Latest news with #ZachMcAuliffe
CNET
18-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
What Is Lemon8 and Could It Be Banned With TikTok? What to Know
We're back again: The 75-day extension President Trump gave TikTok this spring is over on Thursday. If TikTok's parent company ByteDance doesn't find a US-approved buyer or if the deadline isn't extended, the app could be banned for US users. But it's not just TikTok on the line -- Lemon8, TikTok's sister app, could also be affected. Lemon8 is owned by ByteDance, the same parent company that owns TikTok. It's one of the top Lifestyle apps in Apple's App Store, and it has more than 10 million downloads in the Google Play store. The app describes itself as "a lifestyle community focused app." There are some major differences between Lemon8 and TikTok you should know before you dive into the app. Here's what you need to know about Lemon8. Note: I reached out to ByteDance for this story, and the company did not respond for comment. For more on the TikTok ban, here's what to know about the Supreme Court's decision, here's what could happen if a sale doesn't go through and other apps users are flocking to. What is Lemon8? Lemon8 posts can contain text to help label objects in the post. Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET Lemon8 is a video- and photo-sharing platform that eschews the vertical-scrolling format of TikTok in favor of a Pinterest board-style format. But what Lemon8 and TikTok do have in common is that both have Following and For You tabs to show you posts from creators you follow and posts the app thinks you will like. Lemon8's content is split into six topic tabs, plus a seventh tab called All. The other tabs are Fashion, Beauty, Food, Wellness, Travel and Home. These tabs can be found across the top of your screen, and tapping into these tabs shows you recommended and suggested posts. Posts can be swipeable photo collections like in Instagram, or TikTok-style videos. Some creators add text to their photos to label clothing or a product. Some will also include the price of the item in the text. How is Lemon8 different from TikTok and other apps? Lemon8 is different from other apps in terms of what is posted and how it's presented. Lemon8 has a lot of influencer ads and product recommendations. It's difficult to tell what is and isn't sponsored content, and this appears to be the norm across the app. TikTok also has sponsored content, but usually these are marked as such in the bottom-left corner. Memes don't seem to be catching on in Lemon8. Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET There aren't a lot of memes or jokes on Lemon8 compared to other apps, either. You can find memes on Lemon8, but various hashtags associated with "memes," like "funnymemes" and "catmemes," have fewer than 1 million views (as opposed to hundreds of millions on Instagram). This could be because Lemon8 is still catching on in the US, but my suspicion is Lemon8 isn't meant for memes. It's meant to be more of a guidebook to help you achieve a certain lifestyle or aesthetic. There's also a lot of writing in Lemon8. For example, post captions might include instructions for a recipe or a deeper breakdown of an outfit. TikTok captions can have useful information, but those captions are more about connecting posts to hashtags to get more views and don't necessarily add new information to the TikTok post. Lemon8 uses captions in a similar way to Instagram posts, but Lemon8 captions have one key difference from Instagram: templates. Lemon8 templates can help you quickly make, or give you an idea of what to include in, captions. Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET Lemon8 lets you use templates for your posts to help you quickly format and to give you an idea of what to caption your post. There are caption templates for fashion, shopping finds, beauty, food and travel. Lemon8 reminds me of a mashup between the magazines Martha Stewart Living, Muscle & Fitness and Travel + Leisure. You can find some useful tips in Lemon8 to help you achieve a desired aesthetic or find some vacation inspiration, but it's not clear what is and isn't an ad. What are people saying about Lemon8? People's reaction to Lemon8 is seemingly positive so far. One TikTok creator posted a video calling Lemon8 "Pinterest, but interactive." Another said Lemon8 is a combination of Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok. However, this positivity could be artificially inflated. ZDNet reports that many TikTok posts about Lemon8 have described the app with similar language, making some believe ByteDance paid these creators. And some Lemon8 creators' claims make this theory sound more viable. One Lemon8 creator told Insider that ByteDance paid them to post on the app. Two other Lemon8 creators showed Insider emails that outlined the app's payment structure. Who owns Lemon8? ByteDance, the Chinese tech company that owns TikTok, also owns Lemon8. According to ZDNet, ByteDance is positioning Lemon8 to be an Instagram rival as more users stop using, or abandon, Meta's app. According to the Wall Street Journal, a leaked internal memo from Meta showed that Instagram engagement was declining. ByteDance executives could be hoping to capitalize on this by giving Instagram users an alternative app in the form of Lemon8. And while Lemon8 was released globally in 2020, the app's recent growth might show ByteDance's gamble is paying off. Will Lemon8 be banned alongside TikTok? Since Lemon8 is owned by ByteDance, which also owns TikTok, it's possible that the app will be banned alongside TikTok. The law requiring the sale of TikTok could be applied generally to other apps that are owned and operated by ByteDance and its subsidiaries. When TikTok shutdown operations in the US in January, Lemon8 was shutdown alongside the app. If TikTok shuts down again, Lemon8 likely will as well. Should you download Lemon8? Even with a shutdown looming, Lemon8 is free, so you can download and try the app now before the sale deadline. Just know the app's posts resemble instructional guides more than memes to share, and many posts feel like advertisements. What's Lemon8's privacy policy? Lemon8's travel tab can give you inspiration for your next getaway. Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET Most of Lemon8's privacy policy seems standard for social media apps. It states Lemon8 collects personal and location information to provide you with a better app experience. Some collected information includes your IP address and browsing history. But part of the app's privacy policy might raise eyebrows. "The personal information we collect from you may be stored on a server located outside of the country where you live," the policy reads. The company has servers around the world, according to the policy, so your information could be stored in any of them. This is different from how Lemon8's sister app TikTok stores some user's data. The company stores US-based user data in Oracle servers. TikTok CEO Shou Chew said ByteDance employees in China can access this data, but with "robust cybersecurity controls and authorization approval" overseen by a US-based security team. For more, check out our experts' reviews and top picks for the best smartphones and cameras in 2025.
