iWorld
IMImobile to power BBC’s mobile and social audience engagement
MUMBAI: IMImobile, a global technology company providing software and services which help businesses capitalise on the growth in mobile communications, today announced that they have been awarded the contract under the BBC’s framework agreement for the provisioning of Mobile and Social Messaging services to help the BBC streamline the audience engagement process across mobile and social channels. The partnership commenced in July 2014, after an official supplier selection process.
The BBC will be using IMImobile’s DaVinci Social platform across radio, TV and live events, enabling production teams to seamlessly manage inbound and outbound audience interactions across SMS, MMS, email, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. DaVinci Social is a single tool specifically developed to enable broadcasters to manage and respond to audience interaction across multiple channels, monitor citizen journalism and integrate contextual audience feedback into live programming. In addition, the platform will be used to manage interactive services such as social and mobile voting.
IMImobile chief executive Jay Patel commented: “We are delighted to be selected by the BBC to deploy our DaVinci Social platform across the organisation. IMImobile has a deep heritage of delivering highly scalable solutions and services into the broadcasting sector. DaVinci Social fulfils the BBC’s requirements for being a universal tool for the monitoring and management of audience interaction across multiple channels”.
The growth in mobile and social communication has changed the way audiences want to consume and participate in the broadcasting experience. To help broadcasters manage the complexity of mobile and social engagement, IMImobile developed DaVinci Social, an enterprise grade, highly scalable platform that can be deployed across hundreds of production teams to centralise the management of audience engagement across multiple digital and mobile channels.
BBC head of Interactive Technical Advice & Contracts Unit Claire McLaughlin said: “Throughout the bid, IMImobile was able to successfully demonstrate that the DaVinci Social platform meets our high demands and criteria for centralising all audience interactions across our radio, TV and live event programming. The platform enables the BBC to respond to the change in audience behaviour and integrate mobile and social audience interactions into the broadcasting experience.”
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.
