Apps

Photo: Fritzober / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Instagram introduces Replace Audio for old posts

Instagram introduced a “Replace Audio” feature that lets users swap the music on published posts and carousels without losing likes, comments, shares, or reach, giving creators ongoing control to refresh content and align with trends. The rollout follows a series of creator-focused updates and ongoing push to address past feature criticisms by offering small but useful tools for content growth.

12 sources

Meta plans Threads parental controls rollout in US

Meta is rolling out parental supervision tools for Threads via Family Center, letting parents see teen time spent, set daily limits, enforce sleep hours, and manage privacy and tagging for their teens. The expansion, prompted by regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits over teen safety, targets roughly 500 million monthly users with a US-first rollout and a global rollout by year’s end.

14 sources

Photo: FirstWeek FlipPhone / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Light Flip to Ship April 2027 With No Camera

Light is launching the Light Flip, a minimalist flip-phone with a 2.8-inch internal display, no exterior screen, a T9 keypad, and LightOS aimed at reducing smartphone distractions while preserving essential features like calls, texts, and voice-to-text. Priced at $299 with 128GB of storage, 6GB RAM, 5G, USB-C, a 3.5mm jack, six colors, and a paid option of $39/month for a two-year plan, it targets Gen Z and millennials seeking a non-smartphone lifestyle and is slated to ship in 2027.

20 sources

Photo: U.S. Air Force / Trevor Cokley / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

X Rebuilds Android App After Year-Long Overhaul

X released a rebuilt Android app after nearly a year of work, built from scratch to significantly improve loading, scrolling, and notifications, and it now coincides with the launch of standalone X Money and X Chat apps. While most core improvements are in place, some features remain under development—such as Spaces support and optimization for older devices—with ongoing plans to roll out additional features to Android to expand global reach.

10 sources

Natural Raises $30M to Rebuild AI Agent Payments

Natural raised $30 million in a Series A to build payments infrastructure for AI agents, enabling autonomous payments and positioning itself to challenge Stripe. The round drew lead investor Forerunner and other tech founders, fueling development of the platform’s wallets, payments, and related tools for agentic finance.

6 sources

Photo: Apple Inc. / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Apple plans Maps ads rollout in US, Canada

Apple is rolling out Maps ads with a selective, 'organic-looking' approach, banning broad home-services categories and certain high-risk industries while evaluating medical ads case-by-case, signaling a focus on trusted, physically visitable locations as it delays a formal launch to this summer in the U.S. and Canada with a policy effective July 14, 2026. The strategy contrasts with Google’s Local Services Ads by prioritizing ad quality and brand safety over rapid expansion, aiming to simplify verification and reduce friction for advertisers.

15 sources

Photo: Brian Wong / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Microsoft patches critical Age II RCE

Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday included a fix for a critical vulnerability in the remastered Age of Empires II that could let an attacker take remote control via a malicious game invite, though no exploits have been publicly reported. The updates, aided by AI from Microsoft and researchers, address a record number of bugs and underscore ongoing cybersecurity risks in gaming platforms, with Rapid7 detailing the CVE-2026-50663 entry and the need for users to apply patches.

8 sources

Google Images Launches Pinterest-Style Redesign with AI

Google Images is undergoing a Pinterest-style redesign that turns the site into a browsable, real-time gallery with personalized collections, while also adding built-in AI image generation in AI Overviews to support prompt-based creation. The updates are part of a broader 25th-anniversary overhaul that emphasizes discovery and staying within Google’s ecosystem for image inspiration.

9 sources

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