tiktok
TikTok’s new Q&A feature lets creators respond to fan questions using text or video
TikTok is testing a new video Q&A feature that allows creators to more directly respond to their audience’s questions with either text or video answers, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.
TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin launches an e-wallet
Tencent’s WeChat Pay and Alibaba’s affiliate Alipay have long dominated digital payments in China, but they have always faced new challengers. The latest entrant in online payments is Douy
TikTok update will change privacy settings and defaults for users under 18
TikTok announced today it’s making changes to its app to make the experience safer for younger users. The company will now set the accounts for users ages 13 to 15 to private by default, as well
App stores saw record 218 billion downloads in 2020, consumer spend of $143 billion
Mobile adoption continued to grow in 2020, in part due to the market forces of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to App Annie’s annual “State of Mobile” industry report, mobile app do
TikTok bans videos of Trump inciting mob, blocks #stormthecapital and other hashtags
For obvious reasons, Trump doesn’t have a TikTok account. But the president’s speeches that helped incite the mob who yesterday stormed the U.S. Capitol will have no home on TikTok’s
TikTok rolls out its first lidar-powered AR effect
Snapchat was among the first apps to leverage the iPhone 12 Pro’s LiDAR Scanner for AR, but now TikTok has followed suit. The social video app confirmed today it has launched its first-ever lida
This Week in Apps: Apple bans party app, China loses 39K iOS games, TikTok births a ‘Ratatousical’
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 is as hot as ever, with a
Google pilots a search feature that aggregates short-form videos from TikTok and Instagram
Google is testing a new feature that will surface Instagram and TikTok videos in their own dedicated carousel in the Google app for mobile devices — a move that could help the company retain use
TikTok parent ByteDance hiring for AI drug discovery team
ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, is entering the health industry as it seeks to diversify a business dependent on advertising and livestreaming sales. The company, which prides itself
TikTok launches its first personalized annual recap feature, ‘Year on TikTok’
Spotify users have Wrapped and Instagram users have their Top 9. And now TikTok users will have their own year-in-review feature, too. The company today announced the launch of its first personalized
This Week in Apps: App Store privacy labels, Facebook criticizes Apple over ad targeting, Twitter kills Periscope
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 is as hot as ever, with a
Walmart to pilot test livestreamed video shopping on TikTok
Walmart and TikTok announced this morning they will be partnering on the first pilot test of a new shoppable product experience on TikTok’s social video app. Walmart, as you may recall, had plan
TikTok expands Community Guidelines, rolls out new ‘well-being’ features
TikTok this morning announced a new set of Community Guidelines that aim to strengthen its existing policies in areas like harassment, dangerous acts, self-harm and violence, alongside the introductio
Do the celebrities help the startups or do the startups help the celebrities?
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast (now on Twitter!), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. What a week, yeah? Instead of the news cycle slow
COVID-19 made our tech addiction worse: It’s time to do something about it
Governments are no more likely to help manage unhealthy tech consumption than consumption of sugar or illegal drugs. We need to take control.
Instagram launches shopping in Reels, its TikTok rival
Instagram today is launching Shopping in Reels, its TikTok competitor. The new feature was announced in October as something the company had in the works, as part of a ongoing series of shopping-relat
App stores to see 130 billion downloads in 2020 and record consumer spend of $112 billion
Consumers will have downloaded 130 billion apps in 2020 across iOS and Google Play, up 10% year-over-year, according to mobile data and analytics firm App Annie’s year-end forecast. Consumer spe
Reface grabs $5.5M seed led by A16z to stoke its viral face-swap video app
Buzzy face-swap video app Reface, which lends users celebrity ‘superpowers’ by turning their selfies into “eerily realistic” famous video clips at the tap of a button, has caug
Second federal judge rules against Trump administration’s TikTok ban
Another federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against U.S. government restrictions that would have effectively banned TikTok from operating in the United States. The ruling (embedded below
Teen banking service Step raises $50M, adds TikTok star Charli D’Amelio to investor list
Step, a mobile banking service aimed at teens, announced this morning it has raised $50 million in Series B funding after growing to over 500,000 users only two months after its official launch. The r