TechCrunch Apps
TechCrunch Apps Feed
Adobe Animate Is Shutting Down as Company Focuses on AI
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 only partial replacements via After Effects and Express. Users expressed frustration, noting a lack of a direct Adobe alternative and suggesting open‑source or third‑party tools.
Deezer Makes It Easier for Rival Platforms to Take a Stance Against AI-Generated Music
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...
Chrome Takes on AI Browsers with Tighter Gemini Integration, Agentic Features for Autonomous Tasks
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 Tells Patreon to Move Creators to In-App Purchase for Subscriptions by November
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 Will Let You Show Off Your Vibe Coding Chops with a Certificate
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 to Test Premium Subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp
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...
Gmail Is Having Issues with Spam and Misclassification
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 Launches a TV App
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 Copies Bluesky with a ‘Starterpacks’ Feature that Helps You Find Who to Follow
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...
Todoist’s App Now Lets You Add Tasks to Your To-Do List by Speaking to Its AI
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 Parent Acquires Restaurant Rewards Startup Claim
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...
The Rise of ‘Micro’ Apps: Non-Developers Are Writing Apps Instead of Buying Them
AI‑driven coding assistants like Claude and ChatGPT are enabling non‑technical users to build fully functional web and mobile apps in days, a practice dubbed "micro‑app" or "vibe‑coding" development. These personal, context‑specific apps are designed for a limited audience and short...
Spotify Raises Its Subscription Prices in the U.S. Again
Spotify announced a third U.S. Premium price increase, raising the monthly fee from $11.99 to $12.99 effective February. The hike follows similar adjustments in 2023 and 2024 and mirrors recent price changes in the UK, Switzerland, Estonia, and Latvia. Spotify...
App Downloads Declined Again in 2025, but Consumer Spending Soared to Nearly $156B
App downloads fell for the fifth year in 2025, reaching 106.9 billion installs, a 2.7% decline from 2024. At the same time, consumer spending on mobile apps surged 21.6% to an estimated $155.8 billion, driven by the subscription economy. Non‑game apps accounted...
Gmail Debuts a Personalized AI Inbox, AI Overviews in Search, and More
Google introduced an AI‑powered Inbox for Gmail that surfaces "Suggested to‑dos" and "Topics to catch up on," giving users a personalized task overview. The rollout also adds AI Overviews in Gmail search, allowing natural‑language queries to retrieve answers directly from...
The Best AI-Powered Dictation Apps of 2025
AI‑powered dictation apps surged in 2025 as large language models and advanced speech‑to‑text engines finally delivered near‑human accuracy and contextual formatting. The article curates eight leading solutions—Wispr Flow, Willow, Monologue, Superwhisper, VoiceTypr, Aqua, Handy, and Typeless—detailing their platform support, pricing...
Samsung Plans to Bring Google Photos to Its TVs in 2026
Samsung announced it will launch a native Google Photos app for its smart TVs in 2026, ending the need for casting or sideloading. The initial rollout will feature the Memories experience, showcasing curated photos and videos, and will be exclusive...
Why WeTransfer Co-Founder Is Building Another File Transfer Service
Former WeTransfer co‑founder Nalden has launched Boomerang, a minimalist file‑transfer platform that lets users share files without logging in. The service offers a free anonymous tier with 1 GB total space and a 1 GB file limit, a free account with 3 GB...
Italy Tells Meta to Suspend Its Policy that Bans Rival AI Chatbots From WhatsApp
Italy’s competition regulator (AGCM) has ordered Meta to suspend a new policy that bars rival AI chatbots from being offered via WhatsApp’s business API. The move follows an investigation that found the policy could abuse Meta’s dominant position and restrict...
Amazon’s AI Assistant Alexa+ Now Works with Angi, Expedia, Square, and Yelp
Amazon announced that its AI‑powered assistant Alexa+ will integrate with Angi, Expedia, Square, and Yelp starting in 2026. The new connections let users book hotels, obtain home‑service quotes, and schedule appointments through natural‑language voice commands. These additions expand Alexa+’s ecosystem...
Google Tests an Email-Based Productivity Assistant
Google has introduced CC, an experimental email‑based productivity assistant powered by Gemini, through its Google Labs program. The service delivers a daily “Your Day Ahead” email that aggregates tasks, calendar events, and key updates from Gmail, Drive, and Calendar. Users...
