Wishing you could buy a home? It can be challenging to save enough for a down payment, given how much houses now cost. But many people don’t realize there are myriad programs that offer grants or loans to help home buyers come up with the necessary funds. “There are tons of programs to assist them,” said Deatra Kemp, an advocate for first-time home buyers in Milwaukee. The programs can ease some of the daunting numbers behind buying a house. The median price of a home has risen to more than $400,000, meaning the once-traditional 20 percent down payment — an amount paid in cash toward the purchase of a home, in addition to the amount borrowed for a mortgage — would be about $80,000. And typical house prices are significantly higher in some parts of the country. Even 5 to 10 percent down is a stretch because rising rents have made it harder for people to save to buy a home, said Teig Whaley-Smith, chief alliance executive with the Community Development Alliance, a nonprofit group in Milwaukee that promotes affordable homeownership as a path to racial equity. “For working families,” he said, “that’s next to impossible.” Plus, increasing mortgage interest rates, which drive up monthly costs, don’t help. This week, rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose above 7 percent — to an average of 7.04 percent — for the first time since May, according to Freddie Mac, the federally backed mortgage finance giant. Sonu Mittal, senior vice president and head of the single-family acquisitions division at Freddie Mac, said that outside of high prices and interest rates, which consumers can’t control, raising a down payment “continues to be the No. 1 barrier to homeownership.” But down-payment assistance options can help buyers come up with the necessary cash. When combined with loan programs that allow buyers to put less money down — as little as 3 percent of the home’s purchase price, in some cases — the help can make buying a home a reality. It’s also possible in some cases to put no money down. Two federal government programs offer zero percent down-payment loans to borrowers who meet specific criteria. The Department of Veterans Affairs offers full financing for veterans and those on active military duty, and the Department of Agriculture guarantees zero percent down-payment loans in rural areas. “Twenty percent down is a myth,” Ms. Kemp said. The typical down payment for first-time buyers in 2024 was 9 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors. Yet the notion that higher down payments are needed persists. As a result, many people of modest means don’t even consider the notion of owning a home, said Ms. Kemp, vice president of programs at Acts Housing, a nonprofit group that provides financial coaching and other services to help renters become homeowners. Still, finding the right assistance program isn’t easy. A 2023 report from the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research group, identified more than 1,600 government programs across the country designed to help with down payments. Some are offered by the federal government, others by state housing finance agencies or county and local governments. Community-funded organizations and even commercial lenders may also offer help. Most, but not all, programs serve first-time buyers, and most set income limits for borrowers — typically based on the median income in the home’s area. The dizzying assortment of programs, which have varying criteria and geographic restrictions, can make it challenging to identify and apply for available help. “Home buyers don’t know where to start,” said Ashley Moore, community lending manager with Chase Home Lending in Houston. Some programs offer grants, which don’t need to be repaid, but most offer help in the form of a low- or no-interest second mortgage, meaning there is additional debt on the home. Payments on the loans, however, are often deferred, meaning you don’t have to start paying them back right away, and the loans may be forgiven if you remain in the home for a certain period of time — often five years. Jung Hyun Choi, principal research associate with the Urban Institute’s housing finance policy center, said borrowers may combine benefits of several different down-payment programs, a practice sometimes called “stacking,” to come up with the necessary funds. But it can take time and effort to find and apply for various programs. “It’s pretty complicated,” she said, and can drag out the buying process. Groups like Acts Housing aim to help borrowers identify the right programs and often find that borrowers are eligible for more than one. “We love to stack,” Ms. Kemp said. Acts Housing recently worked with a buyer who was able to get $19,500 in down-payment assistance from a combination of grants from federal and private lenders and a city program, she said. The buyer put down less than $700 out of pocket at closing for a home in Milwaukee. “Get all the grants you deserve,” Ms. Kemp said. “Don’t leave any money