MacRumors

Facebook has announced it is shutting down three apps that the company either launched itself or acquired from other companies over the last four years.

"Moves", "tbh", and the Android-only "Hello" all face the chop as part of the company's latest app cull. Facebook says the apps are being shuttered because of low usage.

British-based Midnight Labs sold its anonymous teen social media app tbh to the social network in 2017 for an undisclosed sum, although TechCrunch reported that the price paid was likely less than $100 million.

Facebook says all user data associated with the apps will be deleted within 90 days following shutdown.

We regularly review our apps to assess which ones people value most. Sometimes this means closing an app and its accompanying APIs. We know some people are still using these apps and will be disappointed — and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support. But we need to prioritize our work so we don’t spread ourselves too thin. And it's only by trial and error that we'll create great social experiences for people.

Facebook's last app cull came in August 2017, when it removed two standalone apps from the iOS App Store: the high school chat app "Lifestage" and community-focused gathering place "Groups".

Instagram today launched a new "You're All Caught Up" feature, which is designed to let users know when they've viewed all new posts from the last 48 hours.

Instagram has not used a chronological feed for several years now and it can be difficult to tell when all content has been viewed, something the new feature, which has been in testing since mid-May, should fix.

Today, you'll start noticing a "You're All Caught Up" message when you've seen every post from the last two days. We've heard that it can be difficult to keep track of your seen posts. With this message, you'll have a better understanding of your Feed and know you haven't missed recent photos or videos.

Below the "All Caught Up" message, Instagram will display posts that have already been viewed as well as posts that are older than two days old. The feature is rolling out on both iOS and Android starting today.

In related news, TechCrunch says Instagram and Facebook are testing new Do Not Disturb features that will let people turn off notifications from the social networks for 30 minutes, one hour, two hours, eight hours, one day, or until they're turned back on manually.

Instagram and Facebook declined to comment on the possible new feature, and it's not clear when it might roll out.

Instagram can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

In watchOS 5, you can rearrange the Control Center to put the Control Center features that you use at the top, so they're quicker to access when you swipe up on your Apple Watch.

Unfortunately, there's no way to remove features you don't often use, but you can bury those less desirable options at the bottom of the menu.

1. Bring up the Control Center by swiping upwards on the Apple Watch's display from the watch face.
2. Scroll down to the bottom.
3. Select "Edit."
4. While the Control Center icons are wiggling, use a finger to pull an icon out of its position and then drag it into a new one.
5. When finished, tap "Done."

That's all there is to it. It's a simple little function that you might not think to look for, but it can be handy if there are Control Center features that you use on a regular basis because you're able to get to them more quickly.

A few weeks after our last offer, MacRumors has again partnered with Anker to offer our readers up to 40 percent off eight of Anker's iPhone and iPad charging products. The savings target two lightning cables, a Qi-compatible wireless charger, a wall charger, a car charger, and three portable battery packs, two of which have high-capacity batteries and dual USB-C/USB-A support for the latest MacBooks.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

As usual, Anker's discounts are offered on Amazon, so once you find an accessory that you're interested in you can add it to your cart, proceed to checkout, enter the relevant promo code into the Gift cards & promotional codes field, and then click "Apply." Discount prices in this article don't include taxes or shipping costs, but Amazon Prime subscribers can get the typical free two-day shipping on their orders.

Check out every Anker item on sale in the list below, and be sure to place orders this week as this sale is a bit shorter and will last from today, July 2, through Sunday, July 8. (Note that only one code can be used per order, so if you'd like to order more than one type of item, you'll need to place separate orders.)

Portable Chargers

• PowerCore 10,400 mAh External Battery Pack - $23.99 with code RUMORS24, down from $29.99
• PowerCore+ 20,100 mAh USB-C Portable Charger - $51.99 with code RUMORS77, down from $65.99
• PowerCore+ 26,800 mAh with 30W Power Delivery Charger - $89.99 with code RUMORS37, down from $119.99

Lightning Cables

• PowerLine II Lightning Cable (6ft, White) - $9.74 with code RUMORS33, down from $12.99
• PowerLine II Lightning Cable (6ft, Black) - $9.74 with code RUMORS33, down from $12.99

Car, Wireless, and Wall Chargers

• 24W Dual USB Car Charger + 3ft Lightning Cable - $11.19 with code RUMORS78, down from $15.99
• PowerPort Wireless Charging Pad With 12W Wall Charger - $13.99 with code RUMORS72, down from $22.99
• USB Type-C Premium 5-Port 60W USB Wall Charger - $34.99 with code RUMORS76, down from $49.99

You can also head over to our full Deals Roundup for more of the latest discounts and sales happening this week.