Adobe Firefly Now Supports Prompt-Based Video Editing, Adds More Third-Party Models
Adobe has rolled out a major update to its Firefly AI platform, introducing a prompt‑based video editor that lets users modify clips with text instructions and a new timeline interface. The update also integrates third‑party generative models, including Black Forest...
Zoom Brings Its AI Assistant to the Web with Access to Free Users
Zoom launched AI Companion 3.0 on its web platform, extending the assistant to free users with limited usage. Basic‑plan members receive three AI‑enhanced meetings per month and up to 20 in‑meeting queries, while a $10 add‑on removes caps. The assistant now...
WhatsApp’s Biggest Market Is Becoming Its Toughest Test
WhatsApp’s Indian operations face a regulatory overhaul as the government requires all messaging apps to stay continuously linked to an active SIM and to log out web sessions every six hours. The move aims to curb cyber‑fraud, which cost India...
Google Debuts ‘Disco,’ a Gemini-Powered Tool for Making Web Apps From Browser Tabs
Google unveiled Disco, an AI experiment powered by Gemini 3 that creates custom web applications—called GenTabs—from users' open browser tabs. The tool proactively suggests interactive apps tailored to browsing activity, such as study visualizations, meal plans, or travel itineraries, and allows...
Disney Signs Deal with OpenAI to Allow Sora to Generate AI Videos Featuring Its Characters
Disney has forged a three‑year partnership with OpenAI, investing $1 billion in equity and granting the AI firm access to more than 200 of its iconic characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars for the Sora video generator. The deal also...
Opera Wants You to Pay $20 a Month to Use Its AI-Powered Browser Neon
Opera has officially released Neon, its AI‑powered browser, after a limited beta phase. Access to Neon now requires a $19.90 per month subscription, marking a shift from free testing to a paid model. The browser integrates generative AI tools such...
Oboe Raises $16 Million From A16z for Its AI-Powered Course-Generation Platform
Oboe, the AI‑driven learning startup founded by former Spotify and Anchor executives, closed a $16 million Series A round led by a16z. The funding follows a $4 million seed round and a September launch of its platform that creates customized courses from user‑defined...
Unacademy’s Founder Says Startup Is Now Worth Less than $500M, Confirms M&A Talks
Unacademy’s founder Gaurav Munjal announced that the edtech startup’s valuation has fallen from a $3.5 billion peak to under $500 million, a drop of about 85%. The company has slashed its annual burn from roughly $155 million to $19.5 million and reduced headcount, while...
Figma Launches New AI-Powered Object Removal and Image Extension
Figma introduced AI‑driven object removal, isolation, and image‑expansion tools, embedding them in a new unified toolbar. The enhanced lasso lets designers select, delete, or adjust objects without leaving the platform, while the expansion feature fills backgrounds for different aspect ratios....
Truecaller Now Lets Users Protect Households From Scam Calls
Truecaller has introduced Family Protection, a household‑level scam‑blocking feature that lets one administrator manage settings for up to five family members. The service launches as a pilot on Android and iOS in Sweden, Chile, Malaysia and Kenya, with a broader...
ChatGPT’s User Growth Has Slowed, Report Finds
OpenAI’s flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, recorded only a modest 5% increase in global monthly active users between August and November, marking a noticeable slowdown in its adoption curve. In contrast, Google’s AI conversational agent Gemini experienced a robust 30% surge in...
Healthify Upgrades Its AI Assistant Ria with Real-Time Conversation Capabilities
Healthify has upgraded its AI health assistant Ria with real‑time conversational capabilities, including voice, camera, and multilingual support powered by OpenAI models. The new version can pull data from fitness trackers, sleep monitors, and glucose devices to deliver daily, weekly,...
Shopify Resolves Outage Disrupting Merchants on Cyber Monday
Shopify experienced a significant outage on Cyber Monday, beginning around 6:45 a.m. PT, which prevented merchants from logging in and using point‑of‑sale systems. The disruption impacted an estimated 4,000 incidents, affecting merchants who collectively handle over 10 % of U.S. e‑commerce transactions....
YouTube Is Working on a Feature that Will Fix the Messy Home Feed
YouTube is piloting an experimental feature called “Your Custom Feed” that lets users type prompts to shape the videos shown on their home page, aiming to curb the platform’s often‑misaligned algorithmic recommendations. The option appears alongside the standard Home button...
ChatGPT’s Voice Mode Is No Longer a Separate Interface
OpenAI announced that ChatGPT’s voice mode is being integrated directly into the main chat interface, eliminating the need for a separate screen. Users can now speak to the bot and see its responses, including images and maps, in real time...
