This Week in Apps recaps the latest in mobile OS new – TechCrunch

This Week in Apps is back, the TechCrunch weekly series that recaps the most recent in mobile OS news, mobile apps, and the overall app economy.

According to the most recent year-end, the app industry continues to grow with record numbers of downloads and consumer spending across both iOS and Google Play stores in 2021. reports. Global spending in China, including on iOS, Google Play and third party Android app stores, grew 19% in 2021. It reached $170 billion. App downloads grew by 5% to reach 220 billion in 2021. In addition, mobile advertising spend grew 23% annually to reach $295 billion.

Today’s consumers now spend more time in apps than ever before — even topping the time they spend watching TV, in some cases. For example, the average American watches 3.1 hours per day of television, but they spent 4.1 hours using their mobile device in 2021. And they’re not even the world’s heaviest mobile users. In countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, and South Korea users spent over five hours per days using mobile apps in 2021.

Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours, either. They can become large businesses. In 2021, 233 games and apps generated more than $100m in consumer spending, and 13 apps generated over $1 billion in revenue. This was a 20% increase over 2020, when 193 apps or games generated more than $100 million in annual consumer expenditures, and only eight apps exceeded $1 billion.

This Week in Apps is a place to keep up with the fast-moving industry in one location. It includes news, updates, mergers and acquisitions, as well as suggestions for new apps.

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Instagram to “nudge” teens away from some negative content

Social apps are taking a closer look at how they’re being used by teens and minors as regulatory pressure increases.

Last week, TikTok improved its protections for minor users when adding a new feature that allows users to remind themselves to “take a break” after watching videos for a certain amount of time on the app. The company also added a new feature that reminds users to “take a break” after watching videos for a certain amount of time. saidIt would notify younger teens that the new tool is available if they spent more than 100 minutes on TikTok in the previous day.

This week, Instagram said it’s rolling out its own set of improvements to the teen experience. It’s expanding access to its existing parental control features outside the U.S. to users in the U.K., Japan, Australia, Ireland, Canada, France and Germany starting this month, and plans to make them globally available by year end.

Instagram will allow parents or guardians to send invitations for teens to create supervision tools. Once enabled, they’ll be able to limit their teen’s usage of the app during specific times of day and days of the week. They’ll also be able to see more information when the teen reports an account or a post, including who they reported and the type of report. The feature will be updated for parents who already use parental controls in the U.S.

Notably, Meta is also now taking a cue from last fall’s congressional line of inquiry into how Instagram’s algorithms could be leading teens to develop eating disorders as searches for healthy recipes push them down rabbit holes to content that encourages disordered eating, over-exercise and other things that could trigger negative body image issues. Instagram says it will roll out “nudges” in the app that encourage teens to switch to a different topic if it sees them repeatedly looking at the same type of content on the Explore page. This feature is designed to help teens find new content by directing them away from content they are obsessing about. It also won’t nudge users toward content that’s associated with “appearance comparison,” the company said.

Of course, by limiting nudges to the Explore page, Instagram isn’t fully addressing the problem as users could still encounter this content while browsing their Feed, Stories or Reels. But in that case, the content is there because the user explicitly chose to follow someone — which is why parental monitoring of the time spent on the app remains important.

Sherlocks from Apple’s WWDC

Image Credits Apple

Apple introduced a number of new features and services across its platforms at this month’s Worldwide Developers Conference, but in doing so, the company appears to have once again pulled inspiration from the wider developer community. TechCrunch’s Ivan Mehta took a look at which apps got “sherlocked” during WWDC as a result. (The term refers to Apple’s old finder app called Sherlock which the company updated with features offered by a competitor, Watson. This move eventually saw the end of the app.

This time around, Apple introduced a number of concepts popularized by other apps — like Continuity Camera, which seems to be inspired by companies like Camo, which had allowed users to use their iPhone as a computer webcam. This situation reminds Luna and Duet Display of how they had to refocus to serve a wider ecosystem after Apple introduced Sidecar, which offers a similar capability to use the iPad secondary display. Camo will also need to shift its focus to Windows or Android as Apple enters the market.

