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Reddit Blocks Data Scraping & Microsoft Debuts Windows Apps As xAI Sues Apple
Updated on Wed, Aug 13, 2025
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Work today looks very different from just a few years ago. Teams are scattered across time zones, meetings happen on screens, and deadlines move faster than ever. In this kind of environment, the tools we use aren’t just nice-to-haves; they’re how work gets done on time.
The challenge for technology companies has been figuring out how to make these tools and apps quicker, easier, and less disruptive to help boost productivity and adoption. This is especially true for Windows OS, making up over 70% of desktop and laptop users.
Well, Microsoft’s latest update for Windows 11 leans into that challenge.
The company is introducing lightweight taskbar “companion apps” for Microsoft 365 business users that put core work functions like contacts, file searches, and calendars right on the desktop, without opening the full app.
The People companion offers a browsable organization chart and lets users look up anyone in their company, integrating features like starting a Teams chat, calling, or emailing with a click.
The File Search companion pulls up Microsoft 365 files from OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, or Outlook, searchable by name, author, or keywords, and even includes file previews, filters, and sharing options.
Meanwhile, the Calendar app displays upcoming events, allows appointment searches, and offers one-click meeting joins, straight from the taskbar.
The apps will be installed automatically, though IT admins can block them, and individual users can disable automatic startup.
For now, Microsoft 365 companions are in beta and available only to admins who have opted in for their organization. They work exclusively on Windows 11 desktops, with no mobile version yet.
These tools were first announced at Microsoft’s Ignite conference last year and have been in beta testing for months. Now, they’re rolling out as part of a general availability release to all business users with Microsoft 365 installed on Windows 11.
With these tools, Microsoft is looking to cut down the small delays that add up during a workday, making it easier to get from “I need to find this” to “I have it right here.”
In another move shaking up the app space, popular social media platform Reddit is removing most of its site from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, citing AI companies’ use of the tool to scrape its data. From now on, the Wayback Machine will only archive Reddit’s homepage, showing just the day’s most popular headlines and posts.
This move is part of Reddit’s broader push to control who uses its data. In the past year, the company has blocked search engines unless they pay, struck AI data deals with Google and OpenAI, and sued Anthropic for allegedly scraping its content after agreeing not to.
“We have a longstanding relationship with Reddit and continue to have ongoing discussions about this matter,” Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine, said in a statement.
“Internet Archive provides a service to the open web, but we’ve been made aware of instances where AI companies violate platform policies, including ours, and scrape data from the Wayback Machine,” Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt said. The company also said that post detail pages, comments, and profiles will no longer be crawled.
The Internet Archive’s mission is to preserve digital history, allowing people to view websites as they appeared on specific dates. However, Reddit argues that not all of its content should be stored that way. “Until they’re able to defend their site and comply with platform policies (e.g., respecting user privacy, re: deleting removed content) we’re limiting some of their access to Reddit data to protect redditors,” Rathschmidt added.
Reddit said the limits begin “ramping up” today and that it contacted the Internet Archive in advance, following up on concerns about scraping through the Wayback Machine.
Meanwhile, tensions in the AI and app ecosystem are also playing out between industry giants. Elon Musk says his AI company xAI “will take immediate legal action” against Apple, accusing it of manipulating App Store rankings to favor rival AI apps.
In a series of posts on X late Monday, Musk claimed Apple was “playing politics” by excluding both X and xAI’s Grok chatbot from the App Store’s “Must Have” list, despite their high rankings in download charts.
“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk wrote. “Why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps?” Musk added.
Musk did not provide evidence for the claims, and it’s unclear if he has formally filed the lawsuit. Apple, in a statement to Bloomberg, said the App Store is “designed to be fair and free of bias.”
“We feature thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria,” a spokesperson mentioned.
At present, ChatGPT holds the top spot among free iPhone apps in the US, with Grok ranked sixth. Other AI apps have also reached the top, including China’s DeepSeek AI earlier this year.
This dispute is the latest in Musk’s clashes with Apple and OpenAI. He was an early founder of OpenAI before publicly criticizing its shift to a profit model, even suing the company and offering an unsuccessful $97.4 billion buyout. Last year, he also threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies over its ChatGPT integration.
