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The cloud-based messaging software Telegram will launch its own app store by the end of July, as the company sees record users.
According to the founder Pavel Durov, Telegram has reached the 950 million active users mark and it aims to cross the one billion milestone this year.
This comes just four months after the company announced it had hit 900 million users in March.
In a message on the founder’s channel, posted on Monday (July 22) he explained how the momentum will continue for the brand: “To keep the fire going, this month, we will introduce a mini app store and an in-app browser with support for Web3-pages.”
Further details about the app store aren’t yet known, but information could be expected within the following week as the month will soon come to a close.
The milestone of users is another notch on the company’s belt as the founder explained to the Financial Times, back in March, how it’s nearing profitability. “We are hoping to become profitable next year, if not this year.”
Telegram reveal plan in message from founder
The company earns money through advertising and premium subscription services which were introduced two years ago as a way to stay independent.
Then, this year, Telegram started sharing ad revenue with channel owners by handing out the toncoin which is a token on the TON blockchain. Over the last few years, the Dubai-based team has focused on accelerating the adoption of web3 technology.
In the same message that featured the app store announcement, Durov said: “2024 will go down in history as the year when hundreds of millions of people became familiar with blockchain. We’re proud that Telegram is at the epicenter of this societal transformation.”
While the users are growing and ideas are expanding, the software has faced many scam attempts for a long time. The founder has addressed this and shared how the team is working to prevent this from occurring.
“We will also step up our efforts to fight the scammers seeking to defraud new entrants into the crypto realm. Soon, Telegram will begin displaying the month of registration and principal country for public accounts (similar to Instagram).
“We will also allow organizations to use their mini apps to issue labels for channels, creating a decentralized marketplace for third-party verification.”
Featured Image: Via Yuri Samoilov on Wikimedia Commons
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The President of the Philippines has ordered the shutdown of online casinos while addressing the issue directly during his annual address to parliament on Monday, July 22.
The plans include banning offshore gaming operators known locally as POGOs, Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. These casinos have largely targeted and been catered to people in mainland China, where gambling is illegal.
Both licensed and illicit operators have expanded across the country and tens of thousands of Chinese and foreign nationals are said to be employed by them.
In his speech, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said: “Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.”
“The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop.”

Upon this announcement, Mr Marcos was met with a standing ovation from the audience. The cheers heightened even further when he said “Effective today all Pogos are banned.”
‘Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators’ industry to be wound down after bans of online casinos
Following the announcement, the Philippines’ gaming regulator said the licenses of Pogos would be canceled and the sector would be wound down by the end of the year.
According to government estimates, the industry employs 40,000 people directly and indirectly and is made up of over 400 licensed and unlicensed operators.
The industry has an economic cost of 266bn pesos annually and brings in a revenue of around 166.5bn pesos ($2.9bn).
It’s in recent times that the alleged link between Pogos and illicit activities has emerged.
Just a few months ago, in May, law enforcers found that an online casino in the town of Bamban was actually a front for a scam center. This propelled the town into the spotlight and under national scrutiny.
The facility was raided by authorities last March and close to 700 workers were rescued. This included 202 Chinese nationals and 73 other foreigners who were said to have been forced to pose as online lovers.
Featured Image: Via Wikimedia Commons
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The ease of sharing documents, photos, and videos at the click of a button has been a luxury of iOS users for over a decade, but now, WhatsApp is looking to implement a similar feature.
The possibility of a Bluetooth-only transfer could be viable in the near future as the company is exploring a feature that would make this a reality.
How would WhatsApp airdrop work?
According to WABetaInfo, a ‘people nearby’ Whatsapp feature is being developed which would allow a file to be shared with people nearby without the use of an internet connection, effectively an airdrop. This has been submitted under the 2.24.9.22 update.
The leak shows the tool could be available for Android users, but it’s looking like something similar will be brought to those on the iOS app too.
It could look a little different from the tried and true AirDrop, with users instead having to scan an individual’s QR code to allow the process to begin.
At this stage, the feature is under early development which could result in the final version looking a whole lot different from what has just been leaked. The team will be working on the design, functionality, permissions, privacy measures, and user experience as they continue to test ‘people nearby.’
A release date isn’t yet known and the possible feature hasn’t been confirmed by the instant messaging company.
WhatsApp features in development
It’s not just an AirDrop-like feature that the team is working on, as another leak has been reported.
In the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.15.9 update, it was found that the team is working on an instant translation of chat messages.
This means if a chat box pops up with text from another language, it could soon be automatically translated into the language of your choosing. This will rely on technology developed through the company and initial support is believed to be limited to English, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and Hindi. More languages could be made available in the future.
Featured Image: Via Ideogram
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