Applications
Virgin Mobile, MySpace ink partnership
NEW DELHI: Virgin Mobile and social networking site MySpace has inked a partnership deal as per which MySpace will be available on Virgin Mobile’s WAP enabled phones. Commenting on the partnership, Virgin Mobile India chief officer (handsets and VAS) Deval Parikh said, “With more and more online youth community logging onto social networking sites, we wanted to make this service available to our customers on a broad set of handsets. We are thrilled to be the first to have partnered with MySpace in the Indian mobile service space to make this service accessible to Virgin Mobile customers.” “MySpace and Virgin Mobile users in India will love having the freedom and convenience of accessing their social network while they’re on the go. With India being the fastest growing wireless/mobile market, it is a priority for us to provide our users in India access to their MySpace network in ways that fit their lifestyle. Virgin Mobile is an ideal partner that will help us deliver on that strategy in India,” added MySpace VP and GM – Mobile John Faith. To access vbytes, users will need to pay a daily charge of Rs 5.
This deal further adds an application on vBytes, Virgin Mobile’s WAP services as users can access MySpace by simply clicking the MySpace link on vBytes and logging in the user ID and password. Also new users can begin by creating a fresh id and password.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
