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Times Internet in strategic tie-up with Gawker Media
MUMBAI: Times Internet (TIL) has entered into a strategic partnership with Gawker Media which will allow it to manage and drive local Indian destinations for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com, Gawker Media‘s leading technology sites.
As part of the collaboration, Times Internet will have exclusive rights to the brand, monetization, content, syndication and sub-licensing of Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com within India. TIL intends to use The Times Group‘s multimedia resources to help develop the brand locally.
Gawker, a site focused on gadgets and tech culture, is America‘s largest independently owned and operated online media company that has eight websites with over 40 million UV‘s worldwide.
Lifehacker.com is an 8-year-old popular weblog with thousands of posts related to technology, personal productivity, software, tips, and technology lifestyle. The two sites already have a wide user base and are getting good traction in the country.
Discussing the partnership with Gawker, TIL CEO Satyan Gajwani said, "Gizmodo and Lifehacker have been two of my favorite sites for a long time, so it‘s exciting to be their partner in India. They have fantastic, relevant content for a younger generation that‘s increasingly interested in technology. We are partnering with one of the world‘s strongest digital media companies, and we can‘t wait to increase their prominence in India."
Gawker Media COO Gaby Darbyshire said, "With an international presence in eight countries outside the USA, India has long been a natural next step for our global expansion, and TIL is a natural fit for Gizmodo and Lifehacker. We are very excited to be partnering with them to bring our technology content to India and look forward to seeing the brands develop for this new audience."
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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.
