This Week in Apps: Parler, Alt Apps & 2020 Trends

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that provides a recap of the latest developments in mobile OS news, mobile applications, and the broader app economy.

The app industry continues to thrive, having experienced a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spending in 2020.

Last year, consumers also dedicated 3.5 trillion minutes to using apps on Android devices alone. Furthermore, app usage in the U.S. surpassed the amount of time spent watching live television. Currently, the average American dedicates 3.7 hours daily to live TV, but now spends four hours per day on their mobile devices.

Apps are not merely a source of entertainment—they represent a significant business opportunity. In 2019, mobile-first companies collectively held a valuation of $544 billion, which is 6.5 times greater than companies without a mobile focus. In 2020, investors channeled $73 billion in capital into mobile companies, marking a 27% increase year-over-year.

Top Stories

The right-wing faces deplatforming

Over the past weekend, both Google and Apple removed Parler from their respective app stores. Apple initially granted the app 24 hours to implement a new moderation strategy to address threats of violence and illegal activity occurring on the platform following the Capitol riot. When Parler failed to take sufficient action, the app was removed.

The aftermath was unprecedented. All of Parler’s technology backend service providers withdrew their support, including Amazon AWS (which subsequently led to a lawsuit), Stripe, and even Okta, which Parler was utilizing on a trial basis. Other vendors also declined to conduct business with the app, potentially jeopardizing its ability to continue operating.

Despite Parler being offline, its data remains accessible. Several initiatives have been undertaken to archive Parler data for historical purposes—and to provide information to the FBI. Gizmodo created a map utilizing the GPS data from 70,000 Parler posts. Another effort, Y’all Qaeda, is also employing location data to map videos from Parler to locations surrounding the Capitol building.

These visualizations are possible because the data was promptly archived by internet archivist @donk_enby before Parler’s removal, and because Parler stored detailed metadata with each user’s post. This means that each user’s precise location was recorded when they uploaded their photos and videos to the app.

This information is valuable for investigators and highlights either the sense of impunity these individuals felt, believing they could avoid prosecution, or the extent to which they were willing to risk everything for a cause—the inaccurate narrative presented to them by Trump, his associates, and other sources that repeatedly promoted the “big lie” until it was fully embraced as truth.

The decision to remove Parler offline followed the broader deplatforming of Trump, who was accused of inciting violence, in part through his refusal to concede the election and his continued dissemination of false claims about a “rigged election.” Consequently, Trump has been removed from social platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, Reddit, Discord, and Snapchat, while e-commerce platform Shopify removed Trump merchandise shops and PayPal ceased processing transactions for certain Trump supporters.

Alternative social apps experience growth following Capitol riot

Parler was the most prominent app used by those involved in the Capitol riot, but other platforms were also implicated. Walkie-talkie app Zello, for example, was used by some rioters during the January 6th event to communicate. Telegram recently blocked numerous extremist channels that were threatening violence, including those led by Nazis (which had been reported for years without action by the company, according to some reports).

Now, many individuals on the radical right are migrating to new platforms outside of the mainstream. Immediately following the Capitol riot, MeWe, CloutHub, and other privacy-focused alternatives to major tech companies rose in the app store rankings, alongside the privacy-focused messaging apps Signal and Telegram. YouTube alternative Rumble also gained traction due to recent events. Some right-wing users even mistakenly downloaded the incorrect “Parlor” app and a local newspaper app, believing it to be the uncensored social network Gab. (They’re not always the most discerning users.)

This situation could soon present another challenge for platforms, as highly concerning posts have already surfaced on MeWe, containing extreme hate speech or threats of violence. MeWe claims to moderate its content, but its recent growth to 15 million users may be hindering those efforts—particularly as it is absorbing former Parler users, including those with radical far-right views. The company has struggled to effectively moderate the content, which may lead to its eventual removal.

2020 annual review

App Annie released its annual review of the mobile app industry this week, revealing (as previously noted) that mobile app downloads increased by 7% year-over-year to a record 218 billion in 2020. Consumer spending also grew by 20% to reach a new high of $143 billion, driven by markets including China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Consumers spent 3.5 trillion minutes on Android devices in 2020. Meanwhile, U.S. users now spend more time in apps (four hours) than watching live TV (3.7 hours).

The comprehensive report examines key trends across social media, gaming, finance, e-commerce, video and streaming, mobile food ordering, business apps, edtech, and more. We have highlighted some key findings, such as TikTok’s leading position in downloads, the growth of livestreamed and social shopping, a 40% increase in mobile streaming time year-over-year, and other significant trends.

Sensor Tower also published its own annual report, specifically focusing on the impact of COVID-19, the growth of business apps led by Zoom, mobile gaming, and the gradual recovery of travel apps, among other topics.

