Monzo co-founder Jonas Templestein has commenced a new journey with a fresh startup seeking to put software developers out of business.

With fundraising efforts underway and drawing support from OpenAI and Index Ventures amongst others, Nustom wants to take full advantage of artificial intelligence (AI), in return for low or no-code web development. The company has launched its website, is recruiting and has set out its vision, stating within the next decade “the majority of software will be made by people with no technical background, collaborating with an AI.”

It is presenting an end-to-end SaaS offering for “those who want software made, but don’t have experience building or running it.”

The new direction for Templestein, comes at a time when Monzo is thriving. He is joined by co-founder Oliver Beattie, formerly Monzo’s VP of architecture.

Founded in 2015, the digital bank now boasts more than nine million customers and has reached a stage where it is profitable.

The company is said to be on the cusp of selling an additional stake to one of Singapore’s sovereign wealth funds, on the back of securing a £4 billion valuation last month. The top-up to the recent funding round is expected to bring in an additional $50 million from the Singaporean entity, in exchange for the issue of new shares.

Does this mean Nustom won’t be working with software developers?

Not quite, not yet anyway.

Despite the lofty ambitions of the startup, the company will “have human engineers guarantee the quality of the software until our AI agents are reliable enough to do it without assistance.”

Maria Campbell has become the third executive at Nustom, taking up the position of COO. She joins her former colleagues and Monzo alumni, having also worked at GoCardless and banking-as-a-service fintech Griffin.

The founding team at Nustom is completed with two engineers.

Fred Jonsson is another with a background at Monzo, whilst Eugenio Marchiori is the only individual not to have such a link. He is a PhD computer scientist with over ten years of experience at Google.

Image credit: Monzo

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Action has been taken by a group of cross-party US lawmakers to introduce legislation against ByteDance which would force the company to divest its dominant social media platform TikTok or risk a ban in the United States.

The move is driven by fears over national security concerns emanating from TikTok’s Chinese ownership and its links to the Beijing government. It follows previous efforts in Congress to address perceived risks from the video-hosting app with a ruling in late 2022 banning federal employees from using the platform on government-issued devices.

Now, Mike Gallagher, Republican chair of the House of Representatives China select committee has joined with leading Democrat figure, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi to face down ByteDance.

“This is my message to TikTok, break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users,” Gallagher stated.

“America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States.”

What is the response to the US action against TikTok?

If approved, the bill would instruct the Chinese tech giant to divest TikTok within 165 days, otherwise, action could be taken to make it unlawful for Apple, Google and other app store providers to offer it to the market.

The seriousness of the confrontation is underlined by the 170 million active users of the app in the US, but ByteDance has slammed the proposed legislation.

“This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it,” a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”

Conversely, a White House National Security Council spokesperson welcomed the bill as “an important and welcome step” commenting that the Biden administration would work together with Congress “to further strengthen this legislation and put it on the strongest possible legal footing.”

Whether anything meaningful comes to fruition in the coming weeks and months remains to be seen in what is election season in the states, and is further clouded by President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign joining TikTok last month.

Image credit: Ideogram

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Elon Musk has abruptly pulled the plug on Don Lemon’s upcoming talk show on the X platform, after a tense inaugural interview between the former CNN anchor and the billionaire.

Lemon said Musk texted him to say “contract terminated”. He then shared a post and a video on X discussing the interview and the outcome. “Elon Musk is mad at me,” he said. “His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me,” he elaborated.

Elon Musk canceled #TheDonLemonShow

Watch on YouTube and listen everywhere on Monday March 18. pic.twitter.com/AAhnvcY0ny

— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 13, 2024

“Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him that although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see and hear our exchange, and that they would learn from our conversation,” he said in the video.

Why did Elon Musk cancel the Don Lemon show on X?

Musk, who owns X, posted on the site about the decision, and the company’s official account stated: “after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.”

When pressed for a specific reason, the 52-year-old himself stated that he believed Lemon was taking the wrong approach.

“His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying. And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity. All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else,” said his post.

He clarified that Don Lemon is welcome to share and host the show on X, but there will be no commercial agreement between the entities.

is welcome to monetize on this platform, just like everyone else.

