iWorld
Facebook’s revenue rises by 28% to $16.9 billion in Q2 earnings
MUMBAI: Facebook beat analysts’ expectations in the second quarter, posting $16.9 billion in revenue with money from advertising pegged at $16.62 billion. The result came after hours aftee Facebook struck a $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission following the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. The social media giant recorded a $2 billion charge in the quarter tied to the FTC settlement while it previously set aside $3 billion.
The social media giant’s earnings per share rose to $1.99 cents in the quarter and monthly active users across its family of services, which includes Instagram and Whatsapp, were 2.41 billion as of 30 June 2019, an 8 per cent increase year-on-year. Moreover, daily active users also saw an increase of 8 per cent reaching 1.59 billion on average for June 2019.
In addition, the company estimates that more than 2.1 billion people now use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger every day on average and more than 2.7 billion people use at least one of the company’s family of services each month.
“In July 2019, we entered into a settlement and modified consent order to resolve the inquiry of the FTC into our platform and user data practices. Among other matters, our settlement with the FTC requires us to pay a penalty of $5 billion and to significantly enhance our practices and processes for privacy compliance and oversight,” the company highlighted.
“In particular, we have agreed to implement a comprehensive expansion of our privacy program, including substantial management and board of directors oversight, stringent operational requirements and reporting obligations, and a process to regularly certify our compliance with the privacy program to the FTC. In the second quarter of 2019, we recorded an additional $2 billion accrual in connection with our settlement with the FTC, which is included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities on our condensed consolidated balance sheet,” it added.
Facebook mentioned that the company was informed by the FTC in June that it had opened an antitrust investigation of its company. It also noted that the online technology industry and the company have received increased regulatory scrutiny in the past quarter. Moreover, the Department of Justice announced in July that it will begin an antitrust review of the market-leading online platform.
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.
