Applications
Virgin Mobile joins hands with independent App store Getjar
MUMBAI: Virgin Mobile India, the youth focused mobile service brand, has partnered with the cross platform mobile applications store GetJar.
With the alliance with GetJar, which currently offers more than 70,000 free mobile games and applications to users, Virgin Mobile customers will have access to a wide gamut of applications ranging from games, education, social networking, entertainment, finance, food, health, search, lifestyle and several other utility applications.
Virgin Mobile said that popular applications such as Facebook Mobile, Yahoo!, Nimbuzz, Opera Mini Browser, eBuddy and other such applications can now be easily downloaded across all major platforms.
“This alliance with GetJar is an initiative in line with our strategy to engage and enthrall the youth with the latest innovative cutting-edge content on the move. Mobile applications and games garner a significant share of time spent on the phone by the youth today. We are excited to announce our alliance with GetJar,” said Virgin Mobile India CEO MA Madhusudan. “This will provide our users free, easy access to globally acclaimed applications, games and will further reiterate our commitment to offer the best value-for-money services to our valued customers.”
As an independent application store, GetJar enables cost effective, easy and scalable distribution channel to generate traffic and downloads. It claims an average of almost three million downloads per day globally and adds hundreds of new applications every week to its repository. GetJar supports all major platforms such as Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Java and Symbian phones and delivers applications for every kind of smart phone and feature phone across 200 countries.
GetJar founder and CEO Ilja Laurs said, “It’s a pleasure to partner with a youth focused brand like Virgin Mobile in India. We look forward to garnering a significant mindshare amongst the youth with this alliance,” adds Laurs.
Virgin Mobile subscribers can visit the link: http://m.virginin.getjar.com to access GetJar’s world of applications. This link is currently available on Virgin Mobile India’s WAP portal (Vbytes) on GSM platform across 16 circles – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Chennai, Kerala, Orissa, Mumbai & Maharashtra, Kolkata & West Bengal, Haryana, Bihar, MP&CG, Punjab, UP (E) and UP (W).
Virgin Mobile India users will be able to download all applications free of cost.
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.
