Microsoft says a third of its government data requests have secrecy orders – News

Microsoft says a third of its government data requests have secrecy orders – TechCrunch

Microsoft’s customer security chief says as many as one-third of all government demands that the company receives for customer data are issued with secrecy clauses that prevents it from disclosing the search to the subject of the warrant. The figure was disclosed in testimony by Microsoft’s Tom Burt ahead of a House Judiciary Committee on … Read more

Consumer spending on apps hit record $64.9B in first half of 2021, but install growth slowed to 1.7% – News

Consumer spending on apps hit record $64.9B in first half of 2021, but install growth slowed to 1.7% – TechCrunch

Consumer spending in mobile apps hit a record $64.9 billion during the first half of 2021, according to preliminary data from app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower. This figure represents a 24.8% increase in spending seen across both the App Store and Google Play, compared with the year-ago period. But while industry experts believe the … Read more

Shopify drops its App Store commissions to 0% on developers’ first million in revenue – News

Shopify drops its App Store commissions to 0% on developers’ first million in revenue – TechCrunch

Following similar moves by Apple, Google, and more recently Amazon, among others, e-commerce platform Shopify announced today it’s also lowering its cut of developer revenue across its app marketplace, the Shopify App Store, as well as the new Shopify Theme Store. The news was announced today alongside a host of other developer-related news and updates … Read more

Hit iPhone controller Backbone One scores Xbox Game Pass partnership at xCloud’s iOS launch today – News

Hit iPhone controller Backbone One scores Xbox Game Pass partnership at xCloud’s iOS launch today – TechCrunch

Backbone One, the killer iPhone game pad I profiled here late last year, has just scored the mother of all tie-ups for a gaming accessory. It’s getting bundled with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as it launches on iOS today alongside the xCloud game streaming service. As a part of the deal, Backbone is being bundled … Read more

Google and India’s Jio Platforms announce JioPhone Next – News

Google and India’s Jio Platforms announce JioPhone Next – TechCrunch

Jio Platforms, run by India’s richest man (Mukesh Ambani), and Google on Thursday unveiled the JioPhone Next, an affordable Android smartphone, as the top Indian telecom operator and the American giant make further push to expand their reach in the world’s second-largest internet market. The Indian firm, which secured $4.5 billion investment from Google (and … Read more

Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces are coming to Twitter – News

Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces are coming to Twitter – TechCrunch

In Twitter’s latest appeal to one-up competitors, from Clubhouse to Patreon, the company announced today that it will begin rolling out applications for Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces. Twitter first teased the Super Follow feature during an Analyst Day event in February. Super Follows allow creators on Twitter to generate monthly revenue by offering paywalled … Read more