UK February 17

Four weeks ago Future plc Inc turned off most of its sites that were on Accelerated Mobile Pages. It knew the move had risks: namely, losing a lot of traffic given AMP is basically open-source code that strips down web pages so they load faster on mobile devices. But so far, the gambit has paid off. Read more below.

• Future began tests to shut down AMP versions of several sites including Guitar Player, Live Science and Digital Camera World last year.
• Why Disney tapped a former theme park executive to lead its metaverse strategy.
• In this week’s Digiday+ Media Briefing, media editor Kayleigh Barber looks at how Gannett, Salon, The Atlantic and The Daily Beast are tweaking their subscriber acquisition tactics.
• Shapermint, the direct-to-consumer shapewear brand founded in 2018, is expanding its social media presence, upping its ad spend on Pinterest and TikTok.
• The Rundown: What you should know now that Google is bringing its Privacy Sandbox to Android.