WhatsApp extends no-send time limit to ‘a little over two days’ – TechCrunch

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Whazzaaaaaaa, we’re back with another good news this auspicious Tuesday. Today is a pretty wild news day with a bunch of startup high-jinx. Be sure to check out the entire site, but we’ve selected some of the stories that caught our attention today. Let’s be excited! – Christine And came

TechCrunch’s Top 3

• Say it, forget it, post it, regret itWhatsApp was at the top of the news feed chain with two stories today. The first is the thing that users seem to be most excited about – more time to delete a message. Of course, users now have 60 hours to delete messages they don’t like or don’t intend to send. This is an increase of 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds Ivan Reports. Excuse us while we go see something…
• New feature alert: Now that that pesky deletion is out of the way, WhatsApp has also unveiled new privacy options for users that include blocking screenshots and stealth mode. Taylor He wrote. An option to block screenshots, which is a once-displayed message, like the Inspector Gadget’s self-destruct message, is read when the explosion subsides.
• Fishing is lostArmenian startup EasyDMRC took in $2.3 million to combat the billion-dollar phishing industry that has reared its ugly head as strangers manage to get people to click on links. Mike The company reports that it has rolled out the DMRC protocol, or ‘domain-based message authentication, reporting and consent’, into something simpler for businesses.

Startups and VCs

Watching rookies play extreme hardball is our kind of spectator sport. On this occasion, a year after its announcement, app development and monetization agency Applovin made an unsolicited offer today to buy game engine Unity in a $20 billion deal. But there’s one catch: Unity is an AppLovin competitor from IronSource. Amanda Reports.

While many crypto investors have slowed down their startup investment as they wait for more clarity on the macro environment, Lucas He reports that there are not many firms and not much money for blockchain venture investment. Portal Ventures closes with $35 million in seed funding to feed the beast.

RealOpen’s latest product, RealScore, is a crypto credit scoring system for buyers and sellers of luxury real estate. Anita Reports. Led by ‘Selling Sunset’ star Christine Quinn, this brokerage primarily caters to high net worth clients looking to buy property using cryptocurrency.

More more more more.

• Yes, but what do you do?: Paul Truework, which helps lenders verify borrowers’ income and employment, reported raising $50 million.
• The canoe is paddling like a madman up stream.: Pre-revenue EV startup shows Kano is burning cash like there’s no tomorrow, in race to hit $1 billion EV sales goal; Rebecca Reports.
• I didn’t like that.Returning items to where they came from can be a royal PITA. ReturnLogic bags new money to make that less of a nightmare Christine He wrote.
• First, India. Next, the world!Asel has led a $2.6 million investment into Produce to help agri-producers in India export globally. Jagmet.
• Fifty dunny buggies, coming!: Abigail It brings us real joy: it looks like Meyers Manx’s Dune Buggy is making a comeback, this time as EV.
• Well that causes a hangoverVC-backed low-alcohol aperitif startup Haus is set to go public after its Series A round, he wrote. Natasha M.

To optimize for growth, study your down-funnel parameters

Early-stage startups spend a lot of time and energy on marketing and acquisitions: these incentives drive new customers into your sales pipeline to grow exponentially. And investors love growth.

But by August 2022, they’ll be more interested in revenue, which is why Jonathan Martinez says companies should shift their focus to bottom-funnel metrics.

“Messages shared by a group of users are your biggest lever for moving users through the funnel,” Martinez wrote in a recent TC+ post. “Cutting consumers into their individual buckets is critical, as it opens up the opportunity for unique targeting and messaging.”

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Big Tech Inc.

Indian game companies will not accept the “game-ending” move from the country’s Prime Minister if the ban on Battlegrounds Mobile India continues. Some companies have slammed the ban as a “tragic incident”, saying such “arbitrary decisions are against established principles and deny opportunities to all youth in India”. Manish Reports.

Starting with an interesting story, we have Google News today. Ivan Because the search engine giant launched a website to help kids practice reading. It will be followed by talk of the company’s new campaign to push Apple to adopt Rich Communication Services, or RCS, a protocol designed to improve messaging between Android and iOS users. Aisha He wrote.

Brian He has been tracking the CHIPS and SCIENCE Act of 2022 as it moves through both houses of Congress and President Biden’s signature. Focused on US semiconductor protection, this new bill explains what it includes.

• You can’t dance hereWe were shocked to learn that TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, has been acquired by a Chinese hospital group. Rita He wrote. The company was already getting into healthcare, but going from owning a healthcare company to owning hospitals is a big leap, or a tourism jet, if you will.
• But you can dance hereSpotify has a couple of new features, with Aisha Writing about updates to the home screen that include personalized discovery feeds for both music and podcasts. Meanwhile, Ivan For musicians, it will unveil live collaboration and auto-save features on the company’s Soundtrap app.
• Streaming while dancingIt looks like Walmart is getting into streaming again. Lauren He wrote.
• Don’t dance with that cookieThe EU is going after some entities it says have ignored warnings to bring cookie consent banners into compliance. Natasha L Reports.
• ICMIHere are some of yesterday’s big stories that spilled over today. Kyle And Natasha M Write about cutting the Group more than 500 employees and SarahThe report on Snapchat’s new “Family Hub” feature.