Applications
Bharti Airtel ties up with Affle to launch SMS 2.0
MUMBAI: Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel and mobile media technology firm Affle have announced a partnership to make the revolutionary SMS 2.0 service available to all Airtel customers in Delhi and NCR. |
According to an official release, the Affle powered SMS 2.0 application is the world‘s first major upgrade to commonly used SMS. In addition to text-messaging, SMS 2.0 will converge enhanced messaging – custom text colors, fun emoticons, and scheduled SMS, content and advertising. It integrates itself with the usual user interactions by residing as the default SMS application on the handset. Bharti Airtel mobile services content and new product development head P.S. Parasuram said, “We selected SMS 2.0 as we feel it enriches our users‘ experience with SMSing, while at the same time creating a viable and extremely exciting revenue model.” |
Affle south Asia ED Anuj Kumar said, “We are excited to partner with Airtel in India. SMS2.0 is a media, for which the leading content partners and advertisers, are already creating customized campaigns. This is because the users value our media, and find the content, promotions, and messaging features extremely engaging.” The advertisements on SMS 2.0 have a set of “call-to-action” features such as call now, call-me-back, buy-now, launch video, answer-survey, view web page amongst others. Airtel users in Delhi and NCR region can download this application for free by sending “sms2” to 121. |
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.