CNET
04-06-2025
- General
- CNET
You Can Change Your iPhone's Default Alert Tone in 3 Easy Steps
Changing app alert tones is a great way to distinguish between apps on your iPhone. That way you can know when you get a text, as opposed to an email, without taking your iPhone out of your pocket. And while you could always change tones for certain iPhone apps and alerts, you couldn't change the general alert notification until Apple released iOS 17.2 in 2023. After the release of iOS 17 in 2023, some iPhone users complained online about Apple changing the default alert tone. Some people said the new alert tone wasn't loud enough to wake them up if their security system went off, and one person said they relied on an older tone to alert them about care responsibilities for their parents. Now, you can change the default tone to better suit your needs. Here's how to change your iPhone's default notification tone. Easily change your default alert tone 1. Open Settings. 2. Tap Sounds & Haptics. 3. Tap Default Alerts. From Default Alerts, you can preview and select familiar-sounding alerts, like Tri-tone, or explore older tones (like Bell) by tapping Classic near the bottom of the menu. You can also choose None, which will silence your alert tone but leave your haptic alert (the vibration pattern for an alert) on. Don't want any default alert tone? You can choose None. Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET You can also change your haptic alerts if you want. How to change your haptic alert tone 1. Open Settings. 2. Tap Sounds & Haptics. 3. Tap Default Alerts. 4. Tap Haptics. From this menu, you can choose vibration patterns like Accent (a short, single vibration) or SOS, which vibrates SOS in Morse code. If you choose Synchronized, your haptics and alert tone will work in tandem. If you don't want a vibration, you can choose None. There's also an option to create a custom vibration pattern. Tap Create New Vibration in the Haptics menu, and you'll be taken to a screen that reads, "Tap to create a vibration pattern." You can tap quickly on your screen to make a short vibration pattern or press and hold to make a longer, single vibration. When you're finished, tap Save, then name your pattern and it automatically gets selected as your default alert haptic. For more iOS news, here's all the features included in iOS 18.5 and iOS 18.4. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet and what we hope to see in the upcoming iOS release.
CNET
03-06-2025
- Health
- CNET
Enable This Hidden iPhone Feature. Your Eyes Will Thank You
According to my iPhone, I spend more than 8 hours a day on my phone -- yikes. I'm sure I hold my iPhone close to my face at times, especially at night, and that might be why my eyes feel uncomfortable sometimes, like I've got something in them. Luckily, there's a hidden iPhone feature that could help me -- and others -- take better care of our eyes called Screen Distance. Read more: Screen Time Matters When It Comes to Your Eye Health CNET The feature warns you when you're holding your iPhone or iPad too close to your face, sort of like having a parent tell you to sit farther back from the television or computer screen. Although having a screen near your face might not harm your eyes, it could stress and irritate them, according to health care organization Cedars-Sinai. Thankfully, this iPhone feature aims to help reduce eyestrain. According to Apple, it could even lower the risk of myopia, or nearsightedness. Here's how to turn Screen Distance on and give your eyes a break. Turn on Screen Distance 1. Open Settings. 2. Tap Screen Time. 3. Tap Screen Distance. These screens appear the first time you access Screen Distance. Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET Then you'll see two screens explaining what Screen Distance is and how it works. Tap Continue on both screens, and Screen Distance automatically turns on after these screens. Both screens appear only the first time you go into Screen Distance. Now, after holding your iPhone too close to your face for a few minutes, your screen gets blocked by a message reading, "iPhone May Be Too Close." When you hold your iPhone too close to your face for too long, Screen Distance blocks your screen. Zach McAuliffe/CNET Your screen remains blocked until you hold your iPhone farther away. Then, your screen shows a checkmark, and you have to tap Continue to remove the block. Read more: How to Beat Eyestrain, According to Optometrists Turning off Screen Distance Screen Distance is a useful iOS feature that may reduce eyestrain and even decrease the risk of nearsightedness. However, if you find the warnings more annoying than helpful, here's how to turn Screen Distance off. 1. Open Settings. 2. Tap Screen Time. 3. Tap Screen Distance. 4. Tap the toggle next to Screen Distance. Now you can go back to holding your iPhone as close to your face as you want without interruption from your phone -- or your parents. For more iOS news, here's all the features included in iOS 18.5 and iOS 18.4. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet and what we hope to see in iOS 19.
