After testing last month, Twitter is rolling out a feature to all web users that will let them remove followers without blocking them. This safety feature can be helpful if you want to avoid the repercussions of blocking someone — if a blocked user navigates to your profile after you block them, Twitter will tell […]
When the Trump administration announced it would ban TikTok in the U.S., a number of alternative short-form video apps began to flourish, as users hedged their bets on a potential TikTok exit. Among these was Byte, an app co-created by Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann, which topped 1.3 million downloads in its first week alone. But […]
Amid a deluge of new creator platforms, a startup called Fireside is launching today with what it believes will be a compelling proposition for professional creators in need of a more robust set of tools for content creation, distribution, measurement and monetization. The service, which offers a platform for live and interactive shows, had been […]
After revealing her identity on Sunday night, Frances Haugen — the whistleblower who leaked controversial Facebook documents to The Wall Street Journal — testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Tuesday. Haugen’s testimony came after a hearing last week, when Facebook global head of Safety Antigone Davis was questioned about the company’s […]
Will no one think of the billionaires? Aside from billions of dollars of personal wealth and historically impressive levels of corporate control, what’s the point of being a successful tech CEO these days? I’m not asking in the abstract. There are tweets. The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. Read it every morning on […]
Avatar startups have come and gone over the past few years, but the future that many of the entrepreneurs behind them originally imagined has proven more or less accurate. Apple is increasingly interested in avatar representations through Memoji, Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to be a metaverse company and platforms like Roblox, where users enter a […]
Tech giants have gotten worse at removing illegal hate speech from their platforms under a voluntary arrangement in the European Union, according to the Commission’s latest assessment. The sixth evaluation report of the EU’s Code of Conduct on removing illegal hate speech found what the bloc’s executive calls a “mixed picture”, with platforms reviewing 81% […]
As competition for creator talent heats up, Snap today introduced a series of new tools, programs and features that will enable creators on its platform to generate revenue. These include the expansion of a Gifting feature to worldwide creators, the expansion of the Creator Marketplace to include Snap Stars (top creators with verified accounts), the […]
Distraction-free reading service Scroll will shut down in approximately 30 days and become a feature of Twitter Blue, Twitter confirmed in an email to TechCrunch. Twitter acquired Scroll in May and had said it planned to offer Scroll as a premium feature on its platform. Once Scroll shuts down as an independent service, it will […]
Twitter really can’t go a day without releasing new products. But if you’re running an account for a business or a public figure, its latest addition might capture your interest. Soon, businesses and creators will be able to opt into “professional accounts,” giving them additional tools to distinguish their profile, quickly promote content through ads […]