iWorld
VOOT plans to launch separate app for kids
MUMBAI: Viacom 18’s latest offering, its OTT arm VOOT, is banking heavily on the network’s rich kids content. Not only that, it plans to go beyond the network’s flagship shows like Motu Patlu and Shiva, and acquire kids content from an array of producers, small and large.
The OTT player has already acquired digital rights to internationally acclaimed properties like Pokémon and Chhota Bheem for the platform that went live yesterday.
“The idea is to bring together the top character shows under one digital platform to make the most of this booming market for kids content online with the aim being a market leader in the domain,” said Viacom 18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi.
When quizzed about the possibility of VOOT launching a separate app for kids, Gandhi shared that they are considering it ‘within a year’s’ time. Currently the OTT platform has a separate section for kids’ content within the same app.
iWorld
Meta shutters standalone Messenger website from April 2026
Desktop chats redirect to facebook.com/messages, mobile app remains unaffected for web-independent users.
MUMBAI: Messenger’s web independence is signing off proving that even in the digital age, some chats just can’t escape the Facebook family reunion. Meta has confirmed it will pull the plug on messenger.com as a standalone site starting April 2026, automatically redirecting desktop visitors to facebook.com/messages to keep conversations flowing. The update, posted on the company’s help pages and first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, comes with pop-up notifications on both the Messenger site and app.
The change follows Meta’s earlier retirement of the dedicated Messenger desktop apps for Windows and Mac, which already funnelled users to Facebook’s web interface. For those who’ve deactivated their Facebook accounts but still use Messenger via browser, the move shrinks options further leaving only the mobile app as a lifeline. Chat history stays safe through the secure backup PIN process (with a reset option if forgotten), but web access without a Facebook login is effectively over.
This is the latest twist in Messenger’s long identity crisis. Born as Facebook Chat in 2008, it spun off into a standalone app in 2011 and got fully separated from the main Facebook mobile app in 2014 to boost its own adoption. Yet the pendulum has swung back, since 2023, Facebook has been quietly reintegrating Messenger features into its core platform, slowly dissolving the walls between the two.
Meta frames the shift as a streamlining move consolidating messaging under one roof to simplify infrastructure and user experience. But for the corner of users who preferred Messenger’s lighter, less Facebook-tied web version, it’s a step that feels more like consolidation than convenience.
Whether you’re a die-hard desktop chatter or just someone who logs in occasionally, the message is clear: in Meta’s world, going solo online is becoming a relic. From April 2026, if you’re on a computer, expect the redirect and perhaps a gentle nudge back toward the full Facebook fold.
