Snapchat’s Gender-Swap and Baby Filters Doubled App Downloads (5 minute read)
Snapchat has recently released two sets of filters, one that makes users look like toddlers, and one that makes users appear as members of the opposite sex. The release of the filters resulted in an estimated 41.5 million downloads for the app worldwide in May, more than twice the amount of downloads that Snapchat received in the previous month. It is unclear how many of these downloads are new users rather than just returning old users. Snapchat has been struggling to retain its user base for several years, and it appears that the new filters have attracted more long-term users. Stock prices have risen significantly for Snapchat since its 2017 redesign disaster.
Facebook will pay you to let it track what you do on your phone (1 minute read)
Facebook has launched a new app called Study that will allow it to monitor users’ phone use. The app will monitor which apps are installed in a user’s phone, the time spent using these apps, what the apps are being used for, the country the user is in, and more. It won’t be able to monitor private data such as passwords, messages, or browser history. Facebook has recently been accused of monitoring user data unethically through its Facebook Research app that was targeted at teens, which was shut down in January. The launch of Study shows the importance of the data that Facebook was obtaining through the Research app, and that they are trying to find more ethical ways of collecting that data. Facebook Study will financially compensate users for providing the data, but there have been no announcements about how much users will get paid for using the app.