Instagram Rumored To Be Following In BeReal’s Footsteps With The Launch Of Its Upcoming Feature ‘Candid Challenges’

It’s only recently that we saw Instagram receive plenty of criticism for copying TikTok’s layout. But now, we’re hearing some more news that the app is taking inspiration from BeReal for an upcoming launch.

At the moment, the company is busy testing out a new feature that comes under the heading, Candid Challenges. And yes, in case you didn’t already notice by now, it’s quite similar to the BeReal app.

BeReal is now trending as a leading photo-sharing app that younger audiences can’t get enough of. And by looking at the way that the stats are rolling in, it’s definitely a major archrival for several other platforms out there.

While the launch of Instagram’s feature is yet to be talked about in public, the news was first unveiled by a developer named Alessandro Paluzzi. Famous for a lot of reverse engineering, he is quite quick when it comes to spotting early versions for any new updates. And this one is no exception.

Now, one spokesperson has confirmed the feature and labeled it as one of the app’s internal prototypes. However, they are being very hush about the whole matter, failing to delineate any more details.

Paluzzi mentioned that soon, after the launch, users of the app will begin to see alerts pop up during various times of the day. Obviously, this is restricted to all of those who opt to take part in the Candid Challenge.

The notification will ask the user if they’d like to click a snap of their surrounding at a certain time in the day. And when the prompt is received, well, the app’s front and rear cameras will be available to shoot in the form of windows to click the perfect snap.

You can see all the content arise across the app’s Stories, right after the user selects to share the challenge. And yes, that’s as close as it gets to BeReal who seems to be offering the exact same thing to users too.

The famous selfie-based app is all about sharing clicks with those that matter most, at various points in the day. It’s just a great way of staying connected with candid glimpses of a person’s life.

BeReal was first seen in the year 2019, and it works in the same manner as we’ve mentioned above about Instagram’s latest feature. The notifications or prompts get expired after just two minutes, and right after that, users can take out the time to see others’ clicks.

At the moment, we’re not quite sure when or even if the app is keen on making such a launch. Moreover, we just know that there’s some internal testing taking place right now, not even external.

Still, the fact that Instagram is actually even thinking about testing it out is a clear indication that things are going in the right direction.

Copying BeReal seems sensible for Instagram because it is, after all, rising in popularity with Gen Z in these past couple of months. And for those that don’t know, it’s even reached the top spot on the App Store.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Here Are 5 of the Biggest Privacy Trends Among Consumer

Third party tracking cookies are quickly falling out of favor, with Firefox’s 2019 discontinuation of certain tracking cookies coupled with Apple’s widespread blocking of all third party tracking playing a role in that. Google is also planning to discontinue the use of third party tracking cookies by 2023, but what does the consumer think about all this? The Global Web Index recently published some data that sheds some light on this situation.

There are five basic trends that this report, with the first of these trends being that privacy desires have remained quite consistent over time. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that older consumers tend to be more focused on privacy than those that belong to the younger demographics. Only 22% of Baby Boomers said that they felt like they had control over their online data, but 27% of Gen Z respondents said the same with all things having been considered and taken into account.

Another trend that can be seen in this report is that quite a few consumers are opting for privacy oriented alternatives to their favorite products. Many of these consumers are switching to DuckDuckGo because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing them to use a search engine that would automatically block any tracking attempts from third parties. DuckDuckGo has seen its US based usership increase by as much as 69% since the second quarter of 2020.

Also, while privacy behaviors are consistent across most demographics, the reasons for implementing a particular privacy conscious methodology can vary based on the demographic that the consumer in question belongs to. For example, baby boomers use ad blockers due to the lack of representation that they see in ads that are shown to them. Gen Z, on the other hand, is more likely to use ad blockers so that they can avoid seeing any kind of inappropriate content online. Hence, the reasoning for each demographic differs based on a few pertinent factors.

As for the reactions that people show to cookie consent prompts, there are three basic reactions that have emerged based on the trends included in this report. Around half of the users across 9 markets stated that they automatically accept any cookies that a website asks consent for. In spite of the fact that this is the case, around one third of respondents stated that they change the settings to better suit their preferences, and approximately 6% get turned off by the prompt and decide to abandon their visit to that particular website.

The three biggest reasons for disliking these pop-ups, each of which were selected by 26% of respondents, were as follows: reduction of online experience enjoyment, difficulty in making the right choice and an overabundance of information included in these popups. Unclear information or the presence of excessive jargon was also included as a major reason by a quarter of respondents or 25% to be precise.

By far the biggest trend that can be analyzed through this data set is that transparency has started to matter more than ever before. 46% of respondents in the US stated that they wanted to know more about why their data was being asked for as well as what would be done with the data once they consent to a website using it. This indicates that a lot more consumers would be willing to consent to first party tracking if a bit more transparency is given to them about such matters

All of these factors need to be recognized by websites and brands, especially now that third party tracking is fast becoming a thing of the past.

