TECHCRUNCH.COM — Eight years after launching Instagram and six years after selling it to Facebook, Instagram co-founders CEO Kevin Systrom and CTO Mike Krieger are leaving the company, according to The New York Times. The founders apparently did not give a reason for their departure when they informed the company today that they’ll depart in the next few weeks.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — A draft executive order circulating around the “is not the result of an official White House policymaking process,” according to deputy White House press secretary, Lindsay Walters. According to a report in The Washington Post, Walters denied that White House staff had worked on a draft executive order that would require every federal agency to study how social media platforms moderate user behavior and refer any instances of perceived bias to the Justice Department for further study and potential legal action.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — since Google took the wraps off the G1, the first Android phone. Since that time the OS has grown from buggy, nerdy iPhone alternative to arguably the most popular (or at least populous) computing platform in the world. But it sure as heck didn’t get there without hitting a few bumps along the road.

INC.COM — Artificial intelligence is all the rage in business today. But what you may not know is that AI apps and programs can help boost your conversion optimization — that is, increase the number of people who purchase things on your website, and sell more of your products with less effort. There are literally thousands of AI tools, apps, and software — hundreds of which focus on helping business owners sell more.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — has launched a major new product play, slotting an algorithmic dating service inside its walled garden as if that’s perfectly normal behavior for an ageing social network. Insert your [dad dancing GIF of choice] right here. getting into dating looks very much like a mid-life crisis — as a veteran social network desperately seeks a new strategy to stay relevant in an age when app users have largely moved on from social network ‘lifecasting’ to more bounded forms of sharing, via private messaging and/or friend groups inside dedicated messaging and sharing apps.

NEWYORKER.COM — As Senate Republicans press for a swift vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Senate Democrats are investigating a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. The claim dates to the 1983-84 academic school year, when Kavanaugh was a freshman…

NYTIMES.COM — The upshot is clear: If you find yourself mapping a “whether or not” question, looking at a simple fork in the road, you’re almost always better off turning it into a “which one” question that gives you more available paths. What’s the best way to expand your pool of options? Researchers suggest…

MASHABLE.COM — At one point on Sunday night, a solid 11 million people were tuned in to watch the finale of the BBC’s nail-chewingly tense crime thriller Bodyguard. A whole bunch of them were tweeting about it, too. Just a quick glance through the #Bodyguard hashtag was enough to see just how much of an impact Jed Mercurio’s six-parter, which has recently been sold to Netflix, made. .

TECHCRUNCH.COM — Singapore Blockchain Week happened this past week. While there have been a few announcements from companies, some of the most interesting updates have come from regulators, and specifically, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The financial regulator openly discussed its views on cryptocurrency and plans to develop blockchain technology locally.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — The ongoing saga over the FCC’s handling of public comments to its net neutrality proposal continues after sued the organization for withholding of information that it believes could prove there was Russian interference. The Times has filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests for data on the comments since July 2017, and now, after reducing the scope of its requests significantly was rejected, it is taking the FCC to court in a bid to get the information.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — in the latest season of the Hulu original series Casual, where the main character, Alex, tries his hand at dating in virtual reality. He quickly meets a woman and develops a big, adrenaline-inducing crush only to realize she’s a scammer out for his credit card information. We’re not there yet, and we probably won’t be there as soon as the writers of the show think, but it’s time to imagine and plan for a future when entire relationships exist in and as a result of virtual reality.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — Fintech promises to be one of the hottest topics at Disrupt Berlin 2018, and you can take that to the bank see what we did there? On 29-30 November thousands of attendees will descend on Berlin, and what better way to get your fintech business in front of them than to exhibit in Startup Alley? Oh wait, we know a better way — apply to be a TechCrunch Top Pick and exhibit at Disrupt Berlin for FREE!

TECHCRUNCH.COM — ten years building LendingClub. In the process, he created an industry from scratch. Circumventing conventional banking channels for consumer credit began in 1996 when Chris Larsen started E-LOAN, which ultimately led to Prosper Marketplace. But LendingClub, which Laplanche founded in 2007, was and remains the poster child for the business of marketplace lending.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — retailer hosted a private event today where they continued to exercise their highly strategic approach to hardware, which has them throwing everything at the wall and waiting to see what sticks. We got some new Echo devices, sure, but there was also an amp, a camera, a clock and a microwave…? There’s a lot to take a look at, including some product refreshes and entirely new verticals, so let’s get to it.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — Does deeper data produce perfect matches? is finally ready to find out, starting today with a country-wide test in Colombia of its new Dating feature. It’s centered around an algorithm-powered homescreen of Suggested romantic matches based on everything Facebook knows about you that other apps don’There’s no swiping and it’s not trying to look cool, but Facebook Dating is familiar and non-threatening enough to feel accessible to Facebook’s broad array of single users.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — Does deeper data produce perfect matches? Facebook is finally ready to find out, starting today with a country-wide test in Colombia of its Dating feature. It’s centered around an algorithm-powered homescreen of Suggested romantic matches based on everything Facebook knows about you that other apps don’Originally announced at F8 in May, Facebook has hammered out details like limiting users to expressing interest in a maximum of 100 people per day, spotlighting personal questions as well as photos, and defaulting to show you friends-of-friends as well as strangers unless you only want to see people with no mutual connections.

ADESPRESSO.COM — You know that Instagram marketing is supposed to be really beneficial for businesses and brands. It’s one of the absolute go-to platforms that you need to be using.There are Instagram ads, newsfeed posts, and Stories, and all of them can help you accomplish your various marketing goals.But have…