on the table.” The borrower, Latoya Myrick, 44, who works in community services, said the assistance had enabled her to buy a duplex for about $200,000, realizing a longtime goal of owning her own home. She had tried before, she said, but didn’t have enough for a down payment. She closed on Jan. 6 and will soon move in. “I’m so grateful.” Other resources are emerging to help home buyers find down-payment assistance. Freddie Mac in late 2023 began offering a free online search tool, DPA One, aimed at helping lenders and housing counselors match eligible borrowers with down-payment help. “Loan officers may not even know there is a program available,” Mr. Mittal said. “We want to make sure we don’t miss those opportunities.” It’s too soon to say how many homes have been purchased because of the new offering, Mr. Mittal said, but the tool is gaining traction. About 7,000 loan officers use the tool, which now has information on about 800 programs across 50 states and the District of Columbia. (Home buyers can try DPA One, but it’s mainly intended for professionals.) Another option is Down Payment Resource, an online search tool. Borrowers enter details about themselves and the type of home they want and can get information about programs for which they may be eligible. You can also contact your state housing finance authority or work with a housing counseling agency certified by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to learn about available programs. You can search on the HUD website for agencies in your area. Here are questions and answers about mortgage down payments: Will using a down-payment assistance program cause the interest rate on my loan to be higher? Some predatory lenders may charge a higher rate to borrowers using assistance programs, Ms. Kemp said. When that happens, counselors at certified housing agencies can work with buyers to find lenders who won’t penalize borrowers using down-payment help, she said. Can I use a family gift to help with a down payment? Lenders may allow gifts from close family members to be included as part of a down payment. In 2024, 8 percent of home buyers (and 21 percent of first-time buyers) said they had used a gift from a relative or friend, according to the National Association of Realtors. You may need to provide a letter signed by the donor to document that the money doesn’t need to be repaid, according to the credit bureau Experian. Do private lenders offer assistance with down payments? Some do. Chase, for instance, offers grants of up to $7,500 in eligible areas, including federally identified neighborhoods with majority Black, Hispanic or Latino populations, that can be used toward a down payment or to reduce a home loan’s interest rate or closing costs. You can check online for available programs.

American Express said on Thursday that it would pay $230 million to settle civil and criminal allegations that the company used deceptive sales tactics related to credit card and wire transfer products sold to small business customers. The Justice Department’s civil division claimed that, from 2014 through 2017, the credit card and travel services giant misrepresented its card rewards and fees, and whether credit checks would be done without a customer’s consent. The Justice Department also said the company had submitted falsified financial information for prospective customers, such as overstating a business’s income. American Express was also accused of tricking its bank into issuing credit cards to small business customers without employer identification numbers, or E.I.N.s, which are required for certain businesses, the department said. Then, from 2018 to 2021, the department claimed, American Express deceptively sold wire transfer products known as Payroll Rewards and Premium Wire, making false claims about the products’ tax benefits. The Justice Department settlement includes a $108.7 million civil payment related to those allegations. American Express also entered a separate nonprosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York to resolve a criminal investigation related to the Payroll Rewards and Premium Wire products. The company will pay about $138 million to resolve that matter. Amex also said on Thursday that it had reached an agreement in principle with the Federal Reserve System to resolve investigations into the same practices. The settlements include a potential credit the company is expected to receive, bringing the overall total penalty to $230 million, American Express said. The credit card giant said it “cooperated extensively” with the agencies and its regulators, and took “voluntary action” to address the issue. That included discontinuing certain products, conducting a comprehensive internal review and taking disciplinary measures, making organizational changes and enhancing its internal controls. American Express said the settlement costs were already set aside and disclosed in prior periods and will not affect its 2024 earnings guidance.

