Applications
Google continues growing in popularity in the UK
MUMBAI: comScore Networks, which provides |
The world‘s most valuable media firm Google (not including its recent acquisition YouTube) edged out software major Microsoft in October to become the most-visited Web property in the UK. eBay is in third position. |
Yahoo!, BBC and Time Warner are also present in the top 10 most popular sites in the UK. comScore Europe MD Bob Ivins says, “We have watched the popularity of Google consistently grow over time. While the current month-over-month increase was small, it was just enough to earn them the number one spot. “Also notable was YouTube‘s 24 per cent increase in traffic in October. YouTube‘s ascent in popularity around the world and in the UK, demonstrated by the site‘s month-after-month double-digit percentage increases, has been remarkable.” It‘s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas UK traffic to the Wal-Mart Web property, which includes ASDA, grew 14 per cent to 2.3 million visitors. Littlewoods Shop Direct Group grew 12 per cent to 3.9 million visitors, followed by Tesco Stores (also a top 20 site), which In addition to shopping, Britons were pparently busy booking holiday travel in October, with traffic to British Airways gaining 26 percent to 3.5 million visitors and British Midland gaining 11 per cent to 2.6 million visitors. |
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.
