Adobe’s Firefly generative AI models are now generally available, get pricing plans

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What’s maybe even more important, though, is that Adobe also today announced how it plans to charge for Firefly going forward. The company is going to use what it calls “generative credits” to measure how often users interact with these models. Basically, every time you click “generate” to create a Firefly image, you’ll consume one credit (and the company retooled the Firefly web app, for example, so that it doesn’t automatically start generating images before you’ve made all of the tweaks you wanted to make).

https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/13/adobes-firefly-generative-ai-models-are-now-generally-available-get-pricing-plans/

Google flips the switch on interest-based ads with ‘Privacy Sandbox’ rollout | TechCrunch

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Google is now rolling out Privacy Sandbox — its tech to replace third-party cookies — to all Chrome users. The company is touting this as a more privacy-forward feature, which tracks topics of interest based on your browsing habits. Advertisers can then use this data to show you relevant ads. The company has been showing a new popup about Privacy Sandbox to users over the last few days. Users have complained about the pop-up not providing enough information about the cookie replacement tech and how the company will generate topics of interest based on browsing data if you click on “Got it.” Investor Paul Graham even labeled this pop-up as “spyware.”

https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/08/google-flips-the-switch-on-interest-based-ads-with-privacy-sandbox-rollout/

Forever 21 data breach affects half a million people | TechCrunch

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A data breach notice filed with Maine’s attorney general said the fashion giant was hacked over a three-month period beginning early January 2023, during which intruders obtained files from its systems. This data included the personal information of current and former employees, said Lorena Terroba Urruchua, a spokesperson for Forever 21 via public relations firm FTI Consulting, in an email to TechCrunch.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/31/forever-21-data-breach-half-million/

AI-powered BeFake is a real app, not a BeReal parody…and it has $3M in funding | TechCrunch

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BeFake, a social networking app that combines concepts from popular Gen Z app BeReal along with AI technology has netted itself $3 million in seed funding to create an AI-augmented social network. The app’s name, a clear reference to BeReal’s authentic photo sharing among friends, is meant to suggest it does the opposite. Instead of showing what you’re up to right now, BeFake users also snap photos with both the front and back cameras, but then customize their photos using AI technology using either in-app presets or custom prompts.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/31/ai-powered-befake-is-a-real-app-not-a-bereal-parody-and-it-has-3m-in-funding/

In Threads’ dwindling engagement, social media’s flawed hypothesis is laid bare

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Merely weeks after emerging as the apparent heir to address social media’s woes and generating over 100 million users in less than five days, Threads appears to be, well, fraying at the edges already with a recently reported 80% drop in daily active users since launch. The platform — celebrated early on for its “combination of the ridiculous, the lighthearted, and a little cringe” — has quickly become another example of the expeditious cycle by which innovation in social media operates and burns out users.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/30/in-threads-dwindling-engagement-social-medias-flawed-hypothesis-is-laid-bare/

Netflix launches a game controller app for playing games on your TV

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After last fall signaling its intentions to expand into cloud gaming, Netflix today launched a new app that will soon allow subscribers to play games on their TV. The app, dubbed “Netflix Game Controller,” lets you use your phone as a controller after pairing it with your TV in order to play the games available through Netflix’s service.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/08/netflix-launches-a-game-controller-app-for-playing-games-on-your-tv/