Still looking for a New Year’s resolution for self-improvement? Consider keeping a journal, which studies have shown might help with one’s mental well-being and anxiety issues, while also providing a creative outlet for personal expression. Handsome paper-based diaries and notebooks are available if you want to go the screen-free sensory route, but if you prefer a more multimedia approach to journaling, wake up your phone. Free apps that come with Apple’s iOS software and Google’s Android system allow you to add photos, audio clips and more to corral your thoughts — and set up electronic reminders to write regularly. Here’s an overview. Getting Started Keeping a digital diary requires a few basic steps: picking an app, writing an entry and adding new posts on a regular basis. And don’t let the fear of typing long contemplative dispatches on a small screen dissuade you. Just dictate your thoughts to your iPhone or Android phone with its transcription tools, although check its privacy policy if you’re nervous about your data. Using Apple’s Journal Apple released its Journal app in December 2023 and added new features last year in its iOS 18 update, including the ability to print entries. (The app is not yet available for the iPad.) To set it up, just find the Journal icon on your home screen or in the App Library, open it and follow the onscreen instructions. To compose a journal entry, tap the plus icon (+) at the bottom of the screen and select the New Entry button at the top of the next screen or under a suggested topic. Go to the text field to title your entry and start writing — or tap the microphone icon at the bottom corner of the keyboard to dictate. In the row of icons above the keyboard, you can format the text with bold, italic or other styles; get more topic suggestions; add photos from the library or the camera; add an audio recording; and note your location. You can describe your current mood with the State of Mind screen, which can be shared with the Health app (if you allow it). With your permission, the app shows you a list of topic suggestions drawn from your photos, locations and activities. You can turn off the suggestions by opening the iPhone’s Settings icon, selecting Apps, choosing Journal and tapping the button next to Skip Journaling Suggestions. While you’re in the Journal settings, you can set other controls, like requiring Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode to unlock it or backing up your entries online to iCloud. You can also set up a schedule for journaling and enable notifications nudging you to write. You can bookmark and edit your compositions by tapping the three-dot menu icon in each entry’s lower-right corner. The Journal app has a search function for looking up older entries if you don’t feel like scrolling back in time. Using Google Keep Google has yet to release a similar dedicated journaling app, but its 12-year-old Google Keep can do the job, organizing notes, audio clips, web pages, photos and drawings. To use it, you need a Google account and the Keep app. The app is available for Android and iOS (including the iPad), and Keep content is backed up online, where it can be viewed in a web browser. Once you’ve installed the Keep app, open it and tap the plus button (+) in the bottom-right corner to start an entry. Using the icons at the bottom of the text-entry screen allows you to do things like add a photo or give the entry a background color. Creating and adding a “journal” label filters your posts from other notes or lists you may use within the app. And while Keep, unlike Apple’s Journal, can’t pepper you with suggestions, you can ask Google’s Gemini or your favorite artificial intelligence assistant for topic ideas. Other Options Samsung Galaxy users have the Samsung Notes app as another diary option, and keeping a journal on one of the company’s pen-based tablets recreates the pen-to-paper vibe for the electronic age. If you want a journal app with additional features (like automatically adding the day’s weather conditions), you have plenty of other choices, but you’ll probably need to pay for the premium product. Among the many apps that work on most platforms are Day One (about $3 a month), Diarium ($10 to buy) and the ambitious, A.I.-powered Reflectary (about $7 a month). Journal apps make it easier to write about your life without the performative aspect of social media. And paying less attention to what everyone else is doing gives you more time to spend on yourself.

By checking in early and getting to the gate with plenty of time, you’ve done everything right. But then the airline throws a curveball, announcing an overbooked flight. Instead of boarding passengers, gate agents ask for volunteers to give up their seats. Then they stop asking and start bumping passengers off the flight. And they may call your name. This situation, which can be deeply inconvenient, is entirely legal. Airlines are allowed to oversell flights, a practice relied on to account for no-shows and to maximize revenue. Another reason they bump passengers? To swap aircraft for a smaller one with fewer seats because of factors such as weight restrictions or maintenance issues. The good news from this bad situation? Passengers can generally expect to get compensated when they’re bumped, either voluntarily or involuntarily — and in amounts that could be quite attractive. First, know what you are entitled to. In an airline’s contract of carriage, the document usually found online outlining what an airline expects from and owes passengers, carriers say they will rebook bumped passengers — whether voluntarily or involuntarily — on later flights. The rebooked flight may be on another carrier, and there are no requirements as to when the second flight must depart. In its contract of carriage, Delta Air Lines, for instance, says the passenger will be placed “on its next flight on which space is available.” Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The Transportation Department does mandate compensation for this inconvenience, but it is up to airlines to decide how much to offer and in what form. Cash, flight credits or vouchers are most frequently offered. Generally, passengers will not be bumped after they have boarded the plane. (There are some exceptions, the D.O.T. said, such as onboard unruly behavior.) Volunteers should negotiate the compensation — the payouts may not be the same for all travelers. There is no limit to the amount of compensation that can be offered to volunteers, and gate agents will often raise amounts to entice passengers, who can then negotiate for more. Sometimes compensation can rise to the thousands of dollars, according to passenger reports, and exceed the original ticket fare. Agents will ask for volunteers over the airport intercom, or passengers will see an offer on the airline’s app, or through the app’s text messages. Airlines typically like a private approach where some passengers may accept lower offers than they might in a public negotiation, said Robert Mann, an aviation analyst and a former American Airlines executive. Less frequent customers tend to be contacted first, he added. Airlines are not required to grant all volunteers the same compensation, said Katy Nastro, an expert at the Going travel app. Compensation needs to be given at the airport or sent within 24 hours, according to the Transportation Department: Checks may be sent via the mail, or a flight voucher may be deposited in a passenger’s airline account. Compensation may be more than money or flight vouchers. In particularly desperate scenarios, Ms. Nastro added, airlines may be willing to negotiate further perks beyond a flight, which may include business class seats, a direct route, food, accommodation and lounge access. “There is no limit, per D.O.T. regulation, for voluntary amounts,” she said. “The sky is the limit there.” Not enough volunteers? The carrier will then involuntarily bump passengers. The first passengers to get bumped tend to be those who were the last to check in, said Sally French, a travel expert for the personal finance company NerdWallet. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT In their contracts of carriages, airlines provide more details about their approach to denied boarding. Carriers usually give the following passengers priority on flights with overbooked seats: unaccompanied minors, those with elite frequent flier status or flying in premium cabins, and passengers who require special assistance. There are minimum compensation amounts for involuntarily bumping. In most cases, involuntarily bumped passengers will receive compensation. This can be a check if that’s your preference, per D.O.T. rules. For flights within the United States or departing from the United States out of the country, the amount passengers receive, according to the D.O.T., depends on factors including the ticket price, the length of their delay, and whether their flights were domestic or international. The D.O.T. lays out the minimum owed amounts on its website, although airlines may pay more. In one example, if a rebooked traveler on a domestic flight arrives between one and two hours after they should have on their original itinerary, the airline must pay 200 percent of the passenger’s one-way fare, or $775, whichever is lower. If a bumped traveler on a rebooked domestic flight arrives at their destination more than two hours later than they would have on their original itinerary, airlines could pay as much as 400 percent of the passenger’s one-way fare, or $1,550, whichever is lowest. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Situations may arise when no compensation will be offered. Passengers who are involuntarily denied boarding should not expect compensation if they missed the flight’s check-in deadline or if, on their replacement flight after being bumped, they arrive within an hour of their original scheduled time. Additionally, passengers who are bumped because the carrier changed the flight to a smaller aircraft should not expect compensation. If passengers were denied boarding because of weight and safety constraints that arose on a plane with between 30 and 60 seats, according to the D.O.T., they will not receive compensation. Charter flights and flights on planes with fewer than 30 seats are also exempt from the D.O.T.’s compensation rules. You should receive compensation if you are involuntarily bumped while flying to, within or out of the European Union on certain carriers. According to European Union regulations, passengers rights and compensation for voluntary bumping work similarly to those in the United States. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The compensation for involuntary bumping depend on distance: Passengers should receive 250 euros (around $258) for flights up to 1,500 kilometers (932 miles); 400 euros for flights between 1,500 kilometers and 3,500 kilometers, and for flights of more than 1,500 kilometers within Europe; and 600 euros for flights more than 3,500 kilometers. These travelers are also eligible for a rebooked flight or a refund, and assistance from the airline in the form of meals, refreshments and accommodation, said Tomasz Pawliszyn, the chief executive of AirHelp, a Berlin-based company that assists passengers with airline claims. Travelers denied boarding on a connecting flight because of a delayed first flight are also entitled to compensation, in amounts ranging from 125 to 300 euros, depending on distance and delay. These rights apply to flights within the European Union and operated by any airline; international flights arriving into the European Union and operated by an E.U.-based airline, and flights departing from the European Union to a country out of the bloc and operated by any airline. Know how to protect yourself from being involuntarily bumped. Experts emphasize that checking in early online, or through the carrier’s app, could help you avoid a denied boarding. They also suggest attaching frequent flier information, if you have it, to your booking. Finally, it never hurts to get to the airport early. For more travel advice, visit our collection of Travel 101 tips and hacks.

