WhatsApp is rolling out a subscription plan for business accounts

When it comes to providing a safe platform for all businesses, WhatsApp has leveled up its game. In an effort to grow their company, they recently introduced business chats that can be linked to other devices and are currently developing subscription plans. The launch of WhatsApp Premium will be a momentous occasion and a fantastic opportunity for all business solutions.

WhatsApp is about to launch several useful features for its users, and after years of hard work, they have finally decided to bring forward a subscription plan. WhatsApp proposed the creation of subscription plans for business accounts at the beginning of June. Operators can better organize their social activities and record the data with WhatsApp premium.

In addition, the premium version of WhatsApp offers specialized businesses some cutting-edge features that make it simple to stay in touch with their customers and link them to other devices. Playstore and Testflight have already notified people to install the brand-new feature and earn the subscription plan for their businesses in iOS and Android, respectively.

Just to be clear, WhatsApp Premium is an optional plan for certain businesses that opt for the approach. You can activate it by updating your older version to a newer one, then simply going to WhatsApp settings to turn on the feature. In the setting, you will find the option of WhatsApp premium, which means you are eligible to avail of the opportunity.

Furthermore, it may ask you to pay a certain subscription fee after turning on the feature that will differ by country. After the payment, you can access two advanced features that will make it convenient for you to manage day-to-day tasks.

The custom business link is one of the more advanced options. The link will enable you to connect with your clients and provide an overview of the company's offerings. The customer can view the landing business page and begin a conversation more easily by simply clicking on the link if you attach the link to your account.

The custom business link will get expired once you lose your subscription plan. Moreover, businesses help customers remember their business links by selecting a custom link that matches the company's name.

The ability to link ten devices simultaneously is WhatsApp premium's second-best feature, allowing you to manage your conversation with the client. Since more people in the company use the same WhatsApp account, it is critical to connect ten devices when dealing with customers.

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Moreover, we must be wondering if we do not subscribe to the latest version, we might lack behind in our business. Yet, this is not the case. The WhatsApp premium is an optional plan for companies looking for advanced facilities. So if you are not interested in subscribing to the latest version of the App, it won’t harm your experience and change the business App.

Also, you can end the WhatsApp premium subscription at any time from Playstore and App store. This version is only available in a few countries for now before they roll out the feature worldwide. Thus, hang in there before it is launched in your country. For further details, stay connected to your social media platforms for any WhatsApp-related news.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

5G-enabled smartphones are facing a drop in prices as popularity rises

It's been almost 13 years since 4G services were announced globally. And now the world is getting itself ready to welcome 5G.

With the upcoming 5G mobile phones, it is expected that both 4G and 5G devices will get cheaper. However, this shift can take the average selling price higher. Statistical data analysis suggests that almost 80% of mobile phones will be 5G enabled in 2026, whereas the figures for 2022 put it at almost half of what is about to come in 2026. On the other hand, it is also expected that prices will see an overall rise.

A discussion started in the famous discussion forum Quora, 2 years back, in 2020, when it was announced that 5G would soon be making its entry. The discussion was based on the effects that 4G-enabled devices will be going through once 5G is launched. The most appreciated answer stated that it is true, 5 G-enabled devices will give rise to a shift from 4G to 5G but since the demand will be too high, and high demand leads to elevated prices, this is why most users won’t be able to shift.

Since not everyone will be offered 5G, these devices will be forced to co-exist with 4G-enabled devices. And for countries like India, this coexistence of 5G and 4G could last for many years.

In light of a report presented by GSMA Intelligence in 2019, by 2025, almost 15% of mobile phone devices will be offering 5G services to their respective users. And since LTE has been the basis of 5G, so for almost 10 years, 4G is going to hold its spot.

As shown in the International Data Corporation report, the prices for 4G smartphones went down from $278 in 2020 to $176 in 2022. By 2026, prices will have dropped to $106.

Similarly, for 5G devices, even though the prices are at an all-time high, the prices went down from $632 in 2020 to $616 in 2022. And by 2026, it is expected to come down to $444.

Chart: IDC

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Study shows steps taken by teens in response to rising security and privacy concerns

Recently, the famous US-based auditing and consulting company, Deloitte, released a survey report based on connectivity and mobile trends.

The survey was based on over two thousand teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19. The survey was conducted during the first quarter of the ongoing year. The main concept behind this whole study was to get an insight into the steps taken by Gen Z, based on the privacy and security concerns they faced through online surfing or while using social media applications.

