Category: Apps

Key Highlights

• YouTube launched the Primetime channel feature
• Primetime channels allow users to access various streaming services within the YouTube app
• The feature is available for YouTube users in the US only

Users of YouTube use the platform to watch a wide range of content including music videos, movie videos, and full-length movies. The streaming giant has now unveiled a new feature that will let YouTube users access a variety of streaming services directly from the main YouTube app. Users of YouTube will be able to subscribe to, browse, and watch TV episodes, movies, and live broadcasts from a variety of streaming providers inside the main app thanks to a feature dubbed Primetime Channels.

In a blog post, the company said that the new Primetime Channels feature will let users access over 30 channels from within the app including Showtime, Starz, Paramount+, Vix+, Tastmade+, and AMC+. These channels will then be accessible as part of the YouTube app’s interface if interested YouTube viewers subscribe to them straight from the app.

“Once you sign up, content from your Primetime Channels will be reflected in the YouTube experience you know and love. For fans who like to go deeper into what they’re watching, Primetime Channels homepages will feature shows and movies with curated trailers, behind-the-scenes footage, and cast interviews,” the company added in the blog post that Primetime channel programming would be included in YouTube recommendations. The company also announced that it would soon be incorporating NBA League Pass and more streaming options.

Users of the YouTube app must go to the Movies & TV hub in order to subscribe to the various channels. There, they can do so by paying the monthly rental fee for the service and selecting the channel of their choosing. In essence, users will be able to access other services through YouTube’s newly launched Primetime Channels functionality in a manner similar to how they can rent movies and episodes from other channels in Amazon Prime Video’s Store. With the exception of this instance, they will be able to access a channel and all of its material from within the YouTube app.

Regarding availability, YouTube stated that Primetime Channels will only be accessible in the US at the time of introduction. The company intends to take this service globally in the near future.

Key Highlights

• Amazon India is offering free Spotify subscriptions to its customers
• Upon purchase of select electronic products, users can get a free six-month subscription to Spotify Premium
• Spotify is one of the most widely used music streaming services in India

Spotify is one of the most widely used music streaming services in India. The company offers Spotify Duo, Spotify Individual, Spotify Family, and Spotify Mini plans in the nation. The most expensive premium plan costs Rs. 199 per month.

Customers of Amazon India can now take advantage of a new offer. This time, the e-commerce platform is giving its customers free music streaming service subscriptions when they buy specific electronic devices like earphones, headphones, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.

How To Get Spotify Subscription Free?

As part of the offer, Amazon is giving its customers a free Spotify Premium subscription for up to six months. This is a single user plan that normally costs Rs. 129 per month.

Users can save their favorite music and listen to them offline with the top-tier plan in order to conserve data. Also, users will be able to play music on any device including speakers and TVs with the Spotify Premium service.

Customers who purchase specific laptops, tablets, mobile devices and accessories, headphones, and speakers from any seller on Amazon India for a purchase value greater than Rs. 1,000 and less than or equal to Rs. 5,000 will receive a complimentary three-month Spotify Premium subscription, according to Amazon’s terms and conditions page.

Additionally, buyers of laptops, tablets, smartphones, and accessories from any vendor on Amazon India who spends more than Rs. 5,000 will receive a free six-month subscription to Spotify Premium.

Offer Period

Amazon Spotify’s free subscription offer starts on October 24 and ends on November 30.

Amazon-Spotify Free Subscription: Eligibility

Aside from the purchase amount criteria, this offer is intended for users who have not yet taken advantage of Spotify’s free trial offer. Also, the email ID must be registered with Amazon.in.

Key Highlights

• Elon Musk took over Twitter after a months-long saga
• Musk fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, policy chief Vijaya Gadde, and CFO Nel Segal
• Parag Agrawal became the Twitter CEO in November 2021

After a long-drawn-out, confusing saga spanning several months, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally acquired Twitter. Within minutes of taking control, Musk fired key Twitter executives, as had been predicted ever since the acquisition was under consideration.

Also Read: Twitter Gets WhatsApp-Inspired Direct Message Search Feature; How To Use?

Why Elon Musk Fired Twitter CEO Parag Aggarwal?

The first executives to leave the company were the CEO Parag Agrawal, Vijaya Gadde, who oversaw legal matters and set company policy, and CFO Nel Segal. Agrawal, who was chosen to be the CEO of Twitter in November 2021, will depart as a wealthy man. According to sources, if Agrawal were fired by Twitter within a year of a change in control, he would be entitled to $42 million.