The Social Security Administration receives billions in free money each year from an unexpected source: undocumented immigrants. This group paid an estimated $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes in 2022, according to a recent analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning tax research group. Since unauthorized workers cannot collect retirement and other Social Security benefits without a change to their immigration status, the billions they pour into the program effectively act as a subsidy for American beneficiaries. President-elect Donald J. Trump has vowed to carry out the nation’s largest mass deportation program to date, and restrict legal pathways to immigration. It’s hard to predict whether the incoming administration will be able to follow through with its most aggressive promises, among them sending home the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States, most of whom are of working age. But if the White House does follow through, economists project a broad drag on the economy — and it could cost Social Security roughly $20 billion in cash flow annually, according to actuaries at the Social Security Administration, which sends benefits to 68 million Americans each month, totaling $1.5 trillion last year. Social Security has faced a financing shortfall for years, partly because of demographic shifts. Falling birthrates mean fewer people are paying into the program, thousands of baby boomers are retiring daily, and retirees are collecting benefits for longer periods. “America’s demographic realities are increasingly challenging for financing programs like Social Security,” said Shai Akabas, executive director of the economic policy program at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonprofit. “Net immigration into the country is one factor that has positively pushed against that trend and helped fill the gap left by an aging work force.” The trust fund that pays Social Security’s retiree benefits is expected to run dry in 2033, when tax revenue will be enough to pay 79 percent of scheduled benefits. That means beneficiaries’ checks would be reduced by 21 percent if Congress did nothing. (Legislators are expected to do something, though there is a debate about the best approach to shore up the program.) Major shifts to immigration policy could have ripple effects on Social Security. The net immigration rate was projected to drive population growth — and account for all population increases beginning in 2040 because American fertility rates are so low, according to a 2024 report from the Congressional Budget Office. “If the immigrant work force declines, that will likely worsen Social Security’s financial picture in the near term and require more significant reforms elsewhere,” said Mr. Akabas of the Bipartisan Policy Center, which recently studied the issue. “That said, the broader questions of immigration policy and border security require careful thought that goes beyond their impact on the Social Security program.” To get a sense of how different levels of immigration — both lawful and otherwise — can alter the program’s finances over the long term, we can look at the Social Security Administration’s latest annual trustees report, which forecasts the financial health of the combined trust fund for retiree and disability benefits over a 75-year period starting in 2024. (Social Security’s shortfall is often measured as a percentage of the total payroll covered by the program, or all the wages subject to payroll taxes, the program’s dedicated funding source.)

