Instagram now lets you post a secret Story that viewers can uncover with a DM

Instagram is adding a handful of new features for Stories to give users more creative ways to share content and engage with each other, the company announced on Friday. Most notably, the social network is introducing a new “Reveal” feature that lets you post a hidden Story for your foll

Google dubs Epic’s demands from its antitrust win ‘unnecessary’ and ‘far beyond the scope’ of the verdict

In a new filing, Google is pushing back against Fortnite maker Epic Games’ numerous proposed remedies after a court determined Google engaged in anticompetitive practices on its Play Store. Following the jury’s decision late last year, the two sides pled their cases about how Google sho

Google will now show labels in Play Store to denote official government apps

Today, after months of testing, Google is rolling out labels in the Play Store to denote official state and federal government apps in more than 14 countries. This new label will help users rule out apps that masquerade as official apps to steal money or data. The company said that these badges cur

Apple adds more carve-outs to its EU core tech fee after criticism from devs

Apple is tweaking how it applies a new fee that can affect iOS developers in the European Union as it continues to configure its approach to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA): Developers of free apps will be able to avoid the fee entirely under changes it announced Thursday, which apply fr

SoundCloud takes on Spotify’s Discover Weekly feature with new ‘Buzzing Playlists’

SoundCloud has launched a new set of playlists under the “Buzzing Playlists” moniker to highlight up-and-coming tracks from artists. There are playlists for pop, hip-hop, R&B, and electronic music, and they feature tracks from artists who are part of SoundCloud’s Next Pro pai

TikTok gets Tay and Billie back with new UMG content licensing deal

Users on TikTok can once again create music clips using tracks from Universal Music Group’s catalog, which features some of the biggest names in music today: Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande. That’s because, after months of fighting, the social media platform and Universal

Snapchat launches new AR and ML tools for brands and advertisers

At the 2024 IAB NewFronts event on Wednesday, Snapchat announced a series of new augmented reality (AR) and machine learning (ML) tools designed to help brands and advertisers reach users on the social network with interactive experiences. The company said that it’s been investing in ML and a

Snapchat’s ‘My AI’ chatbot can now set in-app reminders and countdowns

Snapchat is launching the ability for users to set in-app reminders with the help of its My AI chatbot, the company announced on Wednesday. The social network is also rolling out editable chats, AI-powered custom Bitmoji looks, map reactions, emoji reactions, and more. With the new AI reminders fea

Substack now lets writers paywall their ‘Chat’ discussion spaces

Substack is launching the ability for writers to paywall their entire Chat or specific threads to paid or founding members only, the company announced on Wednesday. The rollout of the new feature comes 18 months after Substack launched Chat as a way for writers to communicate directly with their lo

WhatsApp now lets users plan and schedule events in Communities

WhatsApp is introducing a new way for people to organize events in Communities, the company announced on Wednesday. The feature makes it easier to plan get-togethers and events directly in WhatsApp, whether it’s setting up a PTA meeting or a birthday dinner. Anyone can create an event that ot

LinkedIn is the Twitter/X rival no one is talking about

Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in the fall of 2022, the market for Twitter alternatives has been saturated with would-be competitors ranging from smaller startups to open source apps to well-funded efforts like Threads from Instagram. But there’s one overlooked Twitter/X alternative that

OnlyFans hits UK regulator’s radar for age-verification failures around porn access

U.K. regulator Ofcom is investigating OnlyFans, an online adult content subscription service, for failing to prevent children from accessing pornography through the platform. Ofcom, the official regulatory body for the U.K.’s broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries, says it has

Calendly revamps its browser extension as it seeks to do more than schedule meetings

Appointment scheduling service Calendly has redesigned its browser extension in a bid to improve its schedule management features and make scheduling faster. The new extension, available for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Outlook, has a “Meetings” tab that houses your meetings and lets you j

Twitch’s TikTok-like discovery feed is rolling out to all users

Twitch is officially rolling out its new TikTok-like discovery feed to all users this week, the company announced on Tuesday. The new feed, which is launching as a tab within the Twitch iOS and Android apps, allows viewers to scroll through bite-sized bits of content to discover new streamers. The