iWorld
Musical treat on By Invite Only with Monali Thakur and Nikhita Gandhi
Mumbai: Monali Thakur and Nikhita Gandhi, the singing duo are ready to captivate audiences with their musical banter and compelling moments on Amazon miniTVs’ GenZ chat show By Invite Only. The streaming service unveiled the promo for their latest episode, and by the looks of it, the episode promises to be an engaging ride packed with wholesome conversations across the duo’s personal and professional lives.
The promo gives a sneak peek of the endearing episode and viewers are definitely in for a sassy and fun roller-coaster jaunt. In a conversation, Monali took a stand on the evolution of the music industry, and the rise of independent artists. She said, “Independent music industry has never been the mainstream music industry. Now this has changed, international streaming platforms putting in money in the country, most of the independent music are leading the charts in the streaming platforms.”
During a fun segment, Renil asked Nikhita, “What would you do if you woke up as Bhushan Kumar?” Laughing to which she candidly replied, “Sign Me.” Monali took the name of the legendary Salil Chowdhury when asked about the mail composer she looks up to the most.
Sharing her experience of being a part of the show, Monali said, “I am overjoyed to have been invited to By Invite Only. It’s wonderful to be sitting on that couch, because you never know when you start revealing things and engage in fun convo. Renil’s endearing nature and charisma makes it so easy and comfortable to be one’s true self. I’m excited to see how the episode unfolds.”
Adding to this Nikhita said, “Well, this is definitely fun and I am sure viewers will also enjoy how this episode reveals our never seen before sides. The show has such a lively energy and colourful vibe that you can’t help but smile as you walk in. I adore Renil and appreciate how he tries to pick and dig out stuff from us.”
By Invite Only, hosted by Renil Abraham, is the talk show produced by The Zoom Studios and the latest episode will premiere on 5 July 2023, on Amazon miniTV for free, available within Amazon’s shopping app and Fire TV.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
