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The EU opens a wide-ranging probe into TikTok
TikTok is in the EU's crosshairs over potential Digital Services Act violations around the safety of minors and other matters.
Omegle shuts down after 14 years of random chats
While its creator didn't delve into the specific reasons for Omegle's shutdown, he admitted that "some people misused [the service], including to commit unspeakably heinous crimes."
Flipboard brings its notes feature to iOS and Android
Flipboard hopes notes will help users start conversations, share ideas and build small communities around a shared interest or theme.
Niantic's Campfire social AR app rolls out for 'Pokémon Go' players
Niantic has begun rolling out Campfire, a social app that will let users chat with their friends, join groups of like-minded mobile wanders, and arrange major events like Pokemon Go's raids.
Cameo lays off almost a quarter of its staff, including executives
Cameo, the startup behind the video app that allows users to pay celebrities for short personalized greetings, has laid off a significant chunk of its workforce.
'Valorant' will let players mute words they don't want to appear in text chat
If you'd rather not mute certain 'Valorant' players even though they occasionally make sketchy comments in chat, a new update could solve the problem.
Longer TikTok videos are coming to everyone
Instead of adhering to the usual 60-second limit, TikTok users can now share clips that were as long as three minutes.
Epic Games Store lines up new social features including a party system
The Epic Games Store is building in a party system with voice and text chat.
WhatsApp: Let us share your data with Facebook or else
“As part of the Facebook Companies, WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information (see here) with, the other Facebook Companies,” the updated privacy policy reads.
Pinterest adds better organizational tools for your online mood boards
To help its more active users wrangle their “visual inspiration” more easily -- and to keep moments like the one I’ve described from happening too often -- Pinterest has rolled out a handful of new organizational tools.
TikTok is experimenting with longer-form, three-minute videos
The beauty of TikToks is that they're (usually) never long enough to overstay their welcome, but a new report suggests the company behind the app is mulling a big change.
One-time Foursquare competitor Gowalla is coming back as an AR app
Provided the pandemic cooperates, the hope is to relaunch the app in the first half of 2021 in select cities.
Instagram is testing personal fundraisers in the US, UK and Ireland
The feature will be available on Android at first, and iOS later.
Strava is moving some free features behind a subscription
Strava is moving some of its free features into a subscription package.
‘Minecraft Earth’ players can share their builds with just a web link
Microsoft is making it easier to share Minecraft Earth builds with just a link.
Twitter users on Android can now pin lists to their Home feeds
Twitter's curated timeline algorithm is iffy, but the chronological timeline can turn into a mess, too. In September, the platform rolled out a feature that let iOS users quickly swipe between five pinned lists, as well as the Home timeline. This helped users create their own customized experience -- one could quickly scroll through the accounts that are most relevant to them and ensure they didn't miss anything important. Twitter assured Engadget that the same feature would come to Android shortly, and that day is finally here. The company announced that Android users should start seeing the new feature today.
Facebook’s rebuilt Messenger is a big step towards unifying its chat apps
Facebook just moved one step closer toward its goal of allowing users to swap messages across Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. Today, the company announced that it's rolling out a new version of Messenger for iOS that's been rebuilt "from the ground up." This is the "Lightspeed" redesign the company first teased last year at F8. But, besides, faster launch speeds, most users shouldn't notice much of a difference between the new app and the one they've already been using. That's because "Lightspeed" was more about simplifying Messenger's underlying code (Facebook notes the app went from 1.76 million lines of code to 360,000) than adding features to a notoriously bloated app.
Snapchat will host exclusive NBC Olympics coverage
The 2020 Olympic Summer Games don't commence for six months, but plenty of marketing work goes into the international event well beforehand. NBC, which owns the media rights to the Olympic Games, has renewed its deal with Snap to publish daily coverage of competitions in the US. The two companies have partnered before, with similar deals involving the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 Winter Olympics. However, this year's deal ensures far more content: NBC will produce more than 70 episodes for Snapchat -- three times than in 2018, according to Variety.
Twitter now lets everyone hide replies to their tweets
After months of testing, Twitter users everywhere will now have the ability to hide replies to their tweets. Rather than delete an inappropriate or offensive message forever, the new option allows you to curate the conversation. Other people can still see the responses to your tweets by tapping on the grey icon that appears after hiding a reply. The feature is available on both the main and Twitter Lite mobile apps, as well as on the web.
Mark Zuckerberg still won't ban 'political' ads from Facebook
For the better part of the past four years, Facebook just hasn't been able to keep its name out of the bad news cycle. The latest backlash the company is facing has to do with its political ad policies, which essentially allow politicians to spread misinformation on the site. CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the topic during Facebook's Q3 2019 earnings call today, saying he doesn't agree with "critics" who claim the company won't ban these controversial ads because "all we care about is money." Zuckerberg said ads from politicians will be less than 0.5 percent of Facebook's revenue this year, noting that the $5 billion FTC fine was more than 10 times more costly for the company.