Traveling off-season, booking early, playing with flexible dates and going somewhere off the beaten path are tried-and-true budget travel strategies. But each year brings traffic patterns and perennial sales that can cue savvy travelers on when to book and when to travel. Whatever the timing, it pays to shop for travel during low-demand spots on the calendar well in advance; that means usually booking domestic airfares 30 to 60 days out and international trips three to five months in advance. Reserve lodgings ahead, too, but make sure they are refundable so that if prices drop you can rebook at the lower rate. Caveats notwithstanding, the following are key times to put on your calendar for the best buys in travel. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT January and February: ‘The best months’ The year kicks off with two of the cheapest months to travel — outside of ski destinations, anyhow. Most travelers have returned from holiday travel and kids are back in school, leaving those with flexible schedules a lot of leeway on where to go at low prices. “Prices are some of the lowest that you see throughout the year,” said Hayley Berg, the chief economist at the travel booking app Hopper, “and it’s a time of year where you can even book last-minute airfare, and still often get a deal.” For trips in January and February, fliers can expect to spend 15 percent less on flights and 45 percent less on hotel rooms compared with summer rates, according to the online travel agency Expedia. During those months, cities like Washington and Chicago lure visitors with dining and theater events in which meals and shows are discounted. New York now combines its dining, Broadway and hotel promotions in a single event, the NYC Winter Outing, Jan. 21 to Feb. 9. “My tip for finding the off-season in any destination is to Google a city and ‘restaurant week,’” said Samantha Brown, the host of the PBS travel show “Places to Love.” The period right after New Year’s isn’t just a good time to travel, but also to book trips further out. You may see tour sales — Exodus Adventure Travels has one through Jan. 20 — and Omio, the transportation booking app that covers trains, buses and ferries as well as flights, says January is the last chance to find low fares for European travel in May, June and July. ‘Wave season’ in cruising Sales in the cruise industry crest in the first quarter, January through March. This is wave season, when cruise lines issue some of their biggest booking incentives of the year. The offers aim to reach travelers as they are planning their summer vacations in a season when the promise of life at sea is more alluring than the views at home. Deals often take the form of inclusions or upgrades, but discounts can be found, too. Holland America Line released its wave season sale this year in December, offering departures from $129 per person per day in an upgraded cabin with a balcony. Princess has deals up to 40 percent off and $99 refundable deposits. The early bookings get ships off to a good start occupancy-wise and enable them to resist slashing future rates to fill cabins. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT “Given the continued increase in travel overall and particularly in cruising, planning ahead can net a huge savings,” said Jenn Lee, the president of Vacation Planners, a travel agency network. ‘Dead weeks’ Busy spring breaks and busier summers seem to crowd out deals in prime months. But here and there, throughout the year, lie a few sweet spots that the travel industry calls dead weeks. “Dead weeks are defined by a total lull in travel when hotels and airfare are markedly lower,” Ms. Brown said. If you plan in advance, she added, airfares can be half off and hotels about a third off. Pockets of opportunity pepper the calendar. Expedia calls out the first week of March — roughly between Presidents’ Day and the onset of spring break — and the last week of April, for cheaper and less busy flights. The last two weeks of August can offer bargains, too, as long as you avoid Labor Day weekend. Late August fares average $140 less than peak summer fares, according to Expedia. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT But the biggest dead period is right after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, a trough between peaks. There are exceptions — for example, European Christmas market destinations — but even among these, the first week of December can be a better time to visit before the holiday shopping throngs arrive. Consider a Caribbean vacation just before or just after Thanksgiving, advises Andrew Hedley, the director of business development at Tamarind Hills resort in Antigua. “The festive spirit begins to stir, but you’ll avoid the premium prices and packed resorts that come with the holidays,” Mr. Hedley said. The fall price slump Travel booking sites say airfares generally peak in June. But they usually come back down by September. Low fares tend to run through October. (Remember to book in advance to get the best deals). “The best time of the year, hands down, for domestic and most international trips is September and October when the prices typically drop about 30 percent of where they are in June,” said Ms. Berg, of Hopper. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT According to the booking platform Vrbo, September is among the cheapest months to stay in a vacation rental. The reliability of fall as a better buy is being eroded in some destinations as travelers seek to escape the crowds and heat associated with summer travel. In a recent report, the high-end tour company Kensington said fall reservations in Europe rose nearly 5 percent over summer bookings. Beware of weather risks in tropical destinations in the fall, which coincides with the last few months of hurricane season. Year-end deals As a travel event, Black Friday has exploded in recent years as travel companies try to attract shoppers in the season of spending. Black Friday sales often start in early November and run through Cyber Week, or the week after Thanksgiving, which includes Travel Tuesday. Between Black Friday and Travel Tuesday, airfares run 25 to 30 percent below flights usually departing in January through May, according to Dollar Flight Club, a membership service that specializes in cheap airfares. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT “The sweet spot for these deals is international flights, especially to Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, where airlines compete to attract early planners,” said Jesse Neugarten, the founder and chief executive of Dollar Flight Club. If Bermuda is on your list, check out the destination’s annual Pink Sale, which starts in late December and runs through January. Hotel offers tend to run 25 to 35 percent off for travel dates throughout the year. Travel agents call Christmas and New Year’s weeks “festive season,” when travel prices tend to spike with holiday traffic. But if you’re looking for a bargain city hotel, try the week leading up to Christmas. At HotelTonight, an app for last-minute hotel deals in 94 countries, rates on Christmas Eve go for about 37 percent less than they do on New Year’s Eve.

