iWorld
ZEE5 introduces ‘SharePlay’ to enhance collective viewing experiences with the OTT premier of Salman Khan-starrer blockbuster Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan!
Mumbai: ZEE5 India and Bharat’s largest home-grown video streaming platform and multilingual storyteller for millions of entertainment seekers, introduced SharePlay with the OTT premiere of Salman Khan starrer blockbuster, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. The feature allows the platform’s subscribers to watch content through FaceTime on iPhones and iPads for an enhanced collective viewing experience. This initiative is in line with ZEE5’s commitment to create new experiences through best-in-class technology solutions across multiple touchpoints, exclusively for its subscribers.
ZEE5 CTO Kishore A K, expressed his enthusiasm for introducing this new feature, emphasised the platform’s dedication to innovation and delivering exceptional viewing experiences to its audience and said, “At ZEE5, our constant endeavour has been to push boundaries and introduce fresh, immersive experiences for our viewers. The addition of SharePlay enables us to provide our users with a captivating social engagement feature, seamlessly integrated into their content consumption journey. As digital technology advances rapidly, we anticipate significant transformations in content engagement, elevating the overall enjoyment. This move marks a significant milestone, inspiring us to continually adapt, refine, and innovate in order to surpass ever-evolving consumer expectations and set new standards for in-app experiences.”
Available on iPhones and iPads, viewers can initiate the SharePlay feature on ZEE5 app via FaceTime or iMessages. Users can invite up to 32 people, depending on the device’s bandwidth, to join a single session, facilitating virtual reunions with friends and family. Once connected, the feature sends a notification to members, offering the option to choose between “Watch Together” or “Play Only for Me’, depending on their preference. SharePlay also includes a smart volume feature that dynamically adjusts audio and enables premium subscribers to stream a wide variety of shows and enjoy music together. This allows members to establish a real-time connection with others on the call, synchronising playback and sharing playback controls.
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.
