Page 2 - Apps

WhatsApp tests 60-second video status feature in public beta: Details here

Currently, WhatsApp lets users post 30-second video status on their profiles. Instagram, however, allows users to post 60-second videos on stories

Post to the past: Instagram tests in beta backdated post scheduling feature

Currently available to select users, the post to the past feature on Instagram is accompanied by a calendar icon that suggests scheduling option for backdated posts

Google, Indian app developers 'agree to' pause billing dispute for 4 months

Sigh of relief for Indian startups after government intervened in dispute, says one CEO

Play Store delisting: Global behemoths endangering Make in India, says COAI

While targeting Indian companies, large traffic generators are refusing to pay fair share charges, says COAI

Google Play Store delisting hits Indian app developer business by 40%

The parties concerned have sought a meeting with the government on Monday to discuss the contentious issue, sources aware of the development said

Indus Appstore crosses 100,000 downloads in three days of its launch

The rapid adoption of the Indus Appstore, particularly as a side-loaded application, which requires users to download it directly from the Indus Appstore website

Fintech major PhonePe takes on Google, Apple with homegrown Indus Appstore

The Indus Appstore is PhonePe's attempt at creating a more competitive and localized mobile app store economy for India, which is already the world's largest market for mobile apps

Apple Music: Soon, you could transfer playlists from Spotify, Amazon Music

Apple is reportedly testing integration of "SongShift" service for importing playlists from other streaming platforms like Spotify and Amazon Music on Android

Indians spent 12.84 bn hours on shopping apps in 2023, next only to China

The time spent by shoppers on these apps in 2023 was far higher than in the US (2.8 billion hours), Brazil (3.020 billion hours), but it was less than that in China where it was 49.60 billion hours

Google to add more real-money game apps on Play, charge a service fee

The "expanded RMG support" will be launched in June for developers in India, Mexico, and Brazil, with plans to extend the service to more countries later

Indians downloaded 26 billion apps on mobile devices in 2023, shows data

Among app categories, gaming led the download numbers with 9.3 billion, followed by social (over 2.36 billion), and photo and video (1.86 billion)

Govt app to allow live tracking of cargo across land, rail, sea & air

Over 700 companies involved in courier, logistics, shipping, and manufacturing have already signed up on the app that will be launched soon by the government

Proposed US bill to charge large apps should be adopted in India: COAI

Telecom operators want the government to adopt a bill, similar to a proposal in the US Congress, that would make large internet apps contribute to infrastructure costs to help lower broadband costs for consumers, a senior industry official said. A bill sponsored by US Senators Markwayne Mullin, Mark Kelly and Mike Crapo in US Congress last month aimed at lowering broadband costs for consumers proposed a direction to telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to mandate social media platforms, streaming services apps, cloud computing service providers like WhatsApp, YouTube, Netflix, Google etc to contribute to universal fund that is used for building networks. The proposed bill named, Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2023, has classified social media platforms, streaming service, over-the-top messaging service, video gaming service, videoconferencing service, e-commerce platform, search engines under edge services providers. Telecom industry body Cellular

Tata Group considers topping up another $1 billion for super-app arm

Deliberations are ongoing and details of Tata Group's capital injection into the venture could still change, the people said. A representative for Tata Group declined to comment

Muthoot Fincorp Ltd launches all-in-one app for financial services

The application offers a wide range of services including MSME and gold loans along with investment in products like Digital Gold and NCDs

Trai seeks public views on banning of internet-based calls, messaging apps

Regulator Trai on Friday floated a consultation paper to explore a framework for internet-based calls and messaging apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Apple's FaceTime etc. and selectively ban their services in special situations. The consultation paper on "Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services, and Selective Banning of OTT Services" follows a suggestion of a parliamentary panel to the Department of Telecom (DoT) to "explore option of banning selective services such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram etc. instead of banning the internet as a whole" in an emergency situation. The panel has recommended the DoT to examine the recommendation of Trai and come out with a policy which will enable the selective banning of OTT services such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram during unrest and crisis as these apps are prone to be used by terrorists or anti-national elements in specified regions. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought views o

Instagram Threads: Meta's Twitter rival sees 10 million downloads in 7 hrs

Those quick to join the new Meta platform included celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez

India's app economy to touch $792 bn by 2030, 20% of estimated GDP: Report

India's app economy is expected to reach USD 791.98 billion by 2030, contributing 12 per cent to the country's estimated GDP of USD 6.59 trillion, a report commissioned by Broadband India Forum said on Friday. The report prepared jointly by ICRIER Senior Visiting Professor Rekha Jain and IIM Ahmedabad Professors Viswanath Pingali and Ankur Sinha is based on the assumption that the app economy will grow at the rate of 2.5 times the GDP growth as of 2030. The researchers defined app economy as the range of economic activities surrounding mobile applications including the development and sale of apps, in-app purchases, subscriptions, advertisements, public relations generated by free apps and the hardware devices and software on which apps are designed to run. "Our main conclusion is that by 2030, the amount of money spent on apps is likely to be around USD 800 billion. Given that the Indian economy is expected to be around USD 6600 billion, the app spending is likely to be around 12 p

Google to shut 3rd-party Notes, Lists integration on Assistant app

Google will be shutting down the third-party Google Assistant Notes & Lists integration on June 20.

Play Store service fees lowest among major app stores, says Google

Google estimates that out of more than 200,000 Indian developers on Google Play, less than 60 could pay a service fee of above 15 per cent