Instagram's New Messageing App

Instagram has launched its messaging app called ‘Bolt’ which makes sending visuals easy. The easy to use app allows you to tap once to send a photo and long press to send a video. Undoing a send is done by shaking your phone.

Now, Bolt is available only in New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa, reported the Verge. “We are going to other regions soon.

You can send one message to a friend at one time, and the app also allows you to add text over your image or video and the app, users can now share their Instagram stuff with the specific users they want, one at a time.

Instagram’s parent company and popular social networking site Facebook recently launched its own messaging app called “Slingshot”.

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Dropbox scans your storage for copyright protected content

Dropbox uses an algorithm that generates hash (which is long string of letters and digits that are a result of cryptographic hash function) that is in effect a unique id for each file that is uploaded onto Dropbox. So when the company receives a complaint such as from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) about copyright infringement by the user, the file is taken down and stopped from being shared.


One of the main worries of the users is that Dropbox is able to access and see the content of each and every file in a private folder. But the company has reiterated its stance to respect the privacy of its users. Its algorithm only creates a unique ID for users’ files and does not read the content at all.


There are two methods generally used by companies to deal with copyright infringement issues. The first is to disable or remove the file; this is used by most companies. The second is to retain the file but disable the share feature; which is what Dropbox does. Many users are now rethinking the security of cloud storage services.

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Make free calls from Facebook Messenger app on Android, iOS

Users in India who are using Facebook Messenger app on android and iOS platforms can now make calls for free. Sounds great! right? Although, not officially announced by Facebook, but this new feature now allows to make voice calls to anyone on their friend list.

Facebook upgraded its Messenger app by adding a "free call" button in the app available for smartphones based on android and iOS platforms. This service was introduced in US and Canada, almost a year ago and is now available in India.

The Messenger application was launched in 2011 for Android and iOS platform and provides Instant Messaging service. Integrated with Facebook's web-based Chat feature and built on the open MQ Telemetry Transport protocol, Messenger lets Facebook users chat with friends both on mobile and on the main website.


What is interesting to see is, WhatsApp which was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion will also be launching free voice call option by mid-year. Quite a competition there!

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WhatsApp CEO reassures users on privacy, says won’t collect new data

NEW DELHI: In a blog post titled "Setting The Record Straight", WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum on Monday said his company was serious about the privacy of users and had no plans to collect additional user data at behest of Facebook, which bought the instant messaging app in a $19 billion deal.

Koum's reassurance on privacy came after speculation that WhatsApp would start collecting more user data due to its acquisition by Facebook.

"There has been a lot of inaccurate and careless information about what our future partnership (with Facebook) would mean for WhatsApp users' data and privacy ... I'd like to set the record straight," said Koum. "If partnering with Facebook meant that we had to change our values, we wouldn't have done it. Our fundamental values and beliefs will not change. Our principles will not change."

In the first week of March, Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC), a privacy watchdog in the US, asked the Federal Trade Commission in the US to probe, and if required stay, the Facebook-WhatsApp deal because it represented a privacy risk for WhatsApp users. EPIC said Facebook was known to change the data collection policies at the companies it acquired and if the same thing happened with WhatsApp, it would put over 450 million users at privacy risk.

Koum said that speculation on the change in privacy and data collection policies at WhatsApp were baseless and unfounded.

Koum said that as someone who grew up in the USSR, he understood the importance of privacy. "For me, this is very personal. I was born in Ukraine, and grew up in the USSR during the 1980s. The fact that we couldn't speak freely without the fear that our communications would be monitored by KGB is in part why we moved to the United States when I was a teenager," he said.


"Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA, and we built WhatsApp around the goal of knowing as little about you as possible: You don't have to give us your name and we don't ask for your email address. We don't know your birthday. We don't know your home address. We don't know where you work. We don't know your likes, what you search for on the internet or collect your GPS location. None of that data has ever been collected and stored by WhatsApp, and we really have no plans to change that," said Koum.


Earlier at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had made similar statements. He told the audience during his keynote presentation at the MWC that there would not be any change in WhatsApp privacy policies. He also added that WhatsApp did not store the connect shared by users on its servers and hence Facebook had no access to chat logs of WhatsApp users.

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Apple Embraces Cool With 'Selfie' App Store Category

You knew it had to happen sometime. Selfie, which was crowned word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries for 2013, is now receiving an honor that's perhaps a wee bit more prestigious, given the word's roots in the tech space.

