Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that summarizes the latest developments in mobile operating systems, mobile applications, and the app economy as a whole.

The app industry continues to thrive, achieving a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spending during 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 typical American views 3.7 hours of live TV daily, but now spends four hours each day on their mobile devices.

Apps represent not only a source of entertainment but also a significant business opportunity. In 2019, companies prioritizing mobile technology had a combined valuation of $544 billion, which is 6.5 times greater than those without a mobile focus. In 2020, investors channeled $73 billion into mobile companies, marking a 27% increase year-over-year.

This week, we’ll be examining the impact of President Biden’s inauguration on news apps, the latest developments in the Parler lawsuit, and the ongoing influence of TikTok’s app on popular culture, among other topics.

Top Stories

Judge says Amazon doesn’t have to host Parler on AWS

U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein in Seattle ruled this week that Amazon is not obligated to reinstate web services access to Parler. Parler had filed a lawsuit against Amazon after being removed from AWS’ infrastructure, which effectively took the app offline. Similar to decisions made by Apple and Google, Amazon determined that the content promoting violence on Parler violated its terms of service. Amazon also stated that Parler demonstrated an “unwillingness and inability” to remove harmful posts advocating for the rape, torture, and assassination of politicians, tech leaders, and others, as reported by the AP.

Amazon’s decision should not have come as a surprise to Parler, as the company had previously flagged 98 instances of posts inciting violence in the weeks leading up to the decision, informing Parler of clear violations of its terms of service.

Parler’s lawsuit against Amazon alleged breach of contract and even made claims of antitrust violations.

The judge dismissed Parler’s assertions that Amazon and Twitter were collaborating on the decision to remove the app from AWS. The breach of contract claims were also denied, as the contract did not stipulate that Amazon had to provide Parler with a 30-day period to address issues. (Furthermore, Parler itself was in breach of the contract.) The judge also found that Parler failed to adequately demonstrate the necessity of an injunction to restore access to Amazon’s web services.

This ruling prevents Parler from compelling Amazon to host it again while the lawsuit progresses, but it is not the final judgment in the overall case, which is ongoing.

TikTok drives another pop song to No. 1 on Billboard charts, breaks Spotify’s record

It’s already well-known that TikTok plays a significant role in shaping music charts and listening habits. For instance, Billboard reported last year that TikTok contributed to the success of songs by Sony artists like Doja Cat (“Say So”) and 24kGoldn (“Mood”), and helped Sony identify emerging talent. Columbia Records also signed viral TikTok artists such as Lil Nas X, Powfu, StaySolidRocky, Jawsh 685, Arizona Zervas, and 24kGoldn. Additionally, Nielsen has indicated that no other app was responsible for launching more songs in 2020 than TikTok.

This month, we’ve seen another example of this trend. Olivia Rodrigo, the 17-year-old star of Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: the Series,” released her song “Drivers License” on January 8. The pop ballad, which is widely believed to be about the actress’ relationship with co-star Joshua Bassett, resonated with fans and gained additional appeal.

The song quickly gained traction on TikTok, becoming an overnight sensation. According to a report by The WSJ, Billboard recorded 76.1 million streams and 38,000 downloads in the U.S. during its debut week. It also achieved a historic debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100, becoming the first major hit of 2021.

On January 11, “Drivers License” set a new Spotify record for the most streams in a single day (excluding holiday songs) with 15.17 million global streams. On TikTok, the number of videos featuring the song and their total views doubled daily, The WSJ reported.

Charli D’Amelio’s dance to the song on the app has garnered 5 million “Likes” across nearly 33 million views, as of this writing.

Other TikTok-driven hits have reached No. 1 in the past, such as “Blinding Lights” (The Weeknd) and “Mood” (24kGoldn). However, the success of “Drivers License” may be attributed to its relatable subject matter for TikTok’s young, teenage audience. It explores themes of first loves and heartbreak, and its title and opening lyrics evoke a milestone many adults remember: obtaining a driver’s license. This resonated strongly with the TikTok community, propelling the song to success.

Weekly News

Platforms: Apple

• Apple has ceased signing iOS 12.5, making iOS 12.5.1 the only available version for older devices.
• A report suggests that Apple’s iOS 15 update will discontinue support for devices with an A9 chip, including the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s Plus, and the original iPhone SE.
• New analysis estimates that Apple’s upcoming iOS privacy changes will result in a roughly 7% revenue decrease for Facebook in Q2. This revenue impact is expected to continue in subsequent quarters and will be “material.”

