query_Service/WDQS_Archite=
cture_re-design>
for
   the migration of the Wikidata Query Service (WDQS) away from Blazegraph.
   Feedback is invited until May 25th 2026, especially on potential gaps an=
d
   impacts on advanced use cases. Wikidata community members and WDQS users
   are also encouraged to help identify high-impact tools and workflows tha=
t
   may need attention on this page
   <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:SPARQL_query_service/WDQS_backen=
d_update/High-Impact_Use_Cases>.
   Feedback can be shared on the Migration talk page
   <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata_talk:SPARQL_query_service/WDQS_b=
ackend_update>
or
   during the next office hour
   <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata:Blazegraph_Mi=
gration_Office_Hours>.
   See the WDP team newsletter
   <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata:Wikidata_Plat=
form_team/Newsletter>
for
   more details.
   - Detailed code updates later this week: MediaWiki
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.47/wmf.3>

*In depth*

   - On English, French, Japanese, and a few other Wikipedias, there
was a trial
   of hCaptcha
   <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/09/02/better-detecting-bots-and-replaci=
ng-our-captcha/>,
   a third-party bot detection service. The trial showed that hCaptcha
   effectively detects and deters some bad-faith automated activity, on its
   own and by giving checkusers and stewards
   <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)/Arc=
hive_225#Introducing_SuggestedInvestigations>
signals
   to look into. Because the results were positive, hCaptcha will be rolled
   out across all wikis over the next few weeks. See the hCaptcha project
   page
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Product_Safety_and_In=
tegrity/Anti-abuse_signals/hCaptcha>
for
   technical information about the implementation and privacy
protections. Learn
   more
   <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/05/04/better-detecting-bots-and-replaci=
ng-our-captcha-part-2/>
   .
   - The latest Community Tech update is now available, with progress
   across several Community Wishlist initiatives, including Reading Lists
   expansion from the mobile app to the website, new language support for "=
Who
   Wrote That" and the Personal Dashboard, improvements to 3D rendering and
   Charts, and upcoming work on talk page sorting, audio playback, and edit=
ing
   workflows. The update also shares current priorities, wishlist status
   trends, and opportunities for community feedback on future focus areas a=
nd
   the Wikimedia Foundation=E2=80=99s 2026=E2=80=932027 Annual Plan. Read t=
he full
   newsletter for details
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Community_Wishlist/U=
pdates#May_13,_2026:_Latest_updates_from_the_Community_Tech_team>
   .

*Tech news
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News> prepared
by Tech News writers
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Writers> and
posted by bot
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/User:MediaWiki_message_=
delivery>
=E2=80=A2 Contribute
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News#contribute>
=E2=80=A2 Translate
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/21> =E2=
=80=A2 Get
help <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tech> =E2=80=A2 Give feedback
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Tech/News> =E2=80=A2 Subscribe or uns=
ubscribe
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_message_delivery/Targets/Tech_ambas=
sadors>.*

