Netflix is launching a new standalone app for kids’ games called Netflix Playground, the company announced on Monday. Netflix Playground is available as part of a Netflix subscription, and doesn’t have any ads or in-app purchases. It can be accessed offline without a mobile or Wi-Fi connection, which the company says makes it the “perfect companion for long airplane rides or grocery trips.”
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/06/netflix-launches-a-standalone-app-for-kids-games/
“With the format of existing dating apps, the intention is lowering the barrier to entry and improving access, allowing for introverts to meet a bunch of people easily,” co-founder Helen Sun told TechCrunch. “Those intentions were really good at the beginning, but based on the way those apps have evolved, I think it’s become a very monotonous thing, and people are suffering from burnout because there’s a loss of authenticity.”
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/01/a-new-dating-app-sonder-has-a-deliberately-annoying-sign-up-process-and-its-working
Anthropic accidentally exposed internal source code for its Claude Code AI coding tool after a debug file was mistakenly included in a public npm package update, Axios reported. The leak exposed roughly 500,000 lines of code across approximately 1,900 files, according to Fortune.
https://qz.com/anthropic-claudhttps://qz.com/anthropic-claude-code-leak-npm-errore-code-lehttps://qz.com/anthropic-claude-code-leak-npm-errorak-npm-error
Sphere-style entertainment spaces are becoming more popular. Rival Cosm, for example, is opening dome-like facilities in multiple US cities, where audiences can watch live sports events or films including The Matrix with additional visual effects that envelop the portion of the screen showing the movie. Proponents say this is the future of entertainment – supposedly more immersive, more experiential.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6q66n86qyo
Bluesky has created another app, Attie, that uses AI to build custom feeds. Attie already has a Bluesky account, naturally, where it posted on Saturday that it's currently in an invite-only closed beta. "You can use it to build your own feeds, create software that works the way you want it to, and find signal in the noise."
https://mashable.com/article/bluesky-announces-attie-ai-app-for-custom-feeds
OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it is shutting down Sora, a TikTok-like social app that launched six months ago. OpenAI did not give a reason for the shut down, nor did it share information about when it will officially be discontinued.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/24/openais-sora-was-the-creepiest-app-on-your-phone-now-its-shutting-down/
Apple on Tuesday announced that it will begin to allow advertisers to target customers on Apple Maps, starting in the U.S. and Canada later this summer. The ads will be available to any size business that has a physical location and has already created a business listing on Apple Maps. Users, meanwhile, will see the ads appear next to relevant search results.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/24/apple-maps-ads-apple-business/