Twitter Blue expands to six new countries, brings back Spaces curation
Twitter is in a hurry to make money, and in another step that might lead to some revenue it has expanded the Twitter Blue subscription to six new countries. The paid plans are now available in Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, making it 12 regions in total to which users can
Damus pulled from Apple’s App Store in China after two days
Damus, one of the fastest-growing Twitter alternatives, has been pulled from China’s App Store just two days after the app was approved by Apple.
The app, which runs atop the Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized social networking protocol Nostr, was removed from the China App Store per request by
Is Instagram considering paid verification? Code reveals references to a ‘paid blue badge’
New references in Instagram’s code suggest the company could be developing a paid verification feature following the rollout of a similar system at Twitter under Elon Musk. Recently discovered code snippets reference explicitly refer to a “paid blue badge” and a new subscription p
Samsung, Google and Qualcomm are making a mixed-reality platform
Samsung, Google and Qualcomm are joining hands to make a mixed-reality platform. Executives from the companies, namely Samsung’s TM Roh, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, and Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer came onstage at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event to make this announcement.
These co
Pinterest lays off 150 people as a part of its ‘long-term strategy’
Pinterest has made a second job-cutting move within weeks of the first round of layoffs in December. The company has let go of almost 150 employees (representing less than 5% of its workforce), according to a report from Bloomberg.
In a statement to technewss, Pinterest confirmed the job axing but
The Biden administration says Apple’s and Google’s app stores are stifling competition
The Biden administration is calling out Apple’s and Google’s app stores for stifling competition. A new report, issued on Wednesday by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), said it had investigated the competitive conditions i
Report: Microsoft plans to update Bing with a faster version of ChatGPT in the coming weeks
Microsoft is working to incorporate a faster version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, known as GPT-4, into Bing in the coming weeks in a move that would make the search engine more competitive with Google, according to a new report from Semafor. The integration would see Bing using GPT-4 to answer search
Waverly Labs launches a translation app called Forum with support for 20 languages
Waverly Labs, the company behind wearables focused on translation, has launched an app called Forum that helps users translate and transcribe audio in real time. The company says the solution is useful for lecturers, auditoriums and theaters. What’s more, it is also compatible with video call
Netflix lists rules and exemptions to prevent account sharing outside household
Netflix is now detailing how it aims to maintain password sharing within a household while cracking down on outside usage. The company aims to curtail account sharing this year by asking people to pay extra money to use the streaming service outside the household for extended periods of time.
The s
Snapchat now has more than 2 million paid subscribers
Snapchat has more than 2 million paid subscribers on its Snapchat+ program, the company said during its latest earnings report. Snap noted that the paid plan, which costs $3.99 a month, is a part of “diversifying” its revenue pipelines.
The social network first launched Snapchat+ in Jun
Meta starts testing ‘members-only worlds’ in Horizon Worlds
Meta is starting to test closed spaces called “members-only worlds” in Horizon Worlds, its social VR experience. The company has begun a limited alpha test to give creators the ability to grow and moderate their own communities. Meta has selected a small group of creators to build and o
Privacy assistant Jumbo tears down its paywall
Jumbo, an app that lets you control your privacy on the web, is hitting the reset button — sort of. While the company is still focused on privacy and security, users can now download and use all features for free as the premium subscription is gone. In addition to this pricing update, Jumbo's
Instagram’s co-founders introduce a new social app…for news reading
Can lightning strike twice? That’s apparently the question being raised today with the public introduction of the next social app built by Instagram’s co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The duo have launched a new venture to explore social apps, according to a report published
Spotify’s third-party billing option has now reached over 140 global markets
In its fourth-quarter earnings, Spotify announced today its User Choice Billing program has now expanded to more than 140 markets worldwide, allowing the streaming music service to reduce the commissions it pays to Google over Play Store purchases associated with its Android app. The User Choice Bi