
TechCrunch Apps Feed

India’s Supreme Court delivered a stern rebuke to Meta, warning it cannot compromise Indian users’ right to privacy. The court questioned how WhatsApp, with over 500 million Indian users, obtains meaningful consent for data‑sharing and monetization of metadata. A ₹2.13 billion penalty imposed by the competition regulator for the 2021 privacy‑policy change was upheld, and judges ordered Meta to explain its data practices before February 9. The ruling expands the case to include the IT ministry, signaling tighter regulatory scrutiny.

Adobe announced it will discontinue its 2D animation tool Animate, ending sales on March 1, 2026. Enterprise customers will receive support until March 1, 2029, while all other users get assistance through March 2025. The company cited a strategic shift toward AI‑driven products and offered...

Deezer has opened its AI‑generated music detection system to rival streaming services, extending a tool that tags and removes AI tracks from recommendations and royalty pools. The platform processes about 60,000 AI‑created songs each day, with 85% of those streams...

Google is upgrading Chrome with a persistent Gemini sidebar, shifting from the previous floating window. The new sidebar can understand groups of related tabs, making price‑comparison and product research smoother. Integrated personal‑intelligence will let Gemini draw on Gmail, Search, YouTube...

Apple has imposed a new deadline, requiring Patreon to shift all creators to in‑app purchase subscription billing by November 1, 2026. The mandate affects roughly 4 % of Patreon’s creators still using legacy billing, forcing them to adopt Apple’s commission structure or risk...

LinkedIn announced a verified‑skills program that issues AI‑focused certificates based on real‑time usage of partner tools such as Descript, Lovable, Replit and Relay.app. The AI engine evaluates usage patterns, outcomes and proficiency to generate a badge that appears on a...

Meta announced it will pilot premium subscription plans across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, offering exclusive features and enhanced AI capabilities. The bundles will integrate the recently acquired Manus AI agent and the Vibes video‑generation tool, while Instagram users could gain...
Google reported a widespread Gmail outage on January 24, 2026, affecting spam filtering and email classification. The issue began around 5 a.m. Pacific, causing promotional and social messages to appear in the Primary inbox and legitimate emails to trigger spam warnings....

Substack announced a beta TV app for Apple TV and Google TV, letting subscribers watch video posts and livestreams directly on their living‑room screens. The app features a TikTok‑style “For You” row that surfaces creator videos and tailors recommendations. Access aligns with...

X announced it will introduce "Starterpacks," a curated list of suggested accounts modeled after Bluesky’s popular feature. The new packs will cover categories such as News, Technology, Business, and Gaming, and are compiled from X’s internal data rather than user...

Doist has launched Todoist Ramble, an AI‑powered voice‑to‑tasks feature that lets users create and edit to‑do items by speaking. The tool runs on Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash Live model via Vertex AI, capturing details such as deadlines, priorities and assignees in real...

Grubhub's parent Wonder has acquired Claim, a restaurant rewards app that offers cash‑back incentives for local dining. Claim, founded in 2021, recently raised a $12 million Series A, bringing its valuation to about $62 million. The deal, terms undisclosed, will integrate Claim’s promotion...

Netflix has revised its proposal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, moving to an all-cash offer while keeping the $27.75 per-share price that values WBD at $82.7 billion. The new structure aims to simplify the transaction and speed up shareholder approval...

Wonder, the parent company of Grubhub, announced the acquisition of Claim, a restaurant rewards app that provides cash‑back promotions for diners. While the financial terms were not disclosed, Claim was last valued at $62 million after its $12 million Series A round. The...

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, signed a deal to divest a 45% stake in its U.S. operations to a consortium of American investors led by Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX. The transaction values the U.S. business at roughly $14 billion and is...

Anonymous messaging app NGL announced on Friday that it has been acquired by Mode Mobile, the earn‑phone startup. The terms of the sale were not disclosed, and NGL’s remaining staff will join Mode Mobile. The deal follows regulatory scrutiny of...