Other services that may see increased competition include: BNPL apps like Klarna and Afterpay, which will now go up against Apple Pay Later; apps for removing the background from photos, which is now a native iOS 16 feature; medication tracking apps, which will compete with a native Apple Health feature; Figjam and other collaboration tools, which will have a new first-party rival in the form of Apple’s Freeform; and sleep tracking apps, whose functionality has been added to Apple Health.

Image Credits Apple (opens in a new window)

This year was particularly difficult for smaller startups that saw an opportunity in the market. However, not every Apple product copied is a fully developed product. For instance, Camo saw the shift to online meetings in the wake of COVID was driving consumer demand for better webcams — and what better way to serve that market than to repurpose the excellent camera most people already carried as a smartphone? But there are other things. Florian Mueller explained on the FOSS PatentsCamo was more of an idea than a product in this blog post. And perhaps in those cases, developers should focus on patenting whatever feature it is they’ve come up with, rather than waiting for Apple to swoop in with an app or API that could significantly impact their business. They might be compensated for some of their efforts.

FOSS also noted, however, that there continues to be concern that apps delivering their software to users through Apple’s own App Store are inadvertently giving Apple access to valuable data about their customers and traction. This concern could be alleviated by alternative app stores.

In fact, Apple’s “sherlocking” was a line of inquiry at last year’s antitrust hearing in the U.S. Senate, when a rep from Apple was asked whether there was a “strict firewall” or other internal policies in place that prevented them from leveraging the data from third-party businesses operating on their app stores to inform the development of their own competitive products. Apple’s response was vague as to whether it utilized such App Store data in product development.

“We don’t copy. We don’t kill. What we do is offer up a new choice and a new innovation,” Kyle Andeer, Apple’s chief compliance officer, had saidAt the time. He noted simply that Apple had “separate teams” and “controls in place” to avoid such issues.

TikTok moves U.S. user data over to Oracle

TikTok made a big move. said it would move its U.S. users’ data to Oracle servers located in the U.S. at the same time BuzzFeed published a remarkable report indicating that TikTok’s U.S. data was regularly being shared with ByteDance colleagues in China. Concern over China’s access to TikTok had previously led the Trump administration to ban the app in the U.S. The courts initially blocked the ban, and Biden took over the appeals. TikTok was still active throughout. saidIt would never give U.S. user information to anyone.

TikTok had been in discussions with many tech companies to acquire the U.S. business of its U.S. subsidiary when Trump’s ban was in effect. Oracle had been among the suitors, so it’s not surprising it was named in the new deal.

In recent days, TikTok had come under fire in media reports about its toxic workplace culture where employees were quitting because of being overworked — spending some 12 hours a day at their job due to requirements to align themselves with China’s business hours. The company was said to also reward the overworked and punish those who set more reasonable boundaries, as it seemed to enforce China’s 996 work schedule on non-Chinese employees. This schedule dictates that employees must work from 9 am to 9pm, six days per week. A WSJ report also identified some U.S. workers saidThey had worked an average of 85 hours per week, which led to health concerns, anxiety, and emotional lows that were so severe they sought therapy.

Image Credits Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

The next big social platform is the smartphone’s homescreen

This week, we delved into a new trend in social apps. These apps use homescreen widgets to connect with younger users. They are looking for simple, private social networking apps that allow them to stay in touch with their friends through casual photo-sharing. Continue reading:

Platforms from Apple

Image Credits Apple

• Apple announcedApple Camp offers new sessions for families as well as children. The Apple Store program runs June 20-August 31 and will offer lessons about using Apple’s technology and apps to do things like make a digital comic book, take photos, use Apple Pencil to draw and more.
• With Apple’s upcoming release of iOS 16, users will now be able to remove 30 stock appsFrom their Apple devices, including Contacts. FaceTime. Clock. Camera. Find My. Health.
• Apple has made a significant update in its Apple Developer Program. will now allow appsthat use iCloud can be transferred to another developer without being removed from the App Store. This makes it easier for developers to sell apps or relocate them to another organization.
• Although iOS 16 may be the focus of attention, Apple is still working to create iOS 15. This week, the company released iOS 15.6 beta3 and iPadOS15.6 beta3 to developers.

