iWorld
Major websites crash after global internet outage
KOLKATA: A global internet outage hit social media, government, and news websites on Tuesday morning. Many renowned news outlets including the Financial Times, the New York Times, CNN and Bloomberg News were down.
According to some media reports, a technical glitch in a private CDN (Content Delivery Network) caused the outage. “Error 503 Service Unavailable” message flashed across affected websites. Amazon.com Inc’s retail website also suffered due to the outage, even as Twitch experienced issues. Several Reddit users also reported issues with the platform. Ireland, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore were the countries mainly impacted by the outage.
Some reports have traced the problem to Fastly, a cloud computing services provider that runs an “edge cloud”, which is designed to speed up loading times for websites, protect them from denial-of-service attacks, and help them deal with sudden bursts in traffic. “We’re currently investigating potential impact to performance with our CDN services,” Fastly said in an error message. Later, it announced on its status page that the issue was identified and a fix has been implemented.
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.
