Sarah Perez
Reporter
The Latest from Sarah Perez
Match confirms plans for Tinder Platinum, a new top-level subscription for power users, arriving Q4
Tinder is testing a new top-level subscription plan, Tinder Platinum, which it expects to roll out before year-end. The news of the coming service was announced this week by Tinder parent Match Group
TikTok updates policies to ban deepfakes, expand fact-checks and flag election misinfo
As uncertainty swirls around TikTok’s future in the U.S., the company this morning announced new Community Guidelines focused on helping to keep misleading and deceptive content off its platform
Google Play Music to shut down starting in September, will disappear by December
Google’s plans to wind down its Google Play Music service in favor of the company’s newer YouTube Music have been known for some time. But Google this week has given users a deadline on ma
Instagram Reels launches globally in over 50 countries, including US
Instagram Reels, the company’s significant effort in challenging TikTok on short-form creative content, is launching globally, starting today. The feature is being made available across 50 count
Parental control app Boomerang repeatedly blocked from Play Store, losing business
Apple isn’t the only one accused of kicking out competitive solutions from its App Store. Google did the same — for over a month at least — or so alleges parental control app maker B
Messenger launches a new chat plugin for business websites to reach non-Facebook customers
Facebook is making it easier for businesses to leverage its Messenger service on their own websites. The company in November 2017 first launched a new customer chat plugin that allowed customers to ta
Mobile bank Current launches a points rewards program for debit card users
Amid a crowded market of mobile banking services, which will soon also include Google, U.S. challenger bank Current is launching a new program that will offer points-based rewards to its checking acco
Google signs up six more partners for its digital banking platform coming to Google Pay
Google is expanding its plans to offer digital banking services in the U.S. The company announced today it’s partnering with half a dozen more banks to offer digital checking and savings account
Snapchat to take on TikTok with a new music-powered feature rolling out this fall
Snapchat is taking aim at TikTok . The company announced today it will begin testing a new feature that lets Snapchat users set their Snaps to music, similar to TikTok’s app. The feature may all
Mobile banking startup Varo is becoming a real bank
Mobile banking startup Varo is becoming its own bank. The company announced on Friday it has been granted a national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and secured r
This Week in Apps: Apple’s antitrust case, Microsoft could buy TikTok, Facetune comes for video
This week, we're focused on rounding up the news from the U.S. antitrust investigation into Apple, as it pertains to apps, the App Store and developers.
Twitter survey reveals the subscription options it’s eyeing, including an ‘Undo Send’ button
Earlier this month, Twitter told investors it’s considering a subscription model as a means of generating additional revenue to support its business. Now we know what sort of value-add features
Facebook will launch officially licensed music videos in the US starting this weekend
Facebook today confirmed it will begin rolling out official music videos across its platform in the U.S., as TechCrunch first reported, as well as introduce a new Music destination within Facebook Wat
Triller sues TikTok over patent infringement
Social video platform Triller has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against its biggest rival TikTok and parent company ByteDance. The suit, which was filed in the U.S District Court for the Western
Study: US adults who mostly rely on social media for news are less informed, exposed to more conspiracies
A new report from Pew Research makes an attempt to better understand U.S. adults who get their news largely from social media platforms, and compare their understanding of current events and political
PayPal and Venmo QR Code checkout is coming to 8,200 CVS stores in Q4
PayPal has struck a deal with CVS Pharmacy to offer the ability to check out using PayPal’s payment services, including both PayPal and Venmo, at the register. The company announced this morning
Apple’s App Store commission structure called into question in antitrust hearing
Apple CEO Tim Cook defended the company’s App Store commission structure in his sworn testimony before the House Antitrust Subcommittee on Wednesday. He claimed the majority of the apps pay no commi
Apple CEO Tim Cook questioned over App Store’s removal of rival screen time apps in antitrust hearing
Last year, Apple removed a number of screen time and parental control apps from its App Store, shortly after the company had released its own first-party screen time solution with the launch of iOS 12
In antitrust hearing, Zuckerberg admits Facebook has copied its competition
At the House Antitrust Subcommittee hearings this afternoon, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was directly questioned about his company’s strategy of copying competitors’ apps and features, an
Walmart launches its own voice assistant, ‘Ask Sam,’ initially for employee use
Walmart is expanding its use of voice technology. The company announced today its taking its employee assistance voice technology dubbed “Ask Sam” and making it available to associates at