iWorld
Hotstar announces partnership with awesomeness
MUMBAI: Further expanding their portfolio of over one hundred thousand hours of content, Hotstar, India’s leading premium streaming platform, announces a partnership with Awesomeness, a media company serving the global Gen Z audience. The association will allow hit series from Awesomeness including Freakish, T@gged and Confess to reside on the platform under the Hotstar Premium library.
The partnership supports Hotstar’s ongoing strategy to bring the best of global content to India. The two companies will work together to create added appeal for younger audiences through Awesomeness’ premium programming.
Freakish, a horror show featuring an ensemble cast, revolves around a group of students trapped inside a high school who must fight for survival when mutant freaks take over after a meltdown at the local chemical plant. Season 1 and 2 of the show are currently available for streaming on Hotstar Premium. T@gged is a modern day thriller that explores the terrifying risks of social media in a world of anonymity. Season 1 and 2 are available for viewers on the platform, with Season 3 due to premiere next year. Based on the novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, Confess is a modern love story about the secrets we keep to protect the ones we love. All episodes of Season 1 are available on the platform.
“We are thrilled to renew our partnership with Hotstar and continue the expansion of our brand in this market,” Awesomeness, Head of Worldwide Distribution, Rebecca Glashow said. “Hotstar’s audience of millions of users provides us with the opportunity to expand our reach and deliver on our promise of bringing the Gen Z audience the best and most creative programming, no matter where they are.”
Through its partnerships with the world’s largest studios, like HBO, Disney and Showtime, Hotstar has been able to bring the most celebrated international shows to India, under the Hotstar Premium banner.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
