Social network Bluesky has released a new update to its app that includes a separate mentions tab in notifications, protections against username squatting, and new controls for replies sorting. The company announced that it is adding a new mentions tab with the v1.96 rollout to let you see those posts separately. Until now, all notifications…
Category: Apps
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, iconfactory, mobile apps, Open Web, Social, social media, tapestry
Tapestry, a new app for tracking social media, news, blogs, and more, will launch in ‘early 2025’
A new app called Tapestry promising to unify social media, news, and RSS in one place, is nearing completion. Designed by Iconfactory, the same team that created the third-party Twitter client Twitterific back in the day, Tapestry was unveiled at the beginning of the year as a tool that could better organize today’s fragmented online…
AI, Apps, Artificial Intelligence, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, Social
Instagram teases AI tools for editing appearances, backgrounds in videos using prompts
Instagram head Adam Mosseri is teasing upcoming generative AI features for the social app that will allow creators to “change nearly any aspect” of their videos using text prompts. The editing tools will be powered by Meta’s Movie Gen AI model, and are expected to launch on the social network sometime next year, Mosseri said…
apple dma, apple dma interoperability specification proceedings, Apps, Europe, Global Security News, Government & Policy, ios dma interoperability
EU asks for views on plan to force Apple to open up iOS
The European Commission has published draft proposals for how Apple must meet interoperability requirements flowing from the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) — inviting feedback on proposed measures targeted at areas like iOS notifications, data transfer, and device set-up by January 9, 2025. European Union regulators then have until around mid March to adopt final…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, photos, Social, social media, Threads
Instagram Threads adds ‘Use Media’ feature for resharing photos and videos
Threads is introducing a new way to reshare photos and videos on its social network. Instead of quote posting the original post and then adding commentary, Threads users will instead be able to click a new option, “Use Media,” allowing them to just reshare the photo or video directly to a new post where they…
android apps, app ecosystem, app store, appfigures, Apple, Apps, Global Security News, Google Play, iOS apps, TC
App downloads decline 2.3% in 2024, but consumer spending grows to $127B
The global app economy continued to recover in 2024, after an earlier slowdown in 2022 — at least in terms of consumer spending. In 2024, global consumer spending in mobile apps and games reached $127 billion across the App Store and Google Play, up 15.7% from the prior year. However, those increases were driven by…
Apps, DoorDash, drone delivery, Global IT News, Global Security News, Transportation, wing
Wing and DoorDash launch drone deliveries in Dallas-Fort Worth
Alphabet’s Wing announced on Wednesday that it’s expanding its partnership with DoorDash to bring drone delivery to customers in the the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Customers in the area will now be able to order food from 50 merchants located in Stonebriar Centre in Frisco and Hulen Mall in Fort Worth. Wing says its drones can…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Social, supreme court, TikTok, TikTok Ban
Supreme Court to hear arguments over TikTok sell-or-ban law
The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it will hear ByteDance and TikTok’s challenge to a law would ban the social network in the U.S. unless the social network divests from Chinese ownership by January 19. On January 10, the Supreme Court justices will hear argue about whether the sell-or-ban law violates the First Amendment.…
activitypub, Apps, at proto, Bluesky, fediverse, flipboard, Global IT News, Global Security News, Mastodon, open social web, Social, social media, surf, TC
Flipboard lauches Surf, a new app for browing the open social web
Social magazine app maker Flipboard is reinventing itself for the new era of the open social web. While the company’s original app allowed users to collect content from blogs, news websites, and traditional social media services like Facebook and Twitter in order to create curated magazines, its new app called Surf, launching into invite-only beta…
Access, App, Apps, Funding, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, new york city, nyc, restaurant industry, Restaurants, startup, Startups, subscription
Access bets people will pay thousands of dollars a year for guaranteed restaurant reservations
Once, not long ago, booking a table at a hot new restaurant didn’t entail a midnight dash to Resy. Truly, we didn’t know how good we had it then. Hours-long lines out the door are now the norm, not the exception, in major cities from New York to Los Angeles. One reason is that restaurants…