Samsung unveils its new flagships

While not directly related to “app” news, it’s worth noting the latest developments in the Android ecosystem of high-end devices. This week marked Samsung’s Unpacked press event, where the company revealed its newest flagship devices and other products. The key announcement was Samsung’s three new phones and their reduced prices: the glass-backed Galaxy S21 ($799) and S21 Plus ($999), and the S21 Ultra ($1,199), which is compatible with the S Pen.

The streamlined camera systems are a central feature of the new phones, and include:

• S21 and S21 Plus: A 12-megapixel ultrawide, 12-megapixel wide, and 64-megapixel telephoto with 30x space zoom.
• S21 Ultra: A 12-megapixel ultra-wide, 108-megapixel wide, and, for the first time, a dual-telephoto lens system with 3x and 10x optical zoom. The Ultra also enhances low-light shooting with its Bright Night sensor.

The devices support UWB, and there’s a unique AI-powered photo feature that allows you to tap to remove people from the background of your photos. (Its effectiveness remains to be seen). Other software imaging updates enable you to extract stills from 8K shooting, improve image stabilization, and introduce a new “Vlogger view” for simultaneous front and back camera recording.

Also launched were Samsung’s AirPods competitor, the Galaxy Buds Pro, and its Tile competitor, the Galaxy SmartTag.

Weekly News

Platforms: Apple

• Apple releases second iOS 14.2 developer beta. The update includes improvements to the HomePod mini handoff experience and an update to the Find My app to prepare it for supporting third-party accessories.
• Apple will soon allow third-parties to join the Find My app ahead of its AirTags launch. Tile had previously argued before regulators that Apple was giving itself a first-party advantage with AirTags in Find My. Apple subsequently launched the Find My Accessory Program to begin certifying third-party products. AirTags’ existence was also leaked again this week.
• Apple is working to bring its Music and Podcasts apps to the Microsoft Store.
• Apple may be developing a podcast subscription service, according to The Information.

Platforms: Google

• Google appears to be working on an app hibernation feature for Android 12. The feature would hibernate unused apps to free up storage space.
• Google removed several personal loan apps from the Play Store in India. The company stated that several of the apps were targeting vulnerable borrowers and engaging in abusive practices and extreme tactics when borrowers were unable to repay. Critics argue that Google took too long to respond to the outcry, which has already resulted in suicides. Police have also frozen bank accounts containing $58 million allegedly obtained through scams conducted through 30 apps, none of which had approval from India’s central bank.

Gaming

48,000 mobile games were removed from the China App Store in December 2020, reports Sensor Tower. These games were removed for not having obtained the necessary Chinese gaming license and had generated nearly $3 billion in lifetime revenue.

The top-grossing mobile game in December 2020 was Honor of Kings with $258 million in player spending, up 58% year-over-year, according to Sensor Tower. PUBG Mobile was No. 2, followed by Genshin Impact.

Among Us was the most downloaded mobile game in December 2020, per Apptopia, with an estimated 48 million new downloads in the month, primarily through Google Play.

Epic Games is demanding that Fortnite be reinstated on the App Store, in a U.K. legal filing. The game maker is involved in multiple lawsuits over the “Apple tax.”

Security

• Amazon’s Ring app exposed users’ home addresses. Amazon states there is no evidence that the security flaw was exploited by anyone.

• New research details how law enforcement agencies gain access to iOS and Android smartphones and cloud backups of their data.

Privacy

• Signal’s Brian Acton says recent concerns over WhatsApp’s terms are driving installs of the private messaging app. Third-party data indicates Signal has around 20 million MAUs as of December 2020. The app also experienced a surge following the U.S. Capitol riots, with 7.5 million downloads from January 6-10.
• Telegram’s user base in India increased by 110% in 2020. The app now has 115 million MAUs in India, potentially allowing it to better compete with WhatsApp.
• Privacy concerns are also driving sign-ups for encrypted email providers, ProtonMail and Tutanota. The former reports a 3x increase in recent weeks, while the latter states usage has doubled since WhatsApp released its new T&Cs.
• The FTC settled with period-tracking app Flo for sharing user health data with third-party analytics and marketing services, despite promising to keep data private. The app must now obtain user consent and will be subject to an independent review of its practices.

• The FTC settled with Ever, the maker of a photo storage app that had pivoted to selling facial recognition services. The company used the photos it collected to train facial recognition algorithms. It has been ordered to delete that data and all face embeddings derived from photos without user consent.
• Muslim prayer app Salaat First (Prayer Times) was found to be recording and selling user location information to a data broker. The firm collecting the data had been linked to a supply chain involving a U.S. government contractor who worked with ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and the FBI.
• TikTok changed the privacy settings and defaults for users under 18. Children 13-15 will have private accounts by default. Other restrictions apply to features like commenting, Dueting, Stitching, and more for all users under 18. TikTok also partnered with Common Sense Networks to help curate age-appropriate content for users under 13.

