India Delays UPI Payments Market Share Cap in Relief for PhonePe, Google Pay

India has pushed back the implementation of market share caps for UPI apps like Google Pay and PhonePe. According to the proposal, first made in November 2020, digital payment firms would not be allowed to hold more than 30 percent share of the volume of transactions processed via India's popular unified payments interface (UPI).

Appl TV+ Offers Free Streaming of Apple Originals Without Subscription This Weekend

Apple TV+ will be free for streaming during the first weekend of January 2025, the company announced on Monday. The streaming service from the Cupertino-based technology giant will offer a weekend promotion with free streaming of Apple Original films and shows without any subscription required.

WhatsApp Web Tipped to Be Working on a Google-Enabled Reverse Image Search Feature

WhatsApp is said to be working on a new feature for WhatsApp Web that will allow users to perform a web lookup on shared images. The feature, dubbed Search on Web, is tipped to let users quickly do a reverse image search via Google without having to leave the messaging platform. The feature can be useful to curb the spread of misinformation and protect users from fall...

WhatsApp Web Tipped to Be Developing ‘Chat With Us’ Option for Quick Support

WhatsApp Web, the desktop client of the instant messaging app, is developing a new feature which lets users contact the support team quickly, as per the claims by a feature tracker. The new option dubbed ‘Chat with us’ is said to be available in the Help section of the desktop app and is scheduled for release in a future version of the app.

US President-Elect Donald Trump Asks Supreme Court to Pause Law That Could Ban TikTok

President-elect Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to pause implementation of a law that would ban TikTok. The law would require TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban.

Google Said to Be Testing a New AI Overviews Animation for Search

Google might be testing a new animation for its artificial intelligence (AI) search summary feature AI Overviews. On Saturday, a social media user posted about the new loading animation that replaces the existing blue lines that show up when the AI is preparing a summary for a searched query. As per the post, the new animation has a blue and purple roaming spotlight e...

ChatGPT Search Feature Reportedly Vulnerable to Prompt Injection and Hidden Text Manipulation

ChatGPT Search, a feature that lets the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot look for information on the web, is reportedly vulnerable to manipulation by website developers and owners. As per the report, OpenAI’s search engine’s behaviour can be altered using hidden text on the website. This text is said to be used to feed incorrect and deceptive information to th...

Microsoft Reportedly Bundling Copilot AI With Microsoft 365 Subscription and Hiking Prices

Microsoft is reportedly making changes to its Microsoft 365 subscription in some regions to bring Copilot to more users. As per the report, the Redmond-based tech giant has started bundling the Copilot AI assistant, which is available across multiple apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, with the subscription. This new addition is also not free of cost as...

YouTube for Android Testing ‘Play Something’ Floating Action Button: Report

YouTube is testing a new button in its mobile app for the Android platform, according to a report. It is said to play a random video when the user doesn’t know what to watch. The feature, dubbed 'Play something' appears as a floating action button (FAB) with white text on a black background on the YouTube mobile app.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Sora Services Now Fully Operational After Suffering a Major Outage

OpenAI artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT services suffered a major outage on Thursday in the US and some other regions. As per reports registered on an online outage monitor, the outage began roughly around 1:30pm ET on December 26 (12:00am IST, December 27). The outage also affected the AI firm’s API service, as well as the text-to-image platform Sora.

WhatsApp for iOS Rolls Out New AR Effects and Backgrounds, Adds Option to Scan Documents

WhatsApp for iOS has received several new features with the latest update. It adds the option to apply augmented reality (AR) effects and backgrounds when using the camera through the app. The instant messaging platform also makes it easier to share documents with others, courtesy of the new document scanning feature which is integrated into the file-sharing option on...

Instagram Reportedly Testing Feature to Allow Users to View Story Highlights From a Week Ago

Instagram may soon allow users to view older stories from their followers that they have missed in the first 24 hours. A recent report suggested that the Meta-owned social media site is testing a feature that will allow users to view Story Highlights from mutual followers for a week after they were posted.

