Spindle, the company specializing in social search, has been purchased by Twitter.

While the app is only available in select cities, they are “building the discovery engine for the social web.” The company posted this short statement:

By joining forces with Twitter, we can do so much more to help you find interesting, timely, and useful information about what’s happening around you. The Spindle team will be relocating and joining the Twitter team in San Francisco. As part of this change, we’ll be sunsetting the Spindle service today to focus on these new and exciting opportunities. To our users, friends, families, investors, advisors, and everyone else: thank you for your support. It’s been an incredible journey and we couldn’t have gotten here without you.

Could the NSA’s Internet surveillance change the search engine world? The search engine DuckDuckGo passed three million searches since news of the controversial government surveillance program broke last week.

The company revealed the news in a Twitter post: “It took 1,445 days to get 1M searches, 483 days to get 2M searches, and then just 8 days to pass 3M searches.” Here’s more about the company’s powerful privacy policy:

Remember your searches? Google also saves them. Your saved searches can be legally requested, and then come back to bite you (happens). Or a bad Google employee could go snooping (happens). Or Google could get hacked (happens). That’s why we don’t send your searches to other sites. Or store any personal information at all. That’s our privacy policy in a nutshell.

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Outdoor surveillance cameras are nearly everywhere, but you can never find them when you need them. When my friends were victims of hit and runs, we did our best to source camera footage to find the perpetrators, but it’s nearly impossible to locate cameras just by walking around the city. These are the kinds of public investigations that can be aided by a map of surveillance cameras – the kind that Surv is seeking to provide.
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Swifto is a New York City start-up that is bringing smartphone technology to the dog walking market. Evidently not all dog walkers are created equal so Swifto is looking to provide more assurance for dog lovers. Swifto offers private dog walks with insured services. When your dog starts a walk, you get notification and gps tracking. Your dog walker will also send you photos and a message when your dog takes a poop.

Since Swifto is tracking and mapping out the walking route, the app can also calculate your pet’s average speed. So go on… schedule in some more exercise for your canine! Your app will let you know if your dog runner is actually running your pet. Read more

Feedly, an RSS reader alternative to Google Reader, is has released both a web and cloud based version of its service. The service now lets users import their Google Reader feeds and access them on the cloud or through a web browser.

Here is more from the company’s blog:

We have also been collaborating with developers of other reader applications to build a simple and ultra fast API to feedly cloud. This means you will have a fast growing collection of awesome apps to expand your feedly cloud experience…Feedly cloud also powers a brand new, standalone Web version of feedly (no plugins or extensions needed), making feedly available from any browser, including Opera and Internet Explorer. This was one of the most requested features, and we are thrilled to deliver on this today. Read more

Sirius XM Radio is making its SiriusXM Internet Radio app available in Ford vehicles that are equipped with SYNC  the AppLink, or about a million Ford vehicles.

Drivers of these cars who subscribe to the satelite radio will be able to access Sirius’ new personalized music streaming services MySXM as well as SiriusXM On Demand through the app. Users can create personalized music streams while online or on their mobile phone by moving a slider towards music they like and away from music they don’t like. For instance, you may like 80s music with more R&B, less New Wave. Ford drivers can access these personalized streams while driving.

To access the app, users must download it to their iOS or Android phone first and then connect to SYNC AppLink. Once synced, the app is accessible to drivers hands free. It works through voice commands, steering wheel or radio controls so drivers don’t have to risk their safety to channel surf.  Read more

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of his television show, Bill Nye The Science Guy has returned with a free app.

TVNewser senior editor Alex Weprin discussed the Disney app on the Morning Media Menu today, talking about Nye’s legacy and the features on the app. Check it out:

Featuring an animated Bill outfitted in his signature lab coat and bow tie, the educational app from Disney Publishing allows kids 4+ exclusive access to Bill’s lab – but only after they’re granted entry via fingerprint identification! With the Bill Nye The Science Guy app, kids can: Conduct offline experiments at home using instructions found in the app’s Book of DIY Experiments. Dig to the center of the Earth alongside Bill’s dog. Explore Bill’s desk drawer – you never know what may be lurking! Take photos & learn fun facts surrounding the planets, periodic table of elements and more!

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AppNewser asked, What’s Favorite App, Cory Edwards?

The Director of social media & corporate reputation at Dell, chose Dolphin Browser by MoboTap.

The mobile web browser lets users search the web by gesturing on the screen.”It is a really creative approach to navigating the web,” said Edwards. “We’ve gone from manual input to something that is much more comfortable: simple drawing.”

Edwards said that drawing letters are a very easy way to search the web. For instance, draw a G and Google pops up. E is for ESPN. “Say I want to see how The Heat played last night. Instead of opening the ESPN app, or opening my browser, I just go to Dolphin and I draw ‘E,’” said Edwards.

TripAdvisor has acquired GateGuru a mobile app dedicated to real time flight and airport information, in a deal whose terms were not disclosed. GateGuru lets fliers read and share content and information about airports, including reviews of the stores and restaurants. The app is also loaded with useful information such as real time estimated security wait times, flight status information and detailed maps of terminals to help ease travel hassles.

This is TripAdvisor’s second mobile acquisition this year. In March, the company purchased Tiny Post app a photosharing app that lets users write captions over their photos, bringing together images and stories.

TripAdvisor has its a number of mobile apps including offline city guides, SeatGuru and a mobile edition of the TripAdvisor site, which lets users read and share reviews and photos of hotels, restaurants and other tourist sites around the globe. It’s not clear yet what their plans are for the new apps, but airport information and photosharing could definitely embellish the travel app.

Can You Escape joins the top free Android app this week at No. 9, according to research from Google Play. The game  from MobiGrow challenges players to solve puzzles in order to break out of rooms.

Below, we’ve listed the top free Android apps of the week. The list links to Google Play’s research about the individual apps, including user reviews.

As part of Mediabistro’s Media App Summit which took place last year, we spotlight the top free apps every week–helping our readers discover, enjoy and analyze successful content. Read more