AI, Apps, artifical intelligence, CAA, Celebs, Global IT News, Global Security News, YouTube
YouTube to test a way for creators and celebrities to find AI-generated content using their likeness
YouTube is partnering with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to help celebrities, athletes, and creators identify content that uses their AI-generated likeness on the platform. The tool, which YouTube will begin testing early next year, will let these professionals submit requests for the removal of their AI-generated likeness. YouTube will first make the tool available for…
Apps, Bending Spoons, File Transfer, Global IT News, Global Security News, subscriptions, WeTrasnfer
WeTransfer’s free plan now has a monthly limit of 10 transfers
File transfer service WeTransfer is now limiting users to 10 transfers per month with its free plan. The company is already applying the new limit to users, as per a support page. At the same time, WeTransfer is adding some perks to the free plan, including increasing the overall file transfer limit from 2GB to…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, scheduling, Social, Threads
Threads is testing a post scheduling feature
Meta’s social network Threads is experimenting with a feature that will let you schedule posts, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said. Users who will get to test this feature won’t be able to schedule replies. “We want to balance giving people more control to plan their Threads posts while still encouraging real-time conversations,” he said. People…
Apps, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, grubhub, In Brief
Grubhub to pay $25M for ‘deceptive’ practices against customers, drivers
Grubhub will pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul over unlawful practices, including misleading customers about delivery costs, deceiving drivers about potential earnings, and listing restaurants on its platform without their permission. The agencies claim that Grubhub hid the true cost of its delivery…
AI, Apps, coda, Global IT News, Global Security News, grammarly, Startups
Grammarly acquires productivity startup Coda, brings on new CEO
Grammarly is acquiring productivity startup Coda, the company announced on Tuesday. As part of the deal, Coda’s CEO and co-founder Shishir Mehrotra will become the new CEO of Grammarly. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition will help turn Grammarly’s AI assistant into an “AI productivity platform” thanks to the addition…
Apps, artists, Global IT News, Global Security News, music streaming, soundcloud
SoundCloud introduces a cheaper plan for artists
Music streaming platform SoundCloud announced Tuesday that it is introducing a new, cheaper paid plan for artists simply called Artist, while renaming its Next Pro plan to Artist Pro. The new basic tier will cost $39 per year and put some limits on features like track amplification, distribution, monetization, and AI mastering. Artists subscribing to…
Apps, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, junk fees, Lina Khan
FTC bans hidden junk fees in short-term lodging, live-event ticket prices
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission passed a rule on Tuesday banning hidden “junk fees” for live events, hotels, and vacation rentals. The agency says the new rule prohibits “bait-and-switch pricing,” and other practices that hide total prices and bury junk fees in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries, noting that these “unfair and deceptive”…
Apps, AstroPay, Fintech, foreign exchange, Global IT News, Global Security News, LATAM, multi-currency wallet, payment, Startups
Popular LatAm digital payment service AstroPay launches multi-currency wallet
AstroPay has been around since 2009. The bootstrapped company currently has 320 employees and is profitable. And yet, it’s not a name that comes up often in startup news. The company originally started its life as a payment service provider focused on Latin America — an alternative payment method that you would find next to the…
Apps, Automattic, Enterprise, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, pineapple pizza, TC, wordpress
Pineapple on pizza is delicious — and if you disagree, you can’t log in to WordPress.org
There are few matters in life that divide a room more than the prudence of putting pineapple on pizza. But if you’re of the persuasion that tropical fruit has no place on a pie, you’ll have to swallow a bitter pill — if you want to access the WordPress.org developer portal and forum, at least.…
adam mosseri, Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social, TC, Threads
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads now has 100M daily active users
Meta’s X rival Threads is growing steadily with more than 100 million people using the service daily, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Monday. Zuckerberg also noted that Threads now has 300 million monthly active users, up from 275 million monthly active users in November. While Meta has regularly released updated numbers about monthly active…
