iWorld
Gaana unveils social video platform ‘HotShots’ for Indians to unleash creativity
KOLKATA: Short videos are the new buzzword on social media, with both content creators and consumption skyrocketing. To cater to the ever-growing appetite of Indians for entertaining short-video, the country’s largest music streaming platform, Gaana has launched HotShots – a platform that allows Indian content enthusiasts an intuitive, seamless and snappy tools to create and share short viral videos and stories with more than 150 million strong audience base.
Gaana HotShots offers emerging and established Influencers an opportunity to migrate to a robust Indian platform and build their own success stories. With the best-in-class product experience and a host of ‘HotShot Challenges’ in the performing arts like music, comedy and dance by HotShot influencers, celebs and international artists, the app would offer both the scale and the infrastructure to reach a massive audience who thrive on digital entertainment.
“At Gaana, we have always emphasized on placing the power of digital content creation into the hands of emerging talent. We had launched Gaana Vertical Video platform last year to allow our celebrities / singers to connect with our audience through Short Videos. Today we are building up on that expertise by unveiling the ultimate short video creation and consumption platform ‘Gaana Hotshots’. Our home-grown entertainment super app is ready to serve as the country’s go-to destination for entertainment across music, podcasts, short viral videos and buzz, offering aspiring Indians the power to become influencers in their own right with Gaana’s world-class live streaming & short video capabilities,” Gaana CEO Prashan Agarwal said.
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.