Read next: 45% of Consumers Downsized Their Lifestyles Due to Inflation
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Excitement For Fans As Reports Of A Split Screen Mode On YouTube TV And YouTube Shorts For TV Screens Emerge

This past month, we heard about a report that outlined how Google TV was going to include support from Nest Audio very soon. This would also entail Fitbit/Wear OS with some additions linked to the smart home.

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, well, fans, there’s more to celebrate. And this time around, it has to do with some innovative updates in the world of YouTube.

Reports of YouTube TV launching a new split-screen mode are taking center stage. At the same time, we’re hearing reports of YouTube Shorts arising on big screens too.

This news comes to us thanks to Protocol which unveiled how Google informed its partners in July that it would be introducing some changes for its clients. This includes those on Android as well as Google TV.

Just recently, we saw YouTube TV celebrating its 5 million subscriber mark and now, we’re hearing about a Mosaic Mode. This allows fans of the apps to simultaneously witness nearly four different live feeds at once. Thanks to the screen getting divided equally into four, viewers can see their favorite shows at once.

We see this as an ideal chance for all those sports enthusiasts who find it hard to pick between their favorites. But now, there’s no need as the company has fulfilled your wish.

As of now, we’ve got no other details as nothing else was disclosed publicly today in regards to live feeds. We just hope this is not only applicable for selective programs to get multiple views but to all.

It’s also been suggested that the app wouldn’t aggressively chop up video content and provide audio streams to one source only at any single time.

If that has gotten you excited, well, how about something else that’s a little more happening? YouTube Shorts will soon be available on TV screens, accompanied by letterboxing and plenty of controls. These will be located on the right side of the vertical videos.

The new features were first seen being introduced to the app’s partners in regards to Android/Google Television.

Soon, we’ll be seeing it arise everywhere on large screens where you can easily access the YouTube app with ease.

If you ask our point of view, the split screen feature would look fantastic across both iPads and Android tablets, or even on the web.

Read next: YouTube Offers Users A More Optimized Experience With An ‘Explore’ Page For Its Podcasts
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Bill By US Lawmakers Allows News Media Groups To Negotiate With Firms Like Facebook And Google

A group of American lawmakers is going public with a revised version of a bill that they hope can serve as the bridge to better communications in the media world.

According to them, the bill will allow for better negotiations of news media groups with leading digital firms like Google and Facebook.

The act has been given the title, Journalism Competition, and Preservation. It’s designed to delete legal obstacles linked to newsgroups while conducting negotiations. They also hope it can bridge all the gaps and ensure fair terms for those platforms that routinely get access to their news for free.

The news was confirmed by a press release statement coming forward from Bipartisan US lawmakers. This particular group entails the likes of different senators as well as judiciary committee members hailing from both US parties.

Before we forget, we must add that this bill is not entirely new. We’ve seen an older version of it come forward in the year 2021. And at that time, it received opposition from various trade industry groups that belonged to the likes of both Meta and Google.

Now, the new and improved bill is stated to include news publishers that entail a workforce of no more than 1500 employees working full-time duties. Similarly, there would be news broadcasters that weren’t affiliated with any particular network.

This way, all groups, and interested parties would gel better together and win a range of great deals thanks to Facebook, Google, and so many other leading news media group names.

The legislation would have been applicable to any print organization, digital news platform, and broadcasting company that entails the right editorial workforce and publishes weekly.

H/T: Reuters

Read next: Data shows Amazon remains behind Google and Facebook in the advertising market
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Twitter Is Promoting Its Audio-Based Social Media Features Via A New Pop-Up Featuring Spaces, Stations, And More

Twitter has added an introductory pop-up to the platform, attempting to help users familiarize themselves with all audio-oriented features that they can experience.

For the unaware individual, these mostly stem from Twitter's dive into Spaces, a podcast/Livestream combination that heavily borrowed from the premise of social media platform Clubhouse; it also hoped to emulate the resulting success, with relatively mixed results. However, to even emulate such success would be a dead end. The audio social media platform experience, while attracting a lot of attention (and even some praise from this very writer in the early days), ended up much more similar to a gimmick or fad. Its fading popularity was not helped by Clubhouse's disastrous gathering of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other radical hate groups. While Clubhouse is still enjoying limited attention (and enjoy is truly an odd word choice, considering the groups that cohabit through the platform), its heyday is very much over. The podcast social experience is done with.

Or, more accurately, would have been done if not for Twitter clinging on as hard as the platform can.

Despite other social media sites losing interest as soon as possible. The short-form text-posting site Twitter is not only sticking to its guns, but it's also raising the stakes. Twitter's been steadily adding actual podcasts to its repertoire of audio content, has tested Stations; which are accumulations of different audio content curated for a user's taste, and is still actively promoting Spaces. The new pop-up includes all of these features, with the platform and its Devs defending their vision of audio content with a mild sense of vehemence.