Google Platforms

• Google said it’s shutting down Google Assistant’s Conversational Actions in favor of App Actions for Android.Developers have 12 months to migrate from the voice-only older features to the Android-focused alternative.

E-commerce

Image CreditseBay

• eBay launched livestream shopping.The company also announced eBay Live, which is a live shopping platform that allows users chat with sellers and use reaction buttons to purchase items. The beta version of the service is currently available on the website as well as on mobile apps. eBay will host the first event with a curated collection of rare trading cards from Bleecker Trading.
• JOKR, a food delivery app, is leaving the U.S.. The company said it’s closing its New York and Boston locations by June 19 and leaving the U.S. market altogether in order to focus on Latin America.
• Instacart’s grocery delivery app has been renamed Instacart+. The service will continue as usual, with $9.99/mo or $99/yr tiers, but will also now gain Family Accounts that allow multiple members of a household to add items to a shared Family Cart.

Fintech

Image Credits Samsung

• Samsung launched its new “Samsung Wallet.”The wallet app allows users to store digital keys, boarding passes and identification cards. It also combines Samsung Pay with Samsung Pass into one secure platform.
• A report suggests Apple’s new Apple Pay BNPL service — Apple Pay Later, available in Apple Wallet — may be related to its privacy push, as it would not involve sharing personal data with third parties.
• PayPal launched PayPal Pay Monthly as an additional BNPL option. This allows customers to split $199-$10,000 in monthly payments over a 6–24 months period.If they qualify, they can apply. Pay in 4 was previously offered by the company for smaller purchases of up to $1,500 and was split over four payments.

Social

Image CreditsInstagram

• Instagram said it’s begun testing a new version of its full-screen feed, similar to TikTok’s, which aims to improve upon the way photos appear in this new format.The company said it will also use this experiment to try out changes to the navigation bar at the bottom of the Instagram app, where it will soon add shortcuts for creating a post — a button removed from the nav bar in 2020 — and another for accessing messages. Instagram had previously tested a different version on the full-screen feed, but it received negative feedback.
• An internal memo sent to The Verge saidMeta plans to make Facebook more like TikTokYou can also bring Messenger back into the app, and recommend posts from unconnected sources.
• Snapchat is testing a subscription service. Snapchat+ is being tested by the company. This would allow users to access early access to experimental features such as pinning conversations and exclusive icons and badges.
• TikTok is currently testing a feature that allows you to see who has viewed your posts.People you follow will see that you have viewed their posts. Although the company has made this test available to a small audience, it may not be appreciated by all users.
• Twitter allows local businesses to now display their location, operating hours, contact info, and more on TwitterFollow their Twitter Professional profiles.
• Pinterest is turning Idea Pins in to ads. The feature has allowed Pinterest creators to tell their stories using a combination of video, images, music and other editing tools, resulting in something that’s a cross between TikTok’s short videos and a Stories product with multiple pages of content. Now, Pinterest is opening up this new format to its advertisers with the launch of its new “Idea Ads.”

Messaging

• Apple and WhatsApp announced that Apple’s Move to iOS app will now allow users to transfer their WhatsApp chat history, photos, and voice messages from Android to iPhoneWhen switching between devices, you can keep e2ee. Users could transfer chats between iPhone and Android before. This beta version of the feature is currently in development and will not be available to all users until it is fully implemented.
• Messaging app Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov, writing on his Telegram channel, accused Apple of limiting competitionBanned other browsers on iOS than those WebKit-based. The comments follow news that the U.K.’s CMA was looking into this area due to possible anti-competitive concerns. “I think it’s an accurate summary [by the CMA] and hope that regulatory action will follow soon,” Durov said. “It’s sad that, more than ten years after Steve Job’s death, a company that once revolutionized mobile web turned into its most significant roadblock.”

