Applications
Republic TV launches Android app
MUMBAI: Republic TV is on a roll. From rocking the ratings chart in launch week itself to going international, the channel has added one more accomplishment to its kitty. The Republic TV Android app is now live.
Claiming to be the lightest on phone storage but ‘heaviest on news’, there are three unique features. First is the ‘vertical format’ feature which ensures a deeply personal and engaging HD live video streaming experience optimised for portrait viewing on mobile phones. This feature relies on the debate production being specially produced and streamed in real-time in a 9:16 video format.
Second is the ‘interactive format’ feature where the app users can directly engage and talk to Arnab Goswami, anchors and panellists on Live TV. This technological innovation will allow users to participate in on-air debates in real-time by expressing their opinion and immediately respond to breaking news stories on-air.
Written entirely in Kotlin with an extremely tiny memory footprint of just 3.6 MB, gives it its third feature of being the lightest English news app.
Republic TV founder and editor in chief Arnab Goswami said, “Republic has been on super-fast expansion spree – we launched the channel in May, the website in July and now the app in November. I am so proud of my entire team and the technology team especially, who after months of determined effort have produced one of the world’s lightest news apps without compromising on the content or video quality for a superior user experience. With the app, Republic has established itself as a media -tech company which reflects in our new tagline – Republic- Digital. TV. Media.”
RepublicWorld COO Jay Chauhan said, “Since our inception earlier this year, we’ve been focused on newer ways of driving engagement with our content and delivering the best possible user experience. That’s reflected in our strategy to invest in amazing technology and content teams, produce live and VoD content in mobile specific aspect ratios, our choice of the tech stack and a host of other interactive and personalisation features part of our product pipeline.”
The Republic World App brings to users the widest range of trending stories, viral videos and angular opinion from across news genres of politics, sports, business, regional, lifestyle, travel, wheels, music, gadgets and society.
Using its top editorial partnerships news stories and video content is provided in English, Hindi, and eight Indian regional languages including Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Odia and Gujarati.
The iOS app will launch by the end of November.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