Apple Executive Explains Why the Company Will Never Develop a Google-Like Search Engine

Apple does not have any intentions of building a search engine or entering the text ad market, highlighted a company executive on Monday. The statement arrived as an official testimony in the ongoing antitrust case against Google and Apple filed by the US Department of Justice over the default search engine deal that triggers any queries entered by an iPhone user on S...

Google Chrome Could Soon Reportedly Benefit from AI-Powered Gemini Live Capabilities

Gemini Live could soon make its way to the desktop version of Google Chrome, according to claims on social media by a tipster. The two-way conversational artificial intelligence (AI) feature was initially rolled out to Gemini Advanced users on Android in September and finally made its way to the iOS platform last month with the introduction of the Gemini for iOS app. ...

Telegram Profitable for First Time After App Pays Down Debts

The milestone comes as the messaging service faces increasing scrutiny for aiding the spread of misinformation and illegal content such as child sexual abuse materials.

Google Reportedly Planning to Add an ‘AI Mode’ Option to Google Search

Google is reportedly planning to add a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature to its Search. As per the report, the Mountain View-based tech giant is working on an AI Mode on Google Search that will allow users to access a conversational interface for searched queries. However, this feature is said to be different from the AI Overviews feature which shows a brief AI...

Elon Musk-Owned xAI Is Testing a Standalone Grok AI App for iOS

Elon Musk-owned artificial intelligence (AI) firm xAI is testing a standalone app for its in-house chatbot Grok. The chatbot app for Grok is currently only available on iOS in beta. It was first reported on Sunday and is currently only available in select regions. The iOS app will also take advantage of the recently released AI-powered image generator Aurora and can p...

WhatsApp Wins Ruling Against NSO Group as US Court Finds It Liable for Pegasus Spyware Hack

WhatsApp claimed a legal win over the NSO Group, the makers of the Pegasus spyware, on Friday. A US District Court judge ruled in favour of the Meta-owned platform and found that the Israeli company is liable for hacking 1,400 individuals’ devices and infecting them with spyware via the instant messaging platform’s servers.

X Premium+ Subscription Receives Significant Price Hike in India, US and Other Markets

X (formerly Twitter) is raising the price of its premium subscription in several markets including India, the microblogging platform has announced. Its top-tier subscription, which is X Premium+, has been revised and the US is one of the markets hit the hardest by this change. In the country, the price of the subscription has gone up by almost 40 percent. The social m...

Google Blasts Chrome Sale as ‘Extreme’ Remedy at Odds With Law

Google on Friday labelled the US Justice Department's plan to sell its web browser as "extreme" and legally flawed, cautioning a judge against stifling future innovation. In a court filing, the search giant proposed its own remedy, arguing the Chrome sale doesn't match the illegal conduct involving exclusive contracts with browsers, manufacturers, and carriers.

Google Photos Developing Quick Edit Feature for Editing Media Before Sharing: Report

Google Photos may be developing a new feature which lets users edit photos and videos quickly before sharing them, according to a report. The feature is dubbed Quick Edit and is said to enable quick photo editing by automatically enhancing it. Further, it is reported to also have cropping functionality.

Rapido Reportedly Fixes Security Flaw That Exposed User and Driver Information

Rapido has addressed a security flaw that exposed user and driver personal information via a feedback form, revealing names, email addresses, and phone numbers, according to a TechCrunch report. Discovered by a security researcher, the issue has been acknowledged and resolved by securing the portal to prevent unauthorised access and potential scams.

Instagram Is Working on an AI-Powered Editing Tool That Can Reimagine Users’ Videos

Instagram is working on a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that will allow users to reimagine their videos. The AI-powered video editing tool is built on Meta’s Movie Gen AI model, an early research project that can generate videos from text prompts. On Instagram, instead of letting users generate videos from scratch, the feature will add enhancements to vid...