What we aren’t going to do is guarantee minimum payments to him, as he was demanding, which would be going beyond everyone else!

Unfortunately, all wants to do is rehash the dying CNN business model “but…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2024

The talk show was announced in January as part of a way to encourage advertising revenue back to X after significant ad revenue losses. The interview with Elon was intended to be the first episode of the new venture. Don Lemon has stated that the show will be available across platforms including YouTube and X on Monday, March 18, and will include the interview with Musk, despite the dissolution of the partnership.

With news that X is coming to TVs, this seems like a serious blow to Musk’s plans to expand the platform.

Featured Image: midjourney

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Spotify has announced adding full music videos to its platforms, amid a flurry of new features. The music streaming giant, however, clarified that the beta phase would only be rolled out to a handful of countries for Premium subscribers.

U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya are among the markets which will get access to this new feature.

The beta version of music videos on Spotify was released on Wednesday (March 13) with a limited catalog of music videos, including hits from global artists like Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, and Ice Spice, or local favorites like Aluna and Asake.

Listeners can head to their iOS, Android, desktop, or TV devices and select the “Switch to Video” toggle for supported music tracks. Then, the music video will start playing from the beginning within the Now Playing view.

It will also allow users to watch videos in full screen by turning their mobile device to watch in landscape mode.

In a statement posted on Spotify’s website, Vice President and Head of Music Product Charlie Hellman said: “So many times in my own experience and for countless others, music videos play a key role in hooking you: taking you from being a listener to leaning in and becoming a fan.

“They’re an important part of so many artists’ tool kits, and it’s a natural fit for them to live in the same place that more than half a billion people choose to listen to music,” he added.

It comes as Spotify revealed that it would cut 17% of its workforce in December 2023.

A potentially positive year ahead for Spotify

Despite the job losses, Spotify stock went up around 11% after the announcement. CEO Daniel Ek stated at the time, “Over the last two years, we’ve put significant emphasis on building Spotify into a truly great and sustainable business – one designed to achieve our goal of being the world’s leading audio company and one that will consistently drive profitability and growth into the future.”

It aims to cut operating costs at a time when capital costs are increasing, undoing several investments made during 2020 and 2021. Ek continued: “We now find ourselves in a very different environment. And despite our efforts to reduce costs this past year, our cost structure for where we need to be is still too big.”

Featured image: Canva

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As US lawmakers approve a bill that could see TikTok banned, China warns that such a ban would “come back to bite” America.

March 13 saw the House of Representatives voting on a bill that could result in TikTok being banned in the US within six months, unless the Chinese-owned app severs its ties with China. The US is the country with the largest TikTok audience by far as it stands, with almost 150 million users engaging with the popular social video platform – a substantial audience that the company, Bytedance, will not want to lose.

Concern around TikTok from US officials has been a long-standing issue, with fears around data protection and child safety on the app at the forefront. However, Bytedance has always defended the app’s safety regulations.

What happens next with the TikTok bill?

The bill, under the official name of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. It will now head to the Senate and, if it has enough support there, go on to President Joe Biden in the White House to sign it into law.

Before the House of Representatives vote, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin maintains that the US has “never found evidence that TikTok threatens national security.”

“This kind of bullying behavior that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies’ normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order,” Mr Wang stated.

“In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself.”

Ironically, as with other global social media platforms, TikTok is banned in China. Chinese users can access a similar app called Douyin, however, only available in China and subject to monitoring and censorship by the government.

Featured image: Ideogram

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Wearable ring Oura has introduced new pregnancy features in a bid to help pregnant people understand the changes their bodies go through.

It’s no secret that wearables have made health monitoring an everyday habit for many, from smart watches to smart earrings – and now it can help people stay informed throughout pregnancy too. On Tuesday, March 12, Oura Ring launched Pregnancy Insights, with data and in-app education to walk people through each trimester. It was developed by a team of scientists, led by Neta Gotlieb, PhD, women’s health product manager and clinical research scientist at Oura.