Apple has officially added a new category to its App Store: "Sharing Selfies." Click to find a small variety of apps all dedicated to the express purpose of helping you do that extend-your-arm-fully-away-from-your-face, picture-taking thing. You know, a selfie. Or, as the Oxford Dictionary describes it: "A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website."

Interestingly, there are far fewer apps in said selfie category than what we initially expected to see. Perhaps this is just Apple's first attempt at rounding up some of the must-have apps before the nameless, low-reviewed, photo-taking clones all flood the section.


Those that did make the cut include Frontback, Snapchat, Samba, SnapDash, and the humorously named "1 Second Everyday" app.


1 Second Everyday allows you record a grand total of one second of every single day. It also includes a reminder system just in case you happen to accidentally forget about your daily introspection which, if completed over the course of one's lifetime, should provide a nice, multi-hour video or so that summarizes just about everything that happened up until that point.


We confess, it does sound a bit more fun than trying to keep up with a daily diary.


It's unclear just how long Apple's "selfie" category might stay up. It seems unlikely that the highly specific category is going to exist in perpetuity; if anything else, it feels like a bonus addition that Apple is using to highlight specific apps — hence why so few appear in said category — as opposed to a catch-all section that's supposed to feature anything that can take a picture of your face.

So, selfie supporters, enjoy it while it lasts! Let us know when Apple makes a category for apps that help one take "Selfies With One's Cat."

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WhatsApp Update: Pros and Cons

Ever since the popular social media messaging application, Whatsapp has been bowled over to Facebook for a whopping $19 billion, users all over are speculating the changes coming on. Hushing aside the rumors of Whatsapp becoming a full-fledged paid application or playing host to irritating advertisements, all that's changed is its latest update.

While setting headlines as Facebook's most expensive acquisition, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook has revealed that the potential of Whatsapp (catering to over 450 million users) values much more than what he has paid for. Although experts debate that since Whatsapp's revenue model is unlike its competitors like WeChat wherein users are charged much more. The new update of the application promises quite a few good things while patching up various bugs and focusing more on the privacy function.

To top it all, certain hitches in the social messaging application have been taken care of including hiding the 'Last Seen' status of users. The privacy settings for profile and photos too have been updated and a short cut camera widget is provided for quicker picture sending. The privacy settings can be handled easily in the 'Account settings' in such a way that users can wilfully hide their personal information from those not on their contact list.


Users can now add large video thumbnails while chatting and your devices would now have an option to show unread messages on the home screen widget. Regional language 'Hindi' has been enabled on Android 4.1 plus devices.


Another novel feature that has been added is that you can now make payment for your friend's Whatsapp service. The Whatsapp charge stays at 99 cents per year (post first year of service).


While all good has been said about the latest update, technical experts have revealed a major flaw in Whatsapp's privacy functions.


Double think chief technology officer for one has highlighted the vulnerability that users may be exposed to. This may be especially when users back-up their message data for some or the other reason. While uploading the back-up, Whatsapp fails to make a unique encryption code for every particular user and all the data is encrypted using the same code. With the power of technology and malicious intent a single decryption code may lead access to all our data exposing us to be a cyber crime victim. However with great minds working on it, this issue which is merely a theory should soon be resolved by Whatsapp as we all enjoy its presence and scale across the globe.

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McAfee introduces a free mobile security solution for customers in India

McAfee has announced that it will be offering a mobile security solution to Android and iOS smartphone users in India, free of charge. The main reason behind making this move is to make safeguarding data on mobile phones an important aspect of using handsets.

This is very much needed considering the vulnerability of smartphones and their ability to attract malware and other malicious software which have knack of stealing personal and sensitive data. It is all the more important for Android users as most hackers are targeting this extremely popular mobile platform for unauthorized access to content on the devices.

To ensure privacy, the mobile application brings multi-user profiles and lets you create safe zones for friends, family and kids so they see only apps that you want them to on your phone. There’s an app lock feature as well as app protection in addition to call blocker and SMS filter. The application’s anti-theft features include CaptureCam, S.O.S, Device Lock, remote data wiping, backup and restore, alarm, locate and track and many more.

This security solution can be handled remotely as well from a centralized web portal. It contains an anti-virus which carries out scans to get rid of malware from the device, apps and SD card. You can even rely on it to ensure safe web browsing as it blocks sites that pose a threat. The McAfee app also keeps you away from untrusted Wi-Fi connections.


