iWorld
Google launches support for tamil languages ads
MUMBAI: Google India announced the launch of Tamil language support for its advertising products – Google AdWords and Google AdSense to support the Tamil language web publishers and also help advertisers to reach out to the large base of Internet users in Tamil. With this launch, Google has now scaled support for Indian language advertising to cover Hindi, Bengali and Tamil.
Advertisers will now be able to develop a rich and seamless campaigns to target their audience through Tamil-language search and display ads. In addition to that, content creators who have websites and blogs in Tamil will be able to sign up for Google Adsense and run ads on their content and attract advertisers from across the globe.
According to Google India, Director – Google Marketing Solutions, Shalini Girish, “Majority of India’s Internet users are not fluent in english, and we have been very focussed on enabling Indian language support across our key products to make the Internet more useful for everyone. With the launch of Tamil support in our advertising products, today we are enabling both the content creators and advertisers to connect with the Indian language users in their languages. We saw a huge acceleration in Hindi content creation, when we launched support for Hindi languages, and we hope that the addition of new languages like Bengali (launched late last year) and now Tamil will provide the necessary boost to content creation in local languages and grow digital advertising in Indian languages.”
iWorld
WhatsApp tests ‘WhatsApp Plus’ paid subscription tier
€2.49 plan adds customisation tools, messaging and calls remain free.
MUMBAI: Your chats may soon get a glow-up at a small monthly price. WhatsApp is testing a new paid subscription tier called ‘WhatsApp Plus’, signalling a shift towards premium personalisation features while keeping its core services free. The feature is currently being rolled out to a limited set of Android beta users, with early reports from WABetaInfo indicating a price of €2.49 per month (approximately Rs 274). Meta has confirmed the test, stating that it is designed for users who want more control over how they customise and organise their app experience.
Importantly, the subscription remains optional. Core functionalities including messaging, voice calls and community features will continue to be available free of charge, ensuring that the platform’s primary use case remains unchanged.
Instead, WhatsApp Plus focuses on aesthetic and organisational upgrades. These include exclusive sticker packs, new themes, custom app icons and personalised notification tones. On the functional side, subscribers may be able to pin up to 20 chats significantly higher than the current limit of three along with access to custom chat lists and enhanced categorisation tools.
Industry observers suggest the offering is largely cosmetic. Social media consultant Matt Navarra noted that the features lean more towards visual and usability enhancements rather than altering the app’s core functionality.
While global pricing has not been finalised, the subscription is expected to remain a low-cost monthly plan, with reports indicating a possible one-month free trial for eligible users. The feature is still in beta, meaning the final set of offerings could evolve before a broader rollout. Support for iOS users is also anticipated in the coming weeks.
The move mirrors a broader trend in the social and messaging ecosystem, where platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram have introduced similar subscription layers adding premium features without placing core services behind a paywall.
For WhatsApp, the strategy appears clear, keep the conversation free, but charge for a little extra flair around it.
