Category: TechCrunch

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Pinterest’s AI now turns beauty Pins into action plans

image via TechCrunch
image via TechCrunch

“Beauty Guides,” which are powered by the company’s visual intelligence and generative AI technology, Pinterest Intelligence, will translate Pins into terms and phrases used by stylists and nail artists that everyday users may not know, like “balayage,” “root melt,” or “almond nails.” The feature is a small but practical way to introduce AI into users’ everyday lives, as it slots into something that people are already doing: bringing a photo of their inspiration to the salon. That’s useful to a large extent, but having the right terminology at hand while you discuss what parts of the look you want to edit or change can be useful as well.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/pinterests-ai-now-turns-beauty-pins-into-action-plans

Laytr’s new app lets you save anything you find online, not just articles to read

image via TechCrunch
image via TechCrunch

After Mozilla’s read-it-later app Pocket shut down in August, a number of alternatives popped up to take its place. But one newcomer, Laytr, is taking things further than offering a way to save things to read. The app lets you save anything on the web for later consumption, whether that’s an article, recipe, screenshot, video, PDF, bookmark, or tab.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/02/laytrs-new-app-lets-you-save-anything-you-find-online-not-just-articles-to-read

Discord’s age-verification era is upon us, despite community backlash

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image via TechCrunch

“Age assurance draws strong opinions and skepticism, especially when it involves sharing biometric information or a form of ID,” Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy wrote in a blog post, published Tuesday. “At the same time, age assurance laws are expanding, and since my last post we’ve had to launch age assurance in other regions, including in Brazil and in Texas.” However, Vishnevskiy says more than 90% of Discord users won’t have to verify their age. He explains that Discord will instead use existing account data to detect “signals,” like account tenure (how long an account has existed), device and activity data, and other usage patterns, to determine whether a user belongs in the adult, teen, or unconfirmed age group.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/22/discords-age-verification-era-is-upon-us-despite-community-backlash/

What we expect from the upcoming Apple launch

image via TechCrunch
image via TechCrunch

It’s finally happening — this week, we are (probably) about to see Apple’s first foldable iPhone, more than five years after Samsung launched its first foldable phone. While the foldable iPhone is most exciting, we’re also anticipating news about AirPods, HomePods, and the non-foldable iPhone 18 line.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/07/what-we-expect-from-the-upcoming-apple-launch/

The sameness problem behind those unappetizing AI-generated menus

image via TechCrunch
image via TechCrunch

Generative AI menus have hit the restaurant business courtesy of models trained on a narrow, “pleasing” aesthetic that feels wrong even when you can’t articulate why. “The optimization of the datasets is for pleasingness, or you know, not being offensive, and so there’s a way that turns into homogenization,” Lee Rainie, director of the Imagining the Digital Future Center at Elon University, told TechCrunch. “What AI is known to do both in images and language is to shave off the edges.”

https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/03/the-sameness-problem-behind-those-unappetizing-ai-generated-menus

Norway considers ban on camera-enabled wearable ‘pervert glasses’

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image via TechCrunch

Norway’s Tung said there is a “clear trend toward combining artificial intelligence with cameras and microphones built into glasses, headphones, hats and other objects we use in everyday life.” “We must prevent this equipment from being used to monitor other people in public places,” said Tung, who added that this may include banning the use of facial recognition of other people in public places.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/02/norway-considers-ban-on-camera-enabled-wearable-pervert-glasses/

MapQuest’s app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario

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image via techcrunch.com

The “OG of online mapping,” as the company calls itself, announced on Thursday that it would not change the name of Lake Ontario on its maps to Lake America, despite Trump’s executive order directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to update the lake’s name in the U.S. geographic naming service. As a result, MapQuest’s mobile app downloads soared, sending the iOS app to the No. 4 position on the U.S. App Store’s Top Charts for apps (not including games) as of Monday morning on the U.S. east coast.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/mapquests-app-surges-to-no-1-in-navigation-after-refusing-to-rename-lake-ontario/