The McAfee Antivirus & Security application for Android and McAfee Security for iOS can now be downloaded from the Google Play store and iTunes, respectively for free.

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McAfee Antivirus and Security app for Android and iOS is now free

McAfee, the Intel-owned IT security company, has announced that its McAfee Antivirus & Security app (known as McAfee Security app on iOS) will be free on Android and iOS platforms.

The McAfee Antivirus & Security app is now available for free on the Google Play store for Android and iTunes App Store for iOS.

The company claims that the move is targeted at making the security of mobiles and tablets powered by Android and iOS an integral part of the consumer experience.

McAfee quoted a recent mobile security trend report claiming that roughly 82 percent of apps track users' personal details, while around 80 percent of apps collected location details.


The McAfee Security app offers privacy features such as multi-user app profiles, app lock, app protection, call blocker and SMS filter.

Some of the anti-theft features offered by the app include CaptureCam, which can quietly click image of the person holding a user's lost device and emails the image to the user along with the device location; S.O.S that automatically saves the last location of the device before it runs out of battery; device lock, which prevents misuse of the device by remotely locking it; remotely wipe data, which cleans the personal data to factory default settings; backup and restore data, which can save contacts and messages on demand, or on a schedule; locate and track can help find a device if it is lost or stolen; uninstall protection, which protects the McAfee Security app from being deleted.

Commenting on the announcement, Jagdish Mahapatra, Managing Director, India and SAARC, McAfee said, "With India placed on the tip of mobile device explosion, there is an overwhelming need of adoption of security and privacy protection in our digital lives. With free access to our award-winning mobile security product, Indian consumers will be empowered to access all the benefits of this connected world and enjoy a safe mobile life."

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Opera Mini 8 browser drags in redesigned UI, private mode and even more data savings

The Opera Mini 8 browser has recently been announced for Java-powered and BlackBerry OS phones, and does it trail along some very useful functions or what. The browser has a built its reputation on the virtue of its highlighted feature – the ability to compress data to an extent which can bring tears to your eyes as you see the decrease in your monthly data charges.

Private and Night modes: Being able to dim a handset’s display is something a lot of people take for granted. In case you have a device which does not automatically adjust its screen’s brightness according to the ambiance or let you do so yourself, it’s now an option within the Opera mobile browser courtesy of Night mode.

Not keen on having your browsing history openly available to anyone who tinkers with your phone, be they friend or foe? You can choose to surf under the radar by going to Settings on Opera Mini 8 and selecting ‘Private browsing.’ This will let you keep your online rambling routes to yourself.

Tab access via keypad smoother now: Java-based phones or non-touch BlackBerry handset users who’ve been feeling the need for better controls while accessing the internet via Opera have got their wish with the latest release. Keypad shortcuts to reload a page or find text on it, open a new tab, search Google, open bookmarks and turn on Night mode have been added this time.


Fresh new UI and more data savings: We cannot sign off without mentioning that the UI (user interface) has been overhauled and in addition to delivering up to 90% data compression, you also get to clearly understand how much of it you’ve consumed with a more detailed usage overview.

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Samsung launches free music streaming app, Milk Music

Samsung is unveiling a new free music service for its phones.

The South Korean gadget maker says its Milk Music service includes over 200 stations and 13 million songs.


The app is designed to be easy to use and highly customizable, but it enters an already crowded space. There are numerous streaming music services, including Pandora, Spotify and Apple Inc's iTunes Radio.


Samsung says that while it recognizes the competitive landscape, it also sees room for improvement in the services that are already available.


The company's app, which can now be downloaded from Google Play, won't include advertising, but only works on Samsung's Galaxy line of phones.

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Privacy Groups Bring WhatsApp Worries to FTC's Door

Facebook has no intention of scooping up WhatsApp user data and selling it to the highest bidder, both companies have promised -- but privacy advocates are viewing those good intentions with jaundiced eyes. If the $19 billion dollar deal ends up going through, Facebook is pretty much going to have to compromise WhatsApp user data if it ever wants to see a return on that hefty investment.

The consumer privacy backlash stirred up by Facebook's recent deal to purchase WhatsApp for US$19 billion is now in full swing.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy jointly filed a complaint about the deal with the United States Federal Trade Commission.