“Pregnancy is one of the most physiologically significant events in many members’ lives,” Dr. Gotlieb said. “Our goal with this feature is to equip our pregnant members to better know their bodies and take care of their health accordingly. And we’re just getting started — we’ll continue to iterate and develop this feature based on our members’ input.”

What pregnancy features does Oura Ring offer?

Oura Ring users can turn on Pregnancy Insights in the new Women’s Health settings in the menu at the top left of the home screen or opt-in after tagging a positive test in their tracking.

From then on, users can track their gestational age (meaning how far along they are in their pregnancies) and get weekly updates on physiological changes they can expect. For example, people can expect to see their resting heart rate spike after conception, and then drop off. Levels of restless sleep while pregnant can also be compared to those of other expectant people.

Pregnancy Insights also offers in-app content on topics related to bearing a child, based on population-level data and peer-reviewed research. These are general trends and user data may deviate from the patterns you see in the Pregnancy Insights content.

“Although we can characterize the physiological pattern for most pregnancies, every person and every pregnancy is unique and deviations or fluctuations are not necessarily a negative sign,” Dr. Gotlieb explains. “If you have questions about your individual pregnancy, it’s best to speak with your OB-GYN.”

Oura also states that minor fluctuations are normal and advises users to monitor long-term trends using the data provided by the wearable ring.

Featured image: Oura Ring

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TikTok has exploded in popularity since its inception, so much so other platforms like Instagram and YouTube have taken inspiration from their short-form content style.

Now though, it seems that TikTok may be looking at a future of photos like the other apps that are already out there.

This has been found through a blogger who has taken a deep dive into the app’s APK.

On Mar. 11, TheSpAndroid found a new ‘TikTok Photos’ platform in the latest available version (33.8.4).

While photos are already a feature on the video-sharing tool, in a slideshow format, this evidence would suggest a move to a completely new and separate app, aptly named ‘TikTok Photos.’

In the code unveiled by the Android-focused website, phrases like ‘your post has been shared to TikTok Photos’ and ‘reach other like-minded people who enjoy photo posts.’

More strings of text were found: ‘TikTok Photos will be launched soon, we hope to help you gain new audiences in the new app.

‘If the switch is on, we’ll sync your public photos to the new app, whether you close the pop-up or not.’

Although the data points to an imminent release, the Chinese-based social media hasn’t yet confirmed or announced any details relating to a new app or image-related features.

Over 170 million users could soon be banned from TikTok

The app’s creator has bigger things on their mind this week as The House of Representatives is voting today (Mar. 13) on the future of TikTok in the U.S.

Concerned over data and privacy issues, this vote is the first step in the process to outright ban the app.

If passed, it will then need the Senate to approve the Bill and Joe Biden to sign it. After, the creators Bytedance will have six months to divest itself.

TikTok were approached for comment.

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TikTok’s fate is in the hands of the U.S. House of Representatives as they plan to vote on a bill in just a few hours (Mar. 13) that could see the app banned in the U.S. within six months.

When will the TikTok vote take place?

At 10 am ET, in Washington, the vote will commence and will be under fast-track rules that require support from two-thirds of House members for the measure to pass.

With more than 170 million users in the country, lawmakers are concerned the app may endanger sensitive user data. Over the last few years, the possibility of TikTok being banned has almost been made into a reality many times.

This is to take place just a week after the bill was proposed. The House Energy and Commerce Committee last week voted 50-0 in favor of the bill which set it up for a vote before the full House.

Earlier this week, following a classified briefing held by the FBI, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said: “We’ve answered a lot of questions from members. We had a classified briefing today. So that members can see even more details about what’s at risk and how the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) can jeopardize the risk to American families,”

TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to be present at Capitol Hill today as he had already planned a scheduled trip to talk to senators.

Which countries have banned TikTok?

The U.S. is not the only market to consider a ban on the dancing app, with India issuing a complete ban in 2020.

This was due to ‘geopolitical tensions’ and their government claimed these apps (59 Chinese phone apps were banned in total) were using data illegally and secretly collecting information from people’s phones when they downloaded the apps.

As such, they considered TikTok and others to be a threat to India’s national security, and the app was officially banned.