AT&T's live TV streaming service DirecTV Now will increase the price of every subscription tier by $5 per month beginning sometime around August 1, 2018. AT&T confirmed the price hike to CordCutters, stating that the move was made to ensure that the cost of DirecTV Now remains "in line with the market."

The company is referencing the cost of rival services Hulu with Live TV, which started at $40/month, and YouTube TV, which recently raised to $40/month to compete with Hulu. Now, DirecTV Now's entry-level "Live a Little" plan is raising from $35/month to $40/month, aligning with the competition.

In the 18 months since our launch, we have continued to evolve our DIRECTV NOW products to serve this new customer set and compare favorably with our competitors. To continue delivering the best possible streaming experience for both new and existing customers, we're bringing the cost of this service in line with the market—which starts at a $40 price point.

Above the basic plan, "Just Right" will increase from $50/month to $55/month, "Go Big" will increase from $60/month to $65/month, and "Gotta Have It" will increase from $70/month to $75/month. While some emails sent out to customers reference an August 1 start date for the new prices, some users have noted earlier dates.

Although unconfirmed, AT&T's $15 credit for Unlimited cellular plan users should still apply to the new DirecTV Now prices. With the price hike, this means that these users will pay $25/month for the "Live a Little" DirecTV Now plan.

The email messages also remind users of upcoming enhancements to DirecTV Now, including an option to upgrade from 20 hours of the True Cloud DVR Beta to 100 hours, parental controls, more local channels, and more. Coming sooner will be an option to add a simultaneous third stream to a plan and a new Spanish language and sports package.

Sling TV also increased a plan price recently, requiring Sling Orange subscribers to pay $25/month for its entry-level tier, up from $20/month.

A British advertising regulatory body has overruled objections to an Apple television ad in which the company claims iPhone X is capable of "studio quality" portraits (via AppleInsider).

The TV ad in question, which began airing in March, showcases the smartphone's "radically new cameras with Portrait Lighting" and uses the phrasing, "Studio-quality portraits. Without the studio."

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was compelled to review two complaints filed by viewers "who believed that the phone could not achieve studio quality photography, and challenged whether the claim 'Studio-quality portraits' was misleading and could be substantiated."

In overruling the objections, the ASA said it had "considered consumers would understand the term 'studio-quality portraits' to mean that the lighting effects on the phone allowed the user to imitate a portrait photograph when taken in a studio".

We acknowledged that the camera on the iPhone X featured a focal lens commonly found in studio photography and understood that the images shown in the ad were photographs taken with the phone. We considered that the lighting effects that could be used when capturing and after having captured an image allowed the user to mimic a photograph similar to those taken in a studio.

We recognized that there were many effects, techniques and tools used in studio photography which played a vital role in capturing high standard images, many of which were not available to someone solely using the iPhone X. However, we recognized the emphasis was placed on the significance of the lighting effects on achieving the quality of image the ad demonstrated, and we understood that those images shown were a true reflection of the capabilities of the iPhone X’s camera. For those reasons, we concluded that the ad was not misleading.

In Apple's response to the finding, the company pointed out that there was no industry standard definition of "studio-quality portraits" and that there "were wide variances between techniques, equipment, lighting and talent," which led it to understand the term as a subjective one.

Apple stated that the 50 mm focal lens in the iPhone X was one of the most popular professional studio portrait lenses and the lighting options available on the phone mimicked what could be done in a studio.

Clearcast stated that they met Apple at the time the product was released for a demonstration of the product and found that the images in the ad were a fair reflection of the camera’s capabilities. They stated that “Studio-quality” was not an official, measurable term and that the quality of the photographs, to some extent, depended on the skill of the photographer.

This isn't the first time the British watchdog has looked at viewer complaints regarding Apple ads. In 2008, Android users took umbrage at an Apple ad that claimed "all parts of the internet are on the iPhone".

The reasoning behind the complaints was that Java and Flash content aren't supported on iPhone, therefore the claim was misleading. The complaint was upheld and the ad was banned in the U.K., as was another Apple ad that was adjudged to have exaggerated the speed of the iPhone 3G.

Drake's fifth album, Scorpion, has surpassed the artist's own single-day streaming record on Apple Music, with over 170 million streams in its first 24 hours of availability.

Apple told The Verge that Scorpion now holds both the U.S. and global streaming records for the company's streaming service, and the debut is the biggest ever single-day streaming total for any album on any streaming service.

Drake's last album, More Life, held the previous record with 89.9 million streams in its first day. It also set records on Apple's Beats 1 radio service, marking the biggest Beats 1 show in its history at the time.

Apple promoted the artist's latest release by launching a site that lets visitors make their own Scorpion album cover art with personal photos. The company also made sure Siri had something to say when fans asked the virtual assistant what Drake's nicknames are.

According to Spotify's public charts, the album was streamed over 132 million times in its first 24 hours, but Spotify said that number could end up being higher once it finishes tallying the results.

