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 […]

BALMUDA Phoneを実機で解説。独自アプリはかなり洗練、バルミューダ的こだわりを感じた（石野純也） – Engadget 日本版

BALMUDA Phoneを実機で解説。独自アプリはかなり洗練、バルミューダ的こだわりを感じた（石野純也） トースターや扇風機でおなじみのバルミューダが作る初めてのスマホ「BALMUDA Phone」が、ついに発表されました。手にフィットすることを重視して、4.9インチのディスプレイを採用。直線を使わないデザインや、独自開発…

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 […]

Spotify expands into audiobooks with acquisition of Findaway

In an effort to expand beyond music, Spotify has been investing hundreds of millions to build out its podcasts business. Now the company has set its sights on another form of audio, with today’s acquisition of digital audiobook distributor Findaway. Spotify declined to share the financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close […]

Instagram is offering huge bonuses for posting on Reels, its TikTok clone

Instagram really wants you to post Reels — they’ll even pay you up to $10,000 for one, if you’re lucky. As TikTok surpasses the 1 billion monthly active users mark, competitor platforms like YouTube Shorts, Snapchat Spotlight and Instagram Reels are incentivizing users to post their short-form content on their apps instead. YouTube established a […]

Appleの「デジタル遺産」機能、iOS 15.2βで設定可能に

Appleは「iOS 15.2」のβリリースで、「デジタル遺産」機能を追加した。ユーザーが自分の死後にiCloudのデータを託す相手を指定できる。託された人がアクセスするには死亡証明書が必要だ。 米Appleが6月のWWDC 2021で予告したiCloudの新機能「Digital Legacy」（日本では「デジタル遺産」）が、11月9日（現地時間）にリリ…

Instagram’s creator subscriptions nearing launch, App Store listing reveals

Instagram earlier this year said it would explore the idea of creator subscriptions and was later spotted developing a feature that would offer exclusive Stories that were only visible to a creator’s subscriptions. Now, it seems, the company is poised to launch creator subscriptions into broader testing. According to two third-party app intelligence services, Instagram […]

Facebook on the spot in Kenya as exploitation of minors rife on its platform

Internet-based sexual exploitation of minors in Kenya was found to be more rampant on Facebook than on any other site, according to the newly released Disrupting Harm report — making the tech giant’s platform exceedingly unsafe for children. The report by Interpol, UNICEF’s Office of Research-Innocenti and End Violence against Children, found that Facebook accounted […]