Other countries to have full bans of the app include Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, and Somalia. Some places have partial bans, like Australia and Belgium which don’t allow for the Chinese-owned app to be downloaded on some government devices.

Featured image: Photo by Michael on Unsplash

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Elon Musk has confirmed X is on its way to your smart TV, in the next stage of the social media platform’s ambition to develop into an app for everything.

It appears the Tesla billionaire has Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services in his sights with the rollout of the new medium for X. In recent days, Musk replied “Coming soon” to a post indicating you will soon be able to watch long-form X videos on a TV app.

A report has suggested the launch will first be hosted on Samsung TVs as well as Amazon’s Fire TV platform.

Coming soon https://t.co/JlnlSL7eS9

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2024

What will X TV look like?

X on TV will not be rivalling the heavyweight streamers with its offerings immediately but it is likely to have some similarities to those platforms, with an initial focus on video hosting like YouTube, whilst it could aim to later bid for live events and other forms of entertainment, as found on Netflix or Amazon Prime to establish itself within the market.

In the ongoing diversification of X, since Musk completed his takeover of Twitter, it was announced in December 2023 that his Grok AI chatbot would be opened up to premium subscribers on the app. It also has Twitch in its crosshairs with the hosting of monetized live streams.

X has also introduced audio and video calling, now available to all users on Android and iOS. Any user of the social media platform can receive a call but only paid users can make a call.

This targeted upscaling is likely to be influenced to some extent by WeChat, the Chinese app which acts as a one-stop shop combining social media and instant messaging with a mobile payment functionality and more.

Musk has frequently remarked on his intentions to deliver “the everything app,” when he acquired Twitter.

He stated, “In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context, so we must bid adieu to the bird.”

Featured image: Ideogram

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Facebook’s stock has fallen sharply after former President Donald Trump went on a rant on two separate occasions about the American technology company.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg was caught directly in the cross-fire too, with Trump writing on Truth Social: “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People.”

The 45th U.S. President then went on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box,’ and further criticized Facebook when speaking about a bill going through the House of Representatives to regulate competitor TikTok. He said: “I’m not looking to make Facebook double the size…

“And I think Facebook has been very dishonest. I think Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections.”

On both the day of the social media post and after the interview, the stock of Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook, dropped.

Meta saw the lowest closing figure since last July, Forbes reported. The shares dropped by about 4.5 percent to just under $484 on Monday, after the CNBC feature.

The shares dropped by 1.2 percent after the social media post went live on the Friday before.

On Tuesday 12 March, Donald Trump once again took to the site Truth Social to share a news article link with the title ‘Meta’s stock drops twice after Trump calls Facebook ‘an enemy of the people.’

What does Donald Trump think of TikTok

Much of Donald Trump’s scathing comments against Facebook then pivoted to give support of the video app TikTok.

This comes after the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously voted to advance legislation that would force ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest ownership of the app.

The reason for this is that ByteDance is a Chinese company, which has led to fear among Americans over their user data security.

While Trump now seems to be in favor of the app which took the world by storm, it wasn’t always that way. In August 2020, when he was still president, he said he intended to ban TikTok and even signed an executive order banning U.S. companies from transactions with ByteDance.

Featured image: Generated by ideogram

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As pressure mounts on TikTok following recent congressional legislation, former President Donald Trump has gone on the record in support of the app.

In a post on Truth Social, a right-wing social media site, Trump wrote: “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People.”

For Trump, this is definitely a change of tune. In August 2020, he told reporters that he was planning to the app, and even issued an executive order to do just that in the days following. This order, which gave ByteDance 45 days to sell the app or face a ban in the US, but this order was later blocked by numerous federal judges. This means that Trump’s proposed ban never happened, as the executive order wasn’t legally allowed to stand. 

What’s going on with TikTok?

On Thursday March 7, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously voted to advance legislation which would force ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest ownership of the app. The legislation stipulates that it should be done within 165 days. 

The reason for this is because ByteDance is a Chinese company, which has led to fear among Americans over their user data security. This fear was so palpable that federal staff and state employees in 34 states are prohibited from having the social media app on Government/state devices. 

