Author: Sarah Perez

Twitch’s first game, the karaoke-style ‘Twitch Sings,’ launches to public Amazon-owned game-streaming site Twitch is today publicly launching its first game. But it’s not a traditional video game — like those the site’s creators stream for their fans. Instead, the new game is called “Twitch Sings” and is a free karaoke-style experience designed for live streaming. The game, which was launched into beta last year, includes thousands of karaoke classics that players can sing either alone or in a duet with another person. In addition, streamers can choose to sing…

Password manager Dashlane closes on M, adds former Spotify CMO to board Dashlane, a popular password manager and all-round identity management solution, has raised another $30 million in funding, the company announced today. The funding – this time a round of debt financing from Hercules Capital – follows prior investment from FirstMark Capital, Rho Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, TransUnion and Silicon Valley Bank. The company is also expanding its board with the addition of Seth Farbman, a former CMO for Spotify and Gap. Farbman spent nearly four years at Spotify…

Apple’s iOS will now confirm you meant to subscribe to that app Apple has added another step to prevent users from accidentally signing up for an iOS app’s subscription – or, from being tricked into it by a scammy app not playing by the rules. The company recently rolled out a subscription confirmation dialog box that pops up as one final step to ensure you meant to opt in to the subscription being offered. The change to iOS was first spotted by app developer David Barnard on Twitter and reported…

Walmart acquires ad tech startup Polymorph Labs to scale up its ad business Amazon has a large and growing advertising business, but rival Walmart’s own ad business is much smaller. It’s now working to change that. Earlier this year, the retailer consolidated ad sales for its stores and websites and said it was ready to start monetizing its shopper data on a grander scale. Today, its efforts continue as Walmart says it has bought the advertising technology company, Polymorph Labs, to help it better compete via online digital ads, targeted…

Tinder becomes the top-grossing, non-game app in Q1 2019, ending Netflix’s reign For the first time in years, Netflix is no longer the top grossing, non-game mobile app. Instead, that title now goes to dating app Tinder. The change in position is not surprising, given Netflix’s decision in December to stop paying the so-called “Apple tax.” That is, it no longer allows new users to sign up and subscribe to its service through its iOS application. The change was said to cost Apple hundreds of millions in lost revenue per…

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos challenges rival retailers to raise their minimum wages, too Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos challenged rival retailers to increase their minimum wages to $16 per hour, in his annual letter to shareholders released on Thursday. Amazon in November had raised its own minimum wage to $15 per hour, in response to the ongoing criticism around pay disparity and poor working conditions. Bezos suggested other retailers should follow Amazon’s lead, or push it to do even better. “Today I challenge our top retail competitors (you know who you…

Netflix partners with Sirius XM on new comedy channel, ‘Netflix is a Joke’ For the first time, Netflix is making its content available to another subscription media service. The company announced today it will bring segments from its popular stand-up specials, plus other original content, to Sirius XM’s new comedy station called “Netflix is a Joke,” beginning on April 15, 2019. The station will be offered on Sirius XM’s Channel 93, and will offer highlights from Netflix stand-up specials, comedy talk shows, and other original programming, says Netflix. This includes…

Prince Harry is partnering with Oprah Winfrey on Apple TV+ series about mental health Prince Harry is the latest big name attached to Apple’s upcoming streaming service, Apple TV+, which was formally introduced last month. According to an announcement published to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s official Instagram account, Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey are co-creators and executive producers on an Apple TV+ docuseries focused on mental health. “I truly believe that good mental health – mental fitness – is the key to powerful leadership, productive communities and a purpose-driven…

Cashierless Amazon Go stores are planning to accept cash Amazon Go convenience stores will begin to accept cash, according to a report this morning from CNBC, which Amazon confirmed. The retailer didn’t say when cash would be added to existing stores as a payment option, however, only that it was planned. The issue with the cashierless, automated Amazon Go stores is that they require customers to use a stored bank or credit card associated with their Amazon account to make a purchase. This can be discriminatory towards the un-banked and…

Roku is no longer a neutral platform after today’s Roku OS 9.1 update In the past, Roku seemed to be more of neutral platform compared with streaming media player rivals like Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV. The company gave everyone else’s content equal footing through its add-on channels and in Roku search, as had nothing of its own to promote. That’s changing with the rollout of Roku OS 9.1, beginning today. The update adds a feature that automatically plays back The Roku Channel’s movies and TV shows at times;…