Sarah Perez

Instagram tracked growing usage while targeting teens, lawyers argue | TechCrunch The company said usage grew from 40 minutes per day in 2023 to 46 minutes in 2026. Other documents referenced back teens a top priority for the app before asking existing users for birthdays.

Instagram tracked growing usage while targeting teens, lawyers argue

image from mastodon's website referring to it as a "social media platform"

mastodon refers to itself as a platform, as does wikipedia

X ads 'Paid Partnership' labels for creators so they can ditch the hashtags | TechCrunch The new labels comply with regulations and allow creators to be more transparent with their followers.

X ads ‘Paid Partnership’ labels for creators so they can ditch the hashtags

Apple speeds up the iPad Air with an M4 upgrade, starting at $599 | TechCrunch Apple refreshes the iPad Air with the M4 chip and more memory to make it better for AI use cases.

Apple speeds up the iPad Air with an M4 upgrade, starting at $599

Musk bashes OpenAI in deposition, saying 'nobody committed suicide because of Grok' | TechCrunch In his lawsuit against OpenAI, Musk touted xAI safety compared with ChatGPT. A few months later, xAI's Grok flooded X with non-consensual nude images.

Musk bashes OpenAI in deposition, saying ‘nobody committed suicide because of Grok’

So, we're getting Prada Meta AI glasses, right? | TechCrunch Mark Zuckerberg was at Prada's fashion week event in Milan, leaving everyone to wonder if we're getting Meta AI glasses under the Prada brand.

So, we’re getting Prada Meta AI glasses, right?

Walmart agrees to $100M settlement over deceptive pay practices in Spark Driver program | TechCrunch The suit said Walmart mislead drivers about their possible tips and would reduce their base pay, among other things.

Walmart agrees to $100M settlement over deceptive pay practices in Spark Driver program

X tries wooing advertisers by letting them reuse creatives made for other platforms | TechCrunch X has launched an expanded set of aspect ratio support for both image and video ads, so advertisers can now reuse assets they've created for other platforms.

X tries wooing advertisers by letting them reuse creatives made for other platforms

Gemini can now automate some multi-step tasks on Android | TechCrunch Gemini on Android will be able to automate tasks involving rideshare requests, or grocery or food delivery, says Google.

Gemini can now automate some multi-step tasks on Android

Samsung shows off new display tech that adds a privacy screen to apps and notifications | TechCrunch The new privacy tech uses different types of pixels to let you block certain apps and notifications from being viewed by others.

Samsung shows off new display tech that adds a privacy screen to apps and notifications

OpenClaw creator's advice to AI builders is to be more playful and allow yourself time to improve | TechCrunch Peter Steinberger talks about the creation of his viral AI agent OpenClaw and how being more "playful" makes for a better way to learn AI coding.

OpenClaw creator’s advice to AI builders is to be more playful and allow yourself time to improve

Amazon's AI-powered Alexa+ gets new personality options | TechCrunch Users will be able to choose from Alexa styles like Brief, Chill, or Sweet, Amazon says.

Amazon’s AI-powered Alexa+ gets new personality options

Apple rolls out age-verification tools worldwide to comply with growing web of child safety laws | TechCrunch Apple complies with new age assurance laws in the U.S. and abroad, including those that block users from downloading apps aimed at adults.

Apple rolls out age-verification tools worldwide to comply with growing web of child safety laws

Instagram head pressed on lengthy delay to launch teen safety features, like a nudity filter, court filing reveals | TechCrunch An email chain with Instagram head Adam Mosseri indicated the company was aware of teen safety issues in DMs in 2018, but didn't launch its unwanted nudity filter until 2024.

Instagram head pressed on lengthy delay to launch teen safety features, like a nudity filter, court filing reveals

YouTube beefs up its $7.99/month Lite subscription with offline downloads and background play | TechCrunch Now the only reason to get the full Premium subscription is ad-free music and music videos.

YouTube beefs up its $7.99/month Lite subscription with offline downloads and background play

Ex-Apple team launches Acme Weather, a new take on weather forecasting | TechCrunch The team that sold their last app Dark Sky to Apple are back with Acme Weather, which offers alternative forecasts, rainbow and sunset alerts, and more.

Ex-Apple team launches Acme Weather, a new take on weather forecasting

Particle's AI news app listens to podcasts for interesting clips so you you don't have to | TechCrunch AI news app Particle can now pull in key moments from podcasts, letting readers instantly play short, relevant clips alongside related stories.

Particle’s AI news app listens to podcasts for interesting clips so you you don’t have to

Move over, Apple: Meet the alternative app stores available in the EU and elsewhere | TechCrunch A list of some of the alternative app stores iPhone users in the EU can try today. 

Move over, Apple: Meet the alternative app stores available in the EU and elsewhere

Apple's iOS 26.4 arrives in public beta with AI music playlists, video podcasts, and more | TechCrunch iOS 26.4 introduces several updates, including an AI-powered playlist generation feature in Apple Music, support for video content in the Podcasts app, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages, and more. 

Apple’s iOS 26.4 arrives in public beta with AI music playlists, video podcasts, and more

Threads posts can now be shared directly to your Instagram Story without leaving the app | TechCrunch The new Threads feature lets you share your posts — or anyone else's — to your Instagram Story without leaving the Threads app.

Threads posts can now be shared directly to your Instagram Story without leaving the app

Google says its AI systems helped deter Play Store malware in 2025 | TechCrunch Google said it prevented 1.75 million bad apps from going live on Google Play during 2025, a figure that's down from previous years.

Google says its AI systems helped deter Play Store malware in 2025

As browser wars heat up, Chrome adds new productivity features | TechCrunch Split View, PDF annotations and 'Save to Chrome' features come to the Chrome browser.

As browser wars heat up, Chrome adds new productivity features

NNW can be used as the underlying sync service here. The app is a one time fee $9.99 w/no subscription

Zuckerberg grilled in court over social media harms on teens | TechCrunch Meta's CEO was questioned over the addictive nature of its social media apps like Instagram, and other teen harms.

Zuckerberg grilled in court over social media harms on teens

Current is a new RSS reader that's more like a river than an inbox | TechCrunch Current introduces a stress-free, totally reimagined RSS news reading app as a one-time paid download.

Current is a new RSS reader that’s more like a river than an inbox

A startup called Germ becomes the first private messenger that launches directly from Bluesky's app | TechCrunch Social network Bluesky now offers private messaging by integrating the startup Germ's E2E encrypted messenger natively in its app.

A startup called Germ becomes the first private messenger that launches directly from Bluesky’s app

Mastodon, a decentralized alternative to X, plans to target creators with new features | TechCrunch Mastodon is looking to grow its open source, decentralized social network with new features aimed at creators.

Mastodon, a decentralized alternative to X, plans to target creators with new features

Audible's new 'Read & Listen' feature syncs your Kindle ebooks with audiobooks | TechCrunch The feature will require customers to buy both versions of the title, but at a discounted price.

Audible’s new ‘Read & Listen’ feature syncs your Kindle ebooks with audiobooks

Meta's own research found parental supervision doesn't really help curb teens' compulsive social media use | TechCrunch An internal research study at Meta found that parental supervision may not help teens regulate their social media, and teens with trauma are more inclined to overuse social media.

Meta’s own research found parental supervision doesn’t really help curb teens’ compulsive social media use

WordPress, Your Way Create your site. Share your voice. Earn online.

WordPress.com adds an AI Assistant that can edit, adjust styles, create images, and more techcrunch.com/2026/...