A team of Google executives, many of whom worked with one another for years, left the company earlier this year to launch a startup. The fintech firm, Arbo Works, has raised a financing round led by Sequoia Capital India, the two said Thursday. Arbo Works, spearheaded by Caesar Sengupta, said on Thursday 120 angel investors, […]
Waldo brings its ad-free, private photo-sharing service direct to consumers
Waldo, a photo-sharing platform that has historically targeted businesses, schools, camps, sports leagues, and other organizations, is capitalizing on the growing anti-Facebook sentiment to promote its newly launched consumer product. The company today is introducing a service aimed at private photo-sharing among family and friends which it’s promoting as an “ad-free, non-toxic” and private alternative […]
Instagram will shut down its companion app Threads by year end
Instagram’s standalone messaging app Threads is shutting down. The app will no longer be supported by the end of December 2021, the company confirmed to TechCrunch after reports began circulating via social media of its impending closure. Instagram is planning to alert its existing Threads users with an in-app notice beginning on November 23, which […]
Apple, Google questioned by ICO over app age ratings after UK child safety charity raises concerns
The UK’s data protection watchdog has written to Apple and Google seeking details of how they assess apps to determine the age ratings they apply following concerns raised by an online child safety charity. The move follows the coming into force of the UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code this September — which puts requirements on […]
Brazilian social commerce marketplace Facily quietly raises $366M in less than a year, now valued at $850M
Facily, a São Paulo-based social commerce marketplace, has quietly raised over $366 million in funding across four different rounds over the last year. Most recently, Facily closed on a $250 million Series D that was led by DX Ventures and Berlin-based Delivery Hero, with Citius as co-anchor investor. That investment values the startup at $850 […]
Mark Cuban’s Fireside app attracts NFL stars and others as backers
Mark Cuban’s Fireside, an interactive platform that is helping creators share their stories with audiences through live and virtual shows, is in advanced stages to close a “seed+” round, two sources familiar with the matter told me. The financing round has already received commitment from investors such as The Chainsmokers, HBSE, Goodwater, Animal Capital and […]
Say goodbye to disappearing tweets: Twitter no longer auto-loads new tweets on the web
Twitter is updating its web platform to change the way users see new tweets. The social media giant will no longer automatically refresh timelines on the web with new tweets, and users can now decide when they want to load new tweets. Twitter acknowledged that in the past, tweets would often disappear from view mid-read […]
Twitter acquires Threader, an app that compiles and shares threads
Twitter announced today that it’s acquiring Threader, an app that lets people compile Twitter threads and share their favorites, making it easier to help people find long threads on the platform. When users reply to a thread, tag Threader’s profile and write the word “compile,” the Threader bot creates a link that presents the thread […]
Snapchat partners with Sony Music, announces plans for new AR music lenses
Snapchat has inked a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to include its artists’ music in the app’s Sounds library. The company also revealed that it’s creating new AR music lenses. Soon, Snapchat will feature “Sound Lenses” with a pre-selected song embedded into the lens, a lens that transforms pictures of anyone to appear as if […]
This Week in Apps: Court orders Apple to implement App Store changes, 2022 forecast, TikTok tries gaming
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 continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes […]