iWorld
Google readying ‘Mobile Meter’ app that offers rewards for tracking mobile usage
MUMBAI: Google wants to dig a little deeper and monitor a user’s app usage as well. Reports reveal that the company is readying new mobile apps that compensate users if they allow their mobile behavior to be monitored. The project, known internally as “Mobile Meter,” utilises iOS and Android apps that intelligently monitor app usage and web browsing habits and send the data back to Google.
According to rumors doing rounds the Mobile Meter program will be totally voluntary. Participants will be required to give their consent (or opt in) before joining. Google isn’t the first to reward users to gather mobile trends either: Nielsen has been conducting research into mobile trends with an Android app.
Google already passively collects data to improve its apps and resources. The Google Maps app, for instance, regularly feeds back location metrics to enhance the service. The app will presumably enable the company to evaluate the different habits of Android and iOS users, gaining an important insight into Apple’s ecosystem. Talks are that Google will organise all of the information it collects to ensure the privacy of its panelists.
Google has confirmed development of the new apps, which it says are part of its Screenwise market research project that began rolling out last year. The Mobile Meter apps will replace an older method that allowed panelists to participate, helping Google measure media consumption across all screens but with more accurate results on mobile. Both the Android and iOS apps will be submitted to their relevant app stores in the near future, although only panelists will be able to actually use them. The company notes that while there isn’t an open call for volunteers right now, it recruits for panels on an ongoing basis and compensation varies based on the panels people participate in.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
