Tag: Apps

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Google tests a helpful app comparison feature on Google Play

Google is testing a new feature that could improve discovery for Android apps on Google Play. The company confirmed it’s experimenting with a “Compare Apps” option that would allow Google Play users to quickly and more easily understand the slight differences between otherwise similar apps by comparing specific features and metrics — like star ratings or total downloads, for example.

The feature was first spotted by Android Police, which found it at the bottom of an individual app listing page for a media player on the Play Store (ver. 22.4.28).

Image Credits: Android Police

Google confirmed the feature is live but only as a small test.

After users scrolled down past the app details and reviews, the page offered a comparison chart that allowed users to compare the VLC Player app with other media players across aspects like “Ease of Use,” support for offline play, and various media player specific features — like visual quality (HD, SD, etc.) and controls (gesture control, playback, scrubber, etc.).

The feature may leverage data Google has sourced from questions it asked app reviewers, though that aspect is not clear at this time. It also pulls in other data it already has on file, like the aggregate star rating and how many downloads the app has seen to date, for instance.

Typically, in place of the comparison chart, Google Play would provide a list of “similar apps” at the bottom of the listings page. This is similar to Apple’s “You Might Also Like” app suggestions and common across app stores. The idea with “similar apps” is to help point users researching apps to others in same genre. But making a determination of which to download often requires reading through the app’s descriptions and user reviews, which can be time-consuming.

With a comparison chart, users could more quickly figure out which app was the better fit for their needs, instead of wasting time researching or downloading multiple apps to install only to find they didn’t offer a particular feature the user had wanted.

Google confirmed to TechCrunch this is a “small experiment” that’s currently running, but says it doesn’t have immediate plans for a broader rollout. That’s a shame!

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True, the social networking app that promises to ‘protect your privacy,’ exposed private messages and user locations

True bills itself as the social networking app that will “protect your privacy.” But a security lapse left one of its servers exposed — and spilling private user data to the internet for anyone to find.

The app was launched in 2017 by Hello Mobile, a little-known virtual cell carrier that piggybacks off T-Mobile’s network. True’s website says it has raised $14 million in seed funding, and claimed more than half a million users shortly after its launch.

But a dashboard for one of the app’s databases was exposed to the internet without a password, allowing anyone to read, browse and search the database — including private user data.

Mossab Hussein, chief security officer at Dubai-based cybersecurity firm SpiderSilk, found the exposed dashboard and provided details to TechCrunch. Data provided by BinaryEdge, a search engine for exposed databases and devices, showed the dashboard was exposed since at least early September.

More on Extra Crunch

After we reached out, True pulled the dashboard offline.

Bret Cox, chief executive at True, confirmed the security lapse but did not answer our specific questions, including if the company planned to inform users of the security lapse or if it planned to disclose the incident to regulators under state data breach notification laws.

The dashboard contained daily server logs dating back to February, and included the user’s registered email address or phone number, the contents of private posts and messages between users, and the user’s last known geolocation, which could identify where a user was or had been. The dashboard also exposed the email and phone contacts uploaded by the user, which True uses to match with known friends in the app.

None of the data was encrypted.

TechCrunch confirmed the dashboard was returning real user data by creating a test account and asking Hussein to provide data that only we would know, such as the phone number used to register the account.

Hussein said that the dashboard was also leaking account access tokens, which could be used to hack into and hijack any user’s account. These account access tokens look like a line of random letters and numbers, but keep the user logged into the app without having to enter their login details every time. Using our test account, Hussein found our access token from the dashboard, and used it to access our account and post a message on our feed.

The dashboard also exposed one-time login codes, which True sends to an account’s associated email address or phone number instead of storing passwords.

True says deleting an account “will immediately remove all of your content from our servers,” but deleting our test account did not remove our private messages, posts and photos, and could still be searched from the dashboard.

“This is another example of how mistakes can happen at any organization, even those that are privacy-centric,” Hussein told TechCrunch. “It highlights the importance of not only building secure applications and websites, but also ensuring that proper data security measures are embedded within their internal procedures.”

A spokesperson for Hello Mobile could not be reached.

