Sarah Perez
Reporter
The Latest from Sarah Perez
Google says it just made Chrome a lot faster on both Mac and Android
Google’s Chrome web browser is getting a speed boost. According to a news announcement out today, Google has made several under-the-hood performance improvements to its popular browser, leading
Spotify introduces an iPhone Lock Screen widget for easy access to its app
Spotify is embracing the iOS Lock Screen. The company announced today it’s introducing a new iPhone Lock Screen widget to all users running iOS 16 or later that allows you to tap on Spotify̵
Spotify introduces new tech for turning radio broadcasts into podcasts
Spotify today is introducing new technology that will give radio broadcasters the ability to turn their existing audio content into podcasts, or what it’s calling “broadcast-to-podcast.
Warner Bros. Discovery promises Max will be a more personalized, technically improved streaming service
With next month’s arrival of the new streaming service “Max” from Warner Bros. Discovery, the company is also promising a revamped product experience with an expanded feature set, im
Opera brings its free VPN to iOS to rival Apple and Google’s paid alternatives
Opera, the makers of an ad-blocking web browser, whose most recent claim to fame is having TikTok built-in, announced today it’s rolling out an updated version of its iOS app that now includes i
After an investigation exposes its dangers, Pinterest announces new safety tools and parental controls
Following last month’s NBC News investigation into Pinterest that exposed how pedophiles had been using the service to curate image boards of young girls, the company on Tuesday announced furthe
Artifact, the news aggregator from Instagram’s co-founders, adds a social discussions feature
Artifact, the recently launched personalized news app from Instagram’s founders, is today launching a key new feature: a social discussions component. Previously in private testing, the feature
Google TV expands its free streaming lineup to over 800 live TV channels, including Tubi, Plex, Haystack and more
Google TV, the company’s smart TV operating system that powers Chromecast devices and various TVs, is today getting a significant update aimed at expanding access to free, streaming TV. The comp
TikTok considers ditching its ‘Friends’ tab for a new ‘Explore’ experience focused on discovery
Unlike Facebook, TikTok grew in popularity by connecting users with their interests, not their real-life friends and family. In fact, many people today deny the app’s request to upload their con
FTC orders supplement maker to pay $600K in first case involving hijacked Amazon reviews
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved a final consent order in its first-ever enforcement action over a case involving “review hijacking,” or when a marketer steals consumer revie
Poe’s AI chatbot app now lets you make your own bots using prompts
An app called Poe will now let users make their own chatbots using prompts combined with an existing bot, like ChatGPT, as the base. First launched publicly in February, Poe is the latest product from
YouTube Premium adds more perks with SharePlay support, higher quality video and more
YouTube Premium, the $11.99 per month ad-free version of YouTube, is today introducing a number of new features aimed at attracting and retaining subscribers. Most notably, the subscription plan will
Post, a publisher-focused Twitter alternative, launches to public
Post, a Twitter alternative of sorts that’s rethinking how publishers should engage with social media — and how they should monetize their readership — has opened its doors to the pu
Yik Yak users are protesting the app’s makeover after acquisition by Sidechat
Yik Yak users are enraged over the changes being made to the anonymous social app after its quiet acquisition by the similarly focused campus chat app, Sidechat. While Yik Yak had focused on anonymous
This Week in Apps: WWDC23, ByteDance pushes Lemon8 ahead of TikTok ban, T2 capitalizes on Twitter chaos
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app economy in 2023 hit a few snags, as c
Twitter alternative T2 launches new verification program, hires Discord engineering head as CTO
As Twitter begins its shift to a “pay to play” business model, a new Twitter alternative is preparing to take flight. T2, the seed-funded Twitter rival developed by Google and Twitter vete
Flipboard expands Mastodon support to its Android application
Magazine app Flipboard is integrating Mastodon in its Android application, as the company broadens its commitment to the federated social web. Flipboard CEO Mike McCue will also demonstrate the app
Roku announces a second set of layoffs impacting 200 employees, or 6% of its workforce
Roku is the latest tech company to announce a second round of layoffs with today’s news that it’s letting go of 6% of its workforce, or around 200 employees. The company disclosed the cuts
Spotify is testing new card-style user profiles focused on discovery
At Spotify’s Stream On event this month, the company introduced a redesigned app with TikTok-like discovery feeds, an AI DJ and other tools for artists and podcasters. But the app’s change
Apple spotted developing a ‘multiview’ feature for watching sports on Apple TV
Earlier this month, YouTube TV launched a new “multiview” feature that allows viewers to watch up to four streams of sports content at once. Now it looks like Apple TV is working on a simi