iWorld
OTTplay becomes No. 1 with over 9.5 mn users
Mumbai: OTTplay, India’s first AI-powered OTT recommendation and content discovery platform, has risen to the top of the rankings for movie and web-series recommendations.
OTTplay has established itself as the category leader, with over 9.5 million users. The platform recommends content from its extensive library, which includes over 60 OTTs, 65,000 web series, movies, and shows spanning 18 genres and multiple languages. The platform, which includes cutting-edge AI software, provides audiences with smart recommendations, allowing users to discover the content they are most likely to enjoy.
Commenting on the successful run of the platform, OTTplay CEO and co-founder Avinash Mudaliar said, “OTTplay is based on consumer ethos & consumer want. The journey to 9.5 million users in one year and still growing makes us happy, but we feel it’s just the beginning for OTTplay. We aim to solve the core problem of OTT users, which is what to watch, where to watch, and how to watch. With OTTplay Premium, we hope to provide a variety of OTT services within the app while keeping them affordable for consumers. So you can get recommendations, reviews, and a subscription to watch your favourite content all in OTTplay. We look forward to adding more value to the consumer journey and keeping the hustle real.”
With OTTplay, audiences can now access their favourite content from 12 different OTT platforms with a single subscription. OTTplay previously served as a content discovery engine that curated content from more than 60 Indian and international OTTs. The premium subscription platform, OTTplay Premium, which offers 20,000+ shows, webseries, and movies from 12 different OTTs at a reasonable price, is in fact living up to their slogan, “Mazey Karo Multiply.”
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.