WhatsApp Rolls Out New Calling Effects, Animations and Stickers Ahead of New Year

WhatsApp is introducing fun new features to enhance the texting and calling experience ahead of the new year, the company announced on Thursday. For a limited time, WhatsApp users will be able to take advantage of new calling effects with the New Year theme during video calls. Further, the instant messaging platform rolls out new animations and sticker packs to match ...

GitHub Copilot Free Version With 2,000 Code Completion Per Month Launched for All Developers

GitHub launched a free tier of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Copilot on Wednesday. The platform’s Copilot is geared towards coding-related tasks and comes with several third-party agents, extensions and features such as multi-file editing. The free version of the chatbot comes with higher rate limits in code completions and chat messages compared to the p...

OpenAI Introduces New Phone Number for ChatGPT, Lets Users Access Chatbot via Phone Calls and WhatsApp

OpenAI introduced an official phone number for ChatGPT on Wednesday. People in eligible regions can make phone calls to this number to access the company’s chatbot and interact with it verbally. Additionally, people residing in the rest of the world can save the contact and text it on WhatsApp to talk to the generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.

Threads Testing Schedule Posts Option; Instagram Allows Scheduling Direct Messages

Meta has revealed that it is testing a new feature for Threads that will allow users to schedule their posts. The release timeline for this feature has not yet been confirmed. Meanwhile, another Meta-owned social media site, Instagram, has quietly introduced a schedule option for direct messages. Users will be able to schedule text messages in DMs using this feature....

Google App for iOS May Soon Get a Gemini AI-Powered Search Suggestions Feature

Google is reportedly testing a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature for its iOS app. As per the report, the Mountain View-based tech giant is working on a new feature that shows AI suggestions when a user begins typing a search query. These words reportedly add more details and context to the query, and can act as a filter to show more targeted results.

How to Share Sticker Packs on WhatsApp for iOS and Android

WhatsApp's new feature makes sharing sticker packs much easier. Available on iOS and Android, users can now send entire sticker packs as links. Recipients just tap to download and install them. This works with sticker packs that can be browsed within WhatsApp, making it easy to share fun stickers with friends.

Apple App Store’s Top Apps and Games of 2024 in India Announced: WhatsApp, Instagram, BGMI and More

Apple on Monday announced its annual year-end charts of the most downloaded apps and games on the App Store in over 35 countries, including India. WhatsApp — the popular instant messaging platform owned by Meta Platforms — has emerged as the top free iPhone app. Meanwhile, the Forest: Focus for Productivity app, which helps users put down their iPhone and focus on...

Instagram Rolls Out 2024 Collage Feature With New Year-Themed Fonts: Report

With 2024 coming to an end, Instagram has rolled out a new feature for users to create a collage from all the moments that they have shared on social media throughout the year, according to a report. It is said to be visible in the Instagram story interface once an image has been selected and resized. The Meta Platforms-owned social media platform is also reported to ...

Google Drive's Document Scanner Updated With Auto Enhancement Feature on Android

Google Drive is getting a new feature for its mobile document scanner tool. The new feature, dubbed ‘auto enhancements’ was announced on Friday and can automatically enhance the resolution and image quality of a digitised document to improve its readability. The new tool can fix a number of issues in a scanned document including white balance, shadows, lighting, c...

YouTube Opens Its Health Content Shelves to Registered Health Professionals

YouTube is expanding one of its health-related initiatives to allow verified content creators to spread awareness about different topics and diseases. Last week, the video streaming platform announced it was opening up ‘health content shelves’ and ‘health source information panels’, two exclusive features reserved for accredited health organisations, to regist...

ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode With Vision Rolling Out to Paid Subscribers

OpenAI rolled out the Advanced Voice Mode with Vision feature in ChatGPT on Thursday. The feature, which lets the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot access the smartphone’s camera to capture visual information of the user’s surrounding, will be available to all ChatGPT Plus, Team and Pro subscribers. The feature draws on the capabilities of GPT-4o and can provid...

