Apps
Grab will continue to operate amid new Metro Manila lockdown
The ECQ won’t hamper operations

Grab Philippines will continue to offer their whole suite of services as Metro Manila as well as nearby locations enter a new period of lockdown or ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) due to the rise of Covid-19 Delta variant cases.
The company listed the following as services that will continue:
Mobility
GrabCar services will continue to provide safe and convenient transport solutions 24/7 to support those who need to commute and perform essential activities.
GrabCar Bayanihan — a dedicated fleet composed of vaccinated driver-partners and priced 15 percent lower than regular GrabCar rides — will continue to provide mobility solutions going to and from vaccination sites to support the ongoing vaccination efforts against COVID-19.
Deliveries
GrabFood, GrabMart, and GrabExpress will continue to operate throughout the ECQ. This gives easier access to everyday essentials such as food, groceries, and medicine, while creating livelihood opportunities for local businesses and delivery-partners.
Cashless Payments
GrabPay continues to expand its use-case and can now be used beyond just Grab services. Consumers also earn GrabRewards Points whenever they use GrabPay. They can then use these GrabRewards Points to also pay for their purchases or redeem perks offered in the GrabRewards catalogue.
Other support concerning safety and security
Grab will also continue their efforts to make sure everything about the services they offer remain safe and secure. They are doing this through Grab Protect which is a suite of tools, policies, and procedures aimed to ensure utmost safety and hygiene standards across the Grab platform.
They also have the Vacc to Normal campaign which encourages their driver and delivery partners to get vaccinated at the soonest possible time. And then their Zero-tolerance on Fraud where they take action against hoax orders as well as guarding against phishing attacks.
Announcements and updates will be available on their Facebook Page


Grab Philippines and GCash have finally struck a partnership deal that will make payments on the superapp even easier and more convenient.
Starting February, users will be able to add GCash as a direct payment method on the Grab app, making cashless transactions on food and grocery deliveries, car transport, and other services cashless.
Prior to the collaboration, GCash users could only send money from their account to their GrabPay wallet, and vice-versa, causing a bit of hassle switching in between apps on one’s phone screen.
The partnership also means there will be no more transaction fees unlike before when Grab users have to cash in using their credit or debit cards or linked bank accounts.
Grab customers may also avail of GCash exclusive deals, and even get treats when they pay using the e-wallet.

The days of a completely free Twitter are over. Back in 2021, the platform introduced Twitter Blue, a premium subscription service to introduce more features for paying users. Last year, new owner Elon Musk revamped the subscription and made the paid features more exclusive. Musk is not done. A future update will likely add a tier to eliminate all ads on the platform.
Ads and sponsored posts are persistent problems for all social media platforms as of late. Though already asking users to pay, Twitter Blue only cuts down ads for paying users by only half. As the company tries to get sponsors back on the platform, wading through a sea of ads will likely continue.
Musk, however, realizes the problem and is now dangling a carrot at those who want to get rid of ads for good. As a way to curb them, the platform’s owner teased an upcoming higher-priced subscription tier which will allegedly block out all ads.
Ads are too frequent on Twitter and too big. Taking steps to address both in coming weeks.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2023
The billionaire has not announced how much a tier might cost. Currently, the regular Twitter Blue subscription already costs US$ 8 per month. Additionally, he has not revealed if there are more plans on the docket for curbing ads.
Since acquiring the company late last year, Musk has introduced a lot of changes to the platform, often to controversial appeal. Cutting down on ads is certainly a welcome change but only depending on how much it will ask from users.

An unread notification triggers our inner FOMO. Once you see that red ping or that card, it’s almost impossible to ignore. Some users, to replace a traditional notepad, even message themselves on messaging apps to act as an impromptu bulletin board. Now, joining in the list of apps that allow users to do that, WhatsApp is letting users talk to themselves on the app.
Available today, WhatsApp has introduced a feature allowing users to message themselves from the list of contacts on the app. As with any other message, users can mark their conversation as unread and pin it on top of every other thread.
Compared to other developments from WhatsApp as of late, a conversation with yourself isn’t as groundbreaking, especially since other apps already offer the same function. However, the new feature does open a lot of possibilities for users.
Besides the aforementioned self-pinging system, users can also have a notepad that essentially migrates from device to device. As long as you have a WhatsApp account logged on in every device you can take with you, you can read your notes everywhere and on any device.
WhatsApp isn’t the only app to offer such a feature. Users can also do the same on Meta’s other apps including Messenger and Instagram’s private messaging feature.
SEE ALSO: WhatsApp has launched Communities
-
News1 week ago
Apple iPhone 15 Rumor Roundup: Goodbye Pro Max, hello Ultra
-
Automotive2 weeks ago
Xiaomi EV spotted in China
-
Gaming2 weeks ago
Midnight Suns Deadpool DLC arrives Jan 26
-
CES 20232 weeks ago
HP reveals new hybrid, gaming lineup at CES 2023
-
CES 20232 weeks ago
ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 3D OLED: Glasses-Free 3D!
-
Hands-On2 weeks ago
HONOR X9a 5G Hands-On: Tough and capable
-
Gaming1 week ago
Honkai: Star Rail final closed beta sign-up now open
-
News2 weeks ago
HONOR X9a 5G: Price, availability in the Philippines