Author: Francis Muli

Twitter users will soon be able to turn video captions on and off. The social media company is testing a new “CC” button that will give users the ‘on’ and ‘off’ options for videos that have captions. The feature is being rolled out to a few users on iOS with plans to roll it out to Android soon. The feature was announced through Twitter’s Support account page. The button appears at the top right-hand corner of the video attached to a tweet. “Video captions or no captions, it’s now easier to choose for some of you on iOS, and soon…

Twitter recently announced that it is working on an Edit button. New reports indicate that editing a tweet using the new edit button could leave a history of your edited tweet. The discovery was made by Reverse Engineer Jane Machun Wong who tweeted that the edit function appears to have an ‘immutable’ quality. This means that Twitter could create an entirely new tweet when one is edited, and retain the previous versions. “Looks like Twitter’s approach to Edit Tweet is immutable, as in, instead of mutating the Tweet text within the same Tweet (same ID), it re-creates a new Tweet…

Tanzania could soon require big tech companies to pay Digital taxes. The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) on Thursday held talks with officials from Meta Inc. with the intention of introducing the tax. Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. “A team of experts from Meta, a company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, today held talks with TRA on how to tax their services in the country,” the Taxman posted on Twitter. TRA’s Director of taxpayer services and education Mr. Richard Kayombo said the discussions were still at a preliminary stage before the East African country can…

Sony could soon introduce advertisements to free-to-play PlayStation games. The move aims to give game developers an opportunity to monetize their work and encourage them to develop more free-to-play games. According to a report by Online Publisher, the Insider, the ads will be rolled out by the end of the year. Players will be rewarded for watching the ads which will appear in inconspicuous places within the game like billboards. The report indicates that Sony is yet to decide whether it would take a cut from the ad revenue although it is considering having developers and publishers pay for consumer…

Instagram is working on a few changes that will ensure content creators are recognized for their work. According to Instagram Head Adam Mosseri, the updates are meant to “make sure that credit is going to those who deserve it.” The first change is through product tags. The feature which was recently rolled out allows users to tag products in the post. Creators can assign themselves a category such as ‘photographer’ ‘make-up artist’ and so on, and that category will appear every time they are tagged in a post. In addition to this, the Meta-owned app will also heavily promote original…

WhatsApp is working on a new feature to enhance its multi-device connections for businesses. The Meta-owned app unveiled support for multiple devices just recently, allowing users to access the messaging service even when the phone goes off or offline. WhatsApp is now working on a new plan for business accounts, according to WABetaInfo. The plan will see the app offer subscribers additional features, including support of up to 10 linked devices for a single account. This is more than double the current limit which allows users to link up to four multiple devices. The new feature will allow multiple users…

Zoom is adding some new updates on the desktop app. The video-conferencing app will now make it easier for users to quickly find reactions to applaud co-workers or send a heart to a friend. The gesture recognition feature will display a thumbs-up emoji when you give one to your webcam or show a raised hand emoji when you raise yours. Gesture recognition is already available for iOS users who use Zoom on iPad and iPhone. The feature has been available since late last year, albeit with a few issues. Users have reported the app’s tendency to read “I’m scratching my…

Google has removed negative reviews from a Zanzibar Hotel’s business page that was spammed over the weekend. Warere Beach Hotel in Zanzibar was on the receiving end of negative reviews, poor ratings and social media backlash after a lady narrated how she was almost raped at the premises. Google removes all reviews that contain obscene, profane or offensive language or gestures from business profiles. Their policies also ban mass or bulk reviews that are posted within a short period of time. A Nigerian lady Zainab Oladehinde  shook the Twitter streets after she narrated her horrific ordeal at the vacation spot…

Netflix has reported a decrease in subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. The entertainment company recorded a loss of about 200,000 subscribers globally compared to Q4 of 2021. The company projects that it will lose up to 2 million subscribers in the second quarter. “Our revenue growth has slowed considerably,” Netflix acknowledged in its letter to shareholders. “Covid clouded the picture by significantly increasing our growth in 2020, leading us to believe that most of our slowing growth in 2021 was due to the Covid pull forward.” Netflix is still the biggest streamer with 222 million subscribers recorded in…

Google has launched a product development centre in Nairobi. The project, which is a first in the continent will see the tech giant build transformative products and services for the African market and the world. This follows Google’s October 2021 plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years in Africa. The centre will be the Tech Giant’s second, after it set up an AI and research centre in Ghana in 2019. Google is looking to hire over 100 tech talents comprising software engineers, researchers and designers to help solve difficult and technical challenges. This is aimed at enhancing the…

Video-streaming app TikTok is likely to triple its advertising revenue to more than $11 billion in 2022, beating the combined projected sales for both Twitter and Snapchat. The Chinese app, owned by ByteDance is currently one of the most popular social media apps in the world, attracting more than a billion monthly users. “TikTok’s user base has exploded in the past couple of years, and the amount of time users spend on the app is extraordinary,” Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at Insider Intelligence said. Read: TikTok Puts a Stop to Financial Scammers As it Bans Promotion of Crypto, Investment Services…

Telegram has unveiled a new update that allows users to choose any sound as their notification tone. The messaging app will allow users to upload short audio files from the smartphone and set notifications from saved voice messages from chats. According to the company, the new feature supports audio files and voice messages under 300Kb and less than five seconds long. Users will be able to assign a sound to a specific individual chat or group by accessing the Settings>>Notifications and Sounds Menu. Telegram’s sound channel also offers users a variety of sound options including a bell, cat among others.…

Netflix subscribers in Russia have launched a class action suit against the company over violation of their rights. The streaming app suspended its services in the country following Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine, locking out about one million Russian subscribers. The subscribers who pay between Sh850 and Sh1,150 for their Netflix packages are seeking about Sh86 million in damages terming the decision to block access as a violation of their rights. “Today, a law firm representing the interests of Netflix users filed a class action lawsuit against the American Netflix service with the Khamovnichesky district court of Moscow,” the law…

The court has rejected a petition by a Kenyan firm seeking payment from Finnish tech firm, Nokia. TechnoService had applied  for the Sh150 million compensation for alleged breach of contract. According to the Kenyan firm, Nokia sold its business to Microsoft Corporation in 2014 while still in partnership with them. Justice Chacha Mwita rejected the application, saying the two firms were last year referred to arbitration to arbitration, and as such, the courts could not interfere with proceedings. “In the circumstances, granting leave to appeal will delay the resolution of the dispute which parties had committed to avoid when they…

Kenyan Showmax Originals Crime and Justice S2 and Single Kiasi are both coming to an end this week. Crime and Justice will end on the eighth episode which is currently airing. The show which is written by Lanfia Wal and directed by Likarion Wainaina of Supa Modo, Salem, and  “The Whistleblower” sees Makena (Sarah Hassan) and Silas (Alfred Munyua) race against time to solve a major conspiracy that has been looming over them for months. During their investigations, they are forced to confront an ugly truth in the police force, as a series of gang murders leads them back to…