Google Announces Android XR Operating System for Mixed Reality Headsets, Smart Glasses

Android XR has been unveiled by Google as a new operating system for XR devices, featuring Gemini AI assistant support. Expected to debut with mixed reality headsets and smart glasses, it will support AI, AR, and VR functionalities, enhancing user experiences with advanced, immersive features.

Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Haiku AI Model Released to All Users on the Web and Mobile Apps

Anthropic has silently released the Claude 3.5 Haiku artificial intelligence (AI) model to users. On Thursday, several netizens began posting about the model's availability in Claude's web interface and mobile apps. Anthropic stated that the new generation of Haiku is the company’s fastest large language model developed. Notably, all Claude users irrespective of the...

WhatsApp Rolls Out New Effects for Video Calls, Group Calling Improvements

WhatsApp is rolling out several new features to improve the audio and video calling experience on desktop and mobile platforms ahead of the holiday season, the company announced on Thursday. The social media platform now lets users pick from even more effects in video calls. Further, it adds the ability to select specific participants for calls in group chats. WhatsAp...

Apple Announces App Store Awards 2024 Winners; Top Apps Include Kino and Lightroom

Apple App Store Awards 2024 winners have been announced and Lightroom and Kino have won the top Mac and iPhone app categories, while Apple has also recognised six winners and six finalists in the Cultural Impact category, alongside top Apple Arcade titles. Here are all the top apps and games selected by Apple this year.

Fortnite Maker Epic Brings Game Store to Millions of Android Devices with Telefonica Tie-Up

Telecom giant Telefonica is partnering with Epic Games to bring the "Fortnite" video game maker's marketplace app directly to millions of devices on the Spanish company's network, the companies said on Thursday.

Microsoft Makes File Sharing Between iPhone and PCs Easier With New Link to Windows Feature

Microsoft is rolling out a new feature for its Link to Windows app which makes the process of sharing files between an iPhone and PC more seamless, the company announced on Wednesday. Currently limited to Windows Insiders, it leverages the Phone Link software to establish a connection between Windows and iOS devices.

Google Gemini 2.0 Family Unveiled, Gemini 2.0 Flash Added to the Chatbot on Web and Mobile Apps

Google introduced the successor of the Gemini 1.5 family of AI models, dubbed Gemini 2.0, on Wednesday. The new AI models come with improved capabilities including native image generation and audio generation, the company highlighted. Currently, the Gemini 2.0 model is available in beta to select developers and testers, whereas the Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model has been a...

Microsoft Replaces PWA Experience With Native Copilot App for Windows Insiders

Microsoft is rolling out a native Copilot app for Windows, the company announced on Tuesday. Introduced for testers registered with the Windows Insider Program, it replaces the progressive web app (PWA) which was available until now. The native Copilot for Windows app is being offered as an update following which it will appear in the system tray, as per Microsoft.

OpenAI’s Canvas Tool for ChatGPT Comes Out of Preview, Made Available to All Users

OpenAI released the Canvas tool out of preview on Tuesday, day four of its 12-day shipping schedule. Canvas was first announced in October as a sandbox-styled pop-up window that allows users to make inline edits, formatting, and other changes to text and code. Users can both make edits themselves or highlight a particular section and ask the AI to make changes.

Instagram Rolls Out Trial Reels to Help Creators Test New Content With Non-Followers

Instagram is rolling out a new feature dubbed trial reels which makes it easier for creators to experiment with new content, it announced on Tuesday. This feature was first announced in May this year and was rolled out in the test phase. With its arrival, the social media platform will enable Instagram creators to create trial reels and show them to users who do not f...

Reddit Answers, an AI-Powered Conversational Summaries Feature Introduced

Reddit is testing an artificial intelligence (AI) feature that will make it easier for users to search topics and find information. On Monday, the discussion forum-styled social media platform introduced the new feature, dubbed Reddit Answers. The AI feature is a conversational chatbot with which users can interact by asking text-based queries. The AI will generate a ...

