This is the future of authentication, according to security experts Passwords may not have been much of an annoyance back in the 1960s, when they were first believed to have been introduced to the world of computing. But as we’ve increasingly adopted a wide range of personal gadgets and online …

Flux raises $7.5M Series A to bring its digital receipts platform to more banks and merchants – TechCrunch Flux, the London fintech that has built a technology platform for banks and merchants to power itemised digital receipts and a lot more, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The …

Zwift, which turns indoor cycling workouts into multiplayer games, raises $120M – TechCrunch Fitness and gaming have been two of the most popular categories of apps for years, and now a startup founded out of London that has combined the two in a unique way has picked up a big …

With trust destroyed, Facebook is haunted by old data deals – TechCrunch As Facebook colonized the rest of the web with its functionality in hopes of fueling user growth, it built aggressive integrations with partners that are coming under newfound scrutiny through a deeply reported New York Times investigation. Some of …

Lovot is a cute companion robot that wants to give you affection It won’t do the housework or cut the grass, but it might cheer you up. We’re talking about Lovot, a new companion robot from Japan that’s designed to “gently stir people’s feelings and fill them with happiness.” The …

PixelMe raises $1.3 million for its retargeting URL shortener – TechCrunch Meet PixelMe, a new software-as-a-service startup that wants to help marketers retarget customers using an URL shortener. The company just raised a $1.3 million at a $4 million pre-money valuation — investors now own 22 percent of the company. …

SoftBank Corp shares drop 14% on their first day of trading, but it’s still one of the largest IPOs ever – TechCrunch SoftBank Corp’s initial public offering today started with a bang before trailing off into a whimper, with the stock falling 14.5 percent during its first day of trading …

Female-founded companies are making better sex toys and confronting taboos In an industry traditionally dominated by men, women are now making more sex toys than ever before The lack of female influence in the creation and production of sex toys over time has led to sexist and objectifying industry marketing …

Facebook purges more ‘bad actors’ in Myanmar but it still won’t commit to a local office – TechCrunch As Facebook continues to grasp the severity of the situation in Myanmar, where the UN has concluded that its social network plays “determining role” in inciting genocide, the U.S. tech giant has …

Twitter Makes It Easier Than Ever to Switch Between Latest and Top Tweets Twitter has finally delivered on its promise to give users more control over their timeline. It comes in the form of a new button on the main screen that lets you switch between two different kinds of …