Microsoft’s AI Chatbot Copilot Leaves WhatsApp on January 15
Microsoft announced that its AI chatbot Copilot will be removed from WhatsApp on January 15, 2026, directing users to its own mobile apps or the web portal. The pull‑out follows WhatsApp’s revised platform policies that bar general‑purpose AI bots from...
Speechify Adds Voice Typing and Voice Assistant to Its Chrome Extension
Speechify has expanded its Chrome extension to include voice typing and a conversational voice assistant that can answer questions about web content. The new dictation feature supports English, corrects errors and filler words, but early testing shows higher word error...
Pocket Casts Now Lets You Create a Playlist of Your Favorite Podcast Episodes
Pocket Casts, the podcast app owned by Automattic, introduced a new Playlists feature that lets users manually or automatically curate episodes in a custom order. The tool includes Smart Playlists with rule‑based filters such as episode length, download status, or...
Former MrBeast Content Strategist Is Building an AI Tool for Creator Ideation and Analytics
Former MrBeast short‑video strategist Jay Neo, together with ex‑Palantir engineer Shivam Kumar and creator Harry Jones, has launched Palo, an AI‑driven platform that offers ideation, analytics and a creator community. Palo ingests a creator’s short‑form video accounts, extracts hooks, sentiment...
As Its Voice Dictation App Takes Off, Wispr Secures $25M From Notable Capital
Voice‑AI startup Wispr raised an additional $25 million in a round led by Notable Capital, bringing its total funding to $81 million after a $30 million round in June. Its dictation app Wispr Flow, now used by 125 enterprise customers including 270 Fortune 500...
Warner Music Settles Copyright Lawsuit with Udio, Signs Deal for AI Music Platform
Warner Music Group settled its copyright lawsuit with AI music startup Udio and simultaneously signed a licensing agreement for a generative‑AI music creation platform slated for launch in 2026. The service will let subscribers remix, cover, and compose new tracks...
YC-Backed Poly Relaunches as a Cloud-Hosted File Storage with AI Search
Poly, a Y Combinator‑backed startup founded by Abhay Agarwal, has relaunched as a cloud‑hosted file storage platform that adds AI‑powered natural‑language search, summarization, translation and organization across text, PDFs, images, audio, video and web links. The service offers 100 GB of...
Security Startup Guardio Nabs $80M From ION Crossover Partners
Cybersecurity startup Guardio announced an $80 million funding round led by ION Crossover Partners, bringing its total capital raised to $127 million and tripling its valuation since a 2021 $47 million round. The company, which now serves 500,000 paying users and generated $100 million...
Mastodon CEO Steps Down as the Social Network Restructures
Mastodon founder Eugen Rochko announced his resignation as CEO as the open‑source, decentralized social network transitions to a nonprofit structure governed by a new board that includes Twitter co‑founder Biz Stone and newly appointed Executive Director Felix Hlatky. Rochko will...
Cisco Acquires Translation Startup EzDubs
Cisco announced the acquisition of EzDubs, a Y‑Combinator‑backed real‑time translation startup founded in 2023, though the deal value was not disclosed. EzDubs, which raised $4.2 million in seed funding, will have its technology integrated into Cisco Collaboration, adding live, voice‑preserving translation...
Apple Halves Commissions for Mini App Makers
Apple unveiled the Mini Apps Partner Program, slashing the commission on in‑app purchases for web‑based mini apps to 15% and requiring use of its Advanced Commerce and Declared Age Rating APIs. The program extends the 2017 App Review Guidelines for...
Cash App Debuts a New AI Assistant that Answers Questions About Your Finances
Cash App rolled out a fall update that introduces Moneybot, an AI chatbot that can analyze users' spending, income and savings and suggest actions such as bill splitting or Bitcoin transactions. The assistant launches to a limited user group with...
Productivity App Hero Announces an SDK that Will Complete Your AI Prompts for You
Hero, a productivity startup founded by former Meta engineers, unveiled an invite‑only autocompletion SDK that automatically fills in AI prompts based on user context, from travel bookings to image‑generation parameters. The SDK leverages a series of predictive models to suggest...
Airbnb’s Testing a ‘Kitchen Stocking’ Service that Lets Guests Place Instacart Orders Before Their Stay
Airbnb is piloting a kitchen‑stocking service with Instacart that lets guests order groceries through the Airbnb app up to three weeks before arrival. The trial, limited to Phoenix, Orlando and Los Angeles, pays hosts $25 for each fulfilled order and...