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Snapchat responds to the Change.org petition complaining about the app’s redesign
Snapchat has posted an official response to users who signed a petition on Change.org asking the company to reverse its controversial update, which people say makes the app more difficult to use. In the response, Snapchat promises to make a few more changes to the Friends and Discover section in order to address user complaints.…
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‘Alto’s Odyssey’ is now available on iOS and it’s wonderful
Alto’s Adventure could be my most-played game on iOS. I spent countless hours on flights getting lost in the serene landscape offered in the game. To me it’s a satisfying mix of adventure and mindless pleasure. The sequel is now available on iOS and it’s even better than the first. As Darrell explains here, the…
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Cognoa’s AI platform for autism diagnosis gets first FDA stamp
Cognoa has gained regulatory recognition for its machine learning software as a class II diagnostic medical device for autism — meaning the digital health startup is now positioned to submit an application for full FDA clearance. It’s a first but important regulatory step for a business that was founded back in 2014, and plays in a…
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Amazon expands its Techstars Alexa Accelerator to London, starts search for second cohort
Amazon continues to tap into the developer community to expand the ubiquity of its Alexa voice-based assistant, and it’s taking the strategy international. Today the company opened applications for the Alexa Accelerator, the program for startups building solutions and services for voice-based assistants, which Amazon runs in conjunction with Techstars. Most notably, as part of…
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Facebook’s plan to unite AR, VR and News Feed with 3D posts
What if you could digitally sculpt a 3D object and share it on Facebook, play with it in virtual reality or insert it into your world with augmented reality? Facebook is polishing up stages one and two today after debuting posts of interactive 3D models in News Feed in October that you can move and…
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Instagram Direct one-ups Snapchat with replay privacy controls
Messaging is the heart of Snapchat, so after cloning and augmenting Stories, Instagram is hoping to boost intimate usage of Direct with privacy controls not found elsewhere. Now when you send an ephemeral photo or video from the Instagram Direct camera, you can decide whether recipients can only view it once, replay it temporarily or…
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Edtech company Kidaptive raises $19.1 million for its adaptive learning platform
Edtech startup Kidaptive, an adaptive-learning company that begin its life with a suite of curriculum-focused iPad games for kids, announced today it has closed on $19.1 million in Series C funding, in a round led by Formation 8 and Korean education company Woongjin ThinkBig. The investment follows a deal with Woongjin that will see Kidaptive powering…
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Snapchat adds GIF stickers via Giphy, plus new Friends and Discover screen tabs
Snapchat is bringing one of the best recent features of Instagram Stories to its own app, with the ability to add GIF stickers from Giphy to your posts. This is a notable reversal of the typical pattern we’ve seen of Instagram cloning Snapchat features, but it’s a good one for users since GIF stickers for…
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Nuance ends development of the Swype keyboard apps
The party is over for third party keyboards. But hey, it was fun while it lasted. Nuance, the company that acquired veteran swipe-to-type keyboard maker Swype — all the way back in 2011, shelling out a cool $100M — has ended development of its Swype+Dragon dictation Android and iOS apps. The news was reported earlier by…
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Uber parks its service in Morocco
Uber is pulling the brakes on its service in Morocco, which will cease on February 23, as it waits (and hopes) for local regulators to accommodate app-based ride-hailing. The company announced the move on its country blog yesterday, writing that it has “not had any clarity” on how its service can be integrated into the…