Online&Social
Yahoo Answers to Shut Down in May
Image sourced from Android Headlines Yahoo Answers is officially being shut down after almost sixteen years of helping people around the world connect and share information. According to the platform’s website, it will be available in read-only mode from 20 April 2021 and officially shut down on 4 May 2021. A statement sent to active Yahoo Answers users reveals how Answers, once a key part of Yahoo’s products and services, has become “less popular over the years as the needs of our members have changed.” “We launched Yahoo Answers sixteen years ago to help people around the world connect and share information. With you and millions of other users, we built the best place on the web to ask and answer questions on a variety of topics, creating a community of global knowledge sharing. Wh...
African’s Reluctant to Leave WhatsApp Despite Increase in Cybersecurity Concerns
Africa’s mobile users are increasingly concerned about the mobile risks and the potential for digital identity theft; however, this is not stopping them from using their favourite messaging platforms and applications. This emerged in new research carried out by KnowBe4 among smartphone users in Nigeria, Mauritius, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco and Botswana. The survey gauged the opinions of Africa’s mobile users on the recent decision by WhatsApp to update their terms and conditions, sharing metadata with the rest of the Facebook group of companies. The survey found that not only did the majority of the respondents across Africa intend to continue using WhatsApp; but also, that their favourite alternative to WhatsApp was Facebook Messenger. Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy &...
How to Add Stickers to Fleets on Twitter
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy Twitter is making it possible for users to add stickers to their Fleets. In a new update, both Android and iOS users will be able to add stickers by simply tapping the smiley face icon on the bottom row of their screen. “Fleets just got an upgrade,” reveals Twitter in an official tweet. “Now you can express yourself in the conversation with stickers. Add GIFs and Twemojis to a Fleet by tapping the Slightly smiling face icon, on Android and iOS.” Your Fleets just got an upgrade. Now you can express yourself in the conversation with stickers. Add GIFs and Twemojis to a Fleet by tapping the 🙂 icon, on Android and iOS. pic.twitter.com/Ihh9ZZh70a — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 31, 2021 Twitter is Testing a New Way to Post Imag...
LinkedIn is Testing ‘Social Audio Experience’ to Rival Clubhouse
Image sourced from Search Engine Journal LinkedIn is testing a ‘social audio experience’, according to TechCrunch. This feature would allow app users to “connect with their community” across its network. Different to Clubhouse or other rivals being built by Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn believes its audio networking feature will connect with users’ professional identity, “not just a social profile”. “We’re seeing nearly 50% growth in conversations on LinkedIn reflected in stories, video shares, and posts on the platform,” says LinkedIn Spokesperson, Suzi Owens. “We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity. And, we’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members ...
Bolt Kenya Launches Food Delivery Service to Rival Uber Eats
Bolt has officially launched a new food delivery service in Kenya after announcing this plan in 2020. So far the service – which aims to give users access to restaurants and menus from the palm of their hands – has partnered with around 200 restaurants, including KFC, Big Square, Pizza Mojo, Urban Gourmet Burger, Debonairs Pizza, Steers, Ohcha Noodle Bar, The Chef House, Wings Kenya Alchemist, Shokudo Japanese, Barista & Co, Mercado, Awash Ethiopian restaurant, Charlie’s Bistro and Bao Box. “Food delivery has been a popular request for quite some time and we are glad to bring this service to the millions of people who are using our platform. The infrastructure and experience we have built up with our ride-hailing business give us a good platform to expand and diversify our services,” s...
Telegram Introduces Voice Chat Feature for Channels
Image sourced from The Independent Telegram has released a new update that includes recordable voice chats, rich lists of participants, raise hand mechanics, invite links for speakers and listeners, voice chat titles, and a way for public figures to join voice chats as their channels. Here’s a closer look at all the new features and how to enable them: Limitless Voice Chats Admins of channels and public groups can now host voice chats for millions of live listeners. No matter how popular a talk gets, new people will be able to tune in. Telegram says that this is like public radio reinvented for the 21st century. To start a Voice Chat, open the profile of any group or channel where you’re an admin, tap (⋮) or (⋯) and select Start Voice Chat. /* custom css */ .t...