Following the announcement of the agreement, both companies offered reassurances that WhatsApp user data would be safe from Facebook. However, those promises may not mean anything, given Facebook's history of privacy violations and its vacuuming up of user data from firms it has bought, the groups argue in their complaint.


"During the course of an FTC investigation, we would like to see Facebook or WhatsApp or both institute some form of binding mechanism that insulates WhatsApp users' data from Facebook," Julia Horwitz, consumer protection counsel at EPIC, told the E-Commerce Times.


However, that might be a problem, because "even if all the 450 million WhatsApp users pay 99 (US) cents a year for the service, when you factor in the time value of money, there's no way in hell you're going to make a return on that investment over 10 years," remarked Mukul Krishna, digital media senior global director at Frost & Sullivan. 

In essence, these are the facts presented in the complaint: WhatsApp has a strong commitment to privacy, which it reiterated after the deal was announced; it impacts 450 million people; the Dutch and Canadian authorities in January raised concerns about WhatsApp's data and privacy policies; Facebook collects and stores virtually all user data with or without users' consent, and routinely incorporates data from companies it acquires; and many WhatsApp users object to the purchase.

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FreeKall allows ad-supported Internet-based calls on phones without a data plan

For those who have been using smartphones, making calls over the internet, through services like Skype and Viber are not unfamiliar territory. But now a Bangalore-based startup FreeKall has brought the same to feature phones with no internet connection.

The idea for FreeKall came about in the dormitories of M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bangalore. “The response has been phenomenal. Our servers crashed about seven times and we had to bring it back up,” Yashas Shekar, the 23-year-old co-founder told Economic Times. Shekar cofounded the company with college-mates Vijayakumar Umaluti and Sandesh Eshwarappa, and FreeKall was launched last week. It’s still in beta, but around four lakh calls have been made so far using the service.


The concept is quite simple and easy for anyone to understand, which could be the key to its success. To make a FreeKall, all you have to do is dial 080-67683693, which connects you to the cloud-powered service. The call is disconnected after just one ring, but the user will receive a call back from the system. Here they can input the number they wish to call and the system will connect it. It’s very much like a trunk call service, but for the internet age. The amazing part is you don’t need an internet-enabled handset to make a FreeKall.


But it’s a business after all and even free services need to support the business. Freekall has tied-up with Streetsmart Media Solutions for this. The service will play ads instead of the dial tone and also interrupts the call every two minutes so both speakers can listen to ads. If you have not registered, you can make a FreeKall for up to three minutes, while for those who have signed up, the calls can last up to 12 minutes. The company plans to remove these restrictions soon and will also be introducing international calls soon.


The ET report states that FreeKall aims to enable 10 million calls a day in India and expects to make $30 million by the end of next year. The company raised Rs 10 lakh in seed capital from Ranjith Cherickel, a telecom professional with experience in the field and is planning to take FreeKall international, starting with Africa. “I expect them to expand internationally in less than a year. This will work well in developing countries and potentially in high-tariff developed markets,” Cherickel was quoted as saying by the report.

While call costs have come down in India over the past few years, there are still markets where calling over a cellular connection is significantly more expensive than in India. Here is where FreeKall can make an impact.


FreeKall is targetted at feature phone users and those who are on a pre-paid plan. However, as we all know feature phone adoption has fallen dramatically in the face of smartphones that can be bought for under Rs 5,000. While FreeKall is no doubt a big deal for feature phone users, it is just another app for smartphone users. Here, the extra step of dialling a number is an entry barrier, which is what apps like Viber and Skype aim to remove. So while the initial success has to be congratulated, FreeKall has its work cut out when it comes to the smartphone battleground.

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Download Free Calling Apps – Which App Helps You Save the Most?

The time when users made phone calls using an actual cellular network is long gone because voice over internet protocol is the new generation.

With the arrival of smartphones, the situation has become even more sophisticated where everyone has the freedom to make calls to any part of the world. Many of them are mostly free calling apps that save you money and provide the convenience of being able to call from a smartphone or a tablet. Some of them charge for long calls but they are relatively less which makes it a cost efficient affair for both iOS and Android users. Here are some of the most popular calling apps for these platforms that provide you the best value for money and allow you to converse over the internet with relative ease.


Viber : The most popular of them all is Viber without a doubt because ever since its launch, it continues to be the most preferred choice of calling app on smartphones and tablets. The app is available on all major platforms including iOS and Android. Even though, these two are the major focus for users, this app is readily available on windows, Mac, Windows Phone and Blackberry devices as well. The availability makes it a useful addition because users can call their friends, family, or people in the professional network on almost every platform. There’s no better way than this to make free calls and it even allows messaging as well as organize group calls.


