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 economy in 2023 hit a few snags as consumer spending last year dropped for the first time by 2% to $167 billion, according to data.ai’s “State of […]readmore
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March 19, 2023
The Biden administration has recently ramped up pressure on TikTok over national security concerns stemming from its ties to China, and apparently the Justice Department and the FBI are also applying pressure of their own. Forbes first reported that the agencies are actively investigating ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. The investigation was reportedly initiated after some […]readmore
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March 18, 2023
The ban comes after multiple similar decisions taken by parliaments in the EU, USA and Canada The United Kingdom has now banned its ministers from using Chinese app TikTok on government owned devices to prevent security and data breaches as rumors about TikTok’s data security continue throughout the EU, USA and Canada. This ban has […]readmore
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March 18, 2023
TikTok and Major League Soccer (MLS) have announced a multiyear partnership that will bring exclusive content, in-app programming and more to the app. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Throughout the season, fans will be able to search “MLS” on TikTok and get access to the “MLS Hub,” which will feature new content […]readmore
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March 18, 2023
Days after the U.K. banned TikTok from government devices, New Zealand has joined the trend by prohibiting the short video app from parliamentary devices. The move comes amid growing security concerns about TikTok-owner ByteDance handing user data to the Chinese government. The country’s authorities cited cybersecurity reasons and said the app would be banned on […]readmore
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March 17, 2023
The Biden administration is escalating its pressure campaign against TikTok, threatening a U.S. ban against the world’s most popular app if the company doesn’t split with its Chinese ownership. The current administration’s public concerns around the hit app have ratcheted up considerably in recent days. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the U.S. […]readmore
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March 9, 2023
At Spotify’s Stream On event today in LA, the company introduced a significant redesign of its app, which capitalizes on its investments in personalization technology while also adopting a similar short-form video feed as the one popularized by TikTok. In the updated Spotify mobile app, users and subscribers will gain access to a handful of […]readmore
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March 7, 2023
A lot of music streaming services and discovery apps have followed a formula for introducing new artists and songs to their users: an AI-powered vertical feed that highlights clips of songs. SoundCloud is the latest app to try this feature out. The company is testing a vertical feed discovery feature both on its iOS and […]readmore
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March 5, 2023
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 economy in 2023 hit a few snags, as consumer spending last year dropped for the first time by 2% to $167 billion, according to data.ai’s “State of […]readmore
admin
March 5, 2023
Meta announced today that it’s adding support for longer Facebook Reels of up to 90 seconds, along with some new creative tools. Up until now, Facebook Reels were limited to 60 seconds. The changes come several months after Meta launched support for longer Instagram Reels of up to 90 seconds. The expansion followed TikTok’s move […]readmore
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March 1, 2023
TikTok “presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security” said a Canadian government spokesperson in his statementThe Canadian government has announced that it is banning TikTok on all government issued devices starting tomorrow. The decision comes after a detailed app review conducted by Canada’s chief information officer.Talking about the situation, a Canadian Government […]readmore
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March 1, 2023
“We firmly oppose those wrong actions,” said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson while speaking about the TikTok banThe US government just ordered all federal agencies to remove TikTok from any government owned devices. These federal agencies are given a 30 day timeline to uninstall the Bytedance owned TikTok, which is one of the most prevalent social […]readmore
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February 28, 2023
TikTok has been banned from government-issued mobile devices in Canada, the country’s Treasury Board announced Monday. Taking effect on February 28, this block follows similar actions taken by the European Commission and some state governments in the U.S. The European Commission issued their directive to remove TikTok from government devices late last week. That same […]readmore
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February 26, 2023
People on TikTok are getting emotional over an AR filter that makes you look like a teenager. Juxtaposed one beside the other, the filter shows you as you are, and then a version of you that has perfectly smooth skin and a strange youthful innocence. The filter has sparked a surprisingly wide range of emotions. […]readmore