Category: Apps

Key Highlights

• TikTok launching TikTok Notes: a new photo-sharing app
• The app will automatically share public TikTok photo posts
• It is said to be a potential Instagram competitor

TikTok, the popular app for making and sharing short videos, is gearing up to introduce a new app that could challenge Instagram. The app, called TikTok Notes, is designed for sharing photos along with captions. Also Read | Instagram Tips To Create The Best Bio For Boys

What’s Happening

In a notification sent to users, TikTok announced the upcoming launch of TikTok Notes. This new app will automatically share both existing and future public photo posts from TikTok to TikTok Notes. Users will have the option to choose whether they want their photos shared on the new platform.

TikTok Notes: Details

TechCrunch reported that a new web address (photo.tiktok.com) briefly appeared online, leading to a page prompting users to open posts in the TikTok Notes app. The page also displayed an image suggesting that users will be able to add captions to their photos.

TikTok’s Statement

In response to inquiries, TikTok stated that it is exploring ways to allow its community to express creativity through photos and text in a dedicated space. However, the company did not specify when the app will be released.

Rumors about a TikTok photo-sharing app surfaced last month when code within the TikTok app hinted at an upcoming app named TikTok Photos.

Also Read | Snapchat unveils tiktok clones for india

Implications

With the imminent launch of TikTok Notes, the competition between TikTok and Instagram is expected to intensify. TikTok Notes is likely to attract users quickly as it will automatically include photos already shared on TikTok, thus avoiding the challenge of building an initial user base.

Conclusion

As TikTok moves closer to launching its photo-sharing app, TikTok Notes, it could mark a significant shift in the social media landscape. Users can anticipate a new platform for sharing their creativity through photos and captions, potentially reshaping how they engage with visual content online.

Key Highlights

• Swiggy delivers to Dal Lake houseboats via Shikharas
• Over 300 restaurants are available on Swiggy in Srinagar
• Swiggy partners with IRCTC for train food delivery in select cities, with expansion plans to 59 more stations

Swiggy, the food delivery giant, now brings meals right to your doorstep, or rather, your houseboat, on the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar. To accomplish this, delivery partners hop on the traditional Shikharas, navigating the serene waters to reach these unique floating accommodations. Also Read | Top 5 Alternatives To Blinkit For 10-Min Delivery In India 2024

Partnership With Shikara Operators

In a bid to cater to the needs of tourists and locals alike, Swiggy has teamed up with Shikara operators, ensuring timely deliveries to the scenic houseboats. The operators receive compensation for the additional time taken for these deliveries, as stated in a Swiggy press release.

Expanding Swiggy’s Reach

According to Sidharth Bhakoo, National Head of Business at Swiggy Food, this initiative underscores Swiggy’s commitment to providing unmatched convenience, regardless of where their customers are located. Since starting its services in Srinagar in 2022, Swiggy has enlisted over 300 restaurants, providing a diverse range of delicious cuisines.

Swiggy’s Collaboration With IRCTC

Swiggy doesn’t stop at houseboats; it’s also making waves in the railway catering sector. Teaming up with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Swiggy aims to deliver food to train passengers in Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada. Over the next six months, they plan to extend this service to 59 more train stations, providing travelers with an array of food options.

Sanjay Kumar Jain, the head of IRCTC, revealed that they’re already facilitating food delivery at approximately 350 major stations where trains make extended stops. Working with 17 different companies, including Zomato, IRCTC has generated significant revenue by serving meals to around 60,000 passengers daily, without any complaints.

Also Read | Gogoro Partners With Swiggy For Electric Scooter Deliveries In India

Future Plans

Initially, Swiggy will roll out its railway delivery service in the four aforementioned cities. This collaboration marks IRCTC’s second foray into food delivery partnerships, having previously teamed up with Zomato to offer pre-ordered meals at stations in New Delhi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Varanasi.

