Author: TechBrunch

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YouTube is approaching the launch of a new, low-cost “Premium Light” version of its subscription service, Bloomberg reports. The newer tier is set to be released “soon” in the US, Australia, Germany and Thailand. The tier, Bloomberg notes, allows users to clip clips without ads from YouTube's podcast library. Premium Light is primarily aimed at viewers who want to watch videos other than music videos. It is unclear how much the layers will cost. The premium light group has been tested in some overseas markets, but YouTube is preparing to officially roll out. YouTube Premium costs $13.99 per month in…

Despite still a tight venture capital market, new unicorns are still being created each month. Using data from CrunchBase and Pitchbook, TechCrunch has tracked the newly-built unicorns so far this year (as of the end of January). These include medical companies such as Hippocratic AI and satellite space companies such as Loft Orbital. This list is updated throughout the year, so check out the Powerhouses you're growing this year! January Kikoff – $1 Billion: According to Pitchbook, the personal finance platform last raised a private amount valued at $1 billion. Founded in 2019, the company has raised $42.5 million so…

According to a statement provided to TechCrunch, the CEO of Clearview AI, a controversial face recognition startup that slashed out the Internet to create a searchable database of 30 billion photos, has stepped down. CEO Hoan Ton-That said, “It's time for the next chapter in my life,” and he will remain as a board member of ClearView AI. He declined to comment when asked for details of what specifically caused his resignation. This news was first reported by Forbes. ClearView AI has two “co-CEOs”: early investors Hal Lambert and co-founder Richard Schwartz, who want to take advantage of new “opportunities”…

Consumer-grade spyware apps that secretly monitor private messages, photos, phone calls and real-time locations are an ongoing problem for Android users. This guide will help you identify and remove popular surveillance apps from your Android phone, such as Thetruthspy, Cocospy, Spyic. Consumer grade spyware apps are frequently sold in the guise of child surveillance or family tracking software, but for their ability to track and monitor partners and spouses without consent, they are available in the “stalkerware” and “spouseware” It is called “. These spyware apps are downloaded from outside the Google Play App Store, planted on phones without permission,…

There is a shady industry for those who want to monitor and spy on their families. Several app makers sell software (sometimes called stalkerware) to jealous partners who can use these apps to remotely access victims' phones. But despite how sensitive this data is, the number of these companies is on the rise in massive decline. According to TechCrunch's Tally, counting the latest data exposures for Cocospy and Spyic has revealed that since 2017 it has been known to have been hacked or leaked data from customers and victims online. There were at least 23 Stalkerware companies. That's not a…

Security researchers who discovered the flaws say the security vulnerability of a pair of mobile phone surveillance apps exposes the personal data of millions of people who unconsciously install apps on their devices. This bug allows anyone to access personal data, such as messages, photos, and call logs. Any phone or tablet compromised by Cocospy and Spyic, can be accessed from two different brands of mobile stalkerware apps, where two different brands of mobile stalkerware apps share almost the same source code. The bug is also intended to publish the email addresses of people who signed up for Cocospy and…

In a blog post Thursday, Meta announced it is accepting sign-ups for the Community Notes program on Facebook, Instagram and threads. The announcement follows Meta News last month, ending its third-party fact-checking program and instead moved to a community note model similar to X. In a blog post, Meta explains that community notes will be a way for users across the platform to determine when a post is misleading and allow them to add context to their posts. Starting today, people can sign up to become one of the first contributors to the program. To sign up, users must be…

Amazon Chime, Tech Giant's overwhelming Zoom and Google Meet alternative, is shutting down forever. The company confirmed on Wednesday that it would end support for chimes, including business call features, on February 20, 2026. As part of this transition, Amazon has stopped accepting new chime accounts as of February 19, 2025. From now until the end of the Chime, existing customers can schedule and host meetings, add and manage users, and take advantage of the capabilities of the Amazon Chime Administration Console, explains in a company blog post. . However, the Amazon Chime SDK is not affected. Customers are encouraged…

Afore Capital, a company that claims to be the largest dedicated seed investor, says the initial check on new startups should be greater than what most accelerators and early stage investors were offering. It is based on the idea that there is. When it raised the aforementioned third $150 million fund in 2022, the company wrote checks ranging from $1 million to $2 million. The company's strategy worked. Today, its portfolio of 200 companies has a collective valuation of over $13.5 billion, claiming it has returned $47 million (one times the first fund) to limited partners over the last year.…