Author: TechBrunch
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy released an open letter on Thursday, summarizing the plans for the platform for 2025. Notably, Clancy revealed that Twitch has open subscriptions and “bits.” This is a virtual item viewers buy to cheer on streamers, and “most” creators regardless of “most” followers The change is aimed at democratizing the monetization process on Twitch, allowing a wider range of creators to capture as they attract audiences. Previously, only Twitch affiliates and partners had access to subscriptions and bits and had to meet certain criteria to qualify. This includes having at least 50 followers, maintaining an average of…
A little-known phone surveillance operation called Spyzie has compromised over 500,000 Android devices and thousands of iPhones and iPads, according to data shared by security researchers. Most affected devices owners may not know that their phone data is corrupted. Security researchers told TechCrunch that Spyzie is vulnerable to the same bug as Cocospy and Spyic, two nearly identical but different branded stalkerware apps that share the same source code and publish data for over 2 million people, as reported last week. This bug allows anyone to access phone data, including messages, photos, location data, and more extracted from any device…
AI is attracting attention for all kinds of future technologies, from humanoid robots to autonomous warships. However, in a very traditional industry, there is a quieter boom. accounting. VCs are excited by the prospect of using AI on funding companies such as last year's figures and Kick to automate expensive human labor. The latest startup to ride this wave is Quanta, selling AI-powered accounting platforms to software companies and raising a $4.7 million seed round led by Accel. Other investors include Basecase, Comma Capital and San Francisco Angel investor Elad Gil. Quanta traces its origins to the time of Helen…
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 Spyzie's latest data leaks shortly after Cocospy and Spyic's data exposures, it has been known to have been hacked since 2017, or leaked data data from customers and victims online. That's not a typo. At least 24 Stalkerware companies…
On Thursday, Apple announced a variety of new initiatives designed to allow parents and developers to use Apple devices to create safer experiences for children and teens. In addition to the ease of setting up a child's account, parents can share information about their child's age and accessed by app developers to provide age-appropriate content. The App Store will also introduce a new age rating set to help developers and App Store users gain a more detailed understanding of the app's aptitude for a particular age range. The product pages for third-party apps in the App Store will also be…
On Thursday, Apple announced a variety of new initiatives designed to allow parents and developers to use Apple devices to create safer experiences for children and teens. In addition to the ease of setting up a child's account, parents can share information about their child's age and accessed by app developers to provide age-appropriate content. The App Store will also introduce a new age rating set to help developers and App Store users gain a more detailed understanding of the app's aptitude for a particular age range. The product pages for third-party apps in the App Store will also be…
When it comes to AI software, you can build something smart, but it's not always the same as building something secure. With so many software written by AI now, having a window into security can be a challenge. This is the premise of Archipelo, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity startup, which today emerges from stealth with $12 million in funding. The pitch of Archipelo is that it has a platform for what is called “Developer Security Astute Management” (DEVSPM). “We discovered there was no developer security attitude tools, and that's what we built,” said Matthew Wise, CEO and co-founder of Archipelo.…
Deep Knight co-founders Lucas Young and Thomas Lee have been friends since childhood. Both worked as software engineers at Google. Digital Night Vision Tech when Young decides to crack the code on an issue that has been wreaking havoc on the US military for decades. Most night vision technologies are still analog. The goggles use photo lenses and chemical processes to convert nightly scarce light into images, Young told TechCrunch. It also costs between $13,000 and $30,000 from military contractors such as L3Harris and Elbit America. For years, the US Army has tried to digitalize high-tech, but focuses primarily on…
AI has the power to transform how people work, but getting tangible value from AI is not as easy as throwing AI applications in your workflow. It can be difficult for a company to understand which AI applications will help their business and which are just hype. Workhelix wants to solve that problem. Workhelix is a technology-enabled service startup that works with businesses to better understand and monitor their AI automation. Workhelix breaks down company employee positions into specific job features, tasks and scores, and acquires each task to be suited to AI adoption. This will provide businesses with a…
Meta has fixed the error, and some users will see a flood of graphics and violent videos in their Instagram reel feed. This happens after seeing scary, violent content despite enabling “delicate content control” on Instagram. “We have fixed an error that some users should not recommend content in their Instagram reel feed,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. “I apologize for the mistake.” Meta's policy says it prohibits content that includes “videos depicting mutilated, visible internal organs or burnt bodies,” and “sadistic remarks on images depicting human and animal suffering.” However, users were shown a video…