Applications
Microsoft offers easy access to HomeShop18.com
MUMBAI: Shopping portal HomeShop18.com has partnered with Microsoft to bring its offers closer to its online customers.
As part of the deal, HomeShop18.com users can browse the website faster through a one click access system, using Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 9. All customers who upgrade to Internet Explorer 9 and pin HomeShop18.com to their IE9 browser will get a free gift voucher and easy access to the shopping portal from their desktop taskbar.
Additionally, users can simply right click the taskbar icon for quick access lists, also called Jumplists.
HomeShop18 founder and CEO Sundeep Malhotra said, “We feel proud to partner with Microsoft to offer easy access to our e-commerce portal HomeShop18.com. With this association, we wish to introduce further unique technological benefits in order to strengthen our customer interface. Keeping all the consumer needs in mind, we have announced the association with Microsoft.‘‘
Microsoft India director – product marketing Senthilkumar Sundaram said, “Through this association, we have made it simple and fun for Homeshop18.com subscribers to get one-click access to their favorite shopping site with Internet Explorer 9. We are confident that Indians will love this all new immersive browsing experience.”
Going forward, Microsoft and HomeShop18.com plan to collaboratively offer advanced applications and features like offering HTML5 based premium online shopping delight to the consumers.
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.
