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Starling’s marketplace banking rollout adds pensions, savings, travel insurance and mortgages
Starling, the U.K. challenger bank that offers a mobile-only current account, continues to execute on its marketplace banking strategy. Following the required regulatory approval, the Starling Marketplace is adding a number of financial services integrations, spanning pensions, savings, travel insurance and mortgage brokerage. Specifically, Starling is partnering with PensionBee, Wealthsimple, Kasko, and Habito, respectively. It…
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Facebook works it out with Apple to test news paywalls on iOS
Apple is allowing Facebook to bend the subscription rules. Starting March 1st, news publishers will be able to use their paywalls inside Facebook’s iOS app. Facebook started testing paywalls on Android in October, but at the time it couldn’t come to an agreement with Apple about how subscription revenue would be taxed. TechCrunch has confirmed publishers…
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New book vividly reveals Snapchat’s sexty dorm-room origin
“He wouldn’t have to worry about sending a hookup a picture of his junk! And girls would be way more likely to send him racy photos if they disappeared.” That’s just a taste of juicy details found in “How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars: The Snapchat Story,” a new book coming out tomorrow from former…
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Facebook is pushing its data-tracking Onavo VPN within its main mobile app
Onavo Protect, the VPN client from the data-security app maker acquired by Facebook back in 2013, has now popped up in the Facebook iOS app itself, under the banner “Protect” in the navigation menu. Clicking through on “Protect” will redirect Facebook users to the “Onavo Protect – VPN Security” app’s listing on the App Store.…
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Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation
Despite plenty of uncertainty swirling around Instacart and its complex relationship with Whole Foods — now owned by Amazon — investors still seem to not be too worried, and are pouring a fresh big round of financing into the startup that values it at $4.2 billion. Instacart said it raised $200 million in a new…
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Simplified investing app Stash raises $37.5 million Series D as it heads into banking
Stash, the micro-investing app that’s been a hit with first-time investors, announced today it has raised an additional $37.5 million in Series D funding in a round led by Union Square Ventures. Existing investors Breyer Capital, Coatue Management, Entree Capital, Goodwater Capital and Valar Ventures also participated. The company competes with a range of new investment apps…
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nOCD gets $1M seed round to help people with obsessive-compulsive disorder
nOCD, an app created to help people treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, will launch an Android version and add more features after raising a $1 million seed round from early-stage healthcare investment firm 7wire Ventures. The free app guides patients through exposure and response prevention (ERP) exercises, a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that is especially effective…
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‘Alto’s Adventure’ sequel ‘Alto’s Odyssey’ launches on iOS on February 22
The “endless runner” genre of games seems inherently stress-generating to me, since it implies running, without end. But Alto’s Adventure, the 2015 game from Toronto developer Snowman, provided an endless runner that was actively and profoundly relaxing, thanks to a mellow, immersive soundtrack and graphics that seem drawn from some kind of new-age zen meditation…
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Snapchat’s Snap Map comes to the web, including in embeddable form
The Snap Map is a feature that received a mixed response when it landed in the Snapchat app, since it basically let you see where all your friends on the platform were at any given time – provided they were okay with sharing that info. Now, there’s a version of Snap Map available for anyone…
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Instagram is testing screenshot alerts for stories
Instagram is testing a feature that will show users when someone else takes a screenshot of their story. Users included in the test are getting a warning that the next time they take a screenshot of a friend’s story the friend will be able to see it, as shown below: And users who are participating in…
