Twitter Reveals Parts of Source Code Behind the Microsite's Algorithm

Twitter on Friday made public parts of the computer code that decides how the social media site recommends content, allowing users and programmers a peek into its workings and the ability to suggest modifications to the algorithm. The company said in a blog post it uploaded the code in two repositories on code-sharing platform Github.

Apple Wins Against British Antitrust Regulator's Decision to Investigate Its Mobile Browser

Apple won its appeal against the decision by Britain's antitrust regulator to launch an investigation into its mobile browser and cloud gaming services, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled on Friday. Regulator the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) opened a full investigation in November into the dominance of Apple and Alphabet's Google in mobile browsers...

DigiYatra Facility Rolls Out at Kolkata Airport for Check-Ins Through Facial Recognition

DigiYatra was rolled out on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on Friday, making it the fourth one in the country after airports in Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi. The trials of the technology started at the Kolkata airport on February 21, and till Thursday, 9,206 passengers utilised the facility.

Asphalt 9: Legends Adds the Lamborghini Revuelto to Coincide With Real-World Release

Asphalt 9: Legends has added the brand-new Lamborghini Revuelto as an unlockable car. The news comes after the Italian car manufacturer revealed its newest flagship V12 hybrid car to the world on March 30. Starting today, players can participate in an exclusive in-game event to unlock and add the Lamborghini Revuelto to their garage. The event ends on April 27 and pro...

Twitter Blocks Pakistan Government's Official Account in India in Response to Legal Demand

The Pakistan government's official Twitter account has been withheld in India. When anyone tries to access the Twitter account of the Pakistan government, it says, "Account Withheld @GovtofPakistan's account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand."

Meta Verified India Pricing for Facebook, Instagram Blue Tick, Other Benefits Reportedly Revealed

Meta Verified launched earlier this year in February. It is a subscription-based service that verifies each profile with a legitimate government ID. The program rolled out in Australia and New Zealand previously before launching in the US earlier this month. Now, the platform has reportedly opened up a waitlist for its Indian users and the subscription pricing have be...

No Charge on Normal UPI Payments, 1.1 Percent Fee to Be Levied on PPI Merchant Transactions: NPCI

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Wednesday said there is no charge for the bank account to bank account-based UPI payments or normal UPI payments. However, interchange charges are only applicable for the prepaid payment instruments (PPI) merchant transactions and there is no charge to customers, NPCI clarified in a statement.

Google Gets Relief in Android Antitrust Case in India, Tribunal Sets Aside CCI Order on Third-Party App Stores

An Indian tribunal on Wednesday gave partial relief to Alphabet's Google by setting aside four of 10 antitrust directives in a case related to the dominant market position of its Android operating system.

Apple Music Classical App With Over 5 Million Tracks Launched: All Details

Apple has launched a dedicated classical music app, Apple Music Classical. The app is available for download on the App Store. The app is said to offer world's largest classical musical catalogue with over 5 million tracks, according to Apple. The app is free for Apple Music subscribers.

Apple Launches Apple Pay Later in US, Will Allow Users to Split Purchases Into 4 Interest-Free Payments

Apple on Tuesday launched its "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) service in the US, a move that threatens to disrupt the fintech sector dominated by firms like Affirm Holdings and Swedish payments company Klarna.

WhatsApp Working on Edit Message Feature With Dedicated Alerts on iOS: Report

WhatsApp has long been said to be developing an edit message feature for all versions of its app. An edited message, like a deleted message, will be labelled 'edited' and visible to all chat participants. According to a new report, the edit message feature will also offer a dedicated alert on WhatsApp.

Meta Planning Lower Bonus Payouts for Some Employees: Report

Meta will reportedly lower bonuses for some employees. The parent company of Facebook will also conduct performance assessments frequently, according to a report citing an internal memo. The bonus multiplier for that grade has been cut to 65 percent from 85 percent earlier.

Microsoft Teams Gets a Redesign, Now Claimed to Use 50 Percent Less Memory; Mac App Coming Soon

Microsoft has released a redesigned Teams app that is claimed to be two times faster than its current version, with functions such as launching the programme and connecting to video calls taking half the time. Microsoft also claims that the new Teams uses half as much memory.

Twitter to Limit Polls, 'For You' Recommendations' to Verified Users Starting April 15

Elon Musk said on Monday that only verified Twitter accounts would be eligible to vote in polls starting April 15. Twitter's For You recommendations will also be limited to verified users. According to Musk, this is the only realistic way to advance AI bot swarms taking over.

