Author: TechBrunch

The Spyware Maker NSO Group will need to pay WhatsApp more than $167 million in damages for its 2019 hacking campaign against more than 1,400 users. On Tuesday, after a five-year legal battle, ry judges ruled that the NSO group must pay $167,256,000 in punitive damages and about $444,719 in compensatory damages. This is a major legal victory for WhatsApp, which was demanding more than $400,000 in compensatory damages, based on the time employees had to patch attack fixes, investigate, and patch vulnerabilities abused by NSO groups and focus on unspecified punitive damages. WhatsApp did not immediately respond to requests…

If you're a Subsac publisher who doesn't like not turning on the camera while live streaming, you're in luck. Substack announced on Tuesday it will launch an audio-only livestream feature for publishers who want a low-pressure way to connect with their followers. This is also great for those who want to remain anonymous. To use the feature, publishers must click on the camera icon to turn off the video while it's live. They can re-enable the video at any time during the stream. It is worth noting that listeners can comment and subscribe like they do in a normal live…

Redditors around the world were scandalized last week after learning that a team of researchers had released a herd of AI-powered human-filled bots on their “My View Change My View” Subreddit. Large-scale experiments are designed to explore how compelling AI is. The bot has posted over 1,700 comments and employs personas such as controversial identities like abuse survivors and anti-black lives advocates. For Reddit, the incident was a mini nightmare. Reddit's brand is associated with authenticity, a place where real people come to share authentic opinions. If that human-focused ecosystem gets in the way with AI slops or it becomes…

Creator platform Patreon has launched an updated version of the app that allows users to purchase via the web through Apple-Epic Court, which forces Apple developers to include links to alternative payment formats without being subject to Apple's committees. Previously, with version 125.4.1 of Patreon's iOS app, users who want to subscribe to the creator's membership plan must do so using Apple's in-app purchases. See: Image credit: Patreon The updated version released on Monday (version 125.5.0) allows users to purchase via the web, allowing them to pay with other payment methods such as credit cards, Venmo, PayPal, and other Apple…

Thanks to a recent ruling that ordered Apple to suspend 27% fee charges on purchases via the iPhone app, Amazon's Kindle IOS app has a “Book” button that makes it easier to purchase titles. “We regularly improve our apps to ensure that we are providing our customers with the most convenient experience possible,” Amazon spokesperson Tim Gilman told Verge, who first reported the news. “By choosing “Get Book” within Kindle for iOS apps, customers can now complete their purchases via a mobile web browser. ” Prior to this change, I was not even allowed to purchase titles via the Kindle…

Google's iOS app gets a new “Simplify” feature that makes it easier to understand complex or technical text on the web using AI. Simplify features a rapid refinement approach developed by Google Research, which uses Gemini to make complex text easier to digest without losing important details. According to Google, the tests showed that simplified text allows users to better understand and retain the original information. By providing built-in features such as Simplify, Google may want to stay within its ecosystem of tools and services to help with complex topics rather than relying on popular third-party tools such as Openai's…

This week in a StrictlyVC download, Strictly VC's Alex Gove speaks with Eric Slesinger of 201 Ventures, a company focused on European seed stage defense technology startups. They discuss Slesinger's journey from the CIA to investors and how he perceived the untapped potential of European defence technology, but others dismissed it. They also talk about how he works to overcome the cultural taboos that once made defensive investment a “bad manner” in VC circles in Europe. StrictlyVC downloads posts every Tuesday. Subscribe to Apple, Spotify, or where you can listen to podcasts that will alert you when a new episode…

Uber is expanding its presence in Türkiye with its latest acquisition. The Ridehale and the delivery giant have gained 85% control of Trendior GO, an Istanbul-based online meals and grocery delivery business. The agreement provides Uber Eats' immediate market share for Uber in the country where Uber currently operates its riding service. The Uber acquisition announcement comes one day before the company plans to report first quarter revenue. And with consumer spending projected to decline in 2025 due to President Trump's tariffs, investors will want to feel at ease that Uber is still ready for growth despite recently pulling out…

Instacart has launched a new drink and snack delivery app called Fizz, the company announced Tuesday. Over 21 apps are built for friends and family and are designed to make them easy to stock up for parties and gatherings. Party hosts can invite guests to their fizz carts so that everyone can choose what they want to bring to the meeting. The app is intended to eliminate the headache of splitting the bill, so everyone pays for what they add to their cart. Daniel Danker, Chief Executive of Instacart, said, “It's becoming more and more common for people to come…

While YouTube continues to dominate the podcasting space, Spotify is actively working to fill the gap. Latest Development: A new feature that lets users see how many times they actively listen to or watch episodes of audio-only or video podcasts. The streaming giant revealed a new podcast metric called “Play” on Tuesday, allowing users to see which podcast episodes are the most popular. This is the first time that creators and users have seen such podcast metrics. Plays appear next to podcast episodes throughout the app, including homepages, episode pages, and show pages. It is also available to Spotify creators…