Aisha Malik, Author at TechCrunch

Reddit introduces a new ad format that looks similar to posts made by users

Aisha Malik — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 15:35:09 +0000

Reddit is introducing a new ad format that looks similar to posts made by users on the platform, the company announced on Thursday. The launch comes as Reddit is readying its initial public offering (IPO). The new ad format, called free-form ads, is designed to feel similar to the content that users share with each other […]

Instagram is working on a feature that would allow you to let others put a ‘Spin’ on your Reel

Aisha Malik — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:15:29 +0000

Instagram is working on a “Spins” feature for Reels, its short-form video TikTok clone, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The feature, which was first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, would allow other users to swap out the text or audio in your Reels. Instagram says Spins is an internal prototype and isn’t being tested […]

Don Lemon says Elon Musk has canceled his deal for a show on X

Aisha Malik — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 17:12:31 +0000

Don Lemon announced on Wednesday that X owner Elon Musk has canceled the deal for his upcoming talkshow on the platform. Lemon, a former CNN anchor, says Musk terminated the partnership hours after he interviewed the multibillionaire for the first episode of the show. “Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which […]

Journey acquires mental health startup Felt to enhance its employee assistance program

Aisha Malik — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 12:00:55 +0000

Employee-focused mental health company Journey is acquiring Felt, a startup formerly known as Mine’d that specializes in matching individuals with therapists using artificial intelligence. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Journey, which offers a mental health employee assistance program used by organizations like Georgetown University and Regeneron, says the acquisition aligns with […]

Bluesky launches Ozone, a tool that lets users create and run their own independent moderation services

Aisha Malik — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 20:54:31 +0000

Decentralized Twitter/X rival Bluesky announced on Tuesday that it’s open sourcing Ozone, a tool that lets individuals and teams collaboratively review and label content on the network. The company plans to open up the ability for individuals and teams to run their own independent moderation services later this week, which means users will be able to […]

TikTok is now letting creators in more countries earn money for their effects

Aisha Malik — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:00:09 +0000

TikTok is expanding its Effect Creator Rewards monetization program to more regions and lowering its payout threshold, the company announced today. The program, which launched in May 2023, rewards creators for the effects they make through TikTok’s AR development platform, Effect House. TikTok is also updating the program’s payout model, as creators will now receive rewards […]

Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras inside its listings

Aisha Malik — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 15:51:04 +0000

Airbnb is banning the use of indoor security cameras in all of its listings, the company announced on Monday. Previously, Airbnb has allowed hosts to have indoor security cameras in common areas, such as hallways and living rooms, as long as they disclosed them on their listing page and did not place them in bathrooms […]

Twitter’s former head of Trust & Safety, Yoel Roth, joins Tinder owner Match Group

Aisha Malik — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 15:08:44 +0000

Twitter’s former head of trust and safety Yoel Roth announced today that he is joining Match Group, the parent company of several popular dating apps, including Tinder and Hinge. Yoel, who shared the move on LinkedIn, is now the company’s vice president of Trust and Safety. “As they say… some personal news! I swiped right […]

Reddit launches free tools to help businesses grow their presence on the site ahead of IPO

Aisha Malik — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 16:04:11 +0000

Reddit announced today that it’s launching a suite of tools, called Reddit Pro, to help businesses grow an organic presence on the platform. The launch comes as Reddit is readying its initial public offering (IPO). With this new suite of free tools, Reddit is likely seeking to add more brands to its platform and possibly […]

Threads now lets all users save drafts and take photos within the app

Aisha Malik — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 17:42:53 +0000

Threads, the Twitter-like app from Instagram, is rolling out the ability for users to save a draft and take photos within the app. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the features today, noting they are designed to “make it easier to share your ideas on the fly.” The official rollout comes a few weeks after Threads […]

PayPal launches ‘Tap to Pay’ on iPhone for U.S. businesses using Venmo and Zettle

Aisha Malik — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 16:52:49 +0000

PayPal announced today that it’s launching “Tap to Pay” for merchants with an iPhone through the Venmo and Zettle apps in the U.S. PayPal, which owns both Venmo and Zettle, says the feature will allow businesses to accept contactless card and digital wallet payments directly on their iPhones with no additional cost or hardware. The […]

Bored? Go play this hidden game in your Instagram DMs

Aisha Malik — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 14:20:08 +0000

Instagram has quietly added a secret emoji game that you can access in your DMs. The goal of the game is simple: Use your finger to move the paddle at the bottom of your screen to keep your emoji afloat and continuously bouncing. Drop your emoji, and it’s game over. The game is reminiscent of […]

Adobe is making it easier to create social content on mobile with AI

Aisha Malik — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 14:00:27 +0000

Adobe is making it easier for users to create and publish social content on mobile, as the company announced today that it’s launching the latest version of the Adobe Express app in beta. With this update, Adobe is bringing its Firefly AI models directly into the app, allowing users to quickly create and edit social […]

NYT Games debuts redesigned app to boost discovery and simplify navigation

Aisha Malik — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 13:00:27 +0000

The NYT Games app is debuting a new redesign to help users discover games and track their progress more easily. The redesign comes nearly a year after the New York Times renamed its games-focused app from “NYT Crosswords” to “NYT Games” to better represent its growing family of games. The redesign, which features new game […]

TikTok says its revamped creator fund has increased total creator revenue by over 250%

Aisha Malik — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 22:30:27 +0000

TikTok announced today that its revamped creator fund has increased total creator revenue by over 250% within the last six months. The company says the fund, which launched a year ago and eventually replaced TikTok’s original $1 billion Creator Fund, is exiting beta in the coming weeks. TikTok also announced that its LIVE Subscription monetization […]

Discord comes back online after widespread outage

Aisha Malik — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:24:15 +0000

Discord is back online after an outage this morning, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The outage came as Meta’s Instagram, Facebook and Threads all went down this morning. YouTube has also confirmed that its service is having issues this morning too, and that it’s working on a fix. “This incident has been resolved,” Discord’s status […]

Waze now helps you navigate roundabouts, alerts you about speed limit changes and more

Aisha Malik — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:47:57 +0000

Waze is adding a few new features that will help users navigate tricky roundabouts, get alerts when a speed limit is about to change and get warnings about speed bumps and sharp curves. The Google-owned company is also making it easier for users to find parking information, see changes to their favorite routes and be […]

Instagram now lets you edit DMs up to 15 mins after sending them

Aisha Malik — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:34:22 +0000

Instagram announced today that it’s rolling out the ability for users to edit their direct messages for up to 15 minutes after sending them. The company also announced that users will soon also get the option to pin up to three messaging threads to the top of their inbox. The ability to edit your DMs lets […]

MyHeritage debuts OldNews.com, offering access to millions of historical newspaper pages

Aisha Malik — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 18:00:45 +0000

MyHeritage announced today that it’s launching OldNews.com, a new website that offers access to thousands of historical newspapers, mainly from the 1800s and 1900s. The website includes articles from major international newspapers to small-town journals and gazettes. Its search engine lets you quickly find information on a person, topic or event. OldNews is a subscription-based […]

Google is making search suggestions in Chrome more helpful

Aisha Malik — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 17:00:44 +0000

Google is introducing improvements to search suggestions in Chrome, the company announced today. As part of the changes, users will start to get more helpful search suggestions in Chrome based on what others are searching for, see more images for suggested searches and find search suggestions even with a poor connection. Search suggestions are the […]