Applications
Comcast expands digital homes with Xfinity Home Security
MUMBAIl US cable major Comcast has expanded its new home security business into six additional U.S. market areas.
Xfinity Home Security offers traditional home security components like police and fire alarm protection backed by 24/7 professional monitoring, as well as the ability to adjust digital thermostats, turn lights on or off and watch secure live streaming video from wireless cameras while away from home.
The service also comes with a new Xfinity Security app, which is available for free on Apple’s iTunes App Store.
“Xfinity Home Security brings digital home monitoring to a new level,” said Mitch Bowling, SVP and GM of new businesses for Comcast Cable. “It comes with a range of broadband-based technologies that empower customers to stay better connected to their home virtually anytime, anywhere.”
Xfinity Home Security offers consumers the ability to create personalized settings that can do things like provide real-time e-mail or text alerts when doors open or close or when motion detectors report activity occurring inside or outside of the home.
In addition, the service comes with a tablet-like touch screen with a menu of widgets that allow access to the latest weather, news, traffic, and sports scores.
In addition to 24/7 professional monitoring, Xfinity Home Security provides customers the ability to:
* watch live streaming video of their home via video wireless video cameras;
* access security controls remotely via a Web portal or the Xfinity Security app for the iPhone;
* manage home utilities like digital thermostats and lights;
* have more peace of mind since both battery and cellular backup helps ensure customers remain fully protected even in the event of a power outage;
* access features from some of Comcast’s existing services. For example, an Xfinity Voice customer could listen to a voicemail through an app on the security interface.
Today, Comcast is selling the Xfinity Home Security Preferred Package for as low as $39.95 per month. Xfinity Home Security customers will also be eligible to receive up to a 20 per cent discount on their homeowners’ insurance.
The service was first unveiled in Houston in mid 2010 and is now being rolled out in parts of Philadelphia, Portland, Jacksonville, Sarasota/Naples, Chattanooga and Nashville. Additional markets will be introduced on a rolling basis.
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.
