App Watch: What’s new, hot & updated in the second half of March

The app world never stays still for long.

The second half of March brought its share of fresh updates and clever improvements, and we’ve been keeping an eye on them.

Time to recap what’s been happening so far this month.

Instagram is removing end to end encrypted DMs

Instagram will stop supporting end to end encrypted direct messages starting May 8. According to Meta, the feature is being discontinued because very few people were actually using encrypted DMs on the platform.

The app has already started notifying affected users and is recommending that they download their encrypted chats and images before the feature goes away. Meta’s message is also pretty clear on the alternative: if you still want end to end encrypted messaging, it says you should use WhatsApp instead.

Instagram first started rolling out encrypted DMs in 2023, but the feature has faced growing pressure as regulators in different countries push social platforms to strengthen child safety measures. That wider debate has put end to end encryption under more scrutiny, especially when it limits platforms’ ability to detect harmful activity.

👉 Learn more about Instagram’s end to end encrypted DMs removal.

Spotify is finally letting users edit their Taste Profile

Spotify is rolling out a new feature that lets users review and edit their Taste Profile, the system that shapes recommendations across the app. That includes things like Discover Weekly, Made For You playlists, and even Spotify Wrapped, so this change could have a big impact on what people see and hear.

The feature is launching in beta for Premium users in New Zealand first. From there, users will be able to view their listening data in one place across music, podcasts, and audiobooks, then adjust their profile using natural language prompts. They’ll even be able to tell Spotify they want more or less of a certain vibe, which will change the recommendations shown on the home page.

Spotify has offered limited controls before, but this is the first time users can properly see and edit the bigger picture behind their recommendations.

👉 Learn more about Spotify’s new Taste Profile controls.

Gamma launches AI image tools to create marketing assets

Gamma is expanding beyond presentations with a new AI image generation tool called Gamma Imagine. The feature lets users create things like social graphics, infographics, charts, and other marketing assets using simple text prompts, all tailored to their brand.

The goal is to cover more visual use cases without needing separate design tools. Gamma already offers over 100 templates, and now users can combine those with AI generated visuals to build content faster, whether it’s for presentations, websites, or marketing materials.

To power these capabilities, Gamma is integrating with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Zapier, Atlassian, and more. The company is positioning itself between advanced design tools like Adobe or Figma and traditional options like PowerPoint, aiming to give non designers a more flexible way to create visual content.

👉 Learn more about Gamma Imagine.

Robinhood launches Social trading features in beta

Robinhood has started rolling out Robinhood Social in beta, a new in app community where traders can follow each other, share strategies, and see real trades in action. The initial rollout is limited to a small group of highly active users, starting with 1,000 participants and expanding to around 10,000 in the coming weeks.

The platform focuses on transparency and trust. Users can create verified profiles, share their trades live, and track real performance metrics like daily and yearly P&L. The idea is to remove the guesswork that often comes with trading content on social media and make it easier to see what’s actually happening.

During the beta, users can post trades across stocks, crypto, options, and prediction markets, interact with others, and even execute trades directly from the feed.

👉 Learn more about Robinhood Social.

Littlebird is building an AI tool that remembers everything on your screen

Littlebird is taking a different approach to AI productivity by “reading” your screen and turning what you do into searchable context. Instead of storing screenshots, it captures information as text, which makes it lighter and easier to query later.

The app runs in the background and only shows up when you need it. You can ask questions like what you worked on during the day or which emails are most important, and over time the answers become more personalized. It also includes a built in meeting assistant that records audio, generates notes, and prepares context for upcoming meetings using past activity.

Users can control what gets tracked by excluding specific apps, and the system avoids sensitive data like passwords or payment details.

👉 Learn more about Littlebird’s AI recall tool.

Reddit may ask suspicious accounts to prove they’re human

Reddit is introducing new measures to deal with bots on the platform, including asking some accounts to confirm they’re human. The system will focus on profiles showing automated or “fishy” behavior, while most regular users won’t be affected.

As part of the update, developers will be able to officially register bot accounts, which will be labeled with an “[APP]” tag. At the same time, Reddit will monitor unlabeled accounts and may request verification if something suggests the account isn’t controlled by a real person.

To confirm identity, Reddit is exploring options like passkeys, fingerprint scans, PIN codes, and even third party biometric systems. Accounts that fail to verify could face restrictions. The platform also plans to make it easier to report suspected bots, while still allowing some AI generated content as long as there’s a real human behind the account.

👉 Learn more about Reddit’s new bot verification system.

Plenty of updates to close out March. Stay tuned to our blog for the next round of highlights coming in next month.

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