iWorld
India streams ahead with 601 million OTT users in Ormax 2025 report
MUMBAI: When it comes to streaming, India is no longer buffering, it’s booming. Ormax Media has unveiled the fifth edition of The Ormax OTT Audience Report: 2025, pegging the country’s OTT universe at a staggering 601.2 million viewers (60.12 crore), or 41.1 per cent of India’s population.
The report, based on a robust survey of 15,600 respondents across urban and rural India in June and July 2025, defines an OTT audience as anyone who has watched at least one online video free or paid in the past month. While the audience base grew by 10 per cent year-on-year, the rate is slightly slower than the 13–14 per cent surge in 2023 and 2024.
Paid subscriptions are also gaining ground, with 148.2 million active subscriptions (including telecom bundles and aggregator deals) recorded in the report. Meanwhile, the most dramatic growth has come from the living room: India’s Connected TV user base now stands at 129.2 million, translating to 35–40 million homes, marking a jaw-dropping 87 per cent jump in just a year.
Ormax Media Founder & CEO Shailesh Kapoor said the Connected TV surge was a turning point: “India has long been regarded as mobile-first, but this sharp rise in CTV usage signals a paradigm shift in viewing behaviour.”
Since its launch in 2021, the Ormax OTT Audience Report has become the industry’s go-to yardstick. This year’s edition goes further, adding fresh parameters on time spent, preferred languages, content formats, and media habits. Ormax head of business development (streaming, Tv & brands) Keerat Grewal said these updates were driven by industry feedback: “The 2025 edition widens the scope, complementing business and monetisation insights with a richer picture of content consumption.”
The full report, available on subscription, is aimed at streaming platforms, advertisers, media agencies, investors, and production houses, offering a data-backed lens on the ever-expanding OTT ecosystem.
iWorld
Meta warns 200 users after fake Whatsapp spyware attack
Italy-targeted campaign used unofficial app to deploy surveillance spyware.
MUMBAI: It looked like a message, but it behaved like a mole. Meta has warned around 200 users most of them in Italy after uncovering a targeted spyware campaign that weaponised a fake version of WhatsApp to infiltrate devices. The attack, first reported by Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, relied on classic social engineering with a modern twist: persuading users to download an unofficial WhatsApp clone embedded with surveillance software. The malicious application, believed to be developed by Italian firm SIO through its subsidiary ASIGINT, was designed to mimic the real app closely enough to bypass suspicion.
Meta’s security teams identified roughly 200 individuals who may have installed the compromised version, triggering immediate countermeasures. Affected users were logged out of their accounts and issued alerts warning of potential privacy breaches, with the company describing the incident as a “targeted social engineering attempt” aimed at gaining device-level access.
The malicious app was not distributed via official app stores but circulated through third-party channels, where it was presented as a legitimate WhatsApp alternative. Once installed, it reportedly allowed external operators to access sensitive data stored on the device turning a simple download into a potential surveillance gateway.
According to Techcrunch, Meta is now preparing legal action against the spyware developers to curb further misuse. The company, however, has not disclosed details about the specific individuals targeted or the extent of data compromised.
A Whatsapp spokesperson reiterated that user safety remains the top priority, particularly for those misled into installing the fake iOS application. Meanwhile, reports from La Repubblica suggest the spyware may be linked to “Spyrtacus”, a strain previously associated with Android-based attacks that could intercept calls, activate microphones and even access cameras.
The episode underscores a growing reality in the digital age, the threat is no longer just what you download, but where you download it from. As unofficial apps become increasingly convincing, the line between communication tool and covert surveillance is getting harder to spot and far easier to exploit.