Twitter is Testing a New Way to Watch YouTube Videos on iOS
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy Twitter is testing a feature that will allow users to watch YouTube videos directly from their timeline. At the moment, users have to leave Twitter and open YouTube in order to watch a video. Here’s a sneak peek at what this will look like for Twitter users: Starting today on iOS, we’re testing a way to watch YouTube videos directly in your Home timeline, without leaving the conversation on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/V4qzMJMEBs — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 18, 2021 “The current test on iOS will be a four-week experiment,” reveals a spokesperson for Twitter. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_04e.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_04e.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Twitter is Testing a New Way to Post Images Twitter is testing a new...
Google Launches Live Caption Feature for Chrome Users
Image sourced from Pymnts Google has rolled out its Live Caption feature for Chrome browser users. The feature was initially only available on the Pixel 2 and then to selected Android devices. But now, XDA has revealed that the feature is finally going live on the stable Chrome 89. Live Caption provides users with real-time captions for audio – like videos, podcasts, phone calls, video calls, and audio messages – even content they record themselves. All captions are processed locally, never stored, and never leave the device. To enable Live Captions, Chrome 89 users should go to Settings > Advanced > Accessibility – users may also need to download speech recognition files. “For now, it only detects and transcribes English-language audio, but hopefully, support for more languages will...
YouTube Rolls Out ‘Checks’ for Creators
Image sourced from Variety YouTube is rolling out “Checks” – a new tool to help make uploading videos and receiving ad revenue easier for creators. “Hey Creators! Today we’re rolling out a new step in the upload process on Studio desktop called “Checks” – which will automatically screen your uploads for potential copyright claims and ad suitability restrictions,” says YouTube in a blog post. This new tool is expected to help creators minimize the number of videos uploaded with copyright claims and/or yellow icons to avoid surprises or worries. Here’s how ‘Checks’ will work in the Studio Upload flow During the upload flow on desktop, creators will see the option to review their video in the new “checks” step for potential copyright claims and ad-suitability issues before the video is publis...
Google Reduces Play Store Fees for Developers by up to 50%
Image sourced from Pymnts Google has revealed that the service fee charged to Play Store developers could be reduced by up to 50%. The tech giant believes this is will help developers build sustainable businesses. “We work with partners every day to understand the challenges they face and help them bring their innovative ideas to life. Getting a new app off the ground and into orbit is not easy!” reads a blog post from Google. This why, starting from 1 July 2021, Google will reduce the service fee Google Play receives when a developer sells digital goods or services to 15% for the first $1M (USD) of revenue every developer earns each year. “With this change, 99% of developers globally that sell digital goods and services with Play will see a 50% reduction in fees. These are funds that can ...
Instagram Will Now Restrict DMs Between Teens and Adults
Image sourced from Time Instagram is introducing a new feature that restricts DMs between teen users (under the age of 18) and adults they don’t follow. This means that if an adult tries to message a teen who doesn’t follow them, they receive a notification that DM’ing them isn’t an option. “This feature relies on our work to predict peoples’ ages using machine learning technology, and the age people give us when they sign up,” says Instagram in a blog post. “As we move to end-to-end encryption, we’re investing in features that protect privacy and keep people safe without accessing the content of DMs.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_d05.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_d05.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Making it more difficult for adults to find and follow teens The social media ...
Oracle Launches Java 16 with 17 New Features for Developers
Image sourced from Texas News Today Oracle has launched Java 16 (Oracle JDK 16) which includes 17 new enhancements expected to further improve developer productivity. According to the software company, Java updates can be expected every six months to provide developers with a predictable release schedule. This offers a steady stream of innovations while also delivering continued performance, stability and security improvements. “The power of the six-month release cadence was on full display with the latest release,” says Georges Saab, VP of development for Java Platform Group at Oracle. “Pattern Matching and Records were introduced a year ago as part of JDK 14 and have since gone through multiple rounds of community feedback based on real-world applications. This process has not only given...