Skype : This desktop friendly free calling app is now a hit on mobile platforms as well. The app is available on the most widely used platforms including iOS and Android. An added advantage is that this developed as a software program and it was originally popular in Windows before it moved to the mobile friendly zone. Most business users rely on Skype for making voice calls and video calls which is now finding audience beyond the business sector as well. It works relatively easily on all platforms including Mac and Linux as well. The app paved way for video calls using the front camera that encouraged developers to incorporate this cam on smartphones as well as tablets.


Tango : Even though it is quite new to the mobile community, Tango has gained popularity in recent times and it is very simple to use. The app is available on iOS, Android as well for Windows phone which makes it a versatile one to opt for mobile users. It has the usual voice and video calling facilities besides file sending and messaging options. There are some mini games incorporated in it as well which users can play while on a call. It allows them to invite friends to play as well for group activities.


Kakao Talk : Kakao talk is known for its versatility because the free calling app is available on almost every mobile platform and allows users to share multimedia content besides making voice as well as video calls. It provides reminders and appointment scheduling as well.

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napchat Releasing Security Update After SnapchatDB Exposes 4.6 Million Users

When something is too good to be true, it usually is and Snapchat may now be paying the price. For a few weeks, the social media app founders have not seriously addressed security companies who explained a security flaw. The flaw could access user information via the “Find Friends” feature and expose millions of users phone numbers and usernames. Snapchat took to their blog in later Dec. advising it was possible, but did not present any real solutions of prevention. Until now. Expect an updated app to be released with security safeguards for the “Find Friends” feature.

A group stepped forward to show exactly why Snapchat should regard the warnings more seriously. An anonymous group called Snapchat DB posted the usernames and the contact phone numbers of 4.6 million users. The group was not fully malicious, they did withhold the last two digits of the phone numbers. The group only had one goal: to wake Snapchat founders, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, up.

In August, Gibson Security rapped on Snapchat’s digital doors to warn of the weaknesses. Snapchat originally stated it did review the security vulnerabilities and advised users the review displayed a potential, but the app has safeguards in place. Those safeguards were not listed specifically.  Now it seems Snapchat is finally going to address the issue more seriously.

In a blog post, the founders states they would update the app to allow users to have a choice to opt out of the the “Find Friends” feature. The feature does require a phone number, now users can skip opt out of that feature after confirmation of their number. Additionally, Snapchat states no pictures or videos were accessed. With over 4.6 million usernames exposed, that is a small comfort to those who wonder what may be the next flaw found and not addressed immediately.

Perhaps, seeing the intent possible, Snapchat will deliver a fundamentally sound platform for their users. Certainly, no platform is 100 percent secured, but bypassing an obvious flaw brought by reputable security companies, was inexcusable on Snapchat’s behalf. Address the issue and more importantly, an apology to their users would have been beneficial.

While Snapchat states they addressed Gibson’s inquiry to a flaw in August, SnapchatDB states they had very minor obstacles to overcome and expose the names and numbers of the millions of users. Social media is continually on the rise, especially with new apps that attract teenagers and young adults. Considering a majority of teens are accessing the photo and video sharing app, any additional security flaws may become frightening to parents.

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MapmyIndia revamps web user interface, social media sharing

MapmyIndia has some changes up its sleeve. The digital mapping and GPS navigation service has announced some big enhancements to its free maps portal. In addition to completely revamping the portal, with richer map data and interactive features like real-time traffic updates, the social media and user interfaces on the whole have been enhanced.

The social media interface as well as user interaction have been given a special treatment during this makeover. MapmyIndia says that it has also started a green initiative, by providing users access to realtime information. The service will first be available to MapmyIndia users in Mumbai and Delhi. Users can add and edit places using the social navigation features available on MapmyIndia, as well as write reviews, maintain a private atlas and more. Once you’re done writing, an update will be pushed out on social networking websites you’ve integrated into the service.

The UI on MapmyIndia is now a lot flatter, allowing users to zoom in and out of maps easily. The close integration of search with visual feedback will allow users to instantly locate points of interests. To customise mapping, users can drag and drop direction markers on the maps. The search for these points of interest is now easier since MapmyIndia allows simplified categories and single-click search facility.