Vipps Emerges as First Apple Pay Tap-to-Pay Competitor on iPhone Due to EU Regulation

Vipps has launched contactless payments on iPhone in Norway, becoming the first third-party app to offer tap-to-pay on iOS, similar to Apple Pay. Previously, only Apple Pay and Wallet could access the NFC chip, but iOS 18.1 update now allows third-party access in select regions.

xAI Announces Aurora AI Image Generation Model for Grok, Days After Its Removal

xAI officially launched Aurora, a native artificial intelligence (AI) image generation model, on Monday after deploying it briefly over the weekend. On December 7, several users reported spotting Aurora in the model selector menu within the Grok interface and were able to generate images using the tool. However, it disappeared a few hours later and no explanation behi...

Pixel Screenshots App Gets Gboard Suggestions, Circle to Search, and More Features With December Update

Google rolled out the December Pixel Feature Drop for compatible Pixel devices last week. A notable highlight of the update is the features coming to Pixel Screenshots — the standalone screenshot management app exclusive to Google's devices. The company says it is rolling out improved integration between Gboard and the Pixel Screenshots app, enabling users to get su...

CCI Seeks Supreme Court Hearing to Expedite Amazon, Flipkart Cases

The Competition Commission of India asked the court to hear 23 challenges, filed by Samsung, Vivo, and several vendors on the Amazon and Flipkart platforms, to enable the case to be decided quickly.

Elon Musk’s Grok AI Reportedly Gets Upgraded With New AI Image Generator, Taken Down Within Hours

Elon Musk-owned artificial intelligence (AI) firm xAI reportedly added a new AI image generator to Grok on Saturday. This image generation model, dubbed Aurora, was confirmed by Musk to be internally developed, unlike Flux which was developed by Black Forest Labs. After spotting the tool in Grok, several users posted images that were said to be generated using Aurora.

JioSaavn Rolls Out Replay 2024 in India, Showcasing Personalised Listening Habits and National Trends

JioSaavn has rolled out ‘Replay 2024’. It showcases the listening habits of users and trends based on the streaming activity, including the top songs, artists, and albums. In addition to personalised statistics, it also highlights the latest listening trends across the country such as the chart-topping songs and podcasts. Similar to Apple Music Replay and Spotify ...

Google Docs Gets Upgraded With Gemini AI-Powered ‘Help Me Create’ Feature for Workspace Users

Google Docs is getting a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that will let users create formatted documents from scratch. Available for Google Workspace users in early access, the ‘Help me create’ feature can also take context from files saved in the Workspace account and make documents using them. The Mountain View-based tech giant claims the feature can be ...

WhatsApp Message Reminders Rolling Out to Beta Testers on Android

WhatsApp message reminders are now rolling out to beta testers, making it easier to users to keep track of messages received on the app. The status updates reminders feature has been updated with the ability to receive reminders for messages that users may have missed, on the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android.

TikTok Ban: US Appeals Court Upholds Law Forcing Its Sale Ahead of Deadline

A US federal appeals court has upheld a law requiring ByteDance to divest its popular short video app TikTok in the US by early 2025, ahead of an upcoming deadline. The decision from the appeals court increases the chances that TikTok will face an unprecedented ban in six weeks, that could cut off access to the service for 170 million users in the country.

Netflix Suspended Account Scam Being Used By Hackers to Steal User Information in Several Countries

Hackers are using a phishing scam to target Netflix account users, telling them that their account has been suspended, in order to prompt them to visit a maliciously crafted website. This website steals their Netflix password and banking information, which is then sold on the dark web. Here's how you can keep your Netflix login and password, as well as your banking in...

OpenAI Launches Full Version of Reasoning-Focused o1 AI Model, Introduces ChatGPT Pro Subscription

OpenAI brought the o1 artificial intelligence (AI) model out of preview on Thursday and released the full version. The AI firm claims that the new model can now perform tasks that the o1-preview could not. It is also said to be faster in response times and more concise in its thinking. The OpenAI o1 AI model will be available to all the paid subscribers of ChatGPT.

