Techmeme: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip review: the best hinge on a folding phone so far but the screen's plastic covering scratches easily and the cameras are disappointing (Dieter Bohn/The Verge)

Top News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Shopify says it will join the Libra Association, contributing financially and operating a node that processes transactions of Facebook's stablecoin — After eBay, Visa, Stripe, and other high-profile departures, the Libra Association scored a win today with the addition of Shopify.

More: Shopify's pressreleases, ZDNet, CNBC, BetaKit, CNET, The Market Refresh, Modern Consensus, PYMNTS.com, Forbes, Crypto Briefing, Decrypt, The Daily Hodl, CoinDesk, Yahoo Finance, Reuters, PaymentsSource, Cointelegraph, Finextra, The Block, BitcoinExchangeGuide, CryptoGlobe, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @globalnewsto, @davidmarcus, @caseynewton, @libra_, @forbescrypto, @zachary, and @mdudas. Thanks:@joshconstine

Joseph Cox / VICE:

WhatsApp lets some invite links for group chats, that the members may want to keep private, to be indexed by search engines like Google, allowing anyone to join — Google is indexing invite links to WhatsApp group chats whose administrators may want to be private.

More: XDA Developers, The Verge, Android Authority, Neowin, Engadget, Pocketnow, 🛡️ …, Android Central, MSPoweruser, and Wccftech

Tweets: @jordanwildon, @josephfcox, @dannysullivan, @starsprout, @zerconil, @josephfcox, @wongmjane, and @glenngabe

Jon Porter / The Verge:

Google says that from August 3 all new Google Play apps that access background location will need to pass review, expanding to all existing apps on November 3 — Apps will face a new review process to enable the feature — Google is placing new restrictions on which Android apps can track …

More: Android Developers Blog, Ars Technica, Gizmodo, ZDNet, CNET, Android Central, iPhone in Canada Blog, TechRadar.com, and SlashGear

Tweets: @stuartathompson, @webster, and @jonporty

John D. McKinnon / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Google is resisting efforts to surrender emails, texts, and other documents sought by state investigators probing anticompetitive digital-ad practices — Company is reluctant to surrender some documents in investigation of possible anticompetitive practices

More: Input, The Hill, New York Post, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @gregbensinger, @yost4ohio, @jbflint, @jason_kint, @asharma, and @rstephens

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip review: the best hinge on a folding phone so far but the screen's plastic covering scratches easily and the cameras are disappointing — Even with a glass screen, it's just a curiosity — Samsung's brand-new Galaxy Z Flip is the third folding screen phone that I've reviewed.

More: Gizmodo, BGR, Engadget, and iPhone in Canada Blog

Tweets: @mgsiegler, @jentrification, @reckless, @reagangomez, and @backlon

Julia Boorstin / CNBC:

Source: Facebook considers transparency measures around posts from political campaign staffers, due to concerns around Bloomberg campaign's use of its platform — - Facebook is considering ways to show when a paid campaign staffer shares a political post on the site.

More: Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Market Realist, Yahoo Finance, and HuffPost

Tweets: @sarahfrier, @mcclure111, @oliverdarcy, @kfury, @donwinslow, and @lnaturale

See also Mediagazer

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Shogun, which helps e-commerce brands build faster websites, has raised $10M Series A, led by Initialized Capital with participation from VMG Partners and YC — Amazon may have a market cap of more than $1 trillion, but Finbarr Taylor, CEO of Y Combinator-backed startup Shogun, said the e-commerce giant is “kind of dropping the ball.”

Tweets: @rishmishra and @garrytan

Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:

Lyft has acquired Halo Cars, a small startup that lets ride-hailing drivers earn money via ad displays mounted atop their cars — Lyft has acquired Halo Cars, a small startup that lets ride-hailing drivers earn money via ad displays mounted atop their cars. Lyft confirmed the deal but declined to share any details.

More: Seeking Alpha

FinSMEs:

Feather, an NY-based furniture subscription service, raises $30M Series B led by Cobalt Capital with Kleiner Perkins, YC, SV Angel, and others participating — Feather, a New York, NY - based next-generation furniture rental service, closed a $30M Series B funding.

The Intercept:

An EU report, circulated among EU and national officials in November 2019, calls for the creation of a network of national police facial recognition databases — A police investigator in Spain is trying to solve a crime, but she only has an image of a suspect's face, caught by a nearby security camera.

Tweets: @theintercept, @privacyint, and @jovialjoy

Jay Peters / The Verge:

Facebook will pay users up to $5 for voice recordings via its Viewpoints app to improve its speech recognition tech; recordings won't be tied to user profiles — But it won't pay much — Facebook will offer to pay some users for voice recordings that will be used to help improve …

More: KnowTechie, International Business Times, BetaNews, TechSpot, Tom's Guide, Digital Trends, The Next Web, SlashGear, BGR, and Engadget

Tweets: @brianroemmele, @shiraovide, @leimer, @yoda, @nathanblawrence, @thirdrowtesla, and @mattnavarra

Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:

A history of EU's efforts to create a standard for device chargers, and how Apple used a loophole to keep using Lightning, but may have to move to USB-C soon — Despite pushback from Apple, the European Parliament in January voted overwhelmingly for new rules to establish a common charging standard …

Nick Statt / The Verge:

New Mexico AG sues Google, alleging the company tracks data of students who use free Chromebooks provided to schools through its G Suite for Education platform — ‘Tracking student data without parental consent is not only illegal, it is dangerous’ — Google is facing a new lawsuit filed …

More: CNET, The Register, New York Times, Vox, ZDNet, TechRadar.com, Axios, Associated Press, and Engadget

Tweets: @leoniehaimson, @privacyproject, @il_fps, @_danielsinclair, @whatthebit, @marthagailmoore, @commercialfree, and @feamster

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

Volocopter, which aims to develop an autonomous air taxi service, extends its Series C by another €37M, taking the round total to €87M — Volocopter, a German company that's developing autonomous electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial air taxi services …

More: SiliconANGLE, FinSMEs, and EU-Startups

Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:

Tier Mobility, an e-scooter rental service operating in 55 cities across 11 countries, extends its Series B to $100M+, up from $60M disclosed in October — Tier, the European e-scooter rentals startup that operates in 55 cities across 11 countries, has topped up its funding for the second time in four months.

Sponsor Posts

Google:

Try Gemini 3 Pro — Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life

Shopify:

Shopify's new AI commerce stack — Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.

Zoho:

From content collaboration to content intelligence: Zoho WorkDrive's 2025 journey — As 2025 draws to a close, we're reflecting on a year marked by meaningful progress, purposeful innovation, and continuous learning at Zoho WorkDrive.

IDrive:

Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Hard Fork:

Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

Subscribe to Hard Fork.

Big Technology Podcast:

Sam Altman: How OpenAI Wins, AI Buildout Logic, IPO in 2026?

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Access:

Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour

A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.

Subscribe to Access.

Lenny's Podcast:

The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth)

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.

Channels with Peter Kafka:

"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.

Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.

Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.

Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:

Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.

Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:20 PM ET, February 21, 2020.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.