More interestingly, you will now be able to embed not just maps but also driving directions and search nearby features onto your websites and blogs. MapmyIndia is available across platforms like Android, iOS, Windows, Windows 8 and HTML5 browsers. 

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New app tracks Wikipedia edits by bots and humans

Researchers have created an application that monitors how much of Wikipedia entries are being created or edited by Internet bots, versus humans.

Wikipedia is a global crowdsourced encyclopedia and some of the information appearing on it is put there by bots - software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet - rather than human beings.


To keep entries coming and to keep them updated, bots have been created to grab information from one place and post them into another.


It is not easy to determine what portion of Wiki pages are generated by humans versus bots.

So Thomas Steiner, a Customer Solutions Engineer at Google Germany, Hamburg and colleagues have created an application that can be accessed and used by anyone to see in real time what percentage of pages are being written by humans, versus bots.

The application reveals that bots are doing a lot more of the work adding information to pages in non-English speaking countries, which suggests that the majority of Wikipedia content is still being created by human beings in the US and the UK, 'phys.org' reported.


The application also monitors activity on Wikidata, a database to share data among the difference language versions of Wikipedia.


"We have developed an application and an underlying Application Programming Interface (API) capable of monitoring realtime edit activity of all language versions of Wikipedia and Wikidata," researchers said.

"This application allows us to easily analyse edits in order to answer questions such as "Bots vs Wikipedians, who edits more?", "Which is the most anonymously edited Wikipedia?", or "Who are the bots and what do they edit?" they said. 

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Meet Neeraj Arora, the man who helped Facebook clinch the $19 billion WhatsApp deal

WhatsApp, a mobile messaging application, has been the buzz for the last two days after Facebook acquired it for $19 billion.  But did you know that India-born Neeraj Arora, responsible for “all things business at WhatsApp”, played a key role in sealing the deal? And with Facebook’s promise of making no changes in the way WhatsApp functions, Arora will have to drive the integration of the business operations of the messaging platform with the social network.

Neeraj Arora, who is an IIT graduate as well as a management graduate from the Indian School of Business, gave up his high profile job managing global M&A at Google to join one of Silicon Valley’s hottest starts-ups. And that the bet, for sure, seems to have paid off today. Until November 2011, Arora served as the principal, corporate development, at Google and before that he was the chief manager at Times Internet Ltd.


“From Times Internet to Google to WhatsApp, Arora has had an uncanny ability to identify opportunities, ” Mohit Garg, co-founder of training software firm MindTickle and Arora’s batchmate at ISB was quoted as saying by The Economic Times. “He is well connected and this has helped him move up the ladder. He’s also very unassuming and down to earth.”


According to a report in The Hindustan Times, one of Arora’s major achievements in India was to convince Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications to bundle unlimited use of WhatsApp with a Rs 16 per month data plan. The scheme was an instant success.


In an interview with CNBC-TV18, last year, Arora said having crossed 25 billion users in India, the country is of critical importance to the company but at the same time was confident that a 55-member team at WhatsApp was enough to carry out sales and innovation. Even then Arora reassured users that the messaging app would steer clear from ads and endorsements like it has been doing so far. He hinted that a B2B play may be a possibility but nothing has been decided. Three months later, he maintains that nothing much will change at WhatsApp despite the Facebook acquisition.

“Nothing will change,” he replied on Thursday to a query by one of his followers on Twitter: “As a loyal WhatsApp user, I’m pretty sad it’s been sold to Facebook. Privacy is a key concern, another is unnecessary add-ons to the app.”

Arora is also an investor in Pune-based MindTickle, a start-up that aims to usher in a sea-change in the employee training and engagement space. Two-year-old MindTickle provides a Cloud-based gamified and social learning platform that makes the training experience extremely engaging.

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What's WhatsApp? A messages service that spans borders, devices

What in the world is WhatsApp?

The online messaging platform has been catching on for a few years with younger users and international sets of friends, but a much larger audience noticed it on Wednesday, when Facebook Inc said it had agreed to pay $19 billion for the service.


It is a phone and mobile device app to send text, video and picture messages, and 450 million people use it monthly, some 200 million more than Twitter, according to numbers from the companies.

And it's adding a million users daily, which caught Facebook's eye.

WhatsApp works across different types of phones, across borders, and without ads. Unlike texts, there is no per-message charge, and there is no fee for international messages, which has helped make it popular outside the United States; WhatsApp charges a 99 cent annual subscription fee, which is waived for the first year.