Microsoft Issues Fix for aCropalypse Bug That Could Leak Bank Data, Medical Records from Cropped Screenshots

Microsoft has deployed an update that was affecting the image cropping tool of Windows. Called aCropalypse, the vulnerability prevented screenshots with text information following them from being removed properly after the images were cropped.

WhatsApp 'Audio Chat' Feature Spotted in Development on Latest Android Beta: Report

WhatsApp has reportedly been spotted working on a dedicated Audio Chat feature on WhatsApp for Android Beta 2.23.7.12. According to a report by WABetaInfo, who also shared a screenshot of the feature, there is a new waveform icon that is placed left of the three-dot menu on top of a conversation window on WhatsApp. The feature's exact functionality is yet to be known,...

TikTok US Ban: Lawmakers to Move Forward With TikTok Bill, House Speaker Says

US lawmakers will move forward with legislation to address national security worries about TikTok, US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday. The announcement came days after TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers from both parties over national security and other concerns involving the app, which has over 150 million users in the US.

'Glaze' Software Can Thwart Copycat AI Tools From Stealing Artist Styles, Researchers Say

Glaze, a free software tool released by researchers at the University of Chicago, can protect an artist's style from being copied by generative artificial intelligence (AI) services. The software makes small changes to digital images — invisible to the human eye — that act as a "style cloak" when they are posted online, according to the researchers.

Twitter Source Code Partially Leaked Online via GitHub, Court Filing Shows

Twitter's source code was partially leaked online, according to a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The company has asked the court to order Github to produce "All identifying information" associated with the 'FreeSpeechEnthusiast' user name it has accused of leaking a portion of the company's source code on the platform.

ChatGPT Generates 'Formulaic' Academic Text, Can Be Picked Up by Existing AI-Detection Tools: Study

ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot from OpenAI, produces relatively formulaic academic style content and could be picked up by existing AI-detection tools, according to researchers from Plymouth Marjon University and the University of Plymouth. However, the study's findings suggest university staff should think about ways to explain to students and minimise academic dish...

Paytm Announces Upgraded Payments Platform Backed by Fully Indigenous Technology

Paytm on Friday announced the launch of its fully indigenously developed new technology platform. The company said the revamped platform is expected to further power its fast, secure and seamless payments, while promoting sustainable growth of digital payments and financial services in the country.

TikTok to Get Banned in France for Use on Smartphones of Civil Servants

France will ban the use of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on the work phones of civil servants, Civil Service Minister Stanislas Guerini said on his Twitter account. "In order to guarantee the cybersecurity of our administrations and civil servants, the government has decided to ban recreational applications such as TikTok on the professional phones of civil s...

Twitter Blue Rolls Out Globally, Legacy Verified Marks to Be Removed From April 1

Twitter will remove its "legacy" verified marks on user accounts from the platform by next week, the company announced via a post on Twitter. Under Elon Musk, Twitter has made the blue verification mark a major feature of its Twitter Blue subscription offering. Users who pay for Twitter Blue will get higher priority in replies and searches, helping to fight scams and ...

1.2 Crore WhatsApp Users, 17 Lakh Facebook Users Targeted in India's Massive Data Theft

A massive data breach that has implications for national security was unearthed by Cyberabad Police here, who arrested seven people of a gang allegedly involved in the theft and sale of sensitive data of the government and important organisations, including details of 2.55 lakh defence personnel as well as the personal and confidential data of about 16.8 crore citizen...

Britain to Block TikTok on All Parliamentary Devices After Ban on Government Phones

Britain's parliament will block TikTok on all devices on its network following a similar ban on government devices, becoming the latest Western institution to bar the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns. A TikTok spokesperson called the action "misguided", saying it was based on fundamental misconceptions about the company.

Meta Says Extra Network Fees Will Not Solve EU Telecoms' Financial Problems

Meta Platforms on Thursday voiced its strongest criticism to date of a push by EU telecoms operators to get Big Tech to foot additional network costs, saying this would not solve their financial problems and also ignores tech companies' hefty investments. Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and other operators have lobbied for two decades for US tech...

Gmail for Android, Google Messages to Soon Get Features for AI-Generated Texts

Alphabet-owned search giant Google is reportedly working on introducing AI-powered features and tools Gmail for Android and Google Messages. This is the latest AI push from Google which has been focusing on introducing AI features as an add-on to existing services across its Work Suite and personal apps, desktop, and Android ecosystem. Gmail for Android is reportedly ...

