Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Instagram cracks down on fake followers

THE DAILY CRUNCH
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20 2018 By Anthony Ha

Instagram goes after fake followers and the accounts that use them, we get our hands on HTC's blockchain phone and more details emerge about Facebook's work with Definers. Here's your Daily Crunch for November 20, 2018.

1. Instagram kills off fake followers, threatens accounts that keep using apps to get them

Instagram is fighting back against the automated apps people use to leave spammy comments or follow, then unfollow, others in hopes of growing their audience.

Specifically, Instagram says it's removing inauthentic follows, Likes and comments that violate its policies, then sending the accounts who receive this engagement a warning to change their password to cut ties with these apps. The company also says people who continue using these apps "may see their Instagram experience impacted."

2. A closer look at HTC's blockchain phone, the Exodus 1

While the devoted blockchain phone is largely a stepping stone toward incorporating the technology into more mainstream devices, HTC says it has plans to continue development on the line.

3. Read the mud-slinging pitches Facebook's PR firm sent us

None of these pitches is all that shocking on its own, but it's not a great look for a scandal-hit giant like Facebook (whose founder claims to be hard at work fixing a flawed platform philosophy) to be found dipping into a murky opposition research well.

4. Korean e-commerce firm Coupang raises $2 billion from SoftBank's Vision Fund

The deal is a massive validation for Coupang, which becomes the first Korean company to form a part of the Vision Fund. But the fund's backing by Saudi Arabia, and therefore its link to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, threatens to sour the achievement.

5. Move over Le Creuset? A new cookware startup founded by and for millennials is getting down to business

The cookware is more affordable than Le Creuset, which charges upward of $300 for a similar Dutch oven, compared with $145 for Great Jones' new product. The startup's full collection — which also includes a stainless steel stock pot, a stainless sauce pot, a stainless deep saute and a ceramic nonstick skillet — retails for $395.

6. Elon Musk just renamed SpaceX's Big F** Rocket

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted late Monday night that he has renamed the company's largest (and yet-to-be-built) BFR rocket to Starship. Or more precisely, the spaceship portion will be called Starship. The rocket booster used to propel Starship from Earth's gravitational grasp will be called Super Heavy.

7. Tumblr booted from App Store due to child porn

Tumblr (which is owned by our parent company Oath) was booted out of the iOS App Store a few days ago due to an issue with child pornography making its way past the app's filtering technology.

Get more stories at techcrunch.com 

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