Last year, Hussein found an exposed database dashboard belonging to Blind, the “anonymous social network,” favored by employees to publicly disclose malfeasance and wrongdoing at their companies.

You can contact the author with tips securely using Signal and WhatsApp to: +1 646-755-8849.

Decrypted: How Twitter was hacked, GitHub DMCA backfires

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Apple eyes the TikTok generation with an updated version of Clips

Apple is today rolling out an update to its video creation app, Clips, which brings much-needed support for vertical videos, allowing for sharing to TikTok and the “Stories” feature in other social apps. The addition is one of several arriving with the release of Clips 3.0, which also introduces support for horizontal video, as well as HDR for iPhone 12 users, along with other smaller changes, like new stickers, sounds and posters, for example.

Apple’s Clips was first launched in 2017 with an eye on being a first stop for video creation before publishing to Instagram. But the app’s support for only square-formatted video has since become outdated. Casual social videos today are often now published to newer video-centric social media networks, like TikTok and its short-form rivals, including Triller, Dubsmash, Instagram Reels, and others.

Meanwhile, Stories — like those found on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest and soon, Twitter — have become a key way that today’s users publish content to social media.

Apple, in fact, says that support for vertical video had become its No. 1 request from users since Clips launched.

Clips 3.0 introduces supports both 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios, in addition to the square format. When the app is opened on iPad, it will default to the landscape format, which can be particularly useful in educational scenarios where teachers are using the app in the classrooms with students.

On iPad, Clips users can also interact with the app when their iPad is in a case, like Magic Keyboard for iPad and others. It also supports use with a mouse or trackpad, and allowing users to write text in text fields using Apple Pencil.

Image Credits: Apple

The new app will also now support recording HDR video footage with the rear-facing camera on iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro.

Clips’ overall user interface has been refreshed, too. You’ll notice a redesigned record screen that floats on top of the viewer when shooting vertically or horizontally, which could help to address some user complaints of the app feeling “slow.”

Users will also be able to more easily view and access the various Effects options, their Clips Projects and other media.

The tweaks to the user interface also feel a bit like a nod to TikTok. For example, you can now swipe up on the Effects to see a full-height card that shows you the available stickers and text labels to add to your videos. This format of a pop-up card filled with effects is similar to TikTok — though there it’s opened with a button tap and not a gesture.

Image Credits: Apple

The update also brings more content options, including 8 new social stickers (like “Sound On” for Instagram Stories), 24 new royalty-free soundtracks (bringing the total library to 100), and 6 new arrows and shapes. From the new Media browser in Clips, you can pull in your own photos and videos or toggle over to a Posters section to pick from 70 customizable, animated full-screen title cards that can be added to your video.

There are also updated filters, Live Titles and Selfie scenes available.

When your project is complete, you can easily share the resulting video to social networks from an updated sharing screen that includes quick access to destinations like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat, in addition to standard options like iMessage or saving the file locally.

Though Clips hasn’t had as much attention as some of Apple’s other apps — its last update was 6 months ago, for instance — it has gained a following. Apple says that users create “millions” of Clips projects per day, and it sees higher usage in the U.S., U.K., and China.

This year, Clips usage increased by 30%, Apple noted — a change that could have been brought about by the shift to virtual schooling which saw teachers in need of tools for creating digital content.

Image Credits:

With its expanded focus on vertical video, Clips has the potential to reach a much broader audience.

Today, many users prep videos for Stories or TikTok on third-party apps, like InShot, Prequel, Splice, PicCollage, Canva, VSCO, Funimate, KineMaster, Magisto, CapCut and others topping the App Store charts. But Clips, until now, couldn’t compete because it didn’t include vertical video support at all.

The new version of Clips is rolling out today to users worldwide.

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Justice at Spotify demands better compensation and increased transparency for musicians

Musicians have taken issue with Spotify’s artist compensation for about as long as there’s been a Spotify. Making a living as a musician is difficult enough for the vast majority of those who are brave — or perhaps foolish — enough to attempt such things, but being thrown in a seemingly endless global pandemic has made it near impossible for many.

This week the Music Workers Union (UMAW) launched a campaign aimed at highlighting some of the issues around the streaming giant’s model. There are demands, as well. At the top of the list is a seemingly small one: one cent per stream on the service. Justice at Spotify has its own site, along with a petition, asking artists to sign on.