Tata Group Mulls Injecting $2 Billion in Super App Tata Neu to Boost Digital Business: Report

Indian salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group is considering injecting another $2 billion (roughly Rs. 16,500 crore) into its super app venture to bolster its digital business, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

AIS for Taxpayer Mobile App Launched by Income Tax Department to Share TDS, Transaction Information

The Income Tax department on Wednesday said it has launched the AIS for Taxpayer mobile app which will give taxpayers a comprehensive view of their information related to TDS/TCS, interest, dividends and share transactions, and an option to provide feedback. The mobile app will facilitate taxpayers to view their information as available in the Annual Information Stat...

Adobe Firefly Family Of Creative AI Generators Announced: All You Need To Know

Adobe has announced Adobe Firefly, the company's own family of creative generative AI models. The launch sees Adobe Firefly debut as a part of beta program for which the company is inviting users to test out two tools initially. The first such tool launched is a text-to-image AI generator that works much like DALL-E and Midjourney, while the second tool is a stylised ...

Adobe Adds AI Features to Photoshop and Illustrator, Nvidia Unveils 'Picasso' AI Image Generation Service

Adobe on Wednesday announced that it was updating Photoshop and Illustrator with AI features to generate images and text effects. Meanwhile, Nvidia unveiled Picasso, it's own AI generation service for images, videos, and 3D applications. The company says its newly announced Picasso service was trained on images from Getty Images, Shutterstock, and Adobe, adding that i...

Instagram Rolling Out Reminder Ads, Testing to Bring Ads in Search Results

Meta is rolling out Reminder Ads feature for Instagram which will allow advertisers to embed a ‘Remind Me’ option to their ads which will have three options of receiving a reminder push notification from the app. Instagram is also testing an Ads in Search Results feature.

Google Chrome Now Shows Shortcuts to Previous Search Queries on the New Tab Page: Details

Google Chrome for Android has been updated with the ability to show shortcuts for previous searches on the New Tab page. These shortcuts can be removed, but disabling the feature currently requires a manual workaround.

WhatsApp Announces New Group Features, Group Admins to Get Greater Control Over Privacy

Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg announced two new updates for WhatsApp groups. With the new updates, admins will get more control over their group privacy. These changes follow some updates made over the last few months, including making groups larger, and giving admins the ability to delete messages sent in the groups they manage.

TikTok Never Shared US Data With Chinese Government, Says CEO Shou Zi Chew Amid Growing Security Concerns

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will tell lawmakers the Chinese-owned short video app with more than 150 million American users has never, and would never, share US user data with the Chinese government amid growing U.S. national security concerns.

TikTok CEO Says Company at ‘Pivotal’ Moment as Calls for Ban in US Grow

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the Chinese-owned short video app company faces a pivotal moment as a growing number of US lawmakers seek to ban the popular app over national security concerns.

Google Pixel 8 Pro May Get New Night Sight Feature, Suggests Google Camera 8.8 APK Teardown

Latest version of the Google camera app for Pixel phones suggests camera features of the upcoming Google Pixel 8 Pro. The APK teardown of version 8.8 of the Google Camera app for Pixel smartphones reportedly includes details of the Pixel 8 Pro and a reference to a "Multi-camera Super Res Zoom" feature.

Google and Microsoft Are Bringing AI to Word, Excel, Gmail and More. It Could Boost Productivity for Us – and Cybercriminals

Google and Microsoft are on a mission to remove the drudgery from computing, by bringing next-generation AI tools as add-ons to existing services. Before, a criminal may have needed to trawl through hundreds of files or emails to find specific data, they can now use AI-assisted features to quickly collate and extract what they need.

Google Chrome 'Quick Delete' Feature to Erase 15 Minutes of Browsing History Spotted on Android: Report

Google Chrome is reportedly working on a new feature enabling users to delete their browsing history for the last 15 minutes. The feature dubbed as Quick Delete has been spotted on the latest Android release. It is expected to be introduced to Chrome for Android. The new feature will be available in the three-dot settings menu.

Twitter Begins Testing Government ID-Based Verification for Blue Subscribers: Report

Twitter is working on allowing subscribers to submit government ID to have their profiles verified on the platform, according to a report. The company will reportedly allow users to submit images of the front and rear sides of a document proving their identity, along with a selfie. the feature could be limited to Twitter Blue subscribers.

TikTok Hits 150 Million Monthly Active Users in US as Country Mulls Ban Over Security Concerns

TikTok said on Monday the short-video sharing app now has 150 million monthly active users in the US, up from 100 million it said it had in 2020. The Chinese-owned app confirmed the figure ahead of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's testimony set for Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Facebook Parent Meta Sued by Kenyan Content Moderators for Unlawful Redundancy

Facebook content moderators in Kenya are suing the social media site's parent company Meta and two outsourcing companies for unlawful redundancy, a rights group said on Monday. The 43 applicants say they lost their jobs with Sama, a Kenya-based firm contracted to moderate Facebook content, for organising a union. They also say they were blacklisted from applying for t...