Customers download the app, type in their phone number, and verify with a code sent by text.

While WhatsApp encrypts communication and does not store messages on its computers, satisfying some privacy concerns, it also prompts new users to allow the app access their address books, prompting another set of privacy issues.

WhatsApp faces a number of rivals, including Rakuten Inc's Viber, Naver Corp's Line and Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat. All are popular among young people, a demographic that Facebook has been losing out on in recent years and that are likely part of the draw for the company's purchase.

While kids may love the messaging, not all parents do. Mobile messaging is much more difficult for parents to monitor than Facebook, for instance, which has created new worries.


WhatsApp and Facebook both say the messaging service will maintain its independence once the deal goes through.

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When will Hangouts have a search function?

KitKat’s arrival introduced yet another big change in Android, namely in the default SMS application used by the platform. Since Google Hangouts started supporting SMS within the app, Google decided to switch to Hangouts as the default, bundled and system-embedded SMS app in the Nexus 5, for instance. I’m a big fan of Hangouts, with its aim to unify messaging across Google products. Even its attempt to take over SMS messaging (by letting you do a number-lookup, for instance) is laudable, if only to improve the messaging experience.

But there’s one thing missing in the Hangouts app: search.

It’s quite strange for a product built by the biggest search company to miss this feature on their messaging system. Search is certainly an important feature that comes in handy — even necessary — on a mobile device. If you want quick access to a message, but you don’t want to sift through a ton of conversations, there should be search. Want to remember bank codes, account numbers, promo codes, or other strings of text, there should be search to turn to. But instead, Android’s default messaging app now misses this feature.

Come to think of it, even Hangouts on Chrome does not have search!

The old Android stock messaging app had it. Why shouldn’t Hangouts?

And so this prompted me to look for alternative apps for SMS. I have mostly been using stock messaging apps, because I didn’t want to be bogged down by bloated third-party apps, advertising or a barrage of features that I did not use anyway. But the lack of search was something I found I needed to address. And so I ventured into third-party apps. Some were long-time favorites like chomp SMS, while some are relatively new releases, like Textra, hello sms and EvolveSMS.


But then I had a difficult realization: none of these SMS apps had a search function, either. I had to turn to 8sms to get the plain-Jane functionality and look of the original Android stock SMS app, plus a few extra features. For now, I’m happy with switching across hello for my conversations (love the tabbed interface!) and 8sms for searching. It’s good that KitKat now comes with system-wide SMS handling (meaning, among other things, that you can switch default SMS apps, and don’t have to worry about duplication in the notifications).

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Sweet’N’Spicy app embraces Windows Azure IaaS

In order to ensure better IT services, the Sweet’N’Spicy application has been moved to Windows Azure Infrastructure as a Service for good. The company, Adhish Technologies, claims that this decision is likely to help them get rid of multiple complexities.

Apart from removing the complications, the developers of the application have shifted to the service for an improved and enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure. And this in turn should help them cut cost. One of the main reasons behind choosing Microsoft’s cloud over the current one as cited by the application’s publishers is that they wish to enhance their performance for the increasing user base.

According to the app designers, this hybrid cloud strategy will assist them with the task of technical backend management, so they could turn their attention towards introducing new features for the product.

The open platform not only facilitates bringing an existing app, but also offers technical support to its clients. The co-founder of the company, Vijaianand Mohan stated that services such as VM endpoints that make it easier to configure multiple servers are offered by this infrastructure.

The application in question is a popular cooking app that features an assortment of recipes from the Indian cuisine. This ‘top-rated’ utility is available for Windows Phone platform as well as the Windows 8 OS. Apart from these, other major app stores including Google Play and iTunes also play host to this particular software. And if that’s not enough, it is compatible with televisions such as the Samsung Viera and Panasonic smart TVS as well.


Loaded with a vast collection of recipes, the app claims to have a user base of more than a million people. It consists of close to six thousand recipes which have been categorized into more than hundreds of sections. And to make it easier for subscribers to find relevant content, the application is said to have been blessed with some user-friendly functionalities.

One of its key highlights is that it suggests dishes based on the ingredients that subscribers have. And along with it, the software also provides tips to help them stay healthy.


The Sweet’N’Spicy application by Adhish Technologies has already migrated to the Microsoft Windows Azure IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

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