On October 4, Musk decided to proceed with the originally proposed terms, and a judge in the Delaware Chancery Court granted the parties until October 28 to complete the deal. That deadline has been met, and now that he’s the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Inc., Musk has also embraced the power of Twitter. He is a frequent user of his Twitter account, which he openly criticizes and promises to change radically. Shares of the company are not anticipated to trade on the New York Stock Exchange anymore.

Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” has criticized Twitter’s moderation policies, thus the announcement will be met with varied reactions from users and staff.

As the deadline drew closer, Musk started to personalize the business, tweeting a video of himself entering the office and changing his platform designation to “Chief Twit.”

Because many of Musk’s suggestions for changing the company are incompatible with the way it has been conducted for years, the company’s operations will immediately become disrupted by his ownership. He has stated that he wants to protect “free speech” on the social network which probably entails lowering the standards for content moderation. He also plans to reinstate some well-known accounts that were suspended from Twitter for breaking the rules including the account of former US President Donald Trump.

Also Read: Best Tips And Tricks To Increase Your Followers On Twitter

WhatsApp has been consistently upgrading its messaging services and releasing new features for the masses using Android and Apple smartphones. Even since Meta acquired WhatsApp, we have seen some major upgrades with the privacy as well as messaging features. The company is now testing a new feature with which users will be able to blur images. The new tool is expected to be released for the audience on a mass scale in the coming months. Here are the developments:

WhatsApp Image Blur Tool Coming Soon Via OTA Update

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new image blur tool that will be made available to both Android as well as iOS users. WaBetaInfo has confirmed this development. As per the report shared, WhatsApp will be releasing two blur tools with which an alternate blur effect can be added to the images.

WhatsApp is well known for its privacy-oriented messaging services. With this new feature upcoming, user privacy will be further enhanced. Using this blurring feature, users will be able to hide sensitive details and information to keep their privacy intact. Users will be able to adjust the blur levels using this tool.

Not only the intensity of blur could be adjusted but also the size of the blur can be set as per requirement. The image blur tool will also let users to choose the granular effect’s precision which will further improve the security aspects. This new feature will be handy for the audience who wishes to secure sensitive information in a neat and clean manner.

WhatsApp has apparently developed this new tool and has started with its testing. The feature is currently made available only for WhatsApp beta users. As mentioned earlier, we are expecting WhatsApp to release this new image blur tool feature for both Android and iOS ecosystems. But it is not clear by when. There are possibilities that WhatsApp also extends this image editing feature to the Web version as well.

WhatsApp will be releasing an OTA update that will add this feature to the Android and iOS apps. We are keeping an eye on the development and will keep you posted with its availability details.

Key Highlights

• LinkedIn introduced new feature to allow users to spot fake profiles
• It removes fake accounts using automated defense system
• Validation option will be introduced to a limited number of companies

Fake accounts or bots have been flooding social media, notably on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Currently, it appears that LinkedIn has also been overrun by many bots. LinkedIn is the most used social media tool for job searching and creating professional networks.

The tech giant which has come under fire for accounts with profiles created by AI is said to have thrown out a number of solutions to solve the problem. Before interacting with other users, users can use the new features to evaluate their genuineness.

How To Spot A Fake LinkedIn Profile?

A new “About this profile” feature has been added by LinkedIn which displays information about the profile’s creation and latest update dates as well as whether or not the phone number and email address are verified. This week, the feature will begin to roll out for other sections such as reading invitations and messages and will be displayed on each LinkedIn member’s profile page.

“For work emails, we plan to start with a limited number of companies, but we can expect this expansion as we add more companies over time,” the statement said.

The platform’s deep-learning-based engine checks for these photos when a user uploads their profile photo. But LinkedIn further reveals that many users employ AI-based synthetic image synthesis technologies. According to LinkedIn, doing so allows it to delete fake accounts even before they have an opportunity to contact other users of the platform.

Additionally, some notifications on the platform will now include cautions from LinkedIn. These mails can contain risky material or appear to be a fraud. Users also have the option to report such messages without notifying the sender.

The company’s blog post states, “We are excited to start rolling out these new features. In the future, we hope to add new ways to improve our automated systems for detecting and removing fake accounts, and all see updates on how we’re finding other member features to keep people safe.”

Key Highlights

• iPhone running on iOS 10 and iOS devices will stop supporting WhatsApp
• Android phones must have Android 4.1 or a later version to use WhatsApp
• The messaging platform has also started to notify iPhone users

WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps that has more than two billion monthly active users worldwide. With more than 500 million accounts, it is the most popular messaging app in India. Several users will send greetings, images, and videos on the app during the Diwali celebration. However, you might not be able to use WhatsApp to communicate with your friends and family if you are using an outdated Android smartphone or iPhone.