WhatsApp Begins Listing Common Groups in Contact Search Results for Some Beta Testers: Report

WhatsApp has started testing an update to the chat's search feature to display common groups when searching for a contact on the app. It allows users to quickly find a group with an obscure name or if its name is in a different language. WhatsApp is also redesigning the attachment picker menu on the Android version of the app and could eventually limit polls in chats ...

Microsoft to Bring Improvements to Default Apps Settings, App Pinning in Windows: All Details

Microsoft is reportedly working on much-awaited improvements to enhance the Windows PC experience for users. From control over default app settings to a new publicly available API and a new Settings deep link URI, Microsoft will start rolling out the new features in the coming months. These new features will be first made available in a Windows Insider Dev Channel fli...

Twitter to Begin Charging Users for SMS-Based Two-Factor Authentication From Today: Details

Twitter will begin charging users for SMS-based two factor authentication, or 2FA, to protect their Twitter account. Starting from Monday, only Twitter Blue subscribers will have access to the second layer of security, while other users must switch to app based authentication (via Authy, Google Authenticator, and Microsoft Authenticator) or a hardware security key, ...

TikTok Gets Banned on Government Devices in New Zealand: Report

After the United States, the UK and New Zealand became the latest western countries to ban the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform TikTok on "government devices" citing security fears, The New York Times reported. The UK, on Thursday, announced the ban of TikTok with immediate effect citing security fears linked to the video-sharing app's ownership by a Chinese comp...

'I'm Back', Writes Donald Trump as His First Facebook Post After Two-Year Ban

Former US President Donald Trump posted to Facebook on Friday, marking his return to the social media platform two years after he was banned. Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced on January 25 that it would reinstate Trump's access to his accounts, saying the public should be allowed to hear from politicians, but that Trump would be subject to ...

Meta Verified Service Now Rolls Out in the US at Monthly Charge of $11.99

Meta Platforms on Friday launched its subscription service in the US, which would allow Facebook and Instagram users pay for verification in the same vein as Elon Musk-owned Twitter. The Meta Verified service will give users a blue badge after they verify their accounts using a government ID and will cost $11.99 (nearly Rs. 990) per month on the web or $14.99 (nearly...

Twitter for iOS Now Displaying Bookmark Counts on a Tweet: Details

Twitter has rolled out a Bookmark counts feature that displays the number of users who have bookmarked a tweet. This will appear alongside the number of Retweets, Quotes, and Likes count under the tweet. The feature is currently limited to tweets viewed on iOS devices. However, a support page for the Bookmark counts feature mentions that the company plans to expand it...

ChatGPT Plus Subscription for Users in India Rolled Out by OpenAI: All Details

ChatGPT Plus is a subscription plan for ChatGPT that is now available in India. It ensures availability even during peak demand, faster response times, and priority access to new features. After a brief preview period, ChatGPT Plus was released in the US in February. The subscription is priced at $20 (roughly Rs. 1,600) per month.

After UK, New Zealand to Ban TikTok on Government Devices Over Security Concerns

New Zealand said it will ban TikTok on devices with access to the country's parliamentary network due to cybersecurity concerns, becoming the latest nation to limit the use of the video-sharing app on government-related devices.

US Lawmaker Wants TikTok CEO to Detail Actions to Protect Kids

The chair of a US House of Representatives panel wants TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to address questions next week about the popular Chinese-owned video app's efforts to protect children from inappropriate content and potential exploitation. Chew will be appearing for the first time before Congress when he testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March ...

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to Step Down After His Tenure of 16 Years

Amazon.com-owned Twitch's Emmett Shear will step down as chief executive officer after over 16 years at the live video streaming platform that he co-founded, he said on Thursday. President Dan Clancy, who has been at Twitch since 2019, will take on the role of CEO effective immediately, Shear said in a blog post, adding that he will remain on as an advisor.

UK Set to Announce Ban on TikTok on Government Smartphones: Report

TikTok is set to be banned on government phones in the UK on Thursday, according to a PA Media report. Countries around the world have increased scrutiny of TikTok over concerns that the personal data of users could end up in the control of the Chinese government. The UK government is expected to make a statement on the security of its devices on Thursday, as per the ...

Truecaller Opens First Office in Bengaluru, Set to Develop India-First Features: Details

Truecaller on Thursday opened its first office in Bengaluru, the company's first office outside of Sweden. The Bengaluru facility occupies a renovated space of 30,443 square feet and can accommodate up to 250 employees, according to the company. Truecaller says it will use the facility as a primary hub to deliver India-first features and serve users around the world.

