iWorld
TO THE NEW becomes Roku’s third-party development partner developer
Mumbai: TO THE NEW, a leading digital technology services company, is thrilled to announce its official accreditation as Roku’s third-party development partner. This prestigious accreditation underscores TO THE NEW’s deep technical expertise in Roku app development and an in-depth understanding of the Roku ecosystem.
This new partnership is another addition to the list of existing alliances that TO THE NEW has, with some of the best names in the over-the-top (OTT) platform development and engineering domain. Over the past 6 years, TO THE NEW has successfully developed and released over 100+ high-quality Roku apps that are focused on delivering immersive experiences and delighting their audiences. With their proficiency and expertise in the Roku ecosystem, TO THE NEW has delivered and deployed Roku TV apps across diverse market segments ranging from Entertainment, TV Commerce, IoT, Sports, News, Lifestyle, Travel etc.
“We are excited to join Roku’s Third-Party Development Partner Program, and we are delighted our engineering skills in OTT Product and Platform Development have received recognition once again by another market leader like Roku,” said TO THE NEW vice president & business head – media & entertainment Manish Sinha. “Our diverse experience of Roku app development and deep understanding of the Roku ecosystem allows us to build and deliver high-performance creative apps built to elevate the viewing experience and create tangible business value for our customers. Our cross-platform development expertise enables media companies to embrace connected experiences and digital ubiquity faster, giving them an edge in capturing viewer eyeballs. We are continuing our expansion of new platform capabilities to help media companies embrace change and foster innovation with pace and precision.”
Roku devices enjoy a dominant position in households worldwide for consuming streaming content from multiple sources. TO THE NEW will enable media players to deliver novel and connected viewing experiences to their consumers.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
