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Google faces antitrust investigation due to Google Pay, in-app purchases

Watchdog’s around the globe are being cautious

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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered an investigation against Google for using its dominant position to promote its payment app — Google Pay. Furthermore, the company uses its billing system for in-app purchases. The investigation was started after the watchdog received multiple complaints.

In all, six violations were reported and two of them are being investigated right now. At the core of the investigation are two concerns. First is about Google’s exclusive mode of payment for the purchase of apps and in-app purchases, followed by pre-installation and prominence of Google Pay on Android smartphones.

Google Pay is the search giant’s payments app in India and it leverages India’s standardized UPI protocol for instant transactions. Similarly, many other fintech companies are in a race to lead the country’s booming digital industry.

The complaint says that Google is abusing its position and forcing developers to use its in-house billing system on the Play Store. The giant collects 30 percent of the total transaction as its cut. Adding to this, Google ships along a bunch of its apps on all Android phones as part of Google Mobile Services. Google Pay is getting an easier route to acquire users.

‘Google Tax’

A month ago, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma had accused Google of misusing its powerful position due to the forceful “Google Tax“. To counter the search giant’s rising power, Paytm also announced a new mini app store within the Paytm app that promotes Indian developers and does not collect exorbitant fees.

Another major allegation is that Google promotes its payment app on the top of results for a payment-related search term. This remains a mere allegation and the watchdog isn’t investigating this right now.

In a statement to TechCrunch, Google said, “We are pleased that the CCI has rejected several claims made by the anonymous complainant. On the remaining concerns, first, we are confident that the CCI will find that GPay operates in an extremely competitive environment, and owes its success to its ability to offer consumers a simple and secure payments experience.”

Apps

Honor, Xiaomi are working on their own Privacy Displays

Samsung’s Privacy Display is apparently very popular.

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Normally, a smartphone brand’s blatant copying of another brand’s feature is not a good practice. Today, however, there is a new feature that we wish other brands would copy: Samsung’s Privacy Display. Thankfully, some brands, like Honor, have finally gotten the message and are working on version of the feature.

As reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Honor is reportedly working on a privacy screen for its smartphones. Likewise, Xiaomi is working on the same thing, potentially launching the feature for the Xiaomi 18 Pro.

For the uninitiated, the Samsung Privacy Display is a built-in feature that blocks visibility of the screen at certain angles. If you’re not looking at the screen from the front, all you’ll see is a black void. It’s a built-in version of those protective screens that you can buy separately. Besides adding a nice layer of protection against scratches, it’s also meant to prevent snooping from your shoulder.

Samsung’s take was widely acclaimed for being insanely useful. When it arrives, this feature will be a godsend to more brands. Even better, users will no longer need to rely on third-party screen just to enjoy the privacy.

That said, there’s still no indication as to when these features will arrive on either Honor or Xiaomi.

SEE ALSO: LE SSERAFIM Chaewon flexes Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display

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Meta is reportedly experimenting on a gambling app

Users can spend virtual points on Arena.

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Meta does not have the most stellar of reputations. Despite offering the world’s most popular social media platforms, the company, through its various experiments throughout the years, continuously proves that it has other priorities than just providing the best for its users. Today, another reported experiment wants to take Meta to a new market that its users might fall into: the prediction market.

If you haven’t heard of the prediction market, consider yourself lucky. These apps, such as Kalshi, are basically just gambling platforms without the glitz of playing cards or the rigor of the stock market. Users gamble on mundane circumstances like the weather and more serious ones like war.

Today, as reported by The New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly asking Meta to develop a prediction app of its own. Interestingly, the experimental app, supposedly called Arena, will use virtual points, rather than real money. However, Meta has not ruled out real money — and hence, real gambling — in the future.

Meta is entering the industry at an extremely volatile time. The world is starting to crack down on prediction markets. Some users, for example, have been accused of using insider information to get easy wins on these platforms. Some markets have also accused these platforms of subverting anti-gambling laws.

SEE ALSO: Meta adds subscriptions for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp

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foodpanda relaunches cult-favorite roast chicken brand after 8 years of persistent search queries

Heritage chain Andok’s returns to the platform, driven entirely by long-term user analytics.

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In the world of e-commerce and food delivery, platform algorithms usually dictate what consumers see. But occasionally, consumer behavior is so relentless that it shapes the platform’s strategy.

In a move driven entirely by long-term user analytics, foodpanda has officially relaunched Andok’s, one of the Philippines’ most iconic heritage rotisserie chains, back onto its platform after an eight-year absence.

The search bar as a digital wishlist

The decision to ink the partnership wasn’t just a marketing play. It was a response to an ongoing data anomaly. Despite being offline from the foodpanda platform for eight years, Andok’s consistently ranked as one of the most-searched merchants on the app.

Year after year, users treated the empty search results page as an unofficial wishlist. This persistent search intent gave foodpanda a clear, data-backed signal of pent-up demand.

Prior to the official digital rollout, teaser campaigns on social media validated this demand, generating thousands of organic interactions from users anticipating the return.

Bridging heritage flavor with digital infrastructure

For foodpanda, onboarding a merchant with this level of built-in demand fits its broader strategy of marketplace optimization and hyper-local network expansion, turning a heritage brand into another data point for how legacy retail plugs into delivery infrastructure.

For Andok’s, the integration works as a fast track to digital scale. A legacy quick-service chain skips years of independent app development and reaches customers already using foodpanda’s existing logistics network, on a platform they already check daily.

Andok’s built its following on charcoal spit-roasted chicken, a slow-cooked technique that’s stayed largely unchanged since the brand’s early days, alongside seasoned grilled pork belly.

More recently, the Dokito line extended that following into crispy fried chicken and chicken burgers, broadening the brand’s appeal beyond its original rotisserie format and giving foodpanda a menu with both heritage pull and everyday fast-food convenience.

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