The Latest from Ivan Mehta
TikTok Music’s trademarks spotted in multiple countries, hinting toward global launch plans
ByteDance may be preparing for a global launch of TikTok Music service, according to trademarks filed in several countries found by TechCrunch. The China-based conglomerate has filed TikTok Music trad
This is how edited tweets might look when embedded elsewhere
While Twitter hasn’t officially released its much-anticipated edit tweet feature yet, one lingering question has been how they would look as embeds on other sites. Would they dynamically change
Yelp updates its Android app with a redesigned home feed and map-based search
Yelp updating its Android app to introduce a new vertical Home Feed and search results with maps for better restaurant discovery, following last year’s release of a similar update for Yelp’
Microsoft launches Outlook Lite for low-powered Android phones
Microsoft has launched its lightweight Outlook Lite Android app, which is suitable for low-end Android devices and regions with data connectivity issues. The app has a download size of less than 5MB c
Use Twitter’s iOS app without signing up for an account in Twitter’s latest test
In its latest effort to boost users and specifically app usage, Twitter is testing out a new way to get people engaged: Those who are new to the social network will be able to give the app a test driv
After dominating the short-video market, TikTok may be considering a music service
TikTok parent company ByteDance filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in May for a service called “TikTok Music.” First spotted by Business Insider, the f
Twitter’s new tests allow you to post images, videos and GIFs in one tweet
Twitter is starting a new test that allows users to post images, videos and GIFs in one multimedia tweet. Until now, users could post only one form of media per tweet. But this new format will shake t
Twitter is increasing the price of Twitter Blue from $2.99 to $4.99 per month
Twitter is increasing the price of its subscription service, Twitter Blue, from $2.99 to $4.99 per month. Starting in October, existing subscribers will have to pay more. New users will currently have
Google announces new Play Store policies around intrusive ads, impersonation and more
Google announced new Play Store policies for developers on Wednesday that aim to address issues with intrusive ads, alarms, VPNs and impersonation of brands and other apps. The company said these poli
Snapchat launches a spooky AR game for hunting ghosts around you
Snapchat has launched a new in-app game called Ghost Phone designed to showcase the company’s AR technology by allowing players to discover the secrets of an abandoned phone and hunt supernatura
Gmail rolls out its latest Material You redesign and search improvements to all users
If you feel like you’ve seen a lot of “Gmail redesign roll out” posts in the last few months, it’s not just you: Google has been teasing and testing features for new, integrate
U.S. Senate advances chip funding bill to encourage local semiconductor manufacturing
The U.S. Senate voted in favor of advancing the CHIPS bill through cloture, or bypassing the filibuster stage, on Tuesday to bolster local semiconductor manufacturing. The bipartisan bill, once it pas
Google Maps rolls out location sharing notifications, immersive views and better bike navigation
Google — facing increasing competition from other apps like Instagram and TikTok when it comes to consumers searching for things — wants to be the first place people go for discovery and p
Best Buy is testing a digital-first, smaller retail store
Best Buy is opening a new digital-first 5,000 square feet small store in Monroe, North Carolina on July 26. This store will have selected tech products like home theater and audio, computing, headphon
Netflix’s iOS app now has a sign-up button that takes you to its website
Netflix’s app on iOS now has a sign-up button that will redirect you to its site so you can subscribe to one of its plans with the company paying no App Store fees. This change comes after Apple
Google is reinstating app permissions list on Play Store
Google said today it’s reinstating the app permissions list on the Play Store after initially removing them in place of Data Safety labels that rolled out earlier this month. However, the compan
Skullcandy is partnering with Amazon to offer dual smart assistants
Skullcandy announced at Amazon’s Alexa live event today that is partnering with Native Voice — a voice service provider for hardware devices — to make multiple voice assistants avail
Google introduces new in-app purchase policy for EEA users
Google said today it will allow developers of non-gaming apps on the Play Store to provide alternative billing systems for in-app transactions and purchases for users based in the European Economic Ar
Russia hits Google with a $375M fine for allowing ‘prohibited’ Ukraine news on its platforms
Russia fined Google 21.1 billion rubles ($374 million) on Monday for repeatedly failing to “remove prohibited information” — content related to the country’s invasion and subsequen
Amazon refreshes Prime Video design with icon-based navigation and a dedicated sports tab
Amazon is introducing a new Prime Video interface for streaming devices, smart TVs and Android devices that ditches text-based tabs on top for icon-based navigation on the side along with a dedicated