Sarah Perez
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This Week in Apps: Instagram restricts teens’ accounts, Elon Musk criticizes App Store fees, Google Play’s new policies
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a
Pinterest shares drop as company misses on user growth … again
Pinterest’s shares had popped last week when Snap posted its best quarter in four years, as investors were betting Pinterest’s image-based social app would also see a return in advertiser
Amazon’s Fire TV Cube now supports Zoom calls on your TV
Late last year, Amazon launched support for two-way calling that worked with its Fire TV Cube devices. The feature allowed consumers to make and receive calls from their connected TV to any other Alex
PayPal’s new ‘super app,’ to include messaging, is ready to launch
CEO Dan Schulman revealed the superapp would include high-yield savings, early access to direct deposit funds and messaging functionality outside of peer-to-peer payments.
Spotify’s clone of Clubhouse tops 140K installs on iOS, 100K on Android
Spotify’s recently launched live audio app and Clubhouse rival, Spotify Greenroom, has a long road ahead of it if it wants to take on top social audio platforms like Clubhouse, Airtime, Spoon an
Walmart to sell its e-commerce technologies to other retailers
Walmart’s investments in software and retail technologies it used to transform its business from a brick-and-mortar to one that combines both in-person and online shopping will now be made avail
Google unveils its proposed ‘safety section’ for apps on Google Play
In the user interface concept Google debuted today, developers are now able to see how this feature will look to the end user.
Twitter launches US e-commerce pilot that lets users shop from profiles
Twitter this morning will launch a pilot in the U.S. aimed at testing the potential for e-commerce on its platform. The company is introducing a new “Shop Module” that offers brands, busin
Twitter ‘acqui-hires’ the team from subscription news app, Brief
Twitter’s recent acquisition spree continues today as the company announces it has acqui-hired the team from news aggregator and summary app Brief. The startup from former Google engineers launc
Apple tweaks controversial iOS 15 Safari changes in latest beta
Apple is responding to user complaints and feedback about the controversial changes to the Safari mobile browser with today’s launch of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 beta 4. The new Safari design first i
Google TV mobile app redesign adds new services and recommendations
Following last fall’s debut of Google TV, the new user interface for Chromecast devices, Google is today giving its Google TV companion app for Android a makeover. The updated version of the mob
TikTok expands LIVE platform with new features, including events, co-hosts, Q&As and more
The LIVE experience will include a number of new features for creators to make it more competitive with platforms like Instagram Live.
Pinterest rolls out new features that let creators make money from pins
Creators will be able to tag products in their Idea Pins -- a video-first feature the company first launched this spring -- to make their content 'shoppable.'
Instagram to default young teens to private accounts, restrict ads and unwanted adult contact
As it gears up to expand access to younger users, Instagram this morning announced a series of updates designed to make its app a safer place for online teens. The company says it will now default use
Spotify adds an attention-grabbing ‘What’s New’ feed to addict users to its app
Spotify, with the launch of a more attention-grabbing notifications feature, wants to increase user engagement, even if it sacrifices some sense of user comfort and enjoyment in the process.
This Week in Apps: Clubhouse opens up, Twitter talks bitcoin, Snap sees record quarter
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a
Jack Dorsey says bitcoin will be a big part of Twitter’s future
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey confirmed to investors that bitcoin will be a “big part” of the company’s future, as he sees opportunities to integrate the cryptocurrency into existing Twitt
VOCHI raises additional $2.4 million for its computer vision-powered video editing app
VOCHI, a Belarus-based startup behind a clever computer vision-based video editing app used by online creators, has raised an additional $2.4 million in a “late-seed” round that follows th
Instagram confirms test of new anti-harassment tool, Limits, designed for moments of crisis
Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed the company is testing a new feature called “Limits,” which would give users the ability to temporary lock down their accounts when they’re bein
Spotify partners with GIPHY to connect users with artists’ music via GIFs
Spotify announced this morning a new partnership with online GIF database GIPHY to enable discovery of new music through GIFs. No, the GIFs themselves won’t play song clips, if that’s what