iWorld
Vi to offer free ZEE5 premium subscription
The newest telecom brand Vi has rolled out an exciting proposition for its prepaid customers that will enable them to enjoy one year of ZEE5 premium membership at no additional cost. The offer is applicable to select data plans starting from Rs 405 and will provide Vi customers access to ZEE5’s premium bespoke content in 12 languages across originals, shows and blockbuster movies.
Inviting all mobile customers with discerning entertainment choices to avail of this attractive offer, Vodafone Idea marketing director Avneesh Khosla said, “Content consumption has seen an explosion as consumers today are spending 25 per cent-30 per cent more time (over three hours per day) watching varied content on their devices.. ZEE5 as a leading OTT platform has a rich and diverse content repertoire that appeals to a wide cross-section of society. Their large library of movies and original shows in Hindi and other regional languages makes them an ideal partner as it helps us appeal to a large cross-section of the smartphone population in this country that is seeking to do more with their mobile devices. With the new Rs. 405 ZEE5 Recharge pack that we are launching – we are providing the consumer the best of both worlds – access to the best entertainment on ZEE 5 for one year coupled with huge telco benefits – an unbeatable combination that delivers great value to consumers.”
The annual ZEE5 membership is available with Vi data plans with recharge value of Rs 355, Rs 405, Rs 595, Rs 795 and Rs 2595.
Speaking on the collaboration, ZEE5 India senior vice president and SVOD head Rahul Maroli said, “ZEE5 and Vi are classic consumer first brands, and this collaboration exemplifies this core DNA that these brands have been built on, by bundling the best of entertainment offering for the ever-evolving digital consumers of India and Bharat. As part of this unique offering, Vi users will get one-year access to the premium bespoke content that ZEE5 has on offer across 12 languages with the 5 Vi prepaid recharge packs. This partnership is of many firsts and it aims to provide a superior content watching experience to the Vi users at their convenience.”
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.
