Google just announced the general availability of App Maker, which TechCrunch describes as an “online tool for quickly building and deploying business apps on the web.” The move comes after more than a year of testing. “Access to App Maker comes with any G Suite Business and Enterprise subscription, as well as the G Suite for Education edition,” TC notes.

Appealing to members of the open source community, Facebook has released an internal debugging tool named Sonar. “Sonar was developed for and by Facebook engineers to help them manage the social network, including the implementation of new features, bug hunting, and performance optimization,” ZDNet reports, citing comments from Facebook software engineer Emil Sjölander. “Now, Sonar is being released to the open source community in the hopes of giving programmers a tool for the acceleration of app development and deployment.”

A majority (56%) of Americans say the news industry is headed in the wrong direction, Nieman Lab reports, citing a new report from the Media Insight Project. “Views about the direction of the media correspond with trust,” Nieman Lab writes. “While 73 percent of those who trust the news media generally say the media is headed in the right direction, 92 percent of those who say it is untrustworthy think the media is headed in the wrong direction.”

Instagram is testing shoppable tags directly in Stories, TechCrunch reports. That means users will be able to learn more about particular products by tapping on shopping-bag icons. “It’s a simple addition, but given the success of Stories it’s a potent one for brands that drive sales on the platform,” TC notes.  

New York magazine considers Netflix’s aggressive original content efforts. “Mysterious though it may seem, Netflix operates by a simple logic, long understood by such tech behemoths as Facebook and Amazon: Growth begets more growth begets more growth,” it writes. “When Netflix adds more content, it lures new subscribers and gets existing ones to watch more hours of Netflix … As they spend more time watching, the company can collect more data on their viewing habits, allowing it to refine its bets about future programming.”  

In what is perhaps a sign of things to come for U.S. consumers, Google parent Alphabet is partnering with Carrefour SA to sell groceries online in France. “By early 2019, French shoppers will be able to buy Carrefour’s products through Google platforms including Home, Assistant and the Google shopping destination in France,” Bloomberg writes.

Big-data firm Splunk is buying a startup named VictorOps for $120 million. VictorOps helps software developers collaborate and resolve engineering issues, according to Fortune. “Splunk is perpetually on the lookout for tie-ups that will boost the benefits its customers … derive from the data Splunk helps collect and parse,” Fortune writes, citing an interview with the company’s president and CEO.

Facebook is rolling out “Memories,”  a new page designed for users interested in reflecting on past experiences with friends and family. As TechCrunch writes: “The page is essentially an expanded collection of familiar Facebook features … as well as other memory recaps and memories you’ve shared with friends.”

Apple is taking a harder line against cryptocurrency mining on the App Store, AppleInsider reports. According to new language added to the App Store’s review guidelines: “Apps, including any third party advertisements displayed within the them, may not run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining.”  

LinkedIn just debuted ‘Your Commute,’ which, as TechCrunch reports, “will let job-seekers check out the location and commute time to specific businesses, to help them evaluate whether they would want to work there.” As TC notes, “The feature will appear within job postings on LinkedIn and will become a part of how LinkedIn surfaces job opportunities in its search feature for its 500 million-plus users.”