Applications
BBC re-launches online search engine
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has re-launched its search engine with a new audio-visual search capability, a new user interface and enhanced usability and quality.
For the first time, users will be able to search for selected television and radio programmes in addition to audio and video content from the BBC‘s News, Radio and Sports archives.
Users will be able to quickly and easily locate EastEnders highlights, the latest edition of The Archers and The Chris Moyles Show.
A limited amount of the BBC‘s audio and video content will be initially available; the full range of BBC content is likely to be made available later this year.
BBC director new media and technology Ashley Highfield said, “This re-launch marks the first stage in our aim of creating services that enable our audiences to find BBC content – whether text, audio or video – through ever easier navigation.
“It‘s also a first step towards a radical overhaul of our website. It will open up an initial index of around 300,000 clips and a selection of BBC programmes for the first time.”
The re-launched BBC web site search engine is to be powered by enterprise software company Autonomy, while Microsoft‘s Windows Live Search will power the BBC internet search.
The BBC is required to re-tender its search provision every three years, and the reprocurement has been done through the European OJEC process.
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.