Digi Yatra Data Stored on Passenger Devices and Not in Centralised Storage, Minister Says

Digi Yatra, the biometric boarding system using facial recognition technology (FRT) has no central storage of passengers' Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). The data is stored in the passenger's own phone in the Digi Yatra secure wallet, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia tweeted in ...

Aarogya Setu Data From Kerala Not Shared With US Technology Firm, MoS IT Says

Aarogya Setu data pertaining to Kerala was not shared with a US-based technology firm authorised to collate, collect, and manage and handle health data of people in the state, according to Minister of State for Information and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar. He also stated that data collected by the contact tracing app up to May 10 last year, had been deleted to comp...

UIDAI Makes Aadhaar's Online Document Update Facility Free Till June 14

The Unique Identification Authority of India has made document update facility online for Aadhaar free till June 14, an official statement said on Wednesday. Earlier, residents were required to pay Rs. 25 to update their documents on the Aadhaar portal.

Instagram Said to Be Working on ‘Latest Shares’ Feature That Lets Users Discover, Reshare Older Reels Easily

Instagram is reportedly testing a new feature that will allow users to access recently shared reels on the top of their DM page. The feature could allow users to also search and rediscover previously shared reels, and reshare these reels to other friends in an easier manner. The feature was revealed to be in testing by a Turkish account on Twitter, while TechCrunch wa...

RailYatri Penalised for Data Leak, App Restored After Security Measures

The government penalised the RailYatri app custodian company for a data leak and the app was restored after taking necessary security measures, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that IRCTC took action on the RailYatri app following information shared by CERT-In i...

Krafton Launches Road to Valor: Empires in India Across Android and iOS

PUBG publisher Krafton has launched its new mobile game, Road to Valor: Empires in India. The real-time PvP strategy game, where players assemble armies of mythical guardians and troops, leading them to break down enemy bases, is now available to download for free on Android and iOS. Krafton has also added Indian localisation, starting with support for the Hindi langu...

Duolingo Max With OpenAI’s GPT-4 Integration Launched, Brings New AI Features

Duolingo has announced the launch of new AI-driven language learning features that are powered by OpenAI's latest GPT-4 multimodal large language generative text model. The new features are claimed to provide language learners with conversation practice and more in-depth explanations on answers and is being made available to users in the US, and other select markets o...

Facebook Parent Meta to Lay Off 10,000 Employees Just Four Months After First Round of Job Cuts

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it would cut 10,000 jobs, just four months after it let go 11,000 employees, the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs. "We expect to reduce our team size by around 10,000 people and to close around 5,000 additional open roles that we haven’t yet hired," Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerber...

Truecaller, Delhi Police Sign MoU; App to Mark Suspicious Phone Numbers to Curb Cyber Fraud

Delhi Police has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Truecaller, a caller ID verification platform which helps the public identify verified numbers, in order to curb cybercrimes. The app shows a badge on specific numbers according to suggestions of the other users.

Government Plans Crackdown on Pre-Installed Apps, New Security Testing for Smartphones: Details

The government is planning to force smartphone makers to allow users to remove pre-installed apps on their smartphones and require screening of major operating system updates. Pre-installed apps for players including Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Apple could be affected under new security rules planned by the government.

Meta to Cut NFT Support on Its Platforms Less Than a Year After Rollout Amid Unstable Crypto Market

Meta said it is cutting off support for digital collectibles or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platforms less than a year after rolling it out, as the crypto market continues to spiral. "We're winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses," the social media firm's fintech head, Stephane Kasriel, ...

Government Mulls Regulation, Crackdown on E-Pharmacies Amid Concerns Over Data Privacy, Malpractices

The Union Health Ministry is planning to regulate and take stringent action against e-pharmacies, including banning them completely, after concerns over data privacy, malpractices in the sector, and irrational sale of drugs, official sources said on Monday.

Twitter Rival Koo Integrates ChatGPT to Help Users Draft Posts; Feature to Roll Out to Verified Accounts First

Koo, an India-based social media app that aims to rival Twitter, has integrated OpenAI's ChatGPT to help users more easily create posts, the company's co-founder told Reuters. Koo users will be able to use ChatGPT directly within the app to help them draft posts about current events, politics or pop culture, said Mayank Bidawatka, co-founder of Koo, in an interview. "...

Google’s ChromeOS 111 Brings Fast Pair Support for Chromebooks: All Details

Google is rolling out the stable version of ChromeOS 111 for Chromebooks. The latest stable channel update for ChromeOS brings new features including Google’s Fast Pair support for compatible Bluetooth accessories. The latest stable version rollout will offer a more simplified pairing experience on the devices between the supported platforms.