Fable, a popular app for talking about and tracking books, is changing the way it creates personalized summaries for its users after complaints that an artificial intelligence model used offensive language. One summary suggested that a reader of Black narratives should also read white authors. In an Instagram post this week, Chris Gallello, the head of product at Fable, addressed the problem of A.I.-generated summaries on the app, saying that Fable began receiving complaints about “very bigoted racist language, and that was shocking to us.” He gave no examples, but he was apparently referring to at least one Fable reader’s summary posted as a screenshot on Threads, which rounded up the book choices the reader, Tiana Trammell, had made, saying: “Your journey dives deep into the heart of Black narratives and transformative tales, leaving mainstream stories gasping for air. Don’t forget to surface for the occasional white author, okay?” Fable replied in a comment under the post, saying that a team would work to resolve the problem. In his longer statement on Instagram, Mr. Gallello said that the company would introduce safeguards. These included disclosures that summaries were generated by artificial intelligence, the ability to opt out of them and a thumbs-down button that would alert the app to a potential problem. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Ms. Trammell, who lives in Detroit, downloaded Fable in October to track her reading. Around Christmas, she had read books that prompted summaries related to the holiday. But just before the new year, she finished three books by Black authors. On Dec. 29, when Ms. Trammell saw her Fable summary, she was stunned. “I thought: ‘This cannot be what I am seeing. I am clearly missing something here,’” she said in an interview on Friday. She shared the summary with fellow book club members and on Fable, where others shared offensive summaries that they, too, had received or seen. One person who read books about people with disabilities was told her choices “could earn an eye-roll from a sloth.” Another said a reader’s books were “making me wonder if you’re ever in the mood for a straight, cis white man’s perspective.” Mr. Gallello said the A.I. model was intended to create a “fun sentence or two” taken from book descriptions, but some of the results were “disturbing” in what was intended to be a “safe space” for readers. Filters for offensive language and topics failed to stop the offensive content, he added. Fable’s head of community, Kim Marsh Allee, said in an email on Friday that two users received summaries “that are completely unacceptable to us as a company and do not reflect our values.” She said all of the features that use A.I. were being removed, including summaries and year-end reading wraps, and a new app version was being submitted to the app store. The use of A.I. has become an independent and timesaving but potentially problematic voice in many communities, including religious congregations and news organizations. With A.I.’s entry in the world of books, Fable’s action highlights the technology’s ability, or failure, to navigate the subtle interpretations of events and language that are necessary for ethical behavior. It also asks to what extent employees should check the work of A.I. models before letting the content loose. Some public libraries use apps to create online book clubs. In California, San Mateo County public libraries offered premium access to the Fable app through its library cards. Apps, including Fable, Goodreads and The StoryGraph, have become popular forums for online book clubs, and to share recommendations, reading lists and genre preferences. Some readers responded online to Fable, saying they were switching to other book-tracking apps or criticizing the use of any artificial intelligence in a forum meant to celebrate and amplify human creativity through the written word. “Just hire actual, professional copywriters to write a capped number of reader personality summaries and then approve them before they go live. 2 million users do not need ‘individually tailored’ snarky summaries,” one reader said in reply to Fable’s statement. Another reader who learned on social media about the controversy pointed out that the A.I. model “knew to capitalize Black and not white” but still generated racist content. She added that it showed some creators of A.I. technology “lack the deeper understanding of how to apply these concepts toward breaking down systems of oppression and discriminatory perspectives.” Mr. Gallello said that Fable was deeply sorry. “This is not what we want, and it shows that we have not done enough,” he said, adding that Fable hoped to earn back trust. After she received the summary, Ms. Trammell deleted the app. “It was the presumption that I do not read outside of my own race,” she said. “And the implication that I should read outside of my own race if that was not my prerogative.”