New data reveals a significant decline in X app downloads on Android devices, with a 44% year-over-year drop in new installs via Google Play in July 2025. This decline is impacting X's overall mobile downloads, leading to a 26% decrease year-over-year. The company is aware of the issues, with plans to rebuild the Android app. Subscription revenue is also down, with a decrease from $18.8 million in March 2025 to $16.9 million in July 2025, potentially due to users migrating to Grok for AI features. The iOS app, however, saw a record week in installs, offering a slight counterpoint to the Android struggles.

Substack is now utilizing the U.S. App Store's option allowing users to make purchases outside of Apple's in-app system, a change resulting from Epic Games' antitrust lawsuit. This enables Substack to offer web payment options, potentially leading to reduced pricing for consumers. Writers can adjust iOS app prices to account for Apple's fees or disable this feature, while Substack continues to take its 10% fee. Migration tools are available to move subscribers off Apple's payments system. Early tests have shown a boost in paid sign-ups. The change impacts new subscriptions, and Substack is considering expanding this to the EU and U.K.

Linktree, a popular link-in-bio service, has been inaccessible in India for several days. The reason for the outage is currently unknown, even to Linktree itself.

The issue affects all major networks in India, with users reporting error messages and the Linktree app being inaccessible.

India is Linktree’s fifth-largest market, accounting for 3.5% of its global traffic, or about 7.3 million visits in July.

Linktree is investigating the issue but has not confirmed any communication from Indian authorities regarding a potential blockage.

The outage is not limited to a specific internet service provider, impacting all major networks.

Linktree's top markets are the U.S., Indonesia, Brazil, and the U.K.

Grammarly has launched a redesigned document-based interface, leveraging its acquisition of Coda. The update includes an AI assistant and various AI tools for students and professionals, such as an AI grader, proofreader, and citation finder. The new interface uses a block-first approach, allowing users to insert tables, columns, and rich text blocks. The AI assistant can summarize text, answer questions, and provide writing suggestions. Grammarly has also added tools to detect plagiarism and AI-generated content. The company raised $1 billion in May to support acquisitions and marketing efforts.

OpenAI is updating GPT-5 to be more approachable after user feedback indicated a preference for the previous GPT-4o model.

The update includes subtle changes to make the model feel warmer, such as using phrases like 'Good question' or 'Great start.'

OpenAI assures that these changes do not increase sycophancy compared to the previous GPT-5 personality. Executives acknowledge the rocky launch and are working to improve user experience.

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn addressed the criticism following his announcement that Duolingo would become an 'AI-first company,' stating his comments lacked context. He clarified that the company's intention was not solely for profit or to lay off human employees.

Von Ahn emphasized that Duolingo has never laid off full-time employees and has no plans to do so. While acknowledging a reduction in the contractor workforce based on fluctuating needs, he maintained a positive outlook on the potential of AI, with Duolingo dedicating time for experimentation with the technology.