WhatsApp Rolls Out Unicode 15.0 Emojis for Select Android Beta Users: Report

WhatsApp, the Meta-owned instant messaging platform, is rolling out a new set of emojis to make conversations even more interesting. The app has reportedly brought the Unicode 15.0 emojis to select beta testers. As many as 21 new emojis have been added to the latest WhatsApp beta for the Android 2.23.5.13 update.

Elon Musk Told to Hire More Staff to Moderate Twitter to Comply With EU's Digital Services Act: Report

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has been told by EU regulators to hire more human moderators and fact-checkers to review posts on Twitter, according to a report. Musk has laid off more than half of Twitter's 7,500 workforce, while seeking cheaper methods to monitor tweets on the platform.

TikTok Now Banned From Work Phones in Belgium Citing Security Risk

TikTok will not be allowed on the work phones of the Belgian federal government employees, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday. The Belgian national security council had warned of the risks associated with the large amounts of data collected by TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance.

Grammarly Unveils AI Writing Assistant Called GrammarlyGo Inspired by ChatGPT: All Details

Starting April, the beta of GrammarlyGo will start rolling out to the users of Grammarly Premium. GrammarlyGo will come with a bunch of AI-powered capabilities including custom voice options for reading out the material as well as the ability to have idea-brainstorming sessions with the users.

Uber, Ola Apply for Aggregator Licences in Maharashtra, RTO Official Says

Uber and Ola have applied for aggregator licences from the Maharashtra government at Mumbai's Tardeo regional transport office (RTO) office, according to a local RTO official. App-based companies like Uber and Ola are required to obtain a licence under guidelines from the Centre and Maharashtra government.

Apple Music Classical Shows Up on the App Store as a Standalone App, to Launch Later This Month

From being completely quiet about its plans after acquiring Primephonic, to showing up in the changelog of a recent iOS public beta, Apple’s classical music service has finally been announced by the company in the form of a separate app. The Apple Music Classical app is currently on pre-order and will be available for download by the end of the month.

TikTok's Bold Glamour Filter Sparks Warnings Over AI and Toxic Beauty Standards

TikTok silently updated its app with a new Bold Glamour filter that convincingly blends a user's real face with an AI-generated ideal of a supermodel. The new filter has drawn both laughs and alarm, as it gives users plumped up lips, a well-chiselled chin and fluffy eyebrows worthy of a fashionista. Here's why the Bold Glamour filter has sparked criticism over AI and ...

Meta Exploring Decentralised Social Networking App With ActivityPub Support Like Mastodon

Meta is working on a standalone decentralised social network for text updates, similar to the centralised Twitter. The service could be a competitor to the popular microblogging service and will offer support for ActivityPub, a protocol used by Twitter-rival Mastodon and other federated apps.

Social Media, Video Streaming Firms Could Face Probe by US FTC Into Deceptive Advertising

The US FTC will vote on whether the regulator should issue demands for information on deceptive advertising to eight social media and video streaming platforms. The FTC did not specify the names of the companies it plans to probe, and its inquiries could lead to enforcement actions, based on the results of the investigation.

TikTok Announces New 'Project Clover' European Data Security Regime Amid Increasing Legislative Pressure

TikTok has unveiled a new "Project Clover" data security regime that will apply to users in the European Union. The firm's announcement comes amid increasing pressure from legislators in the EU and the US over concerns that TikTok shares data with China's government.

Microsoft Edge Testing AI-Powered Video Super Resolution Feature for Low Quality Videos

Microsoft Edge is testing new feature that will enhance the quality of videos played on the Web. It will not only upscale low-resolution videos but will also remove artifacts using Nvidia GPUs. The search giant has already started testing the new features on Windows PCs.

Startup Founded by Ex-Apple Workers Raises $100 Million, Collaborates With OpenAI

A startup founded by former Apple employees has announced that it raised $100 million (roughly Rs. 800 crore) in funding. The startup, Humane, could be working on a wearable device projecting information that can be manipulated by users with their hands, according to patent filings and a video posted by the company.

Spotify Monthly Active Users Cross 500 Million Mark, Artists Earning Over $1 Million Doubled in 5 Years

Spotify said on Wednesday that the company had crossed 500 million monthly active listeners as the company unveiled a "new re-imagined user interface" at its Stream On event. The service also said that the number of artists making over $1 million and over $10,000 had more than doubled in five years.

