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 […]

Racket launches an app for 99-second micro podcasts

If it seems like everyone is listening to the same podcasts, that’s probably not a coincidence. Audio-based entertainment and social media is more popular than ever right now, but the medium is still plagued by discovery issues. While hit podcasts soar in popularity, expand their media empires and secure major brand deals, it’s difficult for […]

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 […]

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 […]

Facebook launches Shops in Groups and Live Shopping for Creators

Facebook announced today that it’s rolling out new shopping features: Shops in Groups, product recommendations and a test of Live Shopping for Creators. Shops in Groups enables admins of Facebook groups to set up an online store on their associated Facebook Page. It’s up to the admins where this money goes — in the case […]