The Top Three

🏆 THE INDUSTRY’S MOST IMPORTANT STORIES TODAY

🥇 GOOGLE DITCHES MINIMUM BUDGET FOR LSAs

Google seems to have removed the minimum required budget for Local Service Ads. more

• It’s unclear if this change was intentional or a bug, but the option that prevented setting a budget too low seems to be gone.

• Google has yet to respond on the matter.

🥈 TIKTOK APP RESTORED IN U.S.

"We are back, baby! We are f***ing back!": TikTok is back in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, letting users download and install it on their phones again for the first time since late January. more

• ⏪️ Recap: TikTok was removed in January due to a law banning it, as ByteDance had not sold the app. The app returned hours later, but it remained unavailable for download potentially due to liability risks for Apple and Google.

• Now, it’s fully available in the U.S., which also means the app can be updated.

• 👀 Not out of the woods: If President Trump doesn’t finalize a deal by April to address national security concerns, TikTok could face another shutdown.

🥉 REDDIT’S PAYWALL ERA

🚪 Let the gatekeeping begin: Reddit is set to launch a paywall this year, CEO Steve Huffman confirmed. He previously hinted at a new type of subreddit with "exclusive content or private areas" requiring payment to access. more

• Now, he said that the feature “a work in progress” and that “paid subreddits” are on the roadmap for 2025.

• The paywall will likely apply only to new subreddit types, not existing ones.

• In other news: Reddit is also laying the groundwork to set up in-app commerce. New marketplace features could let users buy and sell directly within subreddit.

Today’s Other News

📰 EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MATTERS

Advertising 📣

• Bing is adding a new ad placement to its Shopping/E-commerce cards. These shopping cards show product results with pricing, popular stores and key details. Now, it includes a new 'Related Products' section, featuring similar labelled as ads. more

• Google Ads has a new PMax usefulness indicator for Search Themes that tells you what is driving incremental traffic. It evaluates whether added themes generate new traffic or overlap with existing signals, showing a trend icon to explain performance shifts. more

• A new FAQ is out addressing advertisers' concerns about Performance Max campaigns. Questions include:

  • Why doesn't PMax offer channel-level reporting?

  • How can I ensure I'm getting high-quality leads, not just volume? more

  • How can I stop PMax from serving on my branded queries?

• New features for the Display & Video 360 API v3, and v4 is now in public beta:

  • Ability to delete LocationList resources using a new advertisers.locationsLists.delete method.

  • optimizationObjective field is now required for new insertion orders.

  • Campaign and InsertionOrder resource targeting can no longer be retrieved and managed.

Social Media & Streaming 📱

• 💘 Love is on the gram: Instagram added some new Valentine's Day features. more

  • New effects, like special backgrounds, for Notes, displayed when using romance-related terms like “vday,” “ily,” and “pookie.”

  • Themed fonts and text effects, including custom displays when tagging friends in Stories.

  • Valentine’s inspired, creator-submitted Stories templates.

• 📽️ Video on Spotify is gaining traction: One month in, Spotify’s updated Partner Program is driving results, with video podcast views up 20%. It says payouts to creators and networks have quadrupled YoY, and the top 20 eligible shows have seen a 25% boost in views since December. more

Commerce 🛒 

• TikTok is adding a “Most Loved” tag to top-rated TikTok Shop products. The badges factor in return rates, shipping times, and customer service feedback, while users can influence rankings by leaving feedback on purchased items. more 

Legal ⚖️ 

• The WordPress Foundation's attempt to trademark "Managed WordPress" and "Hosted WordPress" has been rejected after Unprotected.org — a site that has been critical of Mullenweg's recent actions — successfully petitioned the U.S. Patent Office. The foundation now has three months to appeal. more

AI 🤖 

• 🧠 Google’s AI now has memory: Gemini Advanced can now recall past chats, whether you’re following up on an old convo or asking for a summary it will use information from relevant chats to generate a response. more

• Whisk, Google's AI image remixing tool, is now available in 100+ countries. Initially launched in the U.S., the tool lets users upload three images for subject, scene, and style, and remix them into a new creation. Customization is also possible with text prompts. more

Bargain Bin Privacy Flaws 💰️ 

• 💸 Fixing major privacy flaws, one $10K at a time: A now-fixed YouTube block feature exploit let a researcher uncover any user’s email through a loophole involving the Pixel Recorder app. Google initially awarded the researcher $3,133 for the discovery before increasing it to $10,000. more

LOL 🤣

• 🚗 Distracted adverdriving: Jeep owners are reporting their in-car displays are now showing relentless pop-up ads pushing them to buy the 'Flexcare plan' every time they stop at a red light for "peace of mind," with no way to turn it off. more

  • Stellantis said the ad was part of an in-vehicle message about its extended vehicle care options, but a software bug had affected the ability to opt out (uh-huh — suuuuure)

  • No word yet on whether your car will start selling you an ad-free subscription.

• 💀 Looking for your next viral hit? Just kill your brand mascot: Duolingo's owl, Duo, is dead. This week, the language-learning app offed its mascot in a marketing stunt that’s likely an ad. Since then, the company has dropped several pieces of viral content about Duo’s death, with big brands wasting no time paying their respects. more #RIPDuo

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