TikTok 'Screams' of National Security Concerns, FBI Director Tells US Senate Intelligence Committee

TikTok could be used by China's government to control data on millions of American users, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Wednesday. The FBI director told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats to US security that TikTok was a tool that was "ultimately within the control of the Chinese government" and that it "screams out with national secu...

Instagram Down? Thousands of Users Report Issues Accessing Meta's Photo and Video Sharing Service

Instagram was down for thousands of users, according to reports collected by an outage tracker. Thousands of reports from users on Downdetector showed Meta's photo and video sharing service was down earlier today. Over 46,000 users said they were unable to access Instagram at the peak of the outage.

Facebook Begins Testing Ability to View Messenger Chats Within the Main Application: Details

Meta is allowing some users to access their Messenger inbox within the Facebook app again. The feature was earlier available in the app, before it was moved to the standalone Messenger app in 2014. It also removed the feature from the mobile site in 2016 in order to encourage users to use the Messenger app.

Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale 2023 Dates Announced: All You Need to Know

Flipkart has announced the sale dates for Big Saving Days 2023. Customers can purchase smartphones and electronics at a reduced cost from March 11 to March 15. Flipkart Plus users can access the sale one day prior, March 10. Flipkart is also discounting some products for all customers from March 7-9, ahead of the sale.

Reddit Updated With Ability to Search Within Post Comments, News Feeds and More: All Details

Reddit has introduced several new features to let people engage in conversations, discover and contribute content in an easy and simple way. The social media platform has added the ability to search within post comments along with a dedicated video feed and a decluttered interface. The search within post comments will let users search for content within the comments s...

Google I/O 2023 to Be Held on May 10: Expected Devices, Software and More

Google I/O is a yearly developer conference hosted by Google, which will be held this year at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View in California, USA on May 10. The term "I/O" stands for Input/Output, and the event's tagline is "Innovation in the Open." This year, the company is expected to unveil a slew of new products at the event.

Elon Musk Told to Hire More Staff to Moderate Twitter to Comply With EU's Digital Services Act: Report

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has been told by EU regulators to hire more human moderators and fact-checkers to review posts on Twitter, according to a report. Musk has laid off more than half of Twitter's 7,500 workforce, while seeking cheaper methods to monitor tweets on the platform.

Netflix Plans in India Are Among the Cheapest Anywhere in 2023, Switzerland Most Expensive: Report

Netflix is the most affordable in India compared to other countries, with plans starting at Rs. 149 per month. Since Netflix sets its prices based on purchasing power, some countries have much higher pricing for the same plans, such as Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Israel.

Slack to Gain ChatGPT Integration With Support for Queries and Conversation Summaries, Salesforce Says

Slack will be updated with support for popular chatbot ChatGPT, which is powered by artificial intelligence. According to Salesforce, the company will also combine its proprietary AI with that of partners like OpenAI to offer its own EinsteinGPT technology. Slack users will be able to ask queries and get summaries of conversation threads, according to the company.

WhatsApp Developing Feature to Let Users Set Expiration Date for Group Chats, Save Storage: Report

WhatsApp is developing a feature that would allow users to set an expiration date for group chats. Called ‘Expiring Groups’, the feature will be able to save the device storage against unwanted content.

F1 TV App and Pro Subscription in India: Everything You Need to Know

With Star Sports and Hotstar not renewing the deal to broadcast and stream F1 in India, motorsport fans only have the option to watch F1 races and other content on the F1 TV app with the Pro subscription. Here’s everything you need to know about the dedicated F1 streaming platform.

UPI Should Become a Means of Financial Inclusion, Empowerment for Whole World: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said RuPay and UPI technologies are India's identity in the world. "RuPay and UPI are not just a low cost and highly secure technology, but it is our identity in the world. There is immense scope for innovation," PM Modi said.

Twitter's EU Privacy Regulator Concerned Over Blue Tick Verification Rollout

Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon, Twitter's lead EU regulator due to the location of its European headquarters in Dublin, said the service raised privacy issues including around verification of accounts to prevent users posing as public figures.

'Need a Complete Rewrite,' Elon Musk Says After Twitter Fixes Second Outage in a Week

Elon Musk-owned microblogging site Twitter was hit by another outage on Monday, affecting thousands of users who reported problems accessing links on the platform. Downdetector, which tracks outages, reported more than 8,000 incidents of people reporting issues. The website collates status reports from a number of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platfo...

WhatsApp Agrees to Be More Transparent Over Privacy Policy Changes, Says EU

Meta Platforms' WhatsApp has agreed to be more transparent about changes to its privacy policy introduced in 2021, the European Commission said on Monday, following complaints from consumer bodies across Europe.

