The July Tech Stories That Dominated Our Mobile Newsfeeds

Hi everyone! I'm Irina Heinz, Content Strategist at Checkaso, and I've compiled some major stories of the month for you. Well, I mean news. If there will be enough likes, shares, and views, we'll keep it up. Okay then, what all the buzz in mobile is about in July?

TikTok’s tough month: the ban, problems with the US, and Instagram playing dirty

India bans TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps. Instagram is then (apparently) happy to launch Reels — a TikTok-like feature — in India. The US (with 19% of the installs worldwide) add fuel to the fire by threatening to ban TikTok too. They suspect the app of transferring data to China. In the meantime, TikTok launches Gamified Branded Effects and an ad credits program for business.

Apple & Google’s duopoly + Huawei to fund an alternative app store

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, scolds Apple and Google for 30% commission fee. He blames the tech giants for forcing app developers to accept unfavorable terms. Being his usual self, he, of course, calls for the fight against injustice — and offers to use the law as a weapon. Meanwhile, Huawei keeps investing in AppGallery, an alternative app store, and announces a new $1M contest for the best HMS apps and games. 

iOS14 exposes data collecting apps

Bad news, Apple advertisers — iOS 14 will make it way harder to track clicks and analyze the audience. This is all, again, for privacy. The system will have a feature that can warn users if an app copies their clipboard data. Because of it, Linkedin has been accused of collecting confidential information. 

EU to regulate app stores and Google Play to update its policy 

The European Union is now keeping an eye on app stores and app developers. It calls for transparency of ratings, app removals, data collection, and connections with big players. Transparency seems to be a new trend. Google Play is updating its policy  (starting August 12) for greater privacy, ethics, and transparency. For whoever is wondering, apps in the wrong category now have 30 days to fix it. Maybe we're on the verge of some great migration.

Facebook burns out, users are angry, apps crash, Spotify expands its presence

Facebook SDK made iOS apps crash all over the world. Oops. Authentication issues prevented users from logging into Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Tinder, Viber and — ironically — Facebook itself. Angry users reinstalled the apps and typed their fingers sore with angry comments (probably). For example, Spotify received over 10,000 complaints in Europe. At least, Spotify has some good news as well — it is now available in 13 more countries, including Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. 

New features for Instagram, WhatsApp, and Google

Instagram is testing Personal Fundraiser, a fundraising tool, and the Shops tab to replace Activity (that with all the likes). WhatsApp introduces QR codes for businesses that start a chat with a seller. Google launches Shoploop, a video shopping app with videos up to 90 seconds long. And Shopify integrates with Hero for the best mobile shopping experience. By the way, after it has been blocked in the US, the number of new stores on Shopify increased by 62%. 

App Store bug: +90 broken «keywords»

The App Store stopped showing apps by 90+ popular keywords in different locales. Tricky thing: Apple Search ads campaigns can be launched, but if there is no search result, there are no ads then. Some keywords gradually come to life. We recommend you to check the list.

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