In hopes of App Store changes, Paddle develops an alternative to Apple’s payments system

Paddle, a solutions provider subscription-based businesses, is betting on a future where App Store developers are able to use third-party payment systems — and it wants to be among the first to market with an alternative once such a system is permitted. The company today announced a new in-app purchasing (IAP) system aimed at iOS […]

Telegram says it added 70M users during day of Facebook and WhatsApp outage

Facebook’s hours-long outage on Monday may have hurt the company, its founder, shareholders, and many businesses that rely on the social juggernaut’s services. But for its instant messaging rivals, it was a very good day. Telegram founder and chief executive Pavel Durov said on Tuesday that his instant messaging app added a staggering 70 million […]

Blue Fever, an anonymous social network, acquires Gen Z-founded Trill

With Senate hearings and leaked documents galore, teen mental health on social media is a hot topic right now. But Gen Z founders Georgia Messinger and Ari Sokolov have been trying to create healthier online spaces since they were in high school, when they started the anonymous virtual support app Trill. “People ask us sometimes, […]

Instagram ditches the IGTV brand, combines everything but Reels into an ‘Instagram Video’ format

Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently said was “no longer a photo-sharing app,” noting the company was prioritizing a shift into video amid significant competition from TikTok and YouTube. Today, Instagram is taking another step towards its larger goal of making video a more central part of the Instagram experience with news that it will now […]

Mark Cuban-backed live entertainment app Fireside launches to creators

Amid a deluge of new creator platforms, a startup called Fireside is launching today with what it believes will be a compelling proposition for professional creators in need of a more robust set of tools for content creation, distribution, measurement, and monetization. The service, which offers a platform for live and interactive shows, had been […]

No-code mobile website builder Universe launches new themes, block features and more

Mobile website building platform Universe has launched a new update that brings advanced creative controls, enhanced themes, block features and more to its grid-based web builder. Universe allows users to create a custom site or open an e-commerce store directly from a mobile phone through a simplified grid system without the need for coding. The […]