Apps

WhatsApp begins sharing account data with Facebook to boost targeted advertising

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 25, 2016

Facebook-owned WhatsApp today updated its Terms and Privacy Policy for the first time in four years to reflect that the messaging service will start sharing select account data with Facebook in order to improve targeted advertising. Wait, does that mean that you're going to be inundated with ads on WhatsApp? In a word, no—at least for the time being. As per the amended terms of service, “We still do not allow third-party banner ads on WhatsApp.”

Bloomberg: Apple developing a new iPhone video-sharing app & deeper social ties in iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 25, 2016

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Apple has been developing a brand new Snapchat-style video editing and sharing application that could launch in 2017 as a standalone download, as well as testing deeper social ties across iOS as part of a newly directed focus to integrate more social networking features within its mobile products. These moves are said to be a response to the success of social services like Facebook and Snapchat, according to people familiar with Apple’s strategy.

You can now mark recommended videos as ‘Not Interested’ in YouTube for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

Google today issued a small update to its YouTube client on the App Store, adding a feature that enables better suggestions while fixing three annoying bugs.

Bumped to version 11.32, the iPhone and iPad application now makes it easy to improve personalized suggestions by marking recommended videos under the Up Next section as “Not Interested,” which helps train the algorithm to better tailor recommendations to your personal tastes.

Pinterest just bought Instapaper

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 23, 2016

In a newsworthy move that in all likelihood makes lots of sense, the photo sharing service Pinterest has acquired Pinterest, the popular app and web service for saving webpages to read later.

According to the announcement, Pinterest will continue to develop and maintain the mobile Instapaper app, available at no charge on the App Store.

PDF Expert 2 for Mac is here: new editing features, password protection & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 23, 2016

Ukrainian developer of fine iOS and Mac software, Readdle, today announced it's launching a major update to its PDF Expert for Mac productivity application, bringing out a plethora of improved editing capabilities and new features like password protection for your PDF documents, the ability to link any image or text to a different page or a website, localizations for ten languages and other perks. The update will go live on the Mac App Store today at no charge for those who already own PDF Expert.

Skype for iOS gains connectivity status bar, more informative notifications & other perks

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 22, 2016

Microsoft today pushed an update to its mobile Skype application for iOS, bumping the app's version number on the App Store to 6.22. The new edition includes several enhancements related to notifications and Skype Credit, which can now be purchased from within the app in more currencies than before. Skype for iPhone and iPad are available free on the App Store.

Facebook launches Lifestage, a teens-only social app built around video profiles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 17, 2018

If you're a high-schooler aged under 22 and eager to connect with your classmates within an environment that harkens back to the Facebook from 2004, when it was exclusively a college student network, then today's Facebook where everyone creeps on others may not be the safest place to engage in such interactions.

That's why Michael Sayman, Facebook’s 19-year-old product manager, created Lifestage, a teens-only iPhone app that encourages high-schoolers to create video profiles and share them with their school network.

Canvas, Spark Pro, Mimo and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

It's the weekend again, and you know what that means! It's time for another edition of our Apps of the Week roundup. This week we have some awesome selections for you including a new realtime collaboration app, a minimal video capturing app, a new app that makes learning to code fun and easy, and of course two games that we think are worth checking out.

Twitter gains features to limit notifications and filter out lower-quality content

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 19, 2016

Twitter continues adding features to let users control and personalize their experience on the service with yesterday's announcement of a new quality filter and notification settings.

Now available in Twitter 6.6 for iOS, the new content quality switch allows you to optionally weed out lower-quality tweets from your feed, notifications and other parts of your Twitter experience.

“It does not filter content from people you follow or accounts you’ve recently interacted with – and depending on your preferences, you can turn it on or off in your notifications settings,” cautioned the service.

NYT is shutting down its Now app on August 29

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 14, 2018

Released in March of 2014, The New York Times' news curation app, NYT Now, is scheduled to shut down on August 29, the newspaper announced in a blog post.

The app debuted as a more affordable alternative to the paper's digital subscriptions, offering premium content for as low as $8 per month. It was regularly updated and at one point even gained features like 1Password integration.

Apple’s free app of the week: Pixel Cup Soccer 16

Cody Lee ∙ August 18, 2016

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the game Pixel Cup Soccer 16. This means from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the retro-style football title for free on both iPhone and iPad—saving you $3.

As you've probably gathered by now, Pixel Cup Soccer 16 is a retro-style, dynamic arcade game. It features fast-pace gameplay, nostalgic graphics and soundtrack that will take you back to the 90's, and 3 game modes: Friendly, competition and PKs.

With few weeks until iOS 10’s fall release, iOS 9 adoption hits 87 percent of devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 18, 2016

Various editions of iOS 9 are currently installed on 87 percent of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, a one-point gain versus a month ago. During the same period, iOS 8 has dropped from eleven to ten percent of devices, suggesting much of iOS 9's growth could be owed to upgrades. Earlier editions of iOS continue to comprise about three percent of devices.

The stats were derived from Apple's logs capturing devices that accessed the App Store on August 15, 2016, and are publicized on the App Store dashboard.