Category: MOBILE

Twitter introduces labels for government officials & state-controlled media

Editor
Twitter adds labels for government officials & state-controlled media

Twitter will introduce new labels for accounts and tweets tied to government officials and “state-affiliated media.” “Twitter provides an unmatched way to connect with, and directly speak to public officials and representatives,” the company wrote in the blog post announcing these changes. “This direct line of communication with leaders and officials has helped to democratize political discourse and increase transparency and accountability.” However, Twitter suggested that these labels are part of a larger effort “to protect that discourse because we believe political reach should be earned not bought.” When it…

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Reels, Instagram’s answer to TikTok debuts in over 50 Countries

Dianne Jacobs
Reels, Instagram’s answer to TikTok debuts in over 50 Countries

Instagram Reels, is launching globally, starting today is Facebook’s new effort to challenging TikTok on short-form creative content. The feature is being made available across 50 countries, including the U.S., as TechCrunch had previously reported. The expansion means Reels will now be available in key international markets, such as India, Brazil, France, Germany, the U.K., Japan, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Argentina and several others. The timing is fortuitous, given TikTok’s uncertain future in the U.S. as the Trump administration weighs either banning the Chinese-owned app entirely or forcing it to sell…

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Taking on Zoom and Slack? Google Gmail redesign integrates Chat, Meet & collaboration

Anthony D. Curtis
Google Meet Gmail

Google is making its popular Gmail app more of a productivity powerhouse. The Alphabet subsidiary is incorporating more applications into the business version of Gmail so that users don’t need to switch to other apps or browser tabs, It could help keep employees satisfied with the company’s business software and not want to adopt alternative services, such as Slack or Zoom. Google seemingly has a big Gmail redesign in the works that could let you collaborate with colleagues, work on Google Docs, and talk over Google Meet all without leaving…

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Facebook considering WhatsApp, Messenger Integration

Dianne Jacobs

The last year, Zuckerberg said he was planned to merge Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in a unique service. So, if you have a Facebook account, you might be able to reach your friends having WhatsApp. News report by WABetaInfo is that Facebook is considering integrating WhatsApp into Facebook Messenger. The report cited developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who found references within Facebook code regarding the integration of these Facebook-owned services. “In particular, Facebook is creating some tables in a local database in order to manage messages and services with other WhatsApp users,”…

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Central Bank of Kenya Declines to cap the free M-Pesa transactions to five

olivia Craig
M-Gas Mpesa

Kenya’s leading telco Safaricom has lost the bid to cap free M-Pesa transactions to five. This comes after subscribers split high-value transfers to avoid paying transfer fees, costing it billions of shillings in revenues. The company had petitioned the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to cap the number of multiple transactions between two numbers, according to a recent disclosure of conference call transcripts between Safaricom and investors seen by the Business Daily. Safaricom reported that customers were splitting high-value money transfers of as high as Sh60,000 to deals of below…

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YouTube TV sharply hikes subscription to $64.99, adds ViacomCBS channels

olivia Craig
YouTube TV sharply hikes subscription to $64.99, adds ViacomCBS channels

YouTube TV has announced a sharp 30pc raise to its monthly price from $50 per month to $64.99 as the company starts to offer eight of ViacomCBS’s channels, which are available today: BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, and VH1. The new price takes effect today for any new subscribers while existing customers should see it on their next billing cycle (either on or after July 30th). The $15 increase in price marks the latest price hike for YouTube TV, which was $35 per month when…

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TikTok announces TikTok For Business with branded content and advertising solutions

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TikTok announces TikTok For Business with branded content and advertising solutions

TikTok has announced the launch of TikTok For Business, a platform that will provide marketers with a range of branded content and advertising solutions to help them utilise the short-form video app for their brand campaigns. At launch, the site will include access to TikTok ad formats, including its marque product, TopView, which is the ad that appears when you first launch the TikTok app. Other products under this TikTok For Business umbrella include Brand Takeovers, In-Feed Videos, Hashtag Challenges and Branded Effects. TikTok said in a statement, “The magic…

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Facebook shareholders want to postpone end-to-end encryption plan

Editor
Facebook End-to-end encryption

It is reported that investors at Facebook’s annual stockholder meeting will vote on a proposal to postpone the firm’s plans for end-to-end encryption. The social media firm wants to make the measure the default option across its messaging platforms to protect privacy. But activist shareholders have however stated that this would make it nearly impossible to detect child exploitation on Facebook, now the group wants the company to delay the move until after its board of directors studies the risk further. “As shareholders, we know that privacy is important to…

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PayPal rolls out a new QR code feature in its app to enhance contactless payments

Editor
PayPal Becomes The First Foreign Payment Platform In China

Cash is out and touch-free payments are during the coronavirus pandemic, this Paypal has taken cue and announced a new feature in its mobile app that will let customers make payments at stores, farmers’ markets and just about anywhere else using QR codes. You can scan a code — either from a printout or on a screen — using your phone’s camera. Payment QR codes are already fairly common, with a bunch of companies providing similar features, including Visa, Mastercard and Walmart. The biggest difference is that many existing QR…

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Twiga Foods, Jumia signs deal for Fresh Food distribution during COVID 19 Crisis

Editor
jumia twiga foods covid 19 deal

E-commerce platform Jumia Kenya and Twiga Foods have signed a partnership agreement that will enable shoppers on the platform to buy fresh produce as well as processed foods distributed by the farm produce aggregator. Through the deal, shoppers can now buy pre-packed bundles whose cost will range between Sh1,230 and Sh3,180 depending on the goods. The bundles will save customers up to 50 percent compared to average supermarket prices, and consist of items like watermelon, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, bananas, maize meal and processed milk. Delivery will be free in Nairobi…

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