In a statement responding to the bill on Tuesday March 5, a TikTok spokesperson said: “This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it. This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”

Picture generated by Ideogram

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Temu, the bargain, e-commerce, too-good-to-be-true items merchant, has a strong relationship with Meta. According to the Wall Street Journal, it spent $2 billion alone on Facebook and Instagram ads. The outlet also claims that it was the number one advertiser by revenue for Meta. And when it comes to Google ads, Temu is not too shabby on that front either, as the WSJ report also names it as one of the platform’s top five advertisers.

While a Temu advertiser disputed this $2 billion sales figure, it also refused to disclose its exact spending to the outlet. But one event where their spending got especially elaborate was the Superbowl. This year, the game amassed over 123 million, and Temu certainly made the most of that, as Quartz reports that Temu had four 30-second advertisements — which, according to Ad Age, cost approximately $7 million each.

What is Temu?

With its relentless advertising, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Temu has been around longer than it has been — but it was only founded back in 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. On the Temu website, the company describes itself as “an e-commerce company that connects consumers with millions of merchandise partners, manufacturers and brands with the mission to empower them to live their best lives.”

This means that, in other words, Temu can save a lot of money by dispatching products directly from factories in China to consumers. By cutting out a middle-man, the company can save on expensive tariffs, which means that its resultant products are eye-wateringly cheap.

It’s worth noting that Temu doesn’t manufacture products itself, and this has caused issues for the company in the past because there’s no way of checking to see if it’s compliant with anti-forced labor laws. This means that the products they sell may well be the result of forced labor, so while it’s certainly cheap, there’s arguably a bigger price to pay for it all.

Image Credits: Photo by RoseBox رز باکس on Unsplash

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Elon Musk’s X continues its battle with legacy media and traditional websites with its launch of long form articles, which vastly expands the possibilities open to writers on the platform.

Announced in a post on X yesterday (March 7), the feature expands the previous character limit from 25,000 by around four times, up to 100,000 characters. It also allows for media embedding, including images, videos, and of course, X posts.

However, currently, the editor is basic. While it can do basic text formatting like bold, italic, strikethrough, and bullet point and numbered lists, it lacks a markdown reader and can’t handle code blocks, something X users have already been requesting.

I've been using articles, and they're fantastic! It would be beneficial to incorporate something like markdown for easier editing. One significant challenge I've encountered is the inability to include code snippets in my articles. I've had to resort to taking screenshots of my…

— storm (@snowcra5h) March 8, 2024

When a user has written an article, it will appear in a new tab on their profile alongside their replies and media tabs. When reading an article, users have the option to full-screen the page for a cleaner, distraction-free interface, which is a nice addition.

Articles behave like normal X posts, with the ability to reply, repost, and like any article post.

Who can write articles on X/Twitter?

‘Articles’ is a feature that is only available to Premium + subscribers on X. While a Premium account costs around $130 annually, Premium + is double that at around $260 – more if you pay monthly instead of annually.

Presently, it is unclear what the uptake will be for this feature. Under Elon Musk, X has become increasingly hostile to journalists and people who create content off-platform. It notably suppresses Substack links, and removed headlines from links to external content, minimizing the capacity for creators to reach their audiences.

Musk has previously discussed his plans to take on live streaming platform Twitch, owned by Amazon, and bring monetized live streaming directly to X. X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino also encouraged Rockstar Games to upload the trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 directly to X rather than sharing a YouTube link. They did so, but more than 24 hours after sharing the link to the YouTube video.

His goal seems to be to minimize the reasons users would ever leave the site by gradually adding features that have been siloed across different services and rolling them into one huge X ecosystem that charges a fee and keeps users on-site, endlessly scrolling through a variety of content types. Whether he will be successful remains to be seen.

Featured image credit: MatiMango via Pexels

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The guided meditation and mindfulness app, Headspace, has been launched on the Meta Quest platform today and is available to those with Meta Quest 2,3, and Pro.

Described as being a ‘playground for your mind,’ the wellness app has been adapted for Meta and it now incorporates both fully immersive VR and mixed reality experiences that are said to blend the physical and digital worlds.