San Francisco‑based dating startup Known announced a $9.7 million venture funding round led by investors Forerunner, NFX, PearVC and Coelius Capital. The capital will support beta expansion and hiring as the voice‑AI matchmaking platform prepares for a broader launch next year.
Learning startup Oboe announced a $16 million Series A round led by a16z, with participation from existing backers Eniac, Haystack, Offline, Factorial and several individual investors. The funding will fuel growth and expand its AI-driven platform that creates customized courses. The round...
Match Group announced a pre‑seed investment in Overtone, an AI‑driven dating startup founded by former Hinge CEO Justin McLeod. The backing includes a substantial ownership stake, though the amount raised was not disclosed.
Meta announced it has acquired Limitless, an AI device startup focused on personal superintelligence. The acquisition aligns with Meta's vision of bringing advanced AI capabilities to everyday users. Deal terms were not disclosed.

Creator‑focused AI startup Palo announced a $3.8 million seed round to fund its analytics and ideation platform. The round was backed by Peak XV Surge (formerly Sequoia India) and NFX, with additional individual investors participating.

Security startup Guardio announced an $80 million institutional funding round to accelerate its AI‑driven cyber protection platform. The round was led by ION Crossover Partners with participation from Union Tech Ventures, Vintage Investment Partners and Emerge. The capital will fund new...

Poly, the YC‑backed startup relaunching as a cloud‑hosted file storage with AI search, announced an $8 million seed round led by Felicis with participation from Bloomberg Beta, NextView, Figma Ventures, AI Grant and Wing Ventures. The funding will support the rollout of its...

Spotify announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the community‑run music database WhoSampled. The terms were undisclosed, but the deal includes both the WhoSampled team and its extensive song‑sample database, which will power new Spotify discovery features. WhoSampled will retain...

Mastodon announced a new fundraising round to support its shift to a non‑profit structure, receiving capital from Jeff Atwood, Biz Stone, AltStore, the Global Chinese Community of Universal Digital Commons, and Craig Newmark. The disclosed contributions total roughly €2.5 million, with...

Cisco announced it has acquired Y‑Combinator‑backed EzDubs, a consumer startup offering AI‑powered real‑time translation. The deal value was not disclosed, and Cisco plans to embed EzDubs’ technology into its Collaboration suite, including Webex.

AI‑driven dictation startup Willow announced a $4.5 million seed round led by Box Group, Y Combinator and Burst Capital, with participation from several high‑profile angels. The funding will accelerate rollout of its voice keyboard across iOS, Windows and Android and expand...

Jack Dorsey's nonprofit, and Other Stuff, announced financing for diVine, a new app that revives Vine's short‑form videos using the archived library. The funding, disclosed without a disclosed amount, supports the launch of the open‑source, Nostr‑based platform that will let...

Productivity startup Hero announced it has secured $3 million in additional funding, led by venture firm Forerunner Ventures. The new capital will support the rollout of its AI prompt‑completion SDK and further product development.

The U.S. and China have reached a final agreement to transfer TikTok's U.S. operations to a new joint venture, with leaders expected to consummate the transaction soon. Reported investors include Oracle, Fox Corp, Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake; ByteDance will...

Oura announced it raised $900 million in fresh funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Co., with participation from new investor ICONIQ and existing backers Whale Rock and Atreides. The capital comes as Oura rolls out a redesigned app, new...

The Israeli cyber‑intelligence firm NSO Group has confirmed it is being acquired by a group of U.S. investors. The TechCrunch article notes the acquisition confirmation but provides no purchaser names or financial terms.

Billion Hearts, the company behind photo-sharing app PicSee, raised $4 million in funding last year in a round led by Blume Ventures with participation from General Catalyst and Athera Ventures. The capital supported development of PicSee’s on-device face-detection and privacy-focused...
Strava plans to go public at some point, according to CEO Michael Martin, as the fitness-tracking app eyes capital to fund acquisitions. The company, backed by Sequoia Capital, TCV and Jackson Square Ventures, was last valued at $2.2 billion.