Google Play preps a new full-screen app discovery feature and adds more developer tools

Though overshadowed by AI news this year, Google’s I/O 2024 developer conference also focuses on what’s new for those building for Android. This year, it’s Google Play that’s getting attention, with a new discovery feature for apps, new ways to acquire users, updates to Play

Expedia starts testing AI-powered features for search and travel planning

In an effort to get ahead of its competitors in the travel ecosystem, online travel agency Expedia said it will soon launch an AI assistant to bolster features like search, itinerary building, trip planning and real-time updates like flight delays. The company, which runs a variety of online trave

Instagram expands its creator marketplace to 10 new countries

Over the weekend, Instagram announced that it is expanding its creator marketplace to 10 new countries — this marketplace connects brands with creators to foster collaboration. The new regions include South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Israel, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina and Indonesi

Microsoft is launching its mobile game store in July

Microsoft will launch its own mobile game store in July, the company announced at the Bloomberg Technology Summit on Thursday. Xbox president Sarah Bond shared that the company plans to bring its first-party portfolio, which includes titles like Candy Crush and Minecraft, to the mobile store at la

WhatsApp’s latest update streamlines navigation and adds a 'darker dark mode'

WhatsApp is updating its mobile apps for a fresh and more streamlined look, while also introducing a new “darker dark mode,” the company announced on Thursday. The messaging app says that over the years, it has primarily focused on adding utility to the app and that while the product continues

Plinky is an app for you to collect and organize links easily

The internet is full of cool websites, and some of them are so interesting and useful, it’s no wonder people want to save them for posterity. Bookmark managers, notes apps, and read-it-later services like Pocket are great for collecting and organizing links, but the fact is there are too many

Bumble says it’s looking to M&A to drive growth

Dating apps and other social friend-finders are being put on notice: Dating app giant Bumble is looking to make more acquisitions. The company said during its first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that it plans to use M&A “opportunistically” to help it better prioritize inorganic

Match looks to Hinge as Tinder fails

Match Group, the company that owns several dating apps, including Tinder and Hinge, released its first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, which shows that Tinder’s paying user base has decreased for the sixth quarter in a row. On the other hand, Hinge has seen an increase in members who are

Google brings a variation on ‘Circle to Search’ to iPhone users

Google has found a way to bring a variation of its clever “Circle to Search” gesture to iPhone users. The new interaction, launched in January, allows Android users to search from anywhere on their device by circling, highlighting, scribbling or tapping, making it easier to engage with Google S

NYT Games launches a Wordle archive with access to more than 1,000 past puzzles

The New York Times Games announced on Tuesday that it’s launching a Wordle archive, offering subscribers access to more than 1,000 past Wordle puzzles. The company has started rolling out the Wordle archive on mobile and desktop to “Games” and “All Access” su

TikTok sues the US government over law that could ban the app

TikTok is suing the United States government in an effort to block a law that would ban TikTok if its parent company, ByteDance, fails to sell it within a year. The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, argues that the bill violates the U.S. Constitution. TikTok argues that the law violates the U.S.

Threads is testing cross-posting from Instagram globally

Meta is encouraging more users to post to its X rival Threads. In its latest experiment, the company is providing an easy toggle for users to cross-post from Instagram to Threads, the company told technewss. Earlier today, users shared that they saw control for cross-posting on their Instagram ac

Jack Dorsey departs Bluesky board

Bluesky's most prominent backer has left its board. On Saturday, Jack Dorsey posted on X about grants for open protocols from his philanthropic Start Small initiative. This prompted someone to ask Dorsey if he was still on the Bluesky board, and he responded with a terse “no.” Dorsey did n

Match-owned Archer hits over half a million installs amid dating app slump

It's been almost one year since Match Group announced the launch of Archer, the online dating giant's first app for gay, bi, and queer men. Since rolling out to New York last June, Archer has been downloaded more than 685,000 times, according to estimates from market intelligence firm Senso