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div><p style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);=
font-family:sans-serif;font-size:20px">Latest=C2=A0<b><a href=3D"https://me=
ta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News" class=3D"extiw" title=
=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb=
(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">tech news</a></b>=C2=A0from=
 the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these cha=
nges. Not all changes will affect you.=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimed=
ia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/21" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"=
m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/21" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color=
:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Translations</a>=C2=A0a=
re available.</p><p style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-=
family:sans-serif;font-size:20px"><b>Weekly highlight</b></p><ul style=3D"p=
adding:0px;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:20px"><li s=
tyle=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">The Abstract Wikipedia team has identified fiv=
e potential pilot wikis to assess their interest in adopting abstract artic=
les on their wikis. The pilots are Malayalam, Bengali, Dagbani, Arabic, and=
 Indonesian Wikipedia. The feedback period will be open until May 22. If yo=
ur community is interested in becoming a pilot,=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://met=
a.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Abstract_Wikipedia" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Ta=
lk:Abstract Wikipedia" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);=
background:none;border-radius:2px">let us know on Meta</a>.</li></ul><p sty=
le=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-=
size:20px"><b>Updates for editors</b></p><ul style=3D"padding:0px;color:rgb=
(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:20px"><li style=3D"margin-botto=
m:0.1em">An experiment to show=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/wi=
ki/Special:MyLanguage/Readers/Reader_Experience/Reading_lists" class=3D"ext=
iw" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage/Readers/Reader Experience/Reading lists"=
 style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border=
-radius:2px">Reading Lists</a>=C2=A0to logged-out readers on mobile web wil=
l launch on May 18 across German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Dut=
ch, Turkish, and Urdu Wikipedias, and will run for one month. The effort su=
pports broader goals of helping readers save and organize articles for late=
r reading, while encouraging habits that could lead to future Wikipedia con=
tributions.</li><li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">To support a bookmark but=
ton in the Reading List beta feature, the &quot;Tools &gt; Action&quot; men=
u has been updated to display icons, including the watch star indicator tha=
t helps editors identify temporarily watched articles. The icons now also m=
atch those used on mobile, improving consistency across platforms. The chan=
ge is currently limited to the actions menu and mainly affects editors with=
 privileged user rights.=C2=A0<a class=3D"external gmail-autonumber" href=
=3D"https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T426008" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noo=
pener noreferrer" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);borde=
r-radius:2px;background:none;padding:0px">[1]</a></li><li style=3D"margin-b=
ottom:0.1em"><a href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/V=
isualEditor/Suggestion_Mode" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage=
/VisualEditor/Suggestion Mode" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,1=
02,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Suggestion Mode</a>=C2=A0was rel=
eased as an=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:A/B_test" clas=
s=3D"extiw" title=3D"w:en:A/B test" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb=
(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">A/B test</a>=C2=A0for newco=
mer editors on the mobile website at=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://phabricator.wi=
kimedia.org/T421189" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"phab:T421189" style=3D"text-d=
ecoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">~15=
 Wikipedias</a>. The experiment will measure the impact that Suggestion Mod=
e has on the proportion of newcomer mobile web edit sessions that result in=
 constructive (un-reverted) article edits. The experiment will also evaluat=
e the feature&#39;s impact on editor retention, and monitor changes in reve=
rt and block rates.</li><li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">View all 27 commu=
nity-submitted tasks that were=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/w=
iki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Recently_resolved_community_tasks" class=
=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Recently resolved commun=
ity tasks" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:n=
one;border-radius:2px">resolved last week</a>. For example, an issue in the=
 Wikipedia Android app where images could sometimes fail to load after open=
ing a recommended reading list notification, has now been fixed.=C2=A0<a cl=
ass=3D"external gmail-autonumber" href=3D"https://phabricator.wikimedia.org=
/T418231" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"text-decor=
ation:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);border-radius:2px;background:none;padding:=
0px">[2]</a></li></ul><p style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);=
font-family:sans-serif;font-size:20px"><b>Updates for technical contributor=
s</b></p><ul style=3D"padding:0px;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-seri=
f;font-size:20px"><li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">The=C2=A0<a href=3D"htt=
ps://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata_Platform" class=3D"=
extiw" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata Platform" style=3D"text-deco=
ration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Wikida=
ta Platform team</a>=C2=A0has published its=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.wik=
idata.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata:SPARQL_query_service/WDQS_backen=
d_update/Backend_Replacement" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"d:Special:MyLanguage=
/Wikidata:SPARQL query service/WDQS backend update/Backend Replacement" sty=
le=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-rad=
ius:2px">backend replacement recommendation</a>=C2=A0and accompanying=C2=A0=
<a href=3D"https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikidata_Query_Service/WDQS_=
Architecture_re-design" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"wikitech:Wikidata Query Se=
rvice/WDQS Architecture re-design" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(=
51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">technical architecture</a>=
=C2=A0for the migration of the Wikidata Query Service (WDQS) away from Blaz=
egraph. Feedback is invited until May 25th 2026, especially on potential ga=
ps and impacts on advanced use cases. Wikidata community members and WDQS u=
