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Spotify and Epic Games call Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan ‘confusing,’ ‘illegal’ and ‘unacceptable’

Sarah Perez — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 18:59:19 +0000

Count Spotify and Epic Games among the Apple critics who are not happy with the iPhone maker’s newly revised compliance plan for the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Shortly after Apple announced the updated version on Tuesday, including loosened restrictions along with the addition of two more fees, Spotify shared a statement with TechCrunch […]

Thursday, the dating app that you can use only on Thursdays, expands to San Francisco

Lauren Forristal — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 18:58:31 +0000

Thursday seeks to shake up conventional online dating in a crowded market. The app, which recently expanded to San Francisco, fosters intentional dating by restricting user access to Thursdays. At midnight, all matches disappear. The idea is that by restricting usage to one day a week, potential matches will be encouraged to set up real-life meetings […]

Instagram is embracing the ‘photo dump’

Aisha Malik — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 17:38:48 +0000

Instagram is rolling out the ability for users to add up to 20 photos or videos to their feed carousels, as the platform embraces the trend of “photo dumps.” Back in 2017, Instagram added the ability to post up to 10 photos or videos in one swipeable carousel post. Now, you can post double the […]

As X sues advertisers over boycott, the app ditches all ads from its top subscription tier

Sarah Perez — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 16:09:20 +0000

The X account announced that its Premium+ subscription would now be "fully" ad-free, leading some to question how this change would affect creator earnings.

Apple revises DMA compliance for App Store link-outs, applying fewer restrictions and a new fee structure

Natasha Lomas — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Apple has further revised its compliance plan for the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) rulebook, which, since March, has forced it to give iOS developers more freedom over how they can distribute and promote their content on its mobile platform. The iPhone maker is already under investigation by the European Commission for suspected noncompliance […]

How to enable Wikipedia’s dark mode

Ivan Mehta — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 14:37:00 +0000

If you visited the Wikipedia website on mobile this week, you might have seen a pop-up indicating that dark mode is ready for prime time.

TikTok partners with Warner Bros. to become a discovery engine for TV and movies

Lauren Forristal — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 13:00:22 +0000

TikTok’s latest offering is capitalizing on the app’s ability to serve as a discovery engine for other media — something its users already take advantage of by sharing short clips of movies and TV shows. Today, the company is partnering with studios like Warner Bros. to launch a feature that lets users discover movies and […]

Feeling Great’s new therapy app translates its psychiatrist co-founder’s experience into AI

Ivan Mehta — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Seeking mental health support is a complex process, but some founders believe that using AI to formalize techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help folks who might not have access to professionals. Dr. David Burns, who has over 40 years of experience in the field of psychiatry, has now built an app, Feeling Great, […]

Bilingual dictation assistant Silvia understands ‘Spanglish’ and other language mixtures

Devin Coldewey — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 07:15:00 +0000

Natural language AI assistants tend to be excellent English speakers, and passable in other tongues — but if you are one of the millions who fluidly switch between two languages on the fly, they’re stumped. A new AI helper called Silvia, however, understands “Spanglish” just fine, with more language combos to come. The app — […]

YouTube is testing a feature that lets creators use Google Gemini to brainstorm video ideas

Aisha Malik — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 22:15:13 +0000

YouTube is testing an integration with Google Gemini to help creators brainstorm video ideas, titles and thumbnails. The Google-owned company announced the launch of the new Brainstorm with Gemini feature in a video posted to its Creator Insider channel. A YouTube spokesperson told TechCrunch that the feature is available to select creators as a part […]

Newly launched social network Maven loses its co-founders

Rebecca Bellan — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:53:39 +0000

Just three months after Maven’s public launch, Kenneth Stanley — the former OpenAI researcher who co-founded the social media platform designed to facilitate serendipitous interactions — is stepping down. Stanley posted on Maven and X that despite enthusiastic responses to the platform’s launch, Maven “could not achieve the kind of growth curve that investors want […]

ChatGPT’s mobile app just had its biggest month yet

Sarah Perez — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:34:57 +0000

With the arrival of ChatGPT's new Advanced Voice Mode, which offers nearly real-time, realistic interactions, Appfigures expects growth to continue in the months to come.

Napkin turns text into visuals with a bit of generative AI

Kyle Wiggers — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Napkin wants to use generative AI to make turning text into visualizations as easy as clicking on a button and customizing the results.

Audible is testing an AI-powered search feature

Lauren Forristal — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Audible, the audiobook company owned by Amazon, announced on Wednesday that it is testing an AI-powered search feature to assist users in narrowing down their audiobook search. Starting today, select U.S. customers can interact with “Maven,” Audible’s new personal recommendation expert that surfaces title suggestions based on users’ specific requests. A user can use natural […]

Google Assistant lives to automate another day

Brian Heater — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 20:16:38 +0000

With new Pixel devices just over the horizon, Assistant’s days on Android may still be numbered. For the time being, however, it still has a place on the home.

X is getting closer to launching its payment service

Lauren Forristal — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 18:00:11 +0000

X (formerly Twitter) appears to be making progress on its upcoming payments system, bringing it closer to Elon Musk’s vision of turning X into an “everything app.” According to a recent finding by app researcher Nima Owji, the company is working on adding a “Payments” button to the navigation bar under the bookmarks tab. Owji, […]

Bluesky adds Techdirt founder Mike Masnick to its board

Sarah Perez — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 16:57:48 +0000

According to a company blog post, the team was already leaning on Masnick for advice, so adding him to the board is a "natural next step" in formalizing their relationship.

Flighty’s popular flight-tracking app can now predict delays using machine learning

Aisha Malik — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Popular flight-tracking app Flighty is releasing a new version on Tuesday that uses machine learning and aviation authority data to provide early warnings of delays and give users the exact reason behind delays. With the launch of Flight 4.0, the app tracks the two biggest causes of delays — late aircraft and airspace issues — […]

Breaking up Google would offer a chance to remodel the web

Natasha Lomas — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 14:54:43 +0000

Just for a minute, as we digest the information that Google has been found to operate an illegal monopoly, can you imagine a web without Google? An internet without Google Search, Chrome, Gmail, Maps and so on would — very obviously — be a different place. But would such a change have implications for utility […]

Google loses massive antitrust case over search, will appeal ruling

Kyle Wiggers, Rebecca Bellan — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 20:27:00 +0000

Google will appeal a U.S. District Court judge’s opinion Monday that found the technology giant acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. The decision from Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is a major defeat for Google that could alter the way it does business […]