Platforms: Google

• Google has added “trending” icons to the Play Store. New arrow icons have appeared in the Top Charts tab, indicating whether an app’s downloads are increasing or decreasing in popularity. This could provide an early indication of apps that are still rising in the charts or beginning to decline despite their current ranking.
• Google appears to be developing a Restricted Networking mode for Android 12. Discovered by XDA Developers within the Android Open Source Project, this mode would disable network access for all third-party apps.

Gaming

• Goama (or Go Games) has introduced a method for developers to integrate social games into their apps, which was showcased at CES. The company focuses on Asia and Latin America and has over 15 partners, including GCash and Rappi, for digital payments and communications.

• Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, is venturing into filmmaking. The animated feature film Gilgamesh will utilize Epic’s Unreal Engine technology to tell the story of the king-turned-deity. This project is not an in-house production but is financed through Epic’s $100M MegaGrants fund.

Augmented Reality

• Patents related to Apple’s AR and VR efforts describe a system that could identify users in a manner similar to FaceID, then either grant or deny them the ability to alter their appearance within the game.
• Pinterest has launched an AR try-on feature for eyeshadow in its mobile app, leveraging Lens technology and ModiFace data. The app previously offered AR try-on for lipsticks.

Entertainment

• The CW app became the No. 1 app on the App Store this week, surpassing TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, due to the season premieres of CW’s Batwoman, All American, Riverdale, and Nancy Drew.
• Users of Anchor, a podcasting app owned by Spotify, report that they are not receiving the sponsorship opportunities that were promised, beyond those offered by Spotify and Anchor themselves.
• YouTube has launched hashtag landing pages on the web and in its mobile app. These pages are accessible by clicking hashtags on YouTube (not through search) and use an algorithm to rank the “best” videos.

• Apple’s Podcasts app has added a new editorial feature, Apple Podcasts Spotlight, designed to increase podcast listening by showcasing the best podcasts selected by Apple editors.

E-commerce

• WeChat facilitated 1.6 trillion yuan (approximately $250 billion) in annual transactions through its “mini programs” in 2020. This figure is more than double that of 2019.

Fintech

• Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has launched an e-wallet, Douyin Pay. This wallet will complement existing payment options, Alipay and WeChat Pay, and support Douyin’s growing e-commerce business.
• Tom Blomfield, the founder of neobank Monzo, has stepped down from the startup, citing challenges during the pandemic. “I think [for] a lot of people in the world…going through a pandemic, going through lockdown and the isolation involved in that has an impact on people’s mental health,” he told TechCrunch.

• New estimates indicate that approximately 50% of iPhone users (or 507 million users) now utilize Apple Pay. 
• Samsung’s latest phones no longer support MST, which emulates a mag stripe at terminals that do not support NFC.

Social

• StickerChat, an Indian messaging app owned by Hike, is shutting down. Founder Kavin Bharti Mittal stated that India will not have a homegrown messenger unless it prohibits Western companies from its market. Hike has pivoted this month to virtual social apps, Vibe and Rush, which it believes have greater potential.
• Instagram head Adam Mosseri, in a Verge podcast, expressed dissatisfaction with Reels so far, and believes that most people do not understand the distinction between Instagram video and IGTV. He stated that the social network needs to simplify and consolidate its ideas.
• Facebook and Instagram have improved their accessibility features. The apps’ AI-generated image captions now provide more detailed information about the people or objects in the photos, thanks to advancements in image recognition systems.
• TikTok has launched a Q&A feature that allows creators to respond to fan questions using text or videos. This feature, rolled out to select creators with over 10,000 followers, simplifies the process of viewing all questions in one place.

Health & Fitness

• Spending on health and fitness apps increased by 70% last year in Europe, reaching a record $544 million, according to a Sensor Tower report. This year-over-year increase is significantly larger than the 37.2% growth observed in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic played a substantial role in this shift, as people turned to fitness apps instead of gyms to maintain their physical health.