“With the entire live music ecosystem in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic, music workers are more reliant on streaming income than ever,” the org writes. “We are calling on Spotify to deliver increased royalty payments, transparency in their practices, and to stop fighting artists.

Organization rep Damon Krukowski told TechCrunch that the reaction so far has been overwhelmingly positive among artists. And, as anticipated, less so among some in the industry.

“Response to our Justice at Spotify campaign from musicians has been quick and positive — we are about to hit 10,000 signatures by artists in only the first 48 hours,” Krukowski writes. “At the same time, response from certain corners of the industry has been as cold as we expected: ‘you’re just musicians and don’t understand business,’ is the basic gist of it. To which I would say: the problem we are calling attention to is precisely that musicians have been left out of the conversation! We always come last in payment, and in consultation — even though our work is what the streaming business is built on.”

The growing list of signees includes a number of prominent names — including, unsurprisingly, many in indie music who have been disproportionally hurt by changing models and the current lockdown. Names include Thurston Moore, Saul Williams, Ezra Furman, New Bomb Turk, Frankie Cosmos, Guy Picciotto, Speedy Ortiz and Mary Lattimore.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek caused a storm of controversy in July with seemingly callous comments about artist compensation as live shows have all but completely dried up during the pandemic. “Some artists that used to do well in the past may not do well in this future landscape,” he told Music Ally, “where you can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough.”

Meanwhile, the service has poured millions into content and startup acquisitions to gain a foothold in the podcast industry. That includes a $100 million acquisition of the Joe Rogan Experience, which continues to cause controversy among the public and, reportedly, Spotify’s own staff.

We’ve reached out to Spotify for comment and will update accordingly when we hear back. Krukowski says the next steps for the organization will largely depend on the response from Spotify and the will of its members. “We have ideas for next steps in this campaign but that will depend on how it is received by both our fellow musicians, and Spotify,” he says.

Spotify signs ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ to an exclusive multi-year deal

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TikTok to add Election Day resources, live results from AP to its election guide

TikTok announced this morning it will expand the set of resources provided in its in-app election guide in the U.S. to include direct access to sites that help users get information about polling locations and hours, those that help people having voting difficulties, and those offering other details how the voting process works, and more. TikTok also said it’s working with the Associated Press (AP) to provide access to an interactive map showing live results for both federal and state elections, as well as ballot initiatives, in the updated guide.

This map will be updated with live results starting on Election Day, so TikTok users can check it at any time from within the app to get the most current information.

In addition to the AP, the expanded election guide will include FAQs from the National Association of Secretaries of State about the voting process itself. This section helps to explain details that may be new to TikTok’s younger user base — many who voted for the first time in this election. This information, which is summarized in the app, includes how election results are compiled and what to expect during the counting process.

Image Credits: TikTok

TikTok will also link out to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) website for information about polling locations and hours.

And it will link to the Election Protection Hotline number which provides assistance with voting difficulties in English, Spanish, Asian languages, and Arabic, as well as a video call option for American Sign Language.

Image Credits: TikTok

The election guide was first introduced in the TikTok app last month to help connect TikTok’s 100 million U.S. users to partner organizations that offered information about the candidates, how to vote, media literacy and more. At launch, the guide included information from the National Association of Secretaries of State, BallotReady, SignVote and several others.

The information is organized in an easy-to-read format, but TikTok itself is not creating the content — it’s pulled from partners and cited accordingly. In other cases, TikTok offers a short snippet of information with a link to the partner site to “learn more.”

TikTok users are today pointed to the guide by way of a banner that appears across all election-related videos. They can also choose to visit it directly from TikTok’s Discover Page, where it has a permanent home during election season.

With the update, if users encounter videos about the elections — for example, if a video discusses the current results — the user could tap the link to see the AP’s live election map. This could be useful because TikTok’s in-feed videos aren’t always the most recent.

Image Credits: TikTok

TikTok has been building up its election-related resources for months. This summer, it announced expanded partnerships with PolitiFact and Lead Stories to fact check misinformation related to the 2020 U.S. election in its app, in addition to their work helping with misinformation related to COVID-19, climate change and other topics.