In a release published on the Meta Quest blog today (Wednesday, March 6) the Headspace Vice President of Content Creation Sara Cohen explains more about what people can expect: 

“People can expect a fully immersive world that they can escape to, either alone or with friends, to really be able to check in with how they’re feeling, how their friends are feeling, and engage in experiences that are completely customized to meet them exactly in those feelings, exactly where they are in that moment.

“All the experiences are designed to help people feel more energized, to help them focus, to help them wind down or relax.”

The company was first announced to partner with Meta at the two-day virtual event Meta Connect which was held on September 27, 2023, in Menlo Park, California.

The relationship with VR company Nexus Studios was then brought on from an idea by Meta Platforms Inc as they wanted Headspace to push the idea further for the headset.

The five pillars of the Headspace app will continue through to the Meta Quest addition, with these being to meditate, move, eat, sleep, and play.

Upcoming additions to Meta Quest

Numerous apps coming to Meta Quest in the coming months. In March, users can download ‘Humanity’ and ‘Medieval Dynasty New Settlement.’

The likes of ‘Zero Caliber 2,’ ‘Zombie Army VR,’ ‘Taskmaster VR,’ and ‘Metro Awakening’ will be available later this year, alongside others.

As more apps and experiences are released, there’s hope this will continue to drive sales. The vision behind the Quest 3, Meta Reality Labs, had its highest-ever quarterly revenue in Q4 of last year. UploadVR states that Meta reported $1.07 billion in quarterly revenue for Reality Labs.

Featured Image: Photo by Mediamodifier on Unsplash

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Windows 11 users will soon no longer be able to access Android apps from Amazon’s Appstore in major new update.

Starting from March 5 2025, Microsoft will no longer be supporting the Amazon Appstore on Windows.

Eagle-eyed users saw a change to one of the ‘Learn’ articles on the Windows page yesterday (Mar. 5) with an ‘important’ announcement added to the site. This reads:

“Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA). As a result, the Amazon Appstore on Windows and all applications and games dependent on WSA will no longer be supported beginning March 5, 2025. Until then, technical support will remain available to customers.

Customers who have installed the Amazon Appstore or Android apps prior to March 5, 2024, will continue to have access to those apps through the deprecation date of March 5, 2025. Please reach out to our support team for further questions at support.microsoft.com. We are grateful for the support of our developer community and remain committed to listening to feedback as we evolve experiences.”

This quiet addition of the news comes just three years after the Windows Subsystem for Android was first introduced onto Windows 11. Various updates have taken place since to build traction.

How will this affect apps that are currently being developed?

On Tuesday, Amazon Appstore announced the discontinuation via their developer blog. They explained how ‘developers will no longer be able to submit new apps targeting Windows 11 after March 5, 2024.’

According to Amazon guidelines, developers with an existing app can continue to submit app updates until the Amazon Appstore on Windows 11 is fully discontinued.

Any apps that have been installed from the Amazon Appstore will still be available after that date, but no upgrades will be possible.

Featured image: Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

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Google has introduced changes to its search results and unveiled new features for app developers, enabling them to advertise their offerings on third-party applications and competitor app marketplaces. This move comes as the company attempts to comply with landmark EU regulations to restrain the influence of major tech firms.

In a blog post, the tech giant stated that there are 20 product changes, “including the introduction of dedicated units and chips to help users find comparison sites in areas like flights, hotels and shopping.” However, it added that some features, such as the Google Flights unit, had been removed.

Google is among several leading tech companies that must adhere to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by March 7. Others include Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and TikTok owner ByteDance.

What features has Google introduced?

In January, the California-based company published several new features to its range of services, but they were only available to those in the EU. In the statement, Google said that changes to search results would increase traffic for major intermediaries and aggregators. In contrast, hotels, airlines, merchants, and restaurants will experience a decrease in traffic.

In addition to this, users will be asked for their consent to allow Google to share their data across Google products and services. The Alphabet-owned company explained, “Users may also see new consent banners asking them whether they would like to link their Google services.”

The DMA also requires gatekeeper operating systems to allow users to use third-party apps and app stores. This means that app developers can implement alternative billing systems instead of being restricted to the Google Play Store. A new program will also enable them to direct European users from the app to external platforms to promote their products.

