Epic Games, creator of the popular video game Fortnite and the mobile app Houseparty, said Thursday it had received a $250 million (¥27 billion) investment from Sony Corp for a minority stake in the company. Sony, maker of the PlayStation, didn't disclose the price it paid for stock in the privately held company. Last month, it was reported that Epic was close to raising a $750 million round of funding, from investors including T. Rowe Price Group Inc and Baillie Gifford, at a valuation of about $17 billion. Epic, which also develops the game engine Unreal, received $1.25 billion in funding in 2018 from investors including KKR & Co Inc. Fortnite has been an influential force in games and culture over recent years. The game had more than 350 million players as of April, benefiting from the influx of people spending more time at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Social video app Houseparty has rejected online rumours that downloading the application causes users' social media and other online accounts to be hacked. The app's creators instead claim that it is the victim of a "commercial smear campaign" designed to dent its surging popularity, offering a $1 million bounty to anyone who can provide proof. Houseparty has seen significant user growth over the last few weeks, as billions of people are forced to stay at home due to coronavirus containment measures. The number of app downloads rose from around 130,000 per week in February, to 2 million per week in March, according to analytics firm Apptopia. On Monday, various publications reported on a series of online posts claiming that installing Houseparty caused other apps like eBay, Instagram and Netflix to be hacked on people's devices.

Video conference app Zoom illegally shared personal data with Facebook, even if users did not have a Facebook account, a lawsuit claims. The app has experienced a surge in popularity as millions of people around the world are forced to work from home as part of coronavirus containment measures. The lawsuit, which was filed in a California federal court on Monday, states that the company failed to inform users that their data was being sent to Facebook "and possibly other third parties". It states: "Had Zoom informed its users that it would use inadequate security measures and permit unauthorised third-party tracking of their personal information, users... would not have been willing to use the Zoom App." The allegations come amid a flurry of questions surrounding Zoom's privacy policies, with the Electronic Frontier Foundation recently warning that the app allows administrators to track the activities of attendees.

Viral posts are suggesting that popular chat app Houseparty has been hacked – and users' personal information stolen along with it. Houseparty has rocketed to the top of various app stores, as a way to stay in touch with friends during coronavirus lockdowns in many parts of the world. The somewhat intense app includes a variety of features, including the ability to join in friends' voice chats without calling them, and the option to play games within chats. The new tweets claim that after users install the group video call platform, they find their other accounts, including their Spotify, Amazon and PayPal logins, have been compromised. They suggest that those details have been leaked from within the Houseparty app, and that downloading it caused them to lose control of their personal data.