Key Highlights

• Enhanced security and privacy in Find My Device
• Offline device location and Bluetooth tag tracking
• Integration with Nest devices and accessory sharing for easier tracking

Google has introduced a major upgrade to the Android device tracking system with the global rollout of the new Find My Device. Starting its journey in the United States and Canada, this innovative system uses a vast network of over a billion Android devices to help users quickly and securely locate misplaced devices and everyday items. Also Read | Lost Your Samsung Smartphone? Learn How To Track It Using Find My Mobile And Find My Device

Enhanced Security and Privacy

Find My Device prioritizes security and privacy with multiple layers of protection, including end-to-end encryption of location data and aggregated device location reporting. These measures ensure that users’ personal information remains safe while providing them with unparalleled control over their connected devices.

Compatibility

The new Find My Device app is compatible with devices running Android 9 and above, steering in a new era of device tracking and security.

Find My Device: Key Features

1. Locate Offline Devices

Owners of compatible Android devices can easily locate their devices even when they’re offline. Through the app, users can ring their devices or track their locations on a map, ensuring that even the most subtle gadgets can be found. Pixel 8 and 8 Pro users benefit from specialized hardware that allows device location even when powered off or with a depleted battery.

2. Track Everyday Items With Bluetooth Tags

Find My Device now supports tracking everyday items like keys, wallets, or luggage using Bluetooth tracker tags from brands like Chipolo and Pebblebee. These tags, integrated into the app starting in May, offer compatibility with unknown tracker alerts across Android and iOS, protecting users against unwanted tracking. More Bluetooth tags from eufy, Jio, Motorola, and others are expected to be released later this year.

Also Read | How To Find Or Track Lost Apple AirPods Easily: Step By Step Guide

3. Find Nearby Items

The new “Find nearby” button helps users locate their lost devices or everyday essentials when they’re closer than expected.

4. Pinpoint Devices At Home With Nest

Find My Device now integrates with Nest devices, allowing users to determine a lost device’s proximity to their home Nest devices, streamlining the search process significantly.

5. Share Accessories With Friends And Family

Users can now share accessories like house keys, TV remotes, or luggage with friends and family, enabling collaborative tracking efforts and ensuring everyone remains vigilant and prepared for potential losses.

Key Highlights

• Spotify launches AI playlists for personalized music
• Users can create playlists with prompts
• AI tailors playlists based on user preferences

Spotify, known for its AI DJ feature, now brings artificial intelligence to playlist creation. Users can generate playlists by simply typing prompts. This beta feature initially rolls out to Android and iOS users in the U.K. and Australia. Here’s all that you need to know. Also Read | Learning On Spotify? This Music Streaming App Testing Video-based Courses

Customized Playlists For Every Mood

Beyond traditional requests based on genre or time, Spotify’s AI allows for more unique prompts like “songs to serenade my cat” or “beats to battle a zombie apocalypse.” These prompts can reference anything from places to emojis. The best playlists combine genres, moods, artists, and decades.

Personalized Recommendations

Spotify tailor playlists based on users’ tastes and preferences. After generating a playlist, users can refine it by requesting changes like “less upbeat” or “more pop.” They can also remove songs they don’t like.

Technology Behind The Scenes

Spotify employs large language models (LLMs) to understand user intent and personalization technology to create personalized playlists. The company uses third-party tools for its AI and machine learning.

Development and Testing

Hints of AI playlists surfaced in October 2023. Spotify confirmed testing in December 2023 after a TikTok video showcased the feature. Users can find the feature in the “Your Library” tab by tapping the plus button (+) and selecting “AI Playlist.”

Also Read | Spotify Tips & Tricks: How To Tune Into Podcasts In Your Native Language

How To Use

If users need prompts, Spotify suggests ideas like “get focused at work with instrumental electronica” or “explore a niche genre like Witch House.” To save a playlist, users tap “Create.”

Spotify ensures the AI doesn’t respond to offensive prompts or those related to current events or specific brands.

Conclusion

Spotify’s AI investments include the global expansion of AI DJ and exploring AI applications in summarizing podcasts and creating AI-generated audio ads. The company is also researching AI tech for cloning podcast hosts’ voices.

Before AI playlists, Spotify introduced Niche Mixes, allowing users to create personalized playlists using prompts. However, it lacked AI technology and sophisticated language understanding.