Government & Policy

• Italy’s data protection agency, the GPDP, contacted the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to raise concerns over WhatsApp’s requirement for users to accept its updated T&Cs to continue using the service. The law requires that users are informed of each specific use of their data and given a choice as to whether their data is processed. The new in-app notification doesn’t provide clear information about the changes nor offer that option.

• Turkey initiated an antitrust investigation into Facebook and WhatsApp. The investigation was prompted by WhatsApp’s new Terms of Service, effective February 8, which allows data sharing with Facebook.
• WhatsApp then delayed its T&C changes as a result.

Health & Fitness

• Google this week fixed an issue with its Android Exposure Notification System that’s used by COVID-19 tracking apps. The impacted apps took longer to load and carry out their exposure checks.

Edtech

• Amazon is expanding its presence in the Indian education market with a JEE preparation app. The company launched Amazon Academy, a service that will help students in India prepare for the Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE), a government-backed entrance assessment for admission into various engineering colleges.

Funding and M&A (and IPOs)

• PayPal acquired the 30% stake it didn’t already own in China’s GoPay, making it the first foreign firm in China with full ownership of its payments business.
• Therapy app Talkspace will go public through a $1.4 billion merger with SPAC Hudson Executive Investment Corp.
• Snap acquired location data startup StreetCred. The team will join the company and work on maps and location-related products for Snapchat.
• BlaBla raised $1.5 million for its language-learning app that teaches English using TikTok-like videos. The startup, a participant in Y Combinator’s 2020 summer batch, had previously applied to YC seven times. Other investors include Amino Capital, Starling Ventures and Wayra X.

• Poshmark, the online and mobile app for reselling clothing, IPO’d and closed up more than 140% on its first day of trading.
• Dating app Bumble also filed to go public. The company claims 42 million MAUs, with 2.4 million paying users through the first nine months of 2020. It lost $117 million on $417 million in revenue during that time.
• Blog platform Medium acquired Paris-based Glose, a mobile app that lets you buy and read books on mobile devices.
• Indonesian investment app Ajaib raised $25 million Series A led by Horizons Venture and Alpha JWC. Inspired by Robinhood, the app offers low-fee stock trading and access to mutual funds.

• Mailchimp acquired Chatitive, a B2B messaging startup that helps businesses reach customers over text messages.
• Chinese fitness app Keep raised $360 million Series F led by SoftBank Vision Fund. The six-year-old startup that allows fitness influencers to host live classes over video is now valued at $2 billion.
• Google finalized Fitbit acquisition. Google confirmed it will allow Fitbit users to continue to connect with third-party services and said the health data will be kept separate and not used for ads.
• On-demand U.K. supermarket Weezy raised $20 million Series A for its Postmates-like app that delivers groceries in as fast as 15 minutes, on average.

Downloads

Bandsintown

COVID has led to the cancellation of concerts, prompting Bandsintown to shift from helping people find shows to attend to a new subscription service for live music. The company this week launched Bandsintown Plus, a $9.99 per month pass that gives users access to more than 25 concerts per month. The shows offered are exclusive to the platform and not available on other sites like YouTube, Twitch, Apple Music, or Spotify.

Piñata Farms

This new social video app allows you to incorporate anyone or anything into an existing video to create humorous video memes. The computer vision-powered app enables you to perform actions such as cropping out a head from a photo or using thousands of in-app items to enhance your existing video. The resulting creations can be shared within the app, privately through messaging, or on other social platforms. Available on iOS only.

Capture App

This new blockchain camera app, reviewed on TechCrunch, utilizes technology commercialized by the Taiwan-based startup, Numbers Protocol. The app secures the metadata associated with photos taken on the blockchain, also allowing users to adjust privacy settings if they don’t want to share a precise location. Any subsequent changes to the photo are then tracked and recorded. Potential applications for the technology include journalism (and combating fake news), as well as a method for photographers to ensure their photos are properly attributed. The app is available on the App Store and Google Play.

Marsbot for AirPods

A new experiment from Foursquare Labs, Marsbot, provides an audio guide to your city. As you walk or bike around, the app offers running commentary about the surrounding locations using data from Foursquare, other content providers, and contributions from other app users. The app is optimized for AirPods, making it iOS-only.

Loupe

Loupe is a new app that modernizes sports card collecting. The app allows users to participate in daily box breaks, host their own livestreams with chats, collect alongside fellow collectors, and purchase new sports card singles, packs, and boxes when they become available, among other features. The app is available on iOS.