As shown in the survey, the highest number of votes went to the implementation of a two-step verification feature for applications. This feature has played an important role in making the accounts more secure. Not only does it make things more difficult for anyone to hack in, but it also notifies the user if someone is trying to break into their account. A massive 34% of the survey teens went along with this step.

As most teenagers don’t like to be followed, the second most common step, with 32% of the overall survey participants, consisted of teens turning off their device location required for different services and applications. This made them feel like they were no longer being watched. Another similar step was taken in the form of Bluetooth being turned off, to ensure their device doesn’t get connected with any unwanted device.

Another step, which had the support of 22% of survey participants, was the use of different software to enhance device security. Third-party services such as VPN, which have become a common tool, are now being used more frequently than ever.

As social media applications are the largest platform that gives rise to such concerns, almost 14% of teens either permanently took down their social media accounts or took a break from social media. whereas 13% of them started using anti-tracking services.

Those who still felt concerned even after taking steps such as the use of anti-tracking software or deleting a social media account, either went for end-to-end encrypted chats or distanced themselves permanently from using such devices. Those who still wanted to work bought devices that prevented anyone from tracking them.

H/T: Insider Intelligence

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Despite Record-Breaking Sales, Facebook’s UK Operations Pays Around 30 Million In Corporation Tax

It’s been a great year for Facebook as the Meta-owned firm was seen recording a staggering amount of sales worth billions. Yet, the company was outlined to pay corporation tax worth just 29 million British Pounds. Meanwhile, Facebook's average salary for workers had also increased to 262,000 Pounds.

The new report regarding the finances of the firm also revealed that its London wing produced a high gross income thanks to advertisers. The level rose by 37% since last year. And for those that may not be aware, Meta is the UK’s second biggest player in the advertising world, falling just a little behind Google.

The filing report for Facebook’s UK division showed taxes of nearly 229.5 million Pounds when it came to pre-tax gains last year. Similarly, the value of corporation tax last year was 29 million Pounds and which was even less than what it had paid in 2020.

Facebook issued a statement on the matter. They claim to be busy investing in the United Kingdom, opening up new facilities in places like King’s Cross. But they also addressed how most of their taxes are linked to the US as compared to the UK.

Meta happens to be in the middle of considering job cuts as the firm failed to meet its financial targets, not to mention a period of slump where the number of active users declined greatly this year.

Last year, it was a completely different picture for the Meta-owned firm. The UK wing seemed like they were on some sort of hiring spree. The workforce also experienced massive growth of 37% with a series of new leases on various sites.

The staff bill for the firm also rose and they did get their due share in payments with an increment of nearly 6%.

But it’s no surprise that no matter what, Meta continues to be criticized like its fellow archrivals, Amazon and search engine giant Google. So many people feel that it still isn’t doing its part and paying enough in terms of UK taxes.

For instance, a few insider analysts state how Meta took up nearly 6 billion pounds of ad spending in 2021.

In 2020, the UK introduced a new law that made sure tech giants were paying their due share of taxes that levies out to be 2% in terms of gross revenue. This is to target those companies that make big earnings but usually end up reporting values of profit that are much lower than reality.

Then in the next year, we’re hearing about a new tax that will come into play in various parts of the globe. This is a unified global tax system where standardization for collecting taxes will take place and those firms doing business in various nations will pay tax at a fixed rate of 15% corporation tax.

Just this past week, we saw Google paying around 200 million British Pounds for its corporation tax and the firm reported a turnover of about 3.4 billion Pounds in that time.

H/T: TG

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Gamers Finally Warming Up to Windows 11, Steam Survey Reveals

The launch of Windows 11 has seen a lot of ups and downs, but in spite of the fact that this is the case Microsoft will be rather satisfied with the relatively high adoption rate. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that gamers have been quite ardent in their criticism of the new operating system, but it seems like even they are starting to warm up to the updated version of Microsoft’s flagship software product.

This data comes from Steam’s monthly survey in which gamers can answer questions and give their opinions regarding the state of the gaming industry as well as anything that might pertain to them. It appears that gamers using Windows 11 have seen their numbers increase by a little over 1%, or 1.05% to be precise, and that brings the total percentage of Windows 11 gamers up to 25%.

Windows 10 is understandably starting to recede from view. 76% of gamers who responded to the same survey in May used Windows 10, and now that number sits at around 71% with all things having been considered and taken into account. Interestingly, Windows 7 is still seeing some surprisingly widespread usage that allowed it to become the third most widely used operating system ahead of other operating systems such as Mac OS and Ubuntu.

Users have been hesitant to upgrade their older OS to Windows 11, but these trends show that they will be more likely to go for the update than might have been the case otherwise in the near future. However, it should be mentioned that Windows might be reaching a hard limit with its 11th iteration. It requires heavy duty hardware, so the number of people who would be willing to make the switch will be rather limited in the short term.