sers are also encouraged to help identify high-impact tools and workflows t=
hat may need attention on=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wik=
idata:SPARQL_query_service/WDQS_backend_update/High-Impact_Use_Cases" class=
=3D"extiw" title=3D"d:Wikidata:SPARQL query service/WDQS backend update/Hig=
h-Impact Use Cases" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);bac=
kground:none;border-radius:2px">this page</a>. Feedback can be shared on th=
e=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata_talk:SPARQL_query_=
service/WDQS_backend_update" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"d:Wikidata talk:SPARQ=
L query service/WDQS backend update" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rg=
b(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Migration talk page</a>=C2=
=A0or during the=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:MyLa=
nguage/Wikidata:Blazegraph_Migration_Office_Hours" class=3D"extiw" title=3D=
"d:Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata:Blazegraph Migration Office Hours" style=3D"=
text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2p=
x">next office hour</a>. See the=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.wikidata.org/w=
iki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata:Wikidata_Platform_team/Newsletter" class=3D=
"extiw" title=3D"d:Special:MyLanguage/Wikidata:Wikidata Platform team/Newsl=
etter" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;=
border-radius:2px">WDP team newsletter</a>=C2=A0for more details.</li><li s=
tyle=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">Detailed code updates later this week:=C2=A0<a=
 href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.47/wmf.3" class=3D"exti=
w" title=3D"mw:MediaWiki 1.47/wmf.3" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rg=
b(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">MediaWiki</a></li></ul><p =
style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;fo=
nt-size:20px"><b>In depth</b></p><ul style=3D"padding:0px;color:rgb(32,33,3=
4);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:20px"><li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em"=
>On English, French, Japanese, and a few other Wikipedias, there was a=C2=
=A0<a href=3D"https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/09/02/better-detecting-bots-a=
nd-replacing-our-captcha/" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"diffblog:2025/09/02/bet=
ter-detecting-bots-and-replacing-our-captcha/" style=3D"text-decoration:non=
e;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">trial of hCaptch=
a</a>, a third-party bot detection service. The trial showed that hCaptcha =
effectively detects and deters some bad-faith automated activity, on its ow=
n and by giving=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Wikipedia:=
Village_pump_(technical)/Archive_225#Introducing_SuggestedInvestigations" c=
lass=3D"extiw" title=3D"w:en:Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 225=
" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;borde=
r-radius:2px">checkusers and stewards</a>=C2=A0signals to look into. Becaus=
e the results were positive, hCaptcha will be rolled out across all wikis o=
ver the next few weeks.=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Spec=
ial:MyLanguage/Product_Safety_and_Integrity/Anti-abuse_signals/hCaptcha" cl=
ass=3D"extiw" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage/Product Safety and Integrity/A=
nti-abuse signals/hCaptcha" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,=
204);background:none;border-radius:2px">See the hCaptcha project page</a>=
=C2=A0for technical information about the implementation and privacy protec=
tions.=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/05/04/better-detecti=
ng-bots-and-replacing-our-captcha-part-2/" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"diffblo=
g:2026/05/04/better-detecting-bots-and-replacing-our-captcha-part-2/" style=
=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radiu=
s:2px">Learn more</a>.</li><li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">The latest Com=
munity Tech update is now available, with progress across several Community=
 Wishlist initiatives, including Reading Lists expansion from the mobile ap=
p to the website, new language support for &quot;Who Wrote That&quot; and t=
he Personal Dashboard, improvements to 3D rendering and Charts, and upcomin=
g work on talk page sorting, audio playback, and editing workflows. The upd=
ate also shares current priorities, wishlist status trends, and opportuniti=
es for community feedback on future focus areas and the Wikimedia Foundatio=
n=E2=80=99s 2026=E2=80=932027 Annual Plan.=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wik=
imedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Community_Wishlist/Updates#May_13,_2026:=
_Latest_updates_from_the_Community_Tech_team" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Sp=
ecial:MyLanguage/Community Wishlist/Updates" style=3D"text-decoration:none;=
color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Read the full news=
letter for details</a>.</li></ul><p style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb=
(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:20px"><i><b><a href=3D"https://=
meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News" class=3D"extiw" title=
=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb=
(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Tech news</a></b>=C2=A0prep=
ared by=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/=
Tech/News/Writers" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/=
Writers" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:non=
e;border-radius:2px">Tech News writers</a>=C2=A0and posted by=C2=A0<a href=
=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/User:MediaWiki_messa=
ge_delivery" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/User:MediaWiki m=
essage delivery" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);backgr=
ound:none;border-radius:2px">bot</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0<a href=3D"https:/=
/meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News#contribute" class=3D"=
extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News" style=3D"text-decoration:no=
ne;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Contribute</a>=
=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyL=
anguage/Tech/News/2026/21" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Te=
ch/News/2026/21" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);backgr=
ound:none;border-radius:2px">Translate</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0<a href=3D"h=
ttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tech" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Tech" style=
=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radiu=
s:2px">Get help</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.o=
rg/wiki/Talk:Tech/News" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"" style=3D"text-decoration=
:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Give feedbac=
k</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global=
_message_delivery/Targets/Tech_ambassadors" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"" styl=
e=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radi=
us:2px">Subscribe or unsubscribe</a>.</i></p></div></div>

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