Dating

• Pakistani dating apps are banned has sent users flockingFacebook GroupsThe country banned apps like Tinder and Grindr in September 2020. This led to local Facebook matchmaking group gaining tens or thousands of members.
• Bumble is a dating app. pushing for legislation across multiple U.S. statesThat would make cyberflashing illegal — the sending of unwanted sexual images to another person online. The NYT reports that the company was instrumental in passing a Texas bill that made sending unwelcome sexual images to another person online a class C misdemeanor. said.

Streaming & Entertainment

• YouTube Music takes on Spotify’s Wrapped with a new feature called seasonal recaps — a culmination of your top artists, songs, albums and playlists. A “Spring Recap” will be the first recap that users can try. Recap, a Wrapped-like feature that is similar to Wrapped, was first introduced by the streaming service as a year-end overview.
• YouTube added a “corrections” feature that will allow creators to add a note to the video’s description or pin a comment with the correction after the video is uploaded.
• Pirate streaming apps were spottedOn the Play Store in Brazil, the Top Charts have beaten traditional streamers like Netflix or Disney+.These apps have a lot traction. Cine Vision V5, a single app, has received more than 5,000,000 downloads and 82,000 reviews.
• Spotify saidIt would slow its hiringSave 25%After adding 2,000+ staff between 2019-2021. The company’s total headcount is now 6,617.
• Spotify also announced that it has formed a Safety Advisory Council, which will help it make better decisions regarding content moderation.This move follows controversy surrounding the Joe Rogan podcast, which promoted medical information about COVID-19 vaccinations.
• Apple’s TV app will become the exclusive destination to watch every single live MLS match beginning in 2023Thanks to a new partnershipMajor League Soccer (MLS).

Gaming

Image CreditsSensor Tower

• Netflix’s venture into mobile gaming has generated 13 million downloadsAccording to a report from Sensor Tower. The company now has 24 mobile titles and is preparing to launch others, including The Queen’s Gambit Chess, Shadow and Bone: Destinies, and Too Hot To Handle, which tie into Netflix series. Stranger Things 1984 is the most downloaded game to date with close to 2,000,000 downloads. Asphalt Xtreme ranks No. 2 with 1.8 Million installs, and Stranger Things 3 : The Game ranks No. 3. With 1.5 million. (These don’t include the games’ original release downloads before they were Netflix-owned.) According to the report, Netflix games are now downloaded at a rate greater than 1,000,000 per month.

Health & Fitness

Image Credits Sleep Reset

• Sleep Reset is a new app from meditation app Simple Habit’s founder, Yunha Kim, which helps users improve their sleep. The app aims to bring the same treatment you’d otherwise receive in sleep clinics — such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) — to mobile devices.

Travel & Transportation

• Google Maps now shows live traffic to users of Android.You can find it all around you in the app as well as in a widget that you can access from your lock screen. The feature follows Apple’s introduction of Live Activities on the iOS 16 Lock Screen. It also introduced a new feature that displays the total toll costs for a trip.
• Waymap, a London-based app company, is creating an app that will help visually impaired people navigate their surroundings. The company wrapped trials of its navigation app at three stops within Washington, D.C.’s Metro, and hopes to begin a public trial at 25 Metro stations and 1,000 bus stops by September.

Productivity

Image Credits Readdle

• Readdle now offers its iOS Calendars app for Mac.The app also includes useful features such as weather, meeting integrations, and to-dos. Zoom, Meet and GoToMeeting, color-coding, natural language event creation, and many more are just a few of the features included in the app. It works with calendar providers such as Google, Outlook, iCloud, and others. The Pro plan costs $19.99/year, unlocks all the features on Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch.
• Official Google Website shuts downGoogle Talk. After June 16, anyone trying to use the app will get an error message. Users will be redirected to Google Chat on both mobile and the web.