Scorpion is expected to shatter the single-week streaming record of 431 million streams currently held by Post Malone's Beerbongs & Bentleys.

WhatsApp rolled out an update over the weekend that introduces a useful new administrator setting to the popular messaging platform to make group chats more functional.

Essentially, the new setting allows group chats to be set up so that only approved admins are able to send messages to the group, which should help prevent important information from being lost in a hail of messages from group members.

WhatsApp says the feature is intended for certain use cases where groups are used to receive important announcements, including parents and teachers at schools, community centers, and non-profit organizations.

To enable the setting in WhatsApp, tap Group Settings -> Send Messages and select Only Admins.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has focused on improving the group chat experience over the last few months, introducing group descriptions, a catch-up feature, and protection for users who are being added repeatedly to groups they've left.

Popular iOS photography app Darkroom received a major update today, introducing a long list of app-wide improvements, a new Frames tool, a premium filter pack, and more.

The new Frames tool, which marks Darkroom's first top-level tool addition in three years, offers up content-aware frame colors. Content-aware color allows the frames tool to analyze the colors in your photograph and generate a set of frame colors that will match your image.

The color of the frame itself is hugely impactful to how the viewer's eye perceives colors in your photos. That's why we added content-aware colors which automatically analyze the photo and pick a curated set of colors that perfectly match your photo. This ensures you always have frame colors to pick from with just a tap, that will fit the mood of your photo seamlessly.

Support has also been added for the 9:16 aspect ratio for Snapchat and Instagram stories, as well as 4:5 for Instagram portrait photos. 2:1 has also been included, and all of the frame aspects can be used when exporting a single image or multiple images.

Also included in today's update is a new premium filter pack, Duotone Filters. Darkroom says these filters are designed to be "extremely graphical and punchy," to make photos "feel like they popped right out of a magazine."

New privacy tools have been added to allow users to enable or disable embedded location information when exporting photos. The option will let location be included on your phone for captured photos, but it gives users the ability to strip it out when publicly sharing photos.

In addition to these new features, the new version of Darkroom includes app-wide refinements that make the Darkroom editing experience on iOS better. Specifically, "drastic improvements" have been made to how Darkroom handles photos that were previously edited in other apps, with the ability to "gracefully overwrite them."

A full list of changes and updates in Darkroom can be found on the Darkroom website. The Darkroom app can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but unlocking full functionality requires a $7.99 in-app purchase. [Direct Link]

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Plex to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a cord-cutting bundle that includes a lifetime Plex Pass, a TV tuner, and an antenna.

Plex, for those unfamiliar with it, is an all-in-one media hub that organizes your entire library of content, from TV shows and movies to music and photos, plus it offers free access to news, support for Podcasts, and, most importantly for those who want to cut ties with cable companies, access to live television.

To handle all of your own media content, you can set up the Plex Media Server on a Mac, which makes everything you own accessible on all of your devices through the Plex iOS and Apple TV apps, along with Plex apps for consoles, Android devices, and other set-top boxes. You can watch and stream all of your content along with live TV content, news, and more from your Mac to any device, anywhere.

Accessing the Plex Live TV service does not require a cable subscription, and it's relatively simple to set up if you know what to buy.

You'll need a digital tuner and a digital antenna to access HD content from channels that are available for free over-the-air, such as major U.S. networks like ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, the CW, and local programming that includes news and sports. You can enter your zip code on the Plex site to see the channels you can receive over the air in your area.

Plex's website also outlines the exact equipment that is compatible with Plex Live TV, and a tuner will run you about $50 to $150. For our giveaway, Plex is providing a Mac-compatible HD HomeRun Connect Quatro, which lets you watch live TV on up to four devices simultaneously.

TV tuners need to be paired with an antenna, priced right around $60. Our giveaway includes the ClearStream Flex Amplified Sure Grip Indoor HDTV Antenna, which can be stuck on any flat surface like a window or a wall to receive over-the-air television signals.

All in all, the setup will run you $100 to $200, but after that, you have the tools you need to get cable channels sans paying an exorbitant fee. You will need a Plex Pass subscription for Live TV access, priced at $5 per month, $40 per year, or $120 for a lifetime subscription, but that's cheaper than cable.

That price offers access to all of Plex's premium features, including live TV and the ability to pause and record shows and skip commercials with Plex DVR. All of your DVR content will sync seamlessly with your existing media library, and it can also be played anywhere.

Plex also just recently announced a new live TV grid view, which makes it easier than ever to see what's on and what's available to you, and it's simple to schedule your DVR recordings using either an Apple TV or an iOS device.

We have one cord-cutting bundle to give away, complete with Mac-compatible tuner and antenna plus a lifetime Plex Pass subscription. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.