Government & Policy

• President Biden’s inauguration led to a surge in installs of U.S. news apps, with increases of up to 170%, as reported by Sensor Tower. CNN experienced the largest growth, climbing 530 positions to reach No. 41 on the App Store and increasing downloads by 170%. News Break was the second-highest mover, rising 13 positions to No. 65. Right-wing outlet Newsmax climbed 43 spots to reach No. 108. In 2020, the leading news apps were: News Break (23.7 million installs); SmartNews (9 million); CNN (5 million); and Fox News (4 million). This month, however, News Break saw 1.2 million installs, followed by Newsmax with approximately 863,000 installs, the report indicated.
• Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has sent a draft decision to other EU Data Protection Authorities regarding the WhatsApp-Facebook data sharing policy. This suggests that a resolution on the matter, concerning the required standards of transparency for WhatsApp, is drawing closer.

• Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents has filed a complaint with the EU, U.S. DOJ, and other antitrust watchdogs concerning Apple and Google’s rejection of his COVID-related mobile game. Both app stores had policies to only approve official COVID-19 apps from health authorities. Mueller renamed the game Viral Days and removed references to the novel coronavirus to gain approval. However, he believes the stores’ rules stifle innovation.

Productivity

• Hey, Basecamp’s email app that previously challenged Apple’s App Store rules regarding in-app purchases, has launched a business-focused platform, Hey for Work, expected to be publicly available in Q1. The app has more App Store ratings than its competitor, Superhuman. Currently, Hey has a 4.7-star rating across 3.3K reviews, while Superhuman has a 3.9 rating across only 274 reviews.

Trends

• Baby boomers are increasingly adopting apps. Baby boomers and Gen Xers in the U.S. spent 30% more time year-over-year in their most used apps, according to App Annie. This increase is greater than that observed for Millennials and Gen Z, at 18% and 16%, respectively.

Funding and M&A

• Curtsy, a clothing resale app for Gen Z women, has secured $11 million in Series A funding led by Index Ventures. The app addresses common challenges in online resale by providing shipping supplies and labels to sellers and making the marketplace accessible to new and casual sellers.
• Storytelling platform Wattpad has been acquired by South Korea’s Naver for $600 million. The reading app, whose stories have been adapted into books and Netflix hits, will be integrated into Naver’s publishing platform Webtoon.

• On-demand delivery app Glovo has partnered with Swiss-based real estate firm Stoneweg, which is investing €100 million in building and renovating properties in key markets to expand Glovo’s network of “dark stores.”
• Pocket Casts app is being offered for sale. The podcast app was acquired nearly three years ago by a public radio consortium of leading podcast producers (NPR, WNYC Studios, WBEZ Chicago, and This American Life). The owners have now agreed to sell the app, which reported a net loss in 2020 (NPR’s share of the loss exceeded $800,000).
• Travel app Maps.me has raised $50 million in a round led by Alameda Research. The funding will support the launch of a multi-currency wallet. Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Capital and institutional cryptocurrency firm CMS Holdings also participated in the round, as reported by Coindesk.
• Dunzo, a hyperlocal delivery app based in Bangalore, has raised $40 million in a round that included investment from Google, Lightbox, Evolvence, Hana Financial Investment, LGT Lightstone Aspada, and Alteria.
• London-based food delivery app Deliveroo has raised $180 million in new funding from existing investors, led by Durable Capital Partners and Fidelity Management, valuing the business at over $7 billion.
• Dating Group has acquired Swiss startup Once, a dating app that sends one match per day, for $18 million.

Downloads

Bodyguard

A French content moderation app called Bodyguard, recently detailed by TechCrunch, has expanded its service to English-speaking markets. The app allows users to customize the level of content moderation they want to see on major social networks, such as Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch. Users can choose to hide toxic content across various categories, including insults, body shaming, harassment, racism, and homophobia, and prioritize the blocking of content based on severity.

Beeper

Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble and current YC Partner, has launched a new app, Beeper, designed to consolidate 15 different chat apps into a single interface, including iMessage. The app utilizes an open-source, federated, encrypted messaging protocol called Matrix, employing “bridges” to connect to various networks and facilitate message transfer. However, iMessage support is more complex, requiring the company to ship users an old iPhone to establish a connection to the network. This system enables access to Beeper on non-Apple devices, according to the company. The app is gradually onboarding new users due to high initial demand. It is compatible with MacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android and charges a monthly fee of $10 for the service.