Sarah Perez
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The Latest from Sarah Perez
Netflix’s ad-supported plan may block offline viewing, code suggests
Netflix’s upcoming ad-supported tier could have a big drawback — besides the fact that your programming will be interrupted by commercials, that is. One of the streaming service’s mo
A new TikTok feature lets creators share TikTok Stories to Facebook and Instagram
Facebook and Instagram may be busy trying to clone TikTok within their own apps as Reels, but a new feature rolling out now from TikTok will see the short-form video app’s content showing up in
TikTok launches an in-app US midterms Elections Center, shares plan to fight misinformation
TikTok announced its midterms Elections Center will go live in the app in the U.S. starting today, August 17, 2022, where it will be available to users in more than 40 languages, including English and
Walmart’s last-mile delivery service, Walmart GoLocal, tops 1M deliveries in year one
Walmart’s last-mile delivery service business, Walmart GoLocal, has topped 1 million deliveries in its first year, the retailer today revealed. The company offered a brief update on the state of
Oracle now monitoring TikTok’s algorithms and moderation system for manipulation by China’s government
Oracle has begun auditing TikTok’s algorithms and content moderation models, according to a new report from Axios out this morning. Those reviews began last week, and follow TikTok’s June
Walmart+, the retailer’s Prime competitor, will add Paramount+ access as a new perk
Walmart is partnering with Paramount Global to offer its streaming service, Paramount+, to members of Walmart’s own free shipping program and Amazon Prime rival, Walmart+. The deal was first con
Bumble experiments with group chats, polls and video calls for its new social networking feature, ‘Hive’
Dating app maker Bumble revealed more of its plans to strengthen its social networking features during last week’s Q2 earnings, which saw the company’s shares slump over its lowered finan
Report: Apple explored ads in Apple Maps as it weighs broader ads push
A new report from Bloomberg indicates Apple may be expanding its advertising business beyond the App Store and other first-party apps like News and Stocks. This plan could see Apple introducing ads in
Plex introduces a social experience to its streaming app with launch of ‘Discover Together’
Streaming media platform Plex, already an expansive service for personal media, free streaming TV and new content discovery, is venturing into a new area with today’s launch of a new feature, D
Snapchat officially introduces parental controls through a new ‘Family Center’ feature
Snapchat today is rolling out its first set of parental controls, after announcing last October it was developing tools that would allow parents to gain better visibility into how their teens used the
This Week in Apps: French developers sue Apple, time spent in apps grows, Instagram adds NFTs
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. Global app spending reached $65 billion in th
Top anonymous social app NGL forced to stop tricking its users
A popular anonymous social app that was misleading its users with fake messages has been forced to change. The top-ranked app NGL, which became the No. 1 app on the U.S. App Store in June, quietly rol
A new app called Banish blocks those annoying ‘open in app’ banners
A new app for iPhone users can help you browse the web without being constantly bothered by pop-up panels that beg you to use the company’s app instead. The app, called Banish, is a Safari exten
Starbucks to unveil its web3-based rewards program next month
Starbucks will unveil its web3 initiative, which includes coffee-themed NFTs, at next month’s Investor Day event. The company earlier this year announced its plans to enter the web3 space, notin
Twitter to revamp Spaces, tests themed stations and a daily digest
Twitter is developing an updated version of its audio chat rooms product known as Spaces, TechCrunch learned and Twitter confirmed. The company said it’s currently working a new experiment for t
Mobile users are now spending 4-5 hours per day in apps
Although the mobile app boom driven by pandemic lockdowns has long since passed, consumers’ mobile usage is still growing. According to new data released today by app intelligence firm data.ai (
Tinder to kill virtual currency, metaverse plans amid Match Group earnings loss; Tinder loses its CEO
Dating giant Match Group announced a series of changes to Tinder’s management team alongside the announcement of disappointing second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Notably, Tinder CEO Renate Nybo
TikTok to overtake Facebook in influencer marketing spend this year, YouTube by 2024
Instagram may be worried about TikTok’s threat to its business, but in the near-term, it’s still far ahead when it comes to the influencer marketing dollars spent on its platform in the U.
French iOS developers file antitrust suit over Apple’s App Store fees
Apple is facing yet another antitrust lawsuit over its App Store fees, this time filed by a group of French iOS app developers who are suing the tech giant in its home state of California. The plainti
Pinterest popped 20% on earnings that weren’t as terrible as expected
If Pinterest is a bellwether of consumer spending, things are not looking up just yet. Still, investors in the social network rallied as Q2 revenue came in roughly in line with expectations and user d