Social

Telegram is rolling out several new features with its first update of 2025, the company announced on Wednesday. As part of the changes, the instant messaging app gives users the ability to convert received gifts into collectibles which come with special attributes and can be transferred to others. Additionally, the update brings an in-app QR

X (formerly Twitter) will offer financial and streaming services in 2025, the company CEO announced on Wednesday. This move builds upon the microblogging platform’s ambitions of becoming an “everything app” and competing against other platforms such as China’s WeChat under the leadership of Elon Musk. The official also highlighted X’s efforts to allow users to

President-elect Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to pause implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale, arguing he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The court is set to hear arguments in the case on January

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

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

TikTok made a last-ditch effort on Monday to continue operating in the United States, asking the Supreme Court to temporarily block a law intended to force ByteDance, its China-based parent company, to divest the short-video app by January 19 or face a ban. TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency request to the justices for an

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 rolled out new

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

Ireland’s data protection commission fined Meta Platforms’ Irish arm €251 million ($264 million or roughly Rs. 2,242 crore) following two inquiries into a personal data breach that it said impacted 29 million users worldwide. The breach was reported by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited in September 2018. It impacted data including full names, email addresses, phone

Threads — Meta Platforms’ microblogging app and a competitor to X (formerly Twitter) — is rolling out a new feature which lets users share photos and videos from others without quoting the original post, the platform head announced on Wednesday. Users will be able to add their own text and express their creative takes alongside

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

YouTube announced its partnership with the entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) on Tuesday to protect public figures from deepfakes. With this partnership, the Google-owned video-streaming giant will offer early access to its AI-generated deepfake detection technology, while the celebrities will provide feedback to help YouTube improve its tool. The company also announced

Meta Platforms has agreed to a AUD 50 million settlement ($31.85 million or roughly Rs. 270 crore), Australia’s privacy watchdog said on Tuesday, closing long-drawn, expensive legal proceedings for the Facebook parent over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner had alleged that personal information of some users was being disclosed

YouTube announced a new update on Monday that will allow content creators on the platform more control over third-party artificial intelligence (AI) training. The move comes after the video-streaming giant introduced new tools to protect creators from deepfakes that imitate their likenesses, including their faces and voices. The new option will let content creators decide

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 registered doctors, nurses, and other health

The UK plans to extend its rules against illegal material online to cover how social media companies respond to crises like the recent riots in the country, according to a statement from British regulator Ofcom on Monday.  The agency released its first guidelines for the Online Safety Act, a law passed in 2023 to govern