Government & Policy

• Social app makers and big tech co’s, including Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google and others, have agreed to new EU rulesThey are focusing on disinformation on their platforms. Among the 44 commitments they’ve agreed to are those focused on creating libraries for political ads, demonetizing fake news sites, reducing bots/fake accounts, offering more tools for flagging disinformation and accessing authoritative sources, giving researchers more access to platforms’ data, and more.
• Meta (then Facebook)’s acquisition of GIF startup Giphy may be revisited. The U.K.’s competition authority may have to look again at the decision to approve the merger after the country’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) endorsed the regulator’s finding that the deal could harm competition, Reuters said.
• Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (FCO), its antitrust watchdog, announced it’s investigating Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework over concerns that the company could be breaching competition rulesby self-preferring other companies or creating unfair barriers for them.
• The Netherlands’ competition regulator said Apple’s latest changes to its App Store Rules, which now allow dating app makers to choose alternative payment methods, now meetCompetition requirements at the EU and local level.

💰FanClash, an Indian esports fantasy game app, has raised $40 million in Series A fundingAlpha Wave Global, formerly Falcon Edge Capital, is the leader. Users can compete in several titles such as Counter Strike: Go and FreeFire. The company is exploring expansion in the Philippines.

💰 Mobile gaming platform VersusGame raised $25 millionIn a new funding roundWith a variety of investors, including Apex Capital and Brightstone Capital Partners, Feld Ventures, and others. The startup has content creators pose “prediction contests” to viewers, who can win cash and prizes. It has previously worked with BuzzFeed (Billboard), ESPN, UFC (UFC) and other media outlets.

🤝Reddit will acquire Spell, a machine-learning startup, for an undisclosed price.Former Facebook engineers founded the startup to offer a cloud computing solution that allows anyone with a high-resource ML experiment to run without the need for expensive hardware. Reddit could use ML to improve its personalized recommendations as well as its Discover tab.

🤝 Spotify closedIt announced its acquisition of Findaway, an audiobook company, last November. The company cited the potential for its expansion into audiobooks, noting the market is expected to grow from $3.3 billion to $15 billion by 2027.

💰Marc Lore is the founder of Wonder, a food delivery app. raised $350 millionBain Capital Ventures leads a new round at $3.5 billion valuation.Its total equity and debt raise was $900 million. Lore previously sold Quidsi to Amazon, then Jet.com, and he continued to lead the U.S. ecommerce business for many more years. Wonder is now looking to bring local restaurants and food truck deliveries to consumers’ homes.

💰 Edtech company Pok Pok, which spun out of Snowman (Alto’s Adventure, Alto’s Odyssey) raised $3 million in seed funding led by Konvoy to expand its play-based learning experiences for kids. The company’s Pok Pok Playroom app is designed to help kids learn through digital play using open-ended toys which, unlike mobile games, don’t have a goal to achieve, points or other gaming elements.

💰Flip, an Indonesian consumer payments app, has raised $55 Million in Series B fundingTencent led the round, with participation by Block (formerly Square), and Insight Partners, an existing investor. As of May this year, the company had assisted more than 10,000,000 Indonesians. This is an increase from the 7 million users in December 2021. Its app allows users to perform interbank transfer to more than 100 local banks, use an electronic wallet, and create international money transfers.

💰 Onymos, a “feature-as-a-service” platform for app development, raised $12 million in Series A fundingGreat Point Ventures is the founder. The startup provides a range of pre-built features that can be added onto apps such as login, biometrics and chat, data storage, location services and notification modules. It also has the underlying logic and server-side functions required to process cloud data.

Image Credits Grace

A new startup called Grace launched an app to make it easier for parents to monitor and manage their kids’ screen time and app usage on iOS devices. Although Apple offers built-in parental controls, many parents would prefer an app-based solution as opposed to having to dig around in the settings for Apple’s tools. In addition, Grace offers more customization over kids’ screen time schedules. With Apple’s controls, parents can only configure start and stop times for “Downtime,” for instance, as opposed to being able to set other times when app usage should be limited, like school hours, family dinner time, homework time and more.

Grace is also notable for being one of the first to arrive that’s built with Apple’s Screen Time API, introduced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference last year. The new API allows developers to create an interface that works with Apple’s built-in tools in order to expand their functionality.

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