Sarah Perez
Writer
The Latest from Sarah Perez
TikTok tests an Instagram-style grid and other changes
Short-form video app TikTok, the fourth most downloaded app in the world as of last quarter, is working on several new seemingly Instagram-inspired features — including a Discover page, a grid-s
Lyft expands its PIN feature for airport pickups to LaGuardia
Lyft has announced an expansion of its new program designed to make airport pickups less confusing for riders and drivers alike, by directing riders to a designated pickup spot where they’ll sho
Twitter tests a new way to label replies
Twitter is testing a new way to make conversation threads easier to follow, with the launch of a new test that labels notable replies with special icons. If the original poster replies somewhere in th
Instagram will now warn you before your account gets deleted, offer in-app appeals
Instagram this morning announced several changes to its moderation policy, the most significant of which is that it will now warn users if their account could become disabled before that actually take
The FTC looks to change children’s privacy law following complaints about YouTube
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering an update to the laws governing children’s privacy online, known as the COPPA Rule (or, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). The
Storytelling community Wattpad launches Paid Stories and its ad-free subscription globally
Online storytelling community Wattpad, also now a content feeder for streaming services and other media companies, is taking its two consumer-facing paid products global. Wattpad Premium, the ad-free
Twitter launches the ‘Hide Replies’ feature, in hopes of civilizing conversations
Twitter today is beginning its test of a radical and controversial change to its service with the launch of a new “Hide Replies” feature. Effectively, this option gives users the ability t
For World Emoji Day, the Unicode Consortium redesigns its site to be more user-friendly
Ahead of World Emoji Day on Wednesday, July 17, Apple and Google announced plans to bring an expanded set of emoji to their respective platforms. Today, the Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organizat
Spotify partners with Disney on a new streaming hub aimed at families
In an effort likely aimed at boosting family memberships, Spotify this morning announced a new partnership with Disney on the creation of a Disney Hub on its streaming service. Here, Disney fans in se
Amazon sells over 175M items during Prime Day 2019, more than Black Friday & Cyber Monday combined
Amid worker protests and antitrust investigations, Amazon’s Prime Day sales event carried on as usual — and that means it again set new records for the online retailer. This time, Amazon s
Amazon Prime Day sees competition from more than expected number of retailers
Amazon’s Prime Day continues to gain competition from rival retailers piggybacking on the annual event with their own sales. Ahead of this year’s Prime Day, RetailMeNot had forecast that t
Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi partners with NBC News for a daily news show aimed at millennials
NBC News today announced an exclusive partnership with Jeffrey Katzenberg’s upcoming mobile streaming service, Quibi, which will see the media company becoming the first major producer for the s
Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick are again Prime Day’s best selling devices (so far!)
Amazon Prime members again snapped up loss leaders like the Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick with Alexa Remote on the first day of Amazon Prime Day 2019, which has now been stretched out to a 48-hour sale.
Large retailers saw 64% increase in sales on Monday, thanks to Amazon Prime Day
It’s no longer a winner-take-all scenario for Amazon Prime Day — in fact, that hasn’t been true for years. As soon as other large retailers realized they could piggyback on Amazon
Facebook snags former Vine GM to run product for its new experimental app division, NPE Team
Is Facebook preparing to launch a serious competitor to TikTok? If so, the company just picked up some key talent to make that happen. Last week, Facebook announced plans for a new division, called th
Dish’s AirTV launches an $80 streaming stick for accessing Sling TV, Netflix & broadcast channels
Dish is expanding its hardware lineup today with the launch of a new 4K streaming stick, the AirTV Mini, designed to make it easier for cord cutters to access from one user interface its live TV servi
Report: Amazon Prime Day 2019 will push US e-commerce sales to over $2 billion
A report from Adobe’s analytics arm predicts Amazon’s Prime Day 2019 sales event, which began today, to have another sizable impact on the U.S. e-commerce market. The company expects a rev
Twitter.com launches its big redesign with simpler navigation and more features
Twitter’s website is getting a major overhaul. The company has been testing a new version of its desktop website since the beginning of the year, and today the final product is rolling out to th
Twitch continues to dominate live streaming with its second-biggest quarter to date
Twitch continues to lead rivals including, YouTube Live, Facebook Gaming and Microsoft’s Mixer, when it comes to live-streaming video. Despite experiencing its first decline in hours watched in
Hulu brings back 4K content
Hulu has again launched 4K content on its service, as first noticed by a report on The Streamable today and confirmed to us by a company spokesperson. The streamer had been late to add support for 4K,