WhatsApp Will Stop Working On These iPhones

According to a new update from Apple, WhatsApp will stop working on iPhones running iOS 10 and iOS 11 as of October 24. The messaging service has also begun informing iPhone users that the app won’t work with iOS or iOS 11. Users will need to update their iOS in order to keep using the instant messaging app.

iPhone users will need iOS 12 or a more recent version of the operating system to continue using the messaging service, according to WhatsApp’s Help Center page. Notably, iPhones do not generally run the iOS 10 or iOS 11 operating systems.

Users of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C will be able to use WhatsApp after updating both iOS and WhatsApp. However, as WhatsApp will no longer support the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, owners of these devices must purchase new smartphones in order to continue using WhatsApp.

If your iPhone is not set to automatically update, you can upgrade the iOS version by going to Settings > General > Software update.

Android Devices That Will No Longer Support WhatsApp

For Android users to continue using WhatsApp, their handset must have Android 4.1 or a later version.

WhatsApp has been testing numerous features for its instant messaging platform. The Meta-owned messaging service is consistently getting updated with a new set of user-oriented tools and services to enhance the messaging experience. The brand was earlier reported to be working on a new option to use personalized Avatars as profile pictures. Seems like this option has finally entered the last testing phase and could soon be available for the audience in large scale. The details are as below:

WhatsApp Profile Avatar Feature Rolling Out Soon

WhatsApp has been testing the Avatar feature for the masses. The feature has been rumored to be in the development phase for a while. However, it has now entered the testing phase. The messaging giant has been testing the new avatar sticker feature with the WhatsApp Beta version for Android.

A new report by WaBetaInfo suggests this new customized Avatar sticker feature is currently being tested with Android 2.22.21.3 beta build. Previously, the WhatsApp Android with the firmware beta build 2.22.15.5 was seen with this new messaging feature.

This hints WhatsApp has fixed the unwanted bugs and issues with this feature and is closer to releasing the stable version. As of now, WhatsApp has not announced when the stable update will be released that will add the personalized emoji sticker option to the Android ecosystem.

It is also not clear by when WhatsApp will be extending this feature to iOS users. But we can expect the availability of this feature in the coming months for both Android and iOS users. Once this new update is released, WhatsApp users will be able to use personalized stickers as not only profile pictures but also the same avatars can be used during video calls.

Also, this new Avatar version will be distinct from the current one, and with this users will create their own Avatar from within the app itself. The avatar feature will let users create their iteration of avatar stickers in different styles and expressions.

Key Highlights

• Toronto residents can now order Cannabis online
• Uber Eats and Leafly team up to deliver cannabis to people’s doorsteps
• People aged 19 and older can use the Uber Eats app to order cannabis

Despite the fact that several nations have legalized marijuana and other narcotics, the issue is still up for debate on a global scale. One of the nations that have made the use of cannabis both medically and recreationally legal is Canada. However, if you’re having trouble getting cannabis in Canada, Uber will now bring it right to your door. Cannabis will now be delivered in Toronto via the food delivery service Uber Eats.

Also Read | How To Share Your Uber Ride Status With Friends And Family: Here Are The Steps

Uber Eats has partnered with Leafly, a Canadian cannabis marketplace, to facilitate the purchase of cannabis. The company claims its cannabis delivery service is a world first for “a major third-party delivery platform.” Since November of last year, residents of Ontario have been able to order weed using the Uber Eats delivery platform but they had to get out of their houses and visit a store to pick it up.

The Uber Eats app will allow people aged 19 or above to order marijuana just like they would order food from a restaurant. Although Uber Eats will notify you of the legal age before you place the purchase, the upfront cost of marijuana will be displayed on the app. Also Read | Amazon Prime And Uber Partnership: How To Book UberPremier For The Price Of UberGo

The cannabis will be delivered by employees of the retailer, not by an independent driver. In accordance with Canadian law, anybody supplying legal marijuana must confirm the customer’s age and sobriety. Three retailers will start the program including Shivaa’s Rose, Minerva Cannabis, and Hidden Leaf Cannabis. The order is then processed by the company and delivered by a dispensary employee certified by CannSell, a training, and certification program required in the province of Ontario.

While Uber Eats has introduced home delivery of weed in the city of Toronto, locals still have alternative choices. For example, Leafly’s platform’s merchants already deliver cannabis to your doorstep within 45 minutes. However, Uber Eats can deliver weed faster in certain areas than Leafly’s service.

Also Read | Book An Uber Ride Using WhatsApp: Follow These Steps