It will be intriguing to see what these survey results look like next month, but it is unlikely that there would be a huge change. Gamers like to stick to what they are used to, as can be seen in Windows 7 still being used.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Developing countries find their harbor in Crypto Market

Many developing countries have been going through a tough time since the COVID outbreak. The amount of economic decrement drives them to the edge of growing responsibilities and tension to avoid future bankruptcies and safeguard the needs of their people.

To combat inflation in developing nations, the government has begun investing in cryptocurrencies. The Middle East has long been one of the smallest markets when it comes to investing in something like cryptocurrency.

However, since the boom in inflation, Middle East countries have faced many challenges, and to cope with these challenges, they have started taking an interest in cryptocurrency. Both the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have become fertile ground for crypto.

The researchers from Chainalysis recorded the surge in received cryptocurrency in Middle East countries. 48% of the crypto asset has been received by MENA in one year. Not just that, they have profited more than $566 billion from cryptocurrency. MENA has left behind other countries to gain more profit. Latin America is said to be the second fastest-growing crypto market at 40%, whereas North America is at 36%.

The growth of the crypto market proliferates due to the high inflation rate among developing countries. Egypt and Turkey faced ups and downs during the inflation to keep up with the cryptocurrency investments. Chainalysis reported that this decrease has led to investment in crypto to stabilize the financial complications.

Chainalysis also testified that MENA provides a stable ground to more than 30 other countries having higher crypto adoption rates. For instance, Egypt stands at 14th position, while Turkey is at 12th and Morocco at 24th, according to the report released by Global Crypto Adoption Index.

Furthermore, Turkey has seen the biggest downfall in its economy in the year 2020. Turkey is considered to be the largest growing market in crypto in the MENA, and the main reason behind the surge is the inflation in the economy. The Turkish Lira is said to record the lowest compared to the US dollar. The Egyptian pound has also dropped increasingly.

Thanks to the crypto market, these countries are trying to balance their financial problems by investing in crypto. Turkey has received $192 billion in cryptocurrency, while Egypt has its own game to keep up with the competitors and received 222 billion dollars.

After observing the rise in the volume of crypto asset savings transactions in Egypt, other countries with rising inflation have decided to learn from it. For instance, Morocco attempted to alter the course of its government by moving toward the cryptocurrency market. They have decided to fully embrace the new culture to safeguard their consumer interests and prevent the collapse of the government.

Meanwhile, Egyptians are strengthening their ties with the biggest investors, UAE. Egypt and UAE have made a pact to build a bridge crypto-based remittance corridor to further their investments. UAE is considered to be the third-largest crypto market in the MENA.

Although the crypto market is a great opportunity for all developing countries, it also harbors wealthy countries. The Gulf Cooperation Council reported that UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai are the richest in the market and not just in the Middle East. They also reported that the crypto market supports developing countries to let them balance their economic conditions.

Despite this fact, Afghanistan has refused to invest in crypto assets since the intervention of the Taliban. However, countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, and Ukraine are rapidly growing and benefitting from the market.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Researchers Have Claimed That Continuous Use Of Social Media Can Lead To Depression Within 6 Months

Nowadays everyone uses social media and shares every aspect of their life on it. Now new research has shown that continuous use of social media can lead to depression and it doesn't matter whether you are a person with a normal life or not. Every person tends to get depression by using social media, but some people with certain personality types may take longer than 6 months to develop depression.

The analysis was carried out on 1,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 30. Some questions were asked to the participants of this analysis. The questions include the time of their social media usage, the social media apps they use the most, etc. A personality quiz was also run by them. These tests divided the group into 5 parts according to their personalities: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

What the reports showed is that no matter what type of personality you have, you are still prone to depression while using social media. But the people who had an agreeableness personality have a 49% less chance of being depressed than other personalities. People with neuroticism used social media for just five hours, but reports showed that they are most exposed to depression while using social media.

The biggest reason that people go into depression while using social media is that users compare themselves with the people on social media and think about all the insecurities they find in themselves. They get low self-esteem and start to think of themselves as someone who isn't good enough. Another reason is that even though social media is a means of connecting people, it still makes people lonely.

People can also miscommunicate and misinterpret what you are saying. This can lead to anxiety and self-doubt. Through online social connections, people cannot fulfill their emotional needs and this can make them depressed. Even if people are closely connected, they are far away on emotional levels. Social media may be a place for relaxation and fun, but it can lead to the destruction of mental health too.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World