AI, Apps, ChatGPT, chatgpt search, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, openai, Search, web search
OpenAI brings its AI-powered web search tool to more ChatGPT users
ChatGPT Search, OpenAI’s AI-powered web search experience, is now live for all ChatGPT users — with several new features in tow. By default, ChatGPT will automatically determine which questions to route through ChatGPT Search, or users can tap a new “Search the web” icon in the ChatGPT interface. ChatGPT Search shows summarized answers from different…
Apps, direct messages, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Social
Instagram now lets you schedule DMs
Instagram has quietly rolled out the ability for users to schedule direct messages. The Meta-owned social network confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday that the new feature is rolling out to all users globally. The option to schedule DMs will be especially useful for creators and brands that want to schedule outreach messages at optimal times.…
Apps, evergreens, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Instagram Threads, Meta, Social, Threads
What is Instagram’s Threads app? All your questions answered
Twitter alternatives — new and old — have found audiences willing to try out a newer social networks since Elon Musk took over the company in 2022. Mastodon, Bluesky, Spill and T2 are some of the social media platforms people are among them. So is Meta’s Threads platform. What is Threads? How do you create…
Apps, Creators, Global IT News, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, YouTube, YouTube comments
YouTube’s latest test lets creators post voice notes as comments
YouTube is experimenting with a new way to engage fans by giving creators the ability to post voice notes and reply to comments on their videos, the company announced on Monday. The ability to post voice notes is limited to certain creators in the U.S. for the time being. YouTube says they’ll only be able…
Apps, Creators, Global IT News, Global Security News, Snap, Snapchat, Social
Snapchat introduces a unified monetization program for creators
Snapchat is introducing a revamped, unified monetization program for creators. The new program will reward creators for both content posted to Stories and Spotlight, its TikTok copycat. Previously, Snapchat monetized these two formats through separate programs. Under the new program, creators will earn revenue from ads displayed within eligible Stories and Spotlight posts. “With Spotlight…
app store, Apple, Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, iOS apps, iphone apps, top apps
Temu is the most-downloaded app on the U.S. App Store in 2024
Chinese shopping app Temu was once again the most downloaded free app in the U.S., according to a list of top apps and games across the App Store released by Apple on Monday. The shopping app last year moved into the No. 1 slot, stealing the position from TikTok which held the title in in…
AI, Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, Google NotebookLM, notebooklm
Google’s NotebookLM now lets you to talk to its AI podcast hosts
A few months ago, Google’s NotebookLM note-taking app debuted an Audio Overviews feature that generates a podcast with AI virtual hosts based on information you have shared with the app. Now, NotebookLM is rolling out the ability for users to interact with the AI podcast hosts. The idea behind Audio Overviews and the AI hosts…
agentspace, AI, Apps, Enterprise, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, google cloud, Media & Entertainment, notebooklm
Google debuts NotebookLM for enterprises
Google’s bringing its viral NotebookLM app to the enterprise via a new service for Google Cloud customers, Agentspace. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, video calls, WhatsApp
WhatsApp lets you select specific people within a group to start a group call without disturbing anyone
WhatsApp announced that it had added new video calling features just before the holidays, including participant selection for group video calls, better resolution, and a revamped call tab on the desktop. This is another step from Meta in making WhatsApp a viable option for both personal and work calls instead of using Google Meet or…
AI, Apps, Enterprise, evergreens, gemini, Gemini Pro, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, google gemini
Google Gemini: Everything you need to know about the generative AI models
Gemini is Google’s long-promised, next-gen generative AI model family. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, Social, TikTok, YouTube
Nearly half of US teens are online almost constantly, Pew study finds
Nearly half of teens in the U.S. are online almost constantly, and the platform they’re using the most is YouTube, a new study from the Pew Research Center has found. The center reports that 46% of teens say they’re online “almost constantly,” and 90% of teens it surveyed said they use the Google-owned video platform,…