Livestream shopping app Whatnot raises $265M, pinning valuation at nearly $5B

Whatnot, the platform that allows users to sell items such as trading cards, comics, and sneakers through live videos, announced on Wednesday that it has secured $265 million in a Series E funding round, a significant investment for a livestream shopping platform. This round puts Whatnot's valu

FTC accuses gig work app Handy of misleading ads and opaque fees for workers

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and New York’s attorney general have accused Handy, the gig app customers can use to book cleaners, handymen, and more, of making deceptive claims about how much workers could earn through its platform. In a complaint filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District C

Samsung’s new TVs can find recipes for dishes in shows

Have you ever watched a food scene on TV and thought, wow, I wish I could cook that at home? Maybe it was the il timpano in “Big Night,” or the beef bourguignon in “Julie & Julia.” Whatever your show-inspired craving, you’re in luck — if you buy a 2025 Samsung TV

Spotify's partner program for podcast hosts is now available

Spotify announced Thursday the launch of its new “Partner Program” that lets popular podcast hosts monetize their video content. Spotify's new program gives qualifying creators on its platform opportunities for extra income beyond just advertising revenue, such as video payouts. The progra

Telegram rolls out third-party account verification, filters

Telegram has rolled out its first update of the year, adding a new account verification method powered by third-parties, new message search filters, and the ability to turn gifts into NFTs. The chat app already had a program to verify public figures and organizations on the platform, and it has no

India lifts WhatsApp payment curbs

India has removed restrictions on WhatsApp’s payments service in a significant victory for Meta in its largest market by users as the social media giant seeks to compete with entrenched fintech rivals. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the payments body overseeing the popula

Best iPad apps for unleashing and exploring your creativity

There are a number of iPad apps that can help you explore and express your creativity. Although the iPad started off as a simple device that could be used to stream content or browse the web on the go, Apple has essentially turned its iPads into powerful machines that can be used to do things like

Best iPad apps to boost productivity and make your life easier

Apple’s iPads come with built-in productivity tools like Notes, Calendar, and Reminders, but if you’d like to explore new ways to maximize productivity and organize your life, there are many apps out there to help you. Although the iPad started off as a device that could be used to str

Halide’s next version will come with new film filters, HDR

Lux, which makes the iPhone camera app Halide, published a roadmap on Monday detailing the app’s next version, called Halide Mark III, to be released sometime next year. The company said Halide Mark III will ship with two new features: Color Grades and its own take on HDR (high dynamic range

Instagram tests a way to show you Story Highlights you didn’t get a chance to see

Instagram is testing a way for you to see content from friends that you might have missed. The social network has started displaying unseen Story Highlights from a user’s mutual followers at the end of the Stories tray, which is the area at the top of your feed where you see Stories from your

Pavel Durov says Telegram is now profitable

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said Monday that the company is now profitable. Durov said the chat app’s total revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2024. The company, which launched its premium subscription service in 2022, now has 12 million paid users. Durov also said that the app is finishing th

Bluesky adds mentions tab in the notifications screen and username squatting protection

Social network Bluesky has released a new update to its app that includes a separate mentions tab in notifications, protections against username squatting, and new controls for replies sorting. The company announced that it is adding a new mentions tab with the v1.96 rollout to let you see those p

Instagram Threads adds ‘Use media’ feature for resharing photos and videos

Threads is introducing a new way to reshare photos and videos on its social network. Instead of quote-posting the original post and then adding commentary, Threads users will instead be able to click a new option, “Use media,” allowing them to just reshare the photo or video directly to

OpenAI brings ChatGPT to your landline

ChatGPT is coming to phones. No, not smartphones — landlines. Call 1-800-242-8478 (1-800-CHATGPT), and OpenAI’s AI-powered assistant will respond as of Wednesday afternoon. “[Our mission at] OpenAI is to make artificial general intelligence beneficial to all of humanity, and part of