iWorld
Over 4.8 million Tweets as the Cricket season begins
MUMBAI: The summer of cricket is here and the conversation continues to heat up on Twitter. Since the start of March, there’s been over 4.8 million Tweets on cricket from teams, players and fans alike. India explodes with Tweets on cricket over the opening weekend with close to 1.4 million Tweets. The conversation goes global (as shown in the heatmap below) as the cricket season kicks off!
This year, fans can look forward to highlight clips and live coverage from Cricbuzz (@Cricbuzz) of their pre-show, mid-innings, and post-show coverage featuring top names in the sport like Harsha Bhogle, Gaurav Kapur, and Virender Sehwag. Twitter has also partnered with NDTV (@NDTV) to offer fans live pre- and post-match video commentary as well as customized graphic explainers and scorecards to get them the latest happenings during the cricket season.
“Twitter is the best place to see what's happening in the world of sports, especially this summer of cricket. We are pleased to have Cricbuzz and NDTV to bring cricket fans on Twitter exclusive live content on their favourite game,” says Rahul Pushkarna, Head of Content Partnerships, Twitter Asia Pacific.
"Cricket is consistently one of the world's largest conversation drivers on Twitter and we expect to see more engagement from fans and brands alike as the season heats up," he added. "Back by popular demand we have emojis for all your favorite cricket teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and so many more."
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.