Key Highlights

• ChatGPT is now accessible without needing an OpenAI account
• Users can opt out of data usage for improving the AI chatbot
• Certain features like saving chat history still require an OpenAI account

ChatGPT, a widely used AI chatbot, has always been free, but required users to have an OpenAI account. However, OpenAI has recently made an important announcement: users will no longer need an account to chat with ChatGPT. Here’s all you need to know. Also Read | Considering ChatGPT Plus? Here’s Why And How To Subscribe

No Account Needed

In a recent blog post, OpenAI explained that users can now interact with ChatGPT without having to sign in. However, OpenAI may still use the questions and conversations with ChatGPT to improve its capabilities. If users prefer not to contribute to this improvement, they can easily opt out by adjusting the settings in the chatbot.

Some Features Still Require An Account

While the ability to chat with ChatGPT is now account-free, certain features still require users to have an OpenAI account. These features include saving and reviewing chat history, receiving voice responses, and sharing generated results with others. Additionally, access to paid versions and other OpenAI products, such as DALL-E 3, still demands signing in.

Extra Safeguards

OpenAI has also implemented additional measures to ensure the safety and appropriateness of ChatGPT interactions. Although specific details were not provided, OpenAI is actively working to enhance safeguards and maintain ChatGPT’s utility and safety for all users.

Gradual Rollout

With over 100 million users across 185 countries engaging with ChatGPT every week, OpenAI anticipates a gradual rollout of the no-account feature. Users in certain regions may still encounter prompts to sign in, but OpenAI assures that the feature will become universally accessible over time.

Also Read | Google Gemini Advanced vs ChatGPT Plus: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Conclusion

This update represents a significant improvement in accessibility and convenience for ChatGPT users worldwide. With the elimination of the account requirement, more people can now seamlessly engage with ChatGPT for various purposes. OpenAI remains committed to enhancing ChatGPT’s functionality while ensuring user privacy and safety.

Key Highlights

• Users share ‘Click Here’ images, sparking debate
• Misuse of ‘ALT’ text criticized for accessibility concerns
• Urgent call for proper alt text usage to aid visually impair

Since last Saturday, X (formerly Twitter) has been abuzz with the viral “Click Here” trend, captivating users’ attention. While many have eagerly embraced this trend, others are left bewildered by its emergence. Notably, major political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Congress have actively participated in this trend through their official X pages. Here’s all you need to know. Also Read | X (Twitter) To Soon Allow Video, Audio Calling Without Any Phone Number

What Is The ‘Click Here’ Trend?

This new trend sees thousands of users sharing images featuring a simple white background with the bold statement “Click here” displayed prominently. Accompanying the text is a diagonal arrow pointing towards the “ALT” text located in the bottom left corner of the picture.

Explanation Of The “ALT” Text

The “ALT” text is a feature introduced by X in 2016, formerly known as Twitter. It allows users to add descriptions to the photos they share on the platform, aiming to make images accessible to visually impaired individuals. X highlighted the importance of this feature in a blog post, emphasizing inclusivity on their platform.

Some users have expressed concern over the misuse of the “ALT” text feature. They argue that repurposing this text for unrelated content goes against web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG).

How To Use This Feature

X’s blog post also provides guidance on utilizing this feature. Users can enable it through the “compose image descriptions” option in the app’s accessibility settings. This allows for the addition of descriptions to images, enhancing accessibility for visually impaired individuals who utilize assistive technology such as screen readers and braille displays. Descriptions can be up to 420 characters in length.

Also Read | Elon Musk’s Twitter: Genuine Followers Or Fakes Dominating the 153 Million?

‘Click Here’ Trend: What’s The Criticism?

In a 2023 BBC article, criticism arose against the “Click Here” trend, notably when major brands like McDonald’s and Red Bull embraced it. The trend’s misuse of accessibility technology for meme-sharing among sighted users raised concerns, deviating from its original purpose of aiding visually impaired individuals.

Conner Scott-Gardner’s correspondence with McDonald’s highlighted this, stressing the importance of alt text as a vital accessibility feature. He criticized the selective usage of alt text for convenience rather than its intended purpose. The controversy prompted discussions on the necessity for content creators to incorporate alt texts properly, echoing concerns raised in a 2022 New York Times article. Research findings underscored widespread neglect of alt text implementation, indicating the urgency for improved awareness and adherence to accessibility standards.