Will the dispute between Musk, Apple, and OpenAI lead to more transparency in app stores? Do you think Reddit’s new policy and Windows’ lite apps will change how we use applications?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
The challenge for technology companies has been figuring out how to make these tools and apps quicker, easier, and less disruptive to help boost productivity and adoption. This is especially true for Windows OS, making up over 70% of desktop and laptop users.
Well, Microsoft’s latest update for Windows 11 leans into that challenge.
The company is introducing lightweight taskbar “companion apps” for Microsoft 365 business users that put core work functions like contacts, file searches, and calendars right on the desktop, without opening the full app.
The People companion offers a browsable organization chart and lets users look up anyone in their company, integrating features like starting a Teams chat, calling, or emailing with a click.
The File Search companion pulls up Microsoft 365 files from OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, or Outlook, searchable by name, author, or keywords, and even includes file previews, filters, and sharing options.
Meanwhile, the Calendar app displays upcoming events, allows appointment searches, and offers one-click meeting joins, straight from the taskbar.
The apps will be installed automatically, though IT admins can block them, and individual users can disable automatic startup.
For now, Microsoft 365 companions are in beta and available only to admins who have opted in for their organization. They work exclusively on Windows 11 desktops, with no mobile version yet.
These tools were first announced at Microsoft’s Ignite conference last year and have been in beta testing for months. Now, they’re rolling out as part of a general availability release to all business users with Microsoft 365 installed on Windows 11.
With these tools, Microsoft is looking to cut down the small delays that add up during a workday, making it easier to get from “I need to find this” to “I have it right here.”
In another move shaking up the app space, popular social media platform Reddit is removing most of its site from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, citing AI companies’ use of the tool to scrape its data. From now on, the Wayback Machine will only archive Reddit’s homepage, showing just the day’s most popular headlines and posts.
This move is part of Reddit’s broader push to control who uses its data. In the past year, the company has blocked search engines unless they pay, struck AI data deals with Google and OpenAI, and sued Anthropic for allegedly scraping its content after agreeing not to.
“We have a longstanding relationship with Reddit and continue to have ongoing discussions about this matter,” Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine, said in a statement.
“Internet Archive provides a service to the open web, but we’ve been made aware of instances where AI companies violate platform policies, including ours, and scrape data from the Wayback Machine,” Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt said. The company also said that post detail pages, comments, and profiles will no longer be crawled.
The Internet Archive’s mission is to preserve digital history, allowing people to view websites as they appeared on specific dates. However, Reddit argues that not all of its content should be stored that way. “Until they’re able to defend their site and comply with platform policies (e.g., respecting user privacy, re: deleting removed content) we’re limiting some of their access to Reddit data to protect redditors,” Rathschmidt added.
Reddit said the limits begin “ramping up” today and that it contacted the Internet Archive in advance, following up on concerns about scraping through the Wayback Machine.
Meanwhile, tensions in the AI and app ecosystem are also playing out between industry giants. Elon Musk says his AI company xAI “will take immediate legal action” against Apple, accusing it of manipulating App Store rankings to favor rival AI apps.
In a series of posts on X late Monday, Musk claimed Apple was “playing politics” by excluding both X and xAI’s Grok chatbot from the App Store’s “Must Have” list, despite their high rankings in download charts.
“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk wrote. “Why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps?” Musk added.
Musk did not provide evidence for the claims, and it’s unclear if he has formally filed the lawsuit. Apple, in a statement to Bloomberg, said the App Store is “designed to be fair and free of bias.”
“We feature thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria,” a spokesperson mentioned.
At present, ChatGPT holds the top spot among free iPhone apps in the US, with Grok ranked sixth. Other AI apps have also reached the top, including China’s DeepSeek AI earlier this year.
This dispute is the latest in Musk’s clashes with Apple and OpenAI. He was an early founder of OpenAI before publicly criticizing its shift to a profit model, even suing the company and offering an unsuccessful $97.4 billion buyout. Last year, he also threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies over its ChatGPT integration.
Will the dispute between Musk, Apple, and OpenAI lead to more transparency in app stores? Do you think Reddit’s new policy and Windows’ lite apps will change how we use applications?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
First published on Wed, Aug 13, 2025
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