Author: TechBrunch
Next week, Google will begin allowing children under 13 to use the Gemini chatbot with parent-controlled Google accounts. The Times reports that Gemini is available to children whose families use family links. A Google spokesperson told the publication that Gemini has certain GuardRails for younger users, and that the company does not use that data to train AI. As the Times points out, chatbot makers are racing to attract younger audiences as AI races get hot. That's despite the fact that today's chatbots are at best incomplete and at worst potentially harmful. United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organizations pushed…
Due to the lapse of security in the Dating App, RAW has released user personal and private location data, TechCrunch discovered. The published data included the user's display name, date of birth, date of dating, sexual preferences related to the RAW app, and user location. Some of the location data contained coordinates specific enough to find raw app users with Street-level accuracy. Launched in 2023, Raw is a dating app that claims to provide more authentic interactions with others by asking users to upload photos of their daily selfies. The company has not disclosed the number of users, but the…
According to the App Store listing, Google's Notebooklm Android and iOS apps are scheduled to be released on May 20th. Currently, the app is available for pre-order. Since its launch in 2023, AI-based note-taking and research assistants are only accessible via the desktop. Google is currently preparing it to be available on the go. NoteBookLM is designed to help students, experts and researchers better understand complex information through features such as the ability to ask questions about smart summaries and documents and other materials. The Research Assistant also generates AI podcasts called Audio Overviews, making it easy to digest complex…
Spotify said Friday that Apple has approved a US app update that will allow users to access pricing information and external payment links. The approval comes days after a US judge ordered Apple to stop claiming purchases via the iPhone app. “As a victory for consumers, artists, creators and authors, Apple has approved an update to Spotify's US app,” Spotify spokesperson Jeanna Moran said in a statement to TechCrunch. “Nearly after 10 years, this will ultimately give you the freedom to display clear pricing information and links to promoting US consumer purchases, transparency and choice.” She continued. “We've now become…
Airbnb began rolling out AI-powered customer service bots in the US last month, CEO Brian Chesky said in a first quarter conference call on Thursday. Chesky added that 50% of Airbnb's US users already use AI Bot for customer service, and that the company plans to deploy the feature to all users in the country this month. “One thing I say about AI [is that] It definitely makes the customer experience easier […] It already brings a 15% reduction in people who need to contact living human agents,” he said in an analyst call. Last year, the company told TechCrunch…
Apple has changed its US App Store rules to allow apps to link users to their own websites, allowing them to purchase subscriptions and other digital products. The change comes after a US court ruled in favor of the epic game in a case against iPhone makers, the latter ordered that apps not be banned from including features that allow them to redirect to their websites for digital purchases. “The app review guidelines have been updated to comply with US court decisions regarding app buttons, external links, and other calls to action,” Apple said in a blog post. The 2020…
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman says there are two types of people who come to social media platforms. Skler is what comes to Reddit's core products, a community conversation, and engages on topics he has passion for, from R/Sourdough to R/PopCultureChat. Then there are seekers. People who may enter a specific query into Google search and then tack “Reddit” at the end can find real advice and opinions from real people. Reddit Answers Ay is the company's AI-powered chatbot that surfaces verbatim answers and summaries from existing Reddit posts. And early results suggest that they have already gained traction. “Until recently,…
Payment processing software provider Stripe is ready to help iOS app developers bypass Apple's App Store transaction cuts. Following the ruling in yesterday's Apple-EPIC antitrust trial, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers shared documentation showing iOS developers how to get around the Apple Commission, as he was completely ashamed of Apple for not allowing external payment links for the app, as he previously ruled. In an X post, Stripe Product Manager Michael Luo said he “cooked a quick guide” to show iOS developers how their team can accept payments using Stripe outside the app, making new options available to them by court…
Dub is a copy trading platform that is transforming the way Gen Z invests, securing a $30 million Series A funding round, increasing its total to $47 million. The deal, which founder Stephen Wang had previously hinted at TechCrunch, comes a year after its official launch. The 23-year-old Harvard Dropout platform is growing steadily, with over 1 million downloads, allowing users to mirror successful traders' investment strategies, Dub said. “The ultra-wealthy people have been using expert money managers for a long time. Now dubs offer the same benefits for everyday investors,” says a press release that told TechCrunch on a…
On Thursday, humanity launched a new way to connect apps and tools to the AI chatbot Claude, as well as an expanded “deep research” feature that allows Claude to search the web, enterprise accounts and more. A new app connectivity feature called Integrations and an expanded Deep Research Tool called Advanced Research is available in beta for Anthropic's Claude Max, Team, and Enterprise Plans subscribers. In related news, humanity has increased rate limits for Claude Code, an AI-powered coding tool for Max customers. Integration and advanced research are part of humanity's efforts to address competing chatbots such as Google's Gemini…