A high-tech tool for lo-fi pictures

An anti-Instagram backlash is fueling interest in an app that “mimics the experience of a disposable camera,” said Taylor Lorenz in The New York Times. Instagram took off a decade ago with filters known to “make everything look beautiful.” But a “shift away from highly curated feeds has been in the works for several years,” as more “relatable” influencers like Emma Chamberlain popularized a more “goofy and irreverent style.” Feeding off this, Dispo is a new photo-sharing app that allows users to “frame photographs through a small rectangular viewfinder” and has “no editing tools or captions.” Images take several hours to “develop,” and “multiple people can take photos on the same rolls, as might happen with a real disposable camera at a party.” news since 2018 with agreements in a dozen countries. The billion-dollar pledge comes after a similar one that Google made in October. “The $2 billion in total funding from Google and Facebook reflects the significant shift in commercial power toward struggling news groups.” But with pressure on the tech platforms rising, it’s not clear if the money will be enough for them to avoid “potentially more costly action by regulators around the world.”