Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 20h

Mastodon is taking cues from Bluesky with plans for its own starter ‘Packs’

Mastodon is taking cues from Bluesky with plans for its own starter 'Packs' | TechCrunch

Mastodon is planning to make it easier for newcomers to discover curated collections of users to follow by launching a new starter packs feature.

techcrunch.com

4 9

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 22h

Alternative app store AltStore raises $6M, connects with the fediverse

Alternative app store AltStore raises $6M, connects with the fediverse | TechCrunch

The alternative app marketplace AltStore has raised $6 million and launched a Mastodon server.

techcrunch.com

2 8

Reposted by Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃

Bluesky @bsky.app · 1d

we hit 2 billion posts today! 🥳

1.6K 2.5K 29K

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 1d

MrBeast says AI could threaten creators’ livelihoods, calling it ‘scary times’ for the industry

MrBeast says AI could threaten creators' livelihoods, calling it 'scary times' for the industry | TechCrunch

As Sora tops the App Store, MrBeast says AI could threaten creators' ability to make money.

techcrunch.com

1 2

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 1d

Adobe predicts AI-assisted online shopping to grow 520% during the 2025 U.S. holiday season

Adobe predicts AI-assisted online shopping to grow 520% during the 2025 U.S. holiday season | TechCrunch

AI-assisted online shopping is still booming, new U.S. holiday e-commerce forecast shows.

techcrunch.com

1

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 4d

Google’s Gemini AI app could soon be getting a big makeover

Google's Gemini AI app could soon be getting a big makeover | TechCrunch

The company is seemingly experimenting with a new user interface that would shift the app from having a chatbot-style look and feel to one offering a scrollable feed with suggested prompts accompanied by eye-catching photos.

techcrunch.com

4 5

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 5d

Threads takes on X with new communities feature

Threads takes on X with new communities feature | TechCrunch

The idea, explains Meta, is to give users dedicated spaces within the app where they can delve deeper into conversations on topics that matter to them.

techcrunch.com

3 5

Reposted by Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃

Techmeme @techmeme.com · 5d

Meta unveils communities on Threads, starting with 100+ dedicated spaces for casual conversations around topics like basketball, television, and K-pop music (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

4 1 3

Reposted by Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃

Techmeme @techmeme.com · 5d

Appfigures: Sora saw 56K iOS installs on its first day, on par with Grok but ahead of Claude and Copilot; ChatGPT and Gemini each had ~80K installs on day one (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

1 4

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 5d

OpenAI’s Sora soars to No. 3 on the U.S. App Store

OpenAI's Sora soars to No. 3 on the U.S. App Store | TechCrunch

Sora becomes the No. 3 US app after 164K downloads in 2 days, making the AI video app an early hit.

techcrunch.com

2 4

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 5d

Amazon now lets Prime members add items to upcoming orders with one tap

Amazon now lets Prime members add items to upcoming orders with one tap | TechCrunch

Amazon's new "Add to today's delivery" button makes it easier for Prime members to buy more and tack on items to existing orders.

techcrunch.com

3

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 6d

Instagram head says company is not using your microphone to listen to you (with AI data, it won’t need to)

Instagram head says company is not using your microphone to listen to you (with AI data, it won't need to) | TechCrunch

The idea that Meta would secretly turn on the microphones on users' phones to record their conversations is an age-old conspiracy theory -- and one that the company has disputed before.

techcrunch.com

2 3 6

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 6d

Spotify now lets you exclude tracks from your taste profile

Spotify now lets you exclude tracks from your taste profile, improving recommendations | TechCrunch

Spotify lets you take more control over your recommendations by excluding tracks from influencing your taste profile.

techcrunch.com

7

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 6d

Google reveals its Gemini-powered smart home lineup and AI strategy

Google reveals its Gemini-powered smart home lineup and AI strategy | TechCrunch

Google brings Gemini to the smart home with new devices, AI for existing customers and more.

techcrunch.com

1 4

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 6d

Google teases its new Gemini-powered Google Home speaker, coming in spring 2026

Google teases its new Gemini-powered Google Home speaker, coming in spring 2026 | TechCrunch

The somewhat delayed timing of the launch gives the company time to ensure the new Gemini functionality reaches its other Google Home customers on older devices and gives them time to work out the kinks.

techcrunch.com

1 5

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 6d

Google unveils AI-powered Nest indoor and outdoor cameras, and a new doorbell

Google unveils AI-powered Nest indoor and outdoor cameras, and a new doorbell | TechCrunch

Google's new Nest cameras and doorbell are getting a Gemini upgrade.

techcrunch.com

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 6d

Google’s Home app, a command center for the smart home, gets a Gemini upgrade

Google's Home app, a command center for the smart home, gets a Gemini upgrade | TechCrunch

Google redesigns its Home app for better usability and adds Gemini-powered features.

techcrunch.com

1 1 4

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 7d

PayPal’s Honey to integrate with ChatGPT and other AIs for shopping assistance

PayPal's Honey to integrate with ChatGPT and other AIs for shopping assistance | TechCrunch

PayPal's Honey will now with with ChatGPT to find shopping deals.

techcrunch.com

1 1 3

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 7d

Alexa+ comes to new Fire TV devices with AI-powered conversations

Alexa+ comes to new Fire TV devices with AI-powered conversations | TechCrunch

Amazon announced new Fire TV devices, 4K Stick and Alexa+ AI features for TV viewers.

techcrunch.com

1 2

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 7d

Amazon unveils new Echo devices, powered by its Al, Alexa+

Amazon unveils new Echo devices, powered by its Al, Alexa+ | TechCrunch

Amazon debuts new devices, the Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 11, powered by AI.

techcrunch.com

2 3

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 8d

Bluesky rolls out age verification for users in Ohio

Bluesky rolls out age verification for users in Ohio | TechCrunch

Users in Ohio will have to verify their age to use Bluesky's social network as of Monday.

techcrunch.com

4 11

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 12d

Viral call-recording app Neon goes dark after exposing users’ phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts

Exclusive: Neon takes down app after exposing users' phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts

Call recording app Neon was one of the top-ranked iPhone apps, but was pulled offline after a security bug allowed any logged-in user to access the call recordings and transcripts of any other user.

techcrunch.com

1 2 10

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 12d

Spotify to label AI music, filter spam and more in AI policy change

Spotify to label AI music, filter spam and more in AI policy change | TechCrunch

Spotify is launching a music spam filter, labeling AI tracks, and clarifying its rules around AI voice clones.

techcrunch.com

2 2 9

Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃 @sarahp.bsky.social · 12d

Threads is developing a tool that lets you ‘tag’ its algorithm to configure your feed

Threads is developing a tool that lets you 'tag' its algorithm to configure your feed | TechCrunch

Threads is developing a new feature that would let users control what they see by 'tagging' the algorithm.

techcrunch.com

3 4 9

Reposted by Spooky Sarah Perez 🎃

Techmeme @techmeme.com · 13d

Spotify updates its AI policy, including adopting the upcoming DDEX standard to label and identify AI music and rolling out a new music spam filter (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

1 2