ReportWire

Tag: TechCrunch

  • OnlyFans is reportedly in talks to sell a 60 percent stake to a San Francisco investment firm

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    OnlyFans is looking to cash out once again, but this time in a deal that would value it at several billion dollars less than a potential sale that previously fell through. As reported by TechCrunch, the online platform known for subscription-based pornographic content is in talks to sell a majority stake to Architect Capital, an investment firm based in San Francisco.

    According to the report, the proposed deal includes $3.5 billion in equity and $2 billion in debt, which values OnlyFans at $5.5 billion. TechCrunch also reported that Architect Capital and OnlyFans are currently in exclusive talks, where the website’s owner can’t negotiate with other potential buyers for a certain amount of time.

    With no set timeline yet for the deal, the deal is far from an official closing. Last year, OnlyFans’ owner Leonid Radvinsky was also negotiating with another investment firm, Forest Road Company, to sell the platform. Although that deal never went through, the talks leading up to the sale valued OnlyFans at a much higher $8 billion. The London-based website, which still doesn’t want to be known as just a porn site, is still growing and reported a nine percent increase in gross revenue for its 2024 fiscal year, earning more than $7.2 billion.

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    Jackson Chen

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  • Apple dumps dating apps Tea and TeaOnHer from the App Store over privacy and moderation issues

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    Apple has removed dating apps Tea and TeaOnHer from the App Store for violating rules related to content moderation and user privacy. The company told TechCrunch that it pulled the apps as they broke several of its rules, including one mandating that apps can’t share or otherwise use an individual’s personal info without getting their permission first.

    Apple said they also violated a rule concerning user-generated content, which stipulates that apps need to allow for reporting offensive or concerning material, an option to block abusive users and the ability to filter “objectionable material from being posted.” In addition, Apple claimed the apps broke rules related to user reviews. It told TechCrunch they had an “excessive” volume of negative reviews and complaints from users, including ones related to minors’ personal details being shared. The company noted that it raised these issues’ with the apps’ developers, but they were not resolved.

    As it stands, both apps are still available on Android through the Google Play Store. Tea (which is formally called Tea Dating Advice) enables women to post details about men they’ve met or dated. It allows them to post and comment on photos, look up public records on individuals, carry out reverse image searches, share their experiences and rate or review men. Users can, for instance, say whether they’d give a man a “green flag” or a “red flag.”

    TeaOnHer flips that format on its head, with men sharing info about women. Both are pitched as dating safety apps, with Tea telling users they can “ask our anonymous community of women to make sure your date is safe, not a catfish and not in a relationship.”

    Tea first emerged in 2023 and it went viral this year. In July, hackers breached the app and leaked tens of thousands of images, including around 3,000 selfies and photo IDs that users submitted to verify their accounts. The other images included posts, comments and private messages. A second hack exposed more than a million private messages.

    Days after TeaOnHer went live in August (ripping off text from Tea’s App Store description in the process), it emerged that app had its own security issues. It was possible to view photo IDs and selfies that users had submitted for account verification, as well as their email addresses.

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  • WhatsApp will test a monthly cap on messages ignored by recipients

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    WhatsApp is taking a new anti-spam feature for a spin. On Friday, TechCrunch reported that the trial limits the number of messages accounts can send without a reply from the recipient. The company is currently experimenting with different limits. But it’s aiming for a number that only targets high-volume senders and spammers.

    All messages from individuals and businesses are said to count toward this cap. That includes multiple unread ones sent to the same recipient. But if the person replies, those messages are removed from the monthly tally. WhatsApp will show a warning to accounts nearing the limit.

    The company told TechCrunch that average users won’t likely reach the limit. It’s generally good form for individuals not to keep messaging people who don’t reply anyway. So, the test indeed sounds tailor-made for businesses and spammers. The test will roll out in multiple countries over the coming weeks.

