Brands
Voda offers complimentary smartphone insurance
MUMBAI: Vodafone Red Shield is offering complimentary insurance cover for new and up to six months old handsets Offers Theft protection apart from Damage cover and Anti-virus protection.
Redefining customer experience through innovative products and services is at the core of Vodafone’s philosophy. As one more initiative to serve the dynamic needs of customers, Vodafone India has introduced Vodafone Red Shield, a complete device security solution with complimentary insurance for smartphones that assures a protection cover of up to Rs. 50,000 (fifty thousand) on brand new handsets and those up to six months old. Currently available exclusively for Vodafone Red Post Paid customers, Vodafone Red Shield is the only device protection offering in the industry that offers theft cover, beyond basic handset damage cover and extends complimentary insurance cover to handsets that have been purchased up to six months earlier.
Vodafone Red Shield – Security Tools Theft Cover Any kind of accidental liquid & physical damage Anti Virus protection Block Calls Network Statistics – Know the statistics of your network and its performance Memory Management – Manage memory consumption of apps and optimise memory of your phone Identify and Uninstall Apps which take multiple permissions and may compromise your privacy or your data Battery Saver – Identify battery consumption patterns of your mobile phone The Vodafone Red Shield App, available at Google Store and iOS, offers a comprehensive security solution to smart phone devices. In addition to the theft cover, Vodafone Red Shield comes with malware protection and other security features.
Vodafone Red Shield is being brought to the customers through an association with Shotformats Digital Productions Pvt. Ltd. This insurance cover is provided through New India Assurance Company Ltd.
While actual premium amount will be borne by Vodafone, the subscription fee has been maintained at a pocket friendly price point so that maximum number of customers can avail the benefits of Vodafone Red Shield. The annual subscription of Rs 720 will be debited to the customer’s monthly bill through 12 equal installments (Rs. 60 x 12). Vodafone Red Shield comes with a validity of one year.
Announcing the launch of Vodafone RED Shield, Arvinder Singh Sachdev, Business Head- Kolkata & Rest of Bengal, Vodafone India, said “Smartphones have become a way of life in our country and it’s no longer just a calling device but has gone on to become the lifeline for people. To ensure the hard earned money spent by our customers on acquiring expensive handsets remains insured, we are delighted to launch Vodafone Red Shield, a first of its kind mobile security offering that builds in a unique combination of features like Theft protection, Accidental Physical & Liquid damage, Virus protection and many more security features. Our own customer research has revealed that most mobile phone buyers tend to either be unaware about handset insurance or don’t seem to have it as a priority/top of mind factor while purchasing a new smart phone. To bring larger numbers of our customers within the protective cover of Vodafone Red Shield, we have extended the facility to handsets upto 6 months old, at a very nominal price. I am happy to say Vodafone Red Shield is also the only service that covers handset theft.”
Another aspect which makes Vodafone Red Shield unique is that customers can claim insurance cover up to two times in a single year.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