It also claimed to be working with experts, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to protect against foreign influence on its platform. And it banned deepfakes.

Like other social media platforms, TikTok said it isn’t accepting political ads. However, unlike Facebook and Google, which only committed to temporary pauses on these ads before and after election day, TikTok announced its decision in October 2019, explaining that the nature of political ads didn’t fit with the experience its users expect on its platform.

Ahead of today’s news about the expanded election guide, TikTok also launched an Election Safety Center to increase transparency about how its policies apply to a range of election-related content, including when and why content is removed.

TikTok explains its ban on political advertising

While it’s common for a large tech platform to offer election-related resources to its user base — Facebook, Google, Snapchat and Twitter all do the same — TikTok’s position is unique. The app is currently trying to fight off the Trump administration’s ban of its app in the U.S., and its long-term fate in the country is still unknown.

Despite these issues, TikTok has not slowed on developing new features, adding resources, or expanding its platform in other ways. Just yesterday, for example, TikTok announced a partnership with Shopify over social commerce initiatives.

TikTok’s new election guide resources will roll out on Nov. 3 in the U.S.

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Reddit will allow employees to work from anywhere, going forward

Spurred on by the seemingly endless COVID-19 pandemic — and no doubt inspired by similar moves from companies like Twitter — Reddit today announced plans to offer its staff the opportunity to work remotely, going forward. The company announced the move in a blog post today, noting some practical exceptions to the rule, including those working facilities and IT support roles.

“Looking ahead,” Reddit writes, “we want to meet the needs of our employees so they can do their best work, especially in a time of uncertainty. And as we deliver on our mission of creating belonging for everyone in the world, we want Reddit to be positioned as a workforce that’s as diverse as its ecosystem of communities and users.”

Twitter says staff can continue working from home permanently

The company says it will continue to offer the ability to work from its office (or a combination of remote and office work), though the physical spaces will be “reimagined” — a move that likely will be met with a mixed reception depending on what employees look for in an office space.

“Imagine: casual and coffee shop-style seating, private space for heads-down focusing, larger bookable resources and collaboration spaces for teams to strategically meet IRL,” it writes, “and no more fixed desks—we’ll have neighborhoods for teams to gather and bookable desks for employees working in the office.”

It’s more akin to a co-working space than a traditional office from the sound of it. The move also means Reddit will be rethinking salaries, offering salaries reserved for places with high cost of living like New York and San Francisco, regardless of the employee’s location.

How 3 remote-friendly tech companies plan to return to the office

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Instagram extends time limits on live streams to 4 hours, will soon support archiving

Instagram is adapting to the way creators have been using its service during the coronavirus pandemic. With individuals and businesses now limited from hosting in-person events — like concerts, classes, meetups, and more — users have turned to Instagram to live stream instead. Today, the company says it’s significantly expanding the time limit for these streams, from 1 hour to now 4 hours for all users worldwide.

The change, the company explains, is meant to help those who’ve had to pivot to virtual events, like yoga and fitness instructors, teachers, musicians, artists and activists, among others. During the height of government lockdowns in the U.S., Instagram Live became a place for people to gather as DJ’s hosted live sets, artists played their music for fans, celebs hosted live talk shows, workout enthusiasts joined live classes, and more. Live usage had then jumped 70% over pre-coronavirus numbers in the U.S. as people connected online.

Many of these Instagram Live creators had wanted to extend their sessions beyond the 60 minute time limit without an interruption.

The change puts Instagram on par with the time limits offered by Facebook for live streams from mobile devices, which is also 4 hours. (If live streaming from a desktop computer or via an API, the Facebook time limit expands to 8 hours.)

While the longer time limit is opening up to all creators worldwide starting today, Instagram says the creator’s account has to be “good standing” in order to take advantage. That means the account can’t have a history of either intellectual property or policy violations.

Related to this change, Instagram will also update the “Live Now” section in IGTV and at the end of live streams to help direct users to more live content.

Instagram also today pre-announced another feature which has yet to arrive.

It says that it will “soon” add an option that will allow creators to archive their live streams for up to 30 days.