Instagram Adds Replies, Insights and More Features to Broadcast Channels for Improved Audience Engagement

Instagram announced new features for broadcast channels on Wednesday. The latest update adds more ways for creators to engage with their audience instead of simply liking and reacting to messages — the only avenue for interaction on the social media platform until now. Instagram users can now reply to messages from creators as well as each other. Further, it now ena...

WhatsApp Introduces New Typing Indicators for Real-Time Engagement in Chats

WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature for mobile devices which makes it easier for users to engage in chats in real time, it announced on Thursday. It will now display typing indicators with visual cues appearing in chats when users are engaged in active conversations in both one-to-one and group chats.

Google Photos Rolls Out ‘Undo Device Backup’ Feature0 for Better Cloud Storage Management

Google has introduced a new feature for its Photos app that aims to make deleting backed-up photos and videos easier. It was reportedly first spotted in June, with code strings of the Google Photos app hinting at a feature with similar functionality. The feature, dubbed ‘Undo Device Backup’, lets users remove media from the cloud storage space offered by Google wi...

Nothing Rolls Out Community Widgets App, Brings Nokia’s Classic Snake Game to Its Smartphones

Nothing has introduced a new app called Nothing Community Widgets. As the name suggests, it features widgets such as games and tools for Nothing smartphones co-developed by its passionate user base. One of the first arrivals on the app is a snake game which pays homage to the classic snake experience on Nokia phones. It is exclusively available for Nothing smartphones...

Pixel Recorder App Could Soon Get a ‘Clear Voice’ Feature for Background Noise Reduction

Google is developing a new feature for its native Pixel Recorder app to eliminate background noise and enable clearer speech playback when recording audio on its smartphones, according to a report. It was spotted during an APK teardown of the app for Android. The app is exclusive to Google’s Pixel lineup of devices such as the latest Pixel 9 series and offers featur...

OpenAI Reportedly Considering Showing Ads on ChatGPT in a Bid to Boost Revenue

OpenAI is reportedly looking at ads as a way to create a new revenue source. As per the report, the AI firm is considering showing ads on ChatGPT, the company’s AI-powered chatbot platform. However, it is said that there is no decision on when or how these ads could be displayed.

How to Turn On or Off Instagram’s Quiet Mode on Android and iPhone?

Instagram’s Quiet Mode is designed to help users take control of their social media experience. When activated, it silences all notifications, changes your activity status to “In Quiet Mode,” and sends auto-replies to anyone who sends you a direct message. This ensures you can focus on important tasks, relax, or recharge without interruptions. Quiet Mode can be ...

Gemini AI Assistant Rolling Out Support for Making Calls, Sending Messages on the Lock Screen

Gemini AI assistant is getting a new functionality that will allow users to make calls and send messages even on the lock screen. The feature was spotted in the latest version of the Gemini app for Android and seems to have been activated on the server side. While it is not widely available currently, those who have access to it can test the feature.

Threads Will Roll Out Profile and Other Tools for Search Bar to Refine Searches

Threads is rolling out a new feature to refine searches with the help of additional options. Following its rollout, users will be presented with additional filters for date ranges and profiles which can be applied in the search bar. This development builds upon a recent rollout of a new feature in the testing phase which brings an option of setting a custom feed as de...

Samsung to End Support for DeX for PC With One UI 7, Asks Users to Switch to Link to Windows App

Samsung will end support for DeX for PC with its upcoming operating system (OS) dubbed One UI 7, the company has confirmed. In its place, the South Korean technology conglomerate will prioritise the more recent Link to Windows app for accessing phone features on a PC.

Death Clock App for Android and iOS Uses AI to Predict Users’ Life Expectancy and Ways to Improve It

Death Clock, a new app on the block, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to determine when a user will die. It is available for both Android and iOS and is free to download and install. It asks users to fill out a questionnaire and guesses people’s life expectancy on the basis of the answers provided. Despite its morbid overtones, the app brands itself as “AI-powere...

Proposed Australia Law Would Fine Big Tech Over Digital Competition

Australia's centre-left Labor government has targeted Big Tech's influence, and parliament passed a law last week that banned social media for children aged under 16.