This week, Google is set to introduce data portability software in Europe, simplifying the process for developers to transfer user data to a third-party app or service.

While Google said it will continue to work with the European Commission, it added, “We have approached compliance with transparency and meaningful product changes, even where we have concerns that some rules will reduce the choices available to people and businesses in Europe.”

Featured image: Canva

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The European Commission has fined Apple €1.8 billion (£1.5 billion) for streaming violations.  So,1,800,000,000 EUR is equal to 1,952,277,657 USD @ 1.08 US dollars to 1 Euro. Anyway you figure it, this is a significant fine. The reason is that the EU said it’s because the streaming service didn’t inform users of payment options outside the Apple app store.

Margrethe Vestager has said in the music market Apple has abused its dominant position for over a decade — and she ordered the music giant to remove all restrictions. Apple replies that it will appeal the decision and that there is no evidence that any consumers were harmed. Ms Vestager also said that Apple restricted “developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services outside of the Apple ecosystem, which is illegal under EU antitrust rules.”

The DMA — promoting competition

The DMA of the European Union aims to promote competition in the technology sector and attempt to weaken the market dominance of companies such as Apple and Google.

Ahead of the impending introduction of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple said in January that it would permit users in the European Union to download apps from stores other than its own.

The Swedish music streaming provider Spotify filed a protest with the European Commission, citing dissatisfaction with both the restriction and Apple’s 30% fee, prompting the EU to take a closer look.

Apple said, “The decision was reached despite the Commission’s failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm and ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast.’

Spotify is the largest music streaming app in the world

Apple claims that “Spotify has the largest music streaming app in the world and has met with the EC [European Commission] more than 65 times during this investigation.” Previously, Spotify claimed that the EU restrictions helped Apple’s rival music streaming service — Apple Music.

Apple’s protracted legal spat with Fortnite developer Epic Games led to the introduction of US fees in the first place. The largest developers pay 30% to utilize this method, whereas smaller developers charge 15% or less, and 85% of developers pay nothing at all.

Apple pointed out, “The primary advocate for this decision, and the biggest beneficiary, is Spotify, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden.

Featured Image Credit: Sami Abdullah; Pexels

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YouTube is planning to roll out its picture-in-picture (PIP) feature to more countries, according to reports. The video platform has been offering this in the U.S. since 2022, but it appears that Google recently released this option on YouTube to some of the free users in Europe for the last couple of weeks.

While Google hasn’t made a formal announcement, Android Police reported that the latest change is available on Android as well as iOS devices. Last week, Google even reiterated that it was still only providing this service to paid subscribers.

you can check out this resource to make sure picture-in-picture setting is turned on: https://t.co/T8tIYDNNKb note: if you’re outside the US, you’ll need a YouTube Premium membership to use PiP with any content on YouTube

— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 25, 2024

Several Reddit discussions highlight users discovering picture-in-picture (PiP) features on non-Premium accounts. In a different conversation, two European users reported encountering the same functionality. 

Meanwhile, I managed to access this feature twice in the UK before it disappeared again. This suggests that it could be part of an experiment currently limited to users in Europe or merely an error on YouTube’s part.

In order to access this feature in general, you have to manually activate the picture-in-picture feature. To do this, go to YouTube, select the profile icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen, hit the Settings icon in the top-right corner, choose General, and enable the picture-in-picture option. If Google has truly begun providing PIP at no cost in Europe, there’s a possibility the feature will be rolled out for free in other regions incrementally.

On YouTube’s support page, it states that PiP is not available for ad-supported users outside the US. If you have YouTube Premium, these limitations do not apply globally. One Reddit user mentioned that, besides music videos, free users might also be unable to use PiP for certain videos that could contain copyrighted material, such as songs.

Other features coming to YouTube

Earlier this month, Neal Mohan, the CEO of YouTube, announced the platform’s strategic plan for 2024, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), amplifying the influence of content creators, improving user safety, and broadening its reach into living room entertainment and subscription-based models.