RBI Launches Digital Payments Campaign for Wide-Scale Adoption, Raising Awareness

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday launched mission Har Payment Digital with the objective of making every citizen a user of digital payments as part of Digital Payments Awareness Week (DPAW) 2023 from March 6 to 12.

WhatsApp Spotted Working on Feature to Silence Unknown Callers: Details

WhatsApp has been spotted working on a feature that could let the app silence calls from unknown callers. This feature could help protect users from being contacted by scammers and spam on the platform. Here's everything you need to know about how the feature could work.

Facebook Parent Meta to Modify Cross-Check Feature for VIP Posts

Meta on Friday said it will modify the company's criticised special handling of posts by celebrities, politicians and other big audience Instagram or Facebook users. The tech giant promised to implement in full or in part most of the 32 changes to its "cross-check" programme.

Snapchat Removes Few Children Off Its Platform Every Month in Britain: Ofcom

Snapchat is kicking dozens of children in Britain off its platform each month compared with tens of thousands blocked by rival TikTok, according to internal data the companies shared with Britain's media regulator Ofcom and which Reuters has seen. Social media platforms such as Meta's Instagram, ByteDance's TikTok, and Snap's Snapchat require users to be at least 13 y...

Amazon Pay India Faces Penalty of Over Rs. 3.06 Crore by RBI for Non-Compliance

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said it has imposed a penalty of over Rs. 3.06 crore on Amazon Pay (India) Private Limited for non-compliance with certain provisions related to Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) and Know Your Customer (KYC) direction. "It was observed that the entity was non-compliant with the directions issued by RBI on KYC requirements," the RBI...

WhatsApp Reportedly Testing Split View Interface for Android Tablets

WhatsApp is reportedly testing a new feature for Android tablets. It is working on a split view feature for select Android beta testers for tablets. The split screen mode allows users to view the chat list and chat view simultaneously.

Google Chrome Incognito Mode Users Lose Appeal to Pursue $5 Billion in Damages Over Data Collection

Consumers suing Google over its data collection practices have lost their early appeal to pursue money damages as a class action seeking billions of dollars. Plaintiffs claimed that Google continued to collect data from users even when they used Google Chrome's "Incognito" Mode.

Apple Blocks Update to Email App With ChatGPT Tech Fearing Inappropriate Content: Report

Apple has delayed the approval of an update to an email app with AI-powered tools due to worries that it may generate inappropriate content for children, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing communications between the iPhone maker and the app developer. An update to the email app, BlueMail, which uses a customized version of OpenAI's GPT-3 language mo...

TikTok Working on Parental Control Tool to Restrict Content for Teens Amid Growing Scrutiny

TikTok said on Wednesday it is developing a tool that will allow parents to prevent their teens from viewing content containing certain words or hashtags on the short-form video app, as the embattled company looks to shore up its public image. TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, is facing renewed scrutiny worldwide over its proximity to the Chinese govern...

YouTube Child Data Gathering Faces Scrutiny in UK After Complaint

Britain's information regulator said on Wednesday it would look into an official complaint accusing Alphabet's YouTube of illegally collecting data from millions of children. The complaint lodged by father-of-three Duncan McCann, who is leading the campaign and supported by his employer the advocacy group 5Rights, said the video-streaming platform had broken the newly...

WhatsApp Banned Over 2.9 Million Indian Accounts in January to Combat Abuse

Social messaging platform WhatsApp on Wednesday said it banned over 2.9 million accounts in the country in month of January to "combat abuse." "WhatsApp is an industry leader in preventing abuse, among end-to-end encrypted messaging services," a spokesperson of the social messaging platform said. In order to keep "our users safe on our platform," WhatsApp over the yea...

Twitter Global Outage: Services Restored After Users Reported Issues With Newsfeeds

Microblogging site Twitter faced an outage on Wednesday with several users, including those in India, reporting issues with refreshing their newsfeeds or posting new content on the website. The service, which went down at around 4 pm resumed after a short while. According to the outage monitoring website, Downdetector, affected regions in India included major cities l...

Why TikTok Is Being Banned on Government Phones in US, Canada, EU and Beyond

The United States is ratcheting up national security concerns about TikTok, mandating that all federal employees delete the Chinese-owned social media app from government-issued mobile phones. Other Western governments are pursuing similar bans, citing espionage fears. So how serious is the threat? And should TikTok users who don’t work for the government be worried...

Telegram for macOS Rolls Out New Update; Brings Power Saving Mode, New Features

Telegram has started rolling out an update for macOS this week with a bunch of new features and several new improvements. The app brings update version 9.4.1 to MacBooks with new features like power saving mode, individual autoplay settings for videos, GIFs, and more. It has also brought bug fixes and other improvements.