Image Credits: Instagram

Before, users could archive their Feed posts or their Stories to a private archive, but the only way to save a live stream was to publish it to IGTV immediately after the stream, through a feature introduced in May. 

The company says the new option to archive live broadcasts will mirror the existing archive experience for Stories and Feed Posts.

The difference is that archived live videos will be permanently deleted after 30 days.

But up until that time, the creator has the option to return to the video to save it or download it. This would allow the creator to publish the video on other social platforms, like Facebook or YouTube, or even trim out key parts for short-form video platforms, like TikTok. The Archive feature also means if a creator’s Live stream crashes for some reason — or if the creator forgot to download it in the moment — it can still be downloaded later on.

The news follows another recent Instagram update which introduced a new way for creators to monetize their Live streams.

The company earlier this month began rolling out badges in Instagram Live to an initial group of over 50,000 creators who will test the feature by selling badges at price points of $0.99, $1.99, or $4.99. These badges help fans’ comments stand out in busy streams, allow fans to support a favorite creator, and places the fan’s name on the creator’s list of badge holders.

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Facetune maker’s new app Filtertune let anyone create and share personalized photo filters

Facetune maker Lightricks is out today with a new app, Filtertune, designed to create a community around custom photo filters. With the app, creators can make their own personalized preset photos filters, then share them across social media as photos that have a special QR code attached. When others see a filter they like, they can screenshot it to import it back into the Filtertune app for their own use.

While it would be easier to create some sort of in-app system for sharing filters — similar to Instagram’s “Effect Gallery,” for example — Lightricks’ user base isn’t concentrated in one single app.

Instead, it offers an ever-expanding suite of mobile photo and video editing apps, including its flagship Facetune and sequel, Facetune2, as well as Facetune Video, Enlight Quickshot, Photofox, Videoleap, Pixaloop, Boosted, Seen, PosterBoost, Artleap, and Beatleap.

Image Credits: Lightricks

Combined, its collection of apps have seen over 400 million downloads to date, but its active user numbers are much smaller. Lightricks this summer said its collection of apps had 200 million registered users. Paid subscribers had reached 3 million as of last year.

While these numbers and the apps’ growth helped to turn Lightricks into a unicorn, Instagram offers access to a much larger photo sharing community. That’s why it makes sense for Filtertune to provide tools that allow users to tap into existing social media platforms to share their filters and discover new ones.

The maker of popular selfie app Facetune just landed $135 million at a unicorn valuation

In fact, Lightricks says the idea for the app was actually prompted by social media trends where online influencers were posting “How I Edit My Photos,” and offering their own presets for fans to download or purchase.

Filtertune, however, isn’t a marketplace for filters. It’s just a tool for creation, editing and sharing.

Using the app, you can either edit an existing filter or create one of your own from scratch.

The app focuses on realistic photo editing, not using overlays of digital assets to create new styles — like apps that swap out the background, for example, or those that use AR.

When your filter is complete, you tap the sharing button which adds a banner to your photo that reads: “Get this filter,” and offers download instructions along with a QR code. You then save this image to your iPhone Camera Roll, then post it anywhere you want — like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, in an email, in a messaging app, or on your own website.

When others see the shared image, they save it to their own Camera Roll by taking a screenshot.

The next time those users open the Filtertune app, it will scan for new filters by looking for images with a QR code. When it finds them, the new filters will be added to the in-app collection.

Image Credits: Lightricks

Users can then use Filtertune to edit photos with any of the custom filters discovered from across social media.

It is interesting to see how much Filtertune leans on Instagram to drive discovery here. Even the “Discover” button in the app, when tapped, takes you directly to the #filtertune hashtag on Instagram, instead of a dedicated section within its own app where users could find new filters to try.

Facetune maker Lightricks brings its popular selfie retouching features to video

“Filtertune represents a natural evolution of our growing product experiences, and with it, Lightricks will continue fostering a culture of online community, sharing, and collaboration that is necessary for young artists, creators, and anyone who enjoys social media,” said Zeev Farbman, co-founder and CEO at Lightricks, in a statement about the new app’s launch.

