YouTube and Snapchat were asked to defend their apps’ age ratings in Senate hearing

YouTube and Snapchat were asked by lawmakers to defend whether or not their respective social media apps were appropriately rated on the U.S. app stores, given the nature of the content they hosted. In a line of questioning led by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Snap was given specific examples of the types of content found […]

TikTok dodges questions about biometric data collection in Senate hearing

In its first-ever Congressional hearing, TikTok successfully dodged questions about what it plans to do with the biometric data its privacy policy permits it to collect on the app’s U.S. users. In an update to the company’s U.S. privacy policy in June, TikTok added a new section that noted the app “may collect biometric identifiers […]

Apple One’s Premier subscription tier is rolling out in 17 new countries on November 3

Apple is expanding its all-in-one Apple One Premier subscription bundle to 17 new countries on November 3. The service will be available in Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. In these countries, Apple One Premier will include Apple Music, […]

Kenya cracks down on digital lenders over data privacy issues

Digital lenders that share personal data of loan defaulters, with third parties, risk license withdrawal in Kenya after lawmakers added a clause — granting the banking regulator the mandate to revoke permits of operators who breach customer confidentiality — to the new law passed by the country’s National Assembly.  Typically, loan apps collect borrowers’ phone […]

Routine is a new productivity app that combines task management and notes

Meet Routine, a new startup working on a productivity tool that should help you manage your work day more efficiently. It’s a brand new take on to-do lists as it combines both tasks, non-actionable notes and a daily planner. The two co-founders of Routine are Julien Quintard and Quentin Hocquet, two French entrepreneurs who previously […]

Hera is a new calendar app for people with a lot of virtual meetings

Meet Hera, a new calendar app that wants to turn the calendar into the main work interface. Hera helps you schedule meetings more easily with natural language processing and lets you share availabilities in an email or any messaging app. The startup is also going to build integrations with your other work tools so that […]

Indian edtech Teachmint valued at $500 million in $78 million funding

As scores of Indian startups populate their catalogs with live and recorded courses to reach and serve students in the world’s second largest internet market, a handful of new-age firms are beginning to explore different approaches to tackle the challenge. Teachmint, one such startup that is helping teachers and institutes create their own virtual classrooms […]

Brazilian insurtech Justos raises $35.8M in Ribbit Capital-led Series A

Justos, a startup that says it will be the first insurance company in Brazil to use data when determining rates, has raised a $35.8 million Series A round of funding led by Ribbit Capital. SoftBank’s Latin American Fund and GGV participated as new investors, in addition to existing backers Kaszek, BigBets, Nubank CEO David Velez […]

India’s Groww valued at $3 billion in $251 million funding

Groww has tripled its valuation to $3 billion in just six months as the Indian fintech startup looks to broaden its offerings and help more millennials start their investment journey in the world’s second largest internet market. Iconiq Growth led the Bangalore-based startup’s $251 million Series E financing round. Alkeon, Lone Pine Capital and Steadfast […]