On the other end of the spectrum, the platform is also cracking down on cyberbullying and harassment by updating its policies to prohibit content that uses artificial intelligence to simulate minors and other crime victims narrating their own deaths or experiences of violence.

Featured image: Canva

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Amazon’s most recent Fire TV software update has reportedly blocked a Fire TV capability that has been present since the original model’s release in 2014. As a result, several popular apps have experienced issues, with users noting disruptions with certain third-party applications.

AFTVNews explains that the latest update of the Fire OS software restricts access to a feature known as the Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This function is typically used by developers to reach system controls and settings that are usually inaccessible. However, it reported that this change has made several popular Fire TV apps, which have been available in Amazon‘s own Appstore for years, essentially unusable.

This implies that without this feature, Fire TV apps are now unable to perform certain complex tasks, like freeing internal storage space by clearing the cache of all installed applications.

The update is said to appear in version 7.6.6.9 for the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Cube, and version 8.1.0.3 for the Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max. The change may also impact older devices. It doesn’t affect the usage of phones and computers, which can still be used to establish ADB connections.

An Amazon spokesperson responded to a ReadWrite query, saying “We are aware of reports that some apps have been impacted by a recent security update.” The company recommended that if developers have questions, they can contact their Amazon Fire TV Appstore representative, or visit https://developer.amazon.com/support/contact-us.

Security issues with ADB commands

Amazon's latest Fire TV software update blocks the ability for apps to establish local ADB connections.

Some developers are freaking out. I say they are dead wrong. Here's why.

There is *zero* reason a local application should be requesting and executing ADB commands. It's… pic.twitter.com/gEG0JsgBmG

— LaurieWired (@lauriewired) February 25, 2024

Some users have agreed with Amazon’s assessment that requesting ADB commands could pose a security risk. User @Lauriewired, who identifies as a reverse engineering expert, wrote on X, “There is *zero* reason a local application should be requesting and executing ADB commands.  It’s a huge security risk, ripe for creating botnets and malware abuse.

“Any legitimate Android developer should be using an external ADB connection anyway, this in no way “harms” the standard development process,” they added.

According to Ars Technica, a developer was informed that their app had malfunctioned because it “overrides the native user experience,” shedding some light on Amazon’s rationale. This could mean that Amazon intends to abandon Android on its Fire TV devices, therefore gaining even greater control over the software interface.

Featured image: Canva

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Elon Musk‘s Twitter takeover has been anything but simple. In fact, his $44 billion acquisition of the social media site — now rebranded as X — is the subject of an ongoing US Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. The investigation aims to ascertain whether the 52-year-old Space X and Tesla mogul followed the correct legal procedures when it came to filing the takeover paperwork or whether he deliberately misled anyone in the process of buying Twitter.

The Twitter Files fallout continues

But one thing that really threw a spanner in the works was something dubbed “the Twitter Files.” In short, the Twitter Files result from Musk making internal documents and Slack messages available to journalists like Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss, and Michael Shellenberger. These internal documents detailed numerous content moderation decisions made by Twitter over the years before Musk’s takeover, such as the removal of Donald Trump’s account and the banning of Kanye West.

Yet, the thing concerning the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) isn’t the content of these files themselves but the extent of access granted to third parties like journalists and the data protection implications.

In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, the FTC chair Lina Khan divulged how “Elon Musk had reportedly directed staff to grant an outside third-party individual ‘full access to everything at Twitter […] No limits at all’.”

Unsurprisingly, as the letter points out, these lofty claims spurred the FTC to investigate whether direct access had actually been given to these third parties. But it turns out direct access to these documents wasn’t given to journalists, despite Musk’s orders for them to be so.

“Based on a concern that such an arrangement would risk exposing non-public user information in potential violation of the FTC’s Order, longtime information security employees at Twitter intervened and implemented safeguards to mitigate the risks,” the letter confirmed.

According to Khan, these long-time Twitter staff had the “right to be concerned given that Twitter’s new CEO had directed employees to take actions that would have violated the FTC’s Order.”

So, without Musk even realizing it, these employees saved him from what would have been a serious data protection headache.

Featured Image: Generated by Midjourney

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