Farbman also noted that Lightricks’ Facetune2 and Quickshot apps have seen a 30% increase and a 35% increase in users in 2020, respectively. The company also told TechCrunch that Ligthtricks, overall, has seen a 45% increase in monthly active users this year.

The new app is a free download on iOS. 

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Amazon adds device dashboard in bid to make Fire tablets a smart home control center

It’s been a busy few weeks for the smart home race. Amazon, Google and Apple have all announced new smart speakers aimed at — among other things — cementing their respective positions at the center of users’ connected households.

Adding onto the introduction of a whole bunch of new Echo devices, Amazon is also improving what its famously inexpensive Fire Tablets can do. Today the company will be rolling out a free software update to select slates that brings a smart home device dashboard. The system essentially serves as a one-stop shop for connected devices that work with Alexa.

Amazon Echo review: Well-rounded sound

It’s similar to the sorts of control centers Google and Apple offer with their respective Home apps, with access to things like smart lights, plugs, cameras, thermostats, you name it. Similar functionality can also be found on the Echo Show devices. Fire tablets offer a pretty cheap way in to that functionality (so, too, might Fire TVs, going forward). And, of course, Amazon has also made efforts to improve Alexa functionality on the devices, essentially letting them double as inexpensive smart displays.

Perhaps the biggest piece of the puzzle, however, is the addition of smart home hub functionality on the new Echo. The fact was a bit under reported (Amazon, after all, started adding this functionality with previous Echo Plus models), but adding zigbee functionality for the $99 device should go a ways toward lowering that barrier of entry.

This is the newer, rounder $100 Amazon Echo

 

 

 

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India’s FreshToHome raises $121 million to grow its meat and vegetable e-commerce platform

FreshToHome, an Indian e-commerce startup that sells fresh vegetables, fish, chicken and other kinds of meat, has raised $121 million in a new financing round as the Bangalore-headquartered firm reports accelerated growth spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

The startup, which offers its service in several major Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, is processing about 1.5 million orders a month, up from 420,000 monthly orders last year, said Shan Kadavil, co-founder and chief executive of FreshToHome, in an interview with TechCrunch.

The growing popularity of FreshToHome, which aims to “Uber-ize farmers and fishermen” for commodity exchange, comes as people become cautious about stepping outside of the homes and standing in queues in front of vegetable shops to reduce their exposure to the virus. FreshToHome provides contactless delivery of “100% fresh and 0% chemicals” vegetables and meats directly to consumers’ homes.

On the platform, farmers and fishermen bid for their latest yields (as mandated by local laws) electronically. This allow them to cut the middlemen, which helps them and FreshToHome assume better control over quality of the items and reduce the prices. The startup has also established its own supply chain network and transports items through trains and planes.

The new financing round for the startup — a Series C — was led by Investment Corporation of Dubai, the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai, Investcorp, Ascent Capital, U.S. Government’s development finance institution (DFC), and the Allana Group. As far as Series C financing round for consumer-focused startups goes, FreshToHome’s $121 million round is the largest to date for an Indian startup.

This is also the first time DFC has bought an equity stake in an Indian startup. It has previously lent capital to Odisha-headquartered MilkMantra. Iron Pillar, which led FreshToHome’s Series B round, invested $19 million in the new financing round. FreshToHome has raised $154 million to date.

Kadavil, who previously headed India operations of gaming firm Zynga and is an advisor to several startups, said raising a new round at the height of a pandemic was not necessarily difficult for FreshToHome as there is a pent up demand from investors for this category and the startup has demonstrated impressive growth in recent quarters.

“FreshToHome is a leader in leveraging AI-based technology and business innovation to bring a superior value proposition to customers and suppliers in a large and important market,” said Khalifa Al Daboos, Deputy CEO of Investment Corporation of Dubai, in a statement.

The startup, which currently clocks an annual recurring revenue of $80 million, aims to hit $200 million next year. Kadavil said FreshToHome has become EBIDTA profitable (it is generating a profit if you exclude interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization costs) in several mature cities and will now expand to more geographies. It already operates in the UAE, and plans to expand to Saudi Arabia. It also plans to expand within India and become operational in Kolkata.

FreshToHome competes with a handful of startups, including Licious, which has raised more than $94.5 million to date, and to an extent with BigBasket.