I honestly don't understand why Twitter seems to believe in access so much. With the popularity of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, it's abundantly clear that social media is a visual game above all else. While podcasts are incredibly popular nowadays, they don't necessarily benefit from being restricted by being inside Twitter. Who knows, however? Maybe one of these days, Twitter will get a new "Only Murders In The Building" type podcast and will be catapulted to social media success.

Read next: Twitter Is Testing A Tweet View Counter And Tags For Accounts Verified Via Phone Numbers

by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

The amount of people that play with remote is the highest in Brazil

While browsing the internet we often come across videos of YouTubers playing games and live streaming them. There we see that most of them have at least 2 or maybe 3 monitors and we all wonder why they have those when they can do the same with just one screen.

Users all over the world use a technique called cloud gaming that lets them stream their games from their PC or laptop to their mobile phone. This feature has started canceling out traditional gaming methods that required expensive pieces of hardware etc.

This feature made its first appearance in 2006 with the games on the PlayStation 3 being able to be streamed to the PlayStation Portable, which was a far less powerful hand-held device through a stable Wi-Fi connection. Later in 2014, some of the heavy but specific games were available to be streamed onto mobile phones, and then two years later in 2016; those games were available for streaming on Windows and Mac as well. According to the insights based on a study by Statista called Global Consumer Survey Special: Gaming & eSports, this feature is only used by a huge minority of users these days despite its popularity in the days of the PlayStation.

In Brazil, 54% of respondents said that they use a secondary screen for their gaming purposes by streaming it to other devices like smartphones, tablets, and the like. Almost half of the respondents from China, which also happens to be the largest place for the revenue collection of the gaming industry in the world, said that they use another device to play games.

Respondents from more first-world countries like South Korea, the USA, and Germany, which also happen to be the countries that hold the fourth, second, and fifth spots on the chart of the gaming industry in terms of revenue.

In Germany, only a quarter of people stated that they used remote gaming or another device to play games. Meanwhile, in the United States, a third of respondents claimed that they use their mobile phones to stream the gameplays that they play on their PCs. Even though remote play cannot be exactly called mobile gaming it is an undisputed fact that mobile phones play a huge role in the gaming industry in general and are a vital part of it.

The chart showed that Brazil had the largest number of users making use of remote play throughout the country. The chart was based on data that was collected from a survey that was conducted by Statista from August 2nd to August 6th of this year. The survey questioned 1,000 people from the ages of 16-64 so they were the people who had at least occasionally played games on their phones or mobiles.

The survey found out that in China a rough 51% used remote play while playing games. In other countries like South Korea (28%), Germany (24%), and the United States (35%), and the United Kingdom (33%) the percentage remained low and did not come up over 40%.


Read next: Streaming Takes Over Cable And Broadcasts To Hold Highest Share For Total Daily Viewing
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

WhatsApp allows status updates visibility within the chat list, just like Instagram stories, but it is now available for some beta users

A while ago, we informed WhatsApp users that the instant chatting app is working on a feature that will allow users to see friends and family status updates within the chat list. If you ponder a bit, the feature is similar to another Meta-owned app, Instagram, in which stories can be seen from the direct message (DM) list.

Now, the feature is fully developed and is available for Android version 2.22.18.17 to limited beta users, as reported by the website responsible for WhatsApp updates, WABetainfo. The screenshot manifest how users can view a status update uploaded by a contact instantly within the contact lists while seeking chats. All you need to do is, tap on the display picture of the contact, which represents a green circle around it, and directly view the status update from there. Whereas, if you intend to chat with a contact, just tap on the chat cell to start a conversation like you normally do.

Moreover, it is not a big deal if you find the status visibility update within the chat list unsuitable. You can simply disable this feature by tapping the mute status updates option on WhatsApp. However, it is important to note that WhatsApp has not officially disclosed this update, but the feature is accessible for some beta testers. However, it is expected to be available for more beta users for iOS shortly.

Apart from this, several other updates are coming on WhatsApp, including an important update that will allow users to restrict the ability to take screenshots of those images and videos sent to the contact at a one-time. This screenshot blocking feature is under development, and we don’t know when it will be launched.

Furthermore, we have also heard that WhatsApp had released a Windows native application earlier. Specifically, they have done this to optimize desktop OS. Another thing is that WhatsApp has started rolling out the ability to recover deleted messages. This would help in getting back those messages that have been deleted accidentally. Along with this, WhatsApp had already provided complete control to the users to select whom they want to share their profile picture, Last seen, and status updates.

With all of such features, we can say that WhatsApp gives users a free hand to decide whether to hide or show their information on WhatsApp.

Read next: WhatsApp has come up with two new privacy features and they are cool to say in the least
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World