    The trial is the Meta-owned company’s latest attempt to fend off its festering spam and scam problem. Last year, it added the ability to unsubscribe from businesses’ marketing messages. This August, it began notifying users when someone not in their contacts adds them to a group. Alongside that announcement, WhatsApp said it banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to scam centers in the first half of 2025.

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    Will Shanklin

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  • Call-recording app Neon goes offline after security flaw uncovered

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    Neon is an call-recording app that pays users for access to the audio, which the app in turn sells to AI companies for training their models. Since its launch last week, it quickly rose in popularity, but the service was taken offline today. TechCrunch reported that it found a security flaw that allowed any logged-in user to access other accounts’ phone numbers, the phone numbers called, call recordings and transcripts. 

    TechCrunch said that it contacted Neon founder Alex Kiam about the issue. “Kiam told TechCrunch later Thursday that he took down the app’s servers and began notifying users about pausing the app, but fell short of informing his users about the security lapse,” the publication reported. The app went dark “soon after” TC contacted Kiam. Neon does not appear to have a timeline about if or when the service will resume or what additional security protections it may add.

    The full report from TechCrunch is here and certainly worth reading if you’ve used Neon.

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  • Startup develops unbelievable material that could completely change that new car smell: ‘There’s literally a thousand types’

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    Hyundai intends to prove that a supple car seat can be made from wheat, soy, and corn.

    The innovative automaker is partnering with faux leathermaker Uncaged Innovations of New York to develop sustainable, animal-free alternatives for its vehicle interiors, according to a news release from the South Korean car giant.

    It’s a move that will likely draw rave reviews from the animal kingdom as well as from anyone concerned with the planet’s health. That’s because the cleaner biomaterial is touted as being produced with 95% less planet-warming fumes, 89% less water, and 71% less energy than real leather, per Hyundai.

    “We started diving into testing literally hundreds of different plant ingredients and different combinations,” Uncaged CEO Stephanie Downs said, per TechCrunch.

    Importantly, Uncaged’s latest products — made in cooperation with Hyundai’s Cradle innovation hub — don’t require dirty fuels during creation like other fake leathers. TechCrunch’s Tim De Chant, who spent time touching and smelling the samples, wrote that this latest offering “feels remarkably like a variety of real animal leathers. One even smelled like it.”

    The online publication reported that Uncaged is also working with Jaguar Land Rover. By entering the auto market, the company is tapping a big opportunity, as each vehicle usually requires between two and 14 cowhides. Its material is already used for fashion products, all according to TechCrunch.

    Vehicle use presents additional rigors. Downs told the publication that certain automakers want the alternative product to withstand 203 degree Fahrenheit heat for 500 hours. The company has hit the 185 degree benchmark at that time limit so far.

    Its product is made with a plant-based cloth backing and plant-based leather substance. Both are biodegradable. A bio-based plastic helps with texture, mineral pigments add color, and flower extracts enhance smell. It costs $5-10 per square foot, depending on the size of the order, TechCrunch reported.

    Alternative leathers are being developed in unlikely places. Tampa Bay, Florida’s Inversa is making luxury handbags out of invasive lionfish. Missouri Coast Fisheries is creating leather out of some of the silver carp it is catching in the Missouri and Platte rivers, where the fish population is dangerously exploding.

    “There’s literally a thousand types of leather: different animals, different thicknesses, different ways that they tan it. We had to develop something that could be really easily customizable,” Downs said.

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    An everyday way to make an impact is supporting brands with plastic-free packaging. The average American produces about 5 pounds of plastic waste a week, much of it ending up in a landfill or the ocean. Once there, it lingers for centuries. Plastic-free products often save you money in the long run, and they perform better.

    Hyundai said the work with Uncaged is part of its effort to shift to cleaner materials. A special smell might be an unexpected side perk.

    “Automotive companies have talked to us about developing their signature scent that’ll be exclusive to them,” Downs told TechCrunch.

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