Category: Tech

Aleph acquires 86% in Connect Ads

Aleph Holding, global partner to the world’s biggest digital media players, has today announced its acquisition of 86% of Connect Ads in a cash and shares’ swap transaction.

The acquisition sees Aleph Holding entering the MENA market as it continues its drive to expand globally and increase its presence in new territories, now reaching 90 markets and territories.

Aleph provides leading digital platforms such as Facebook and many others access to new geographies and under-served markets through its complementary suite of digital media service companies which include Httpool, Internet Media Services, Wise.Blue, Social Snack and AdDynamo.

The majority acquisition of Connect Ads extends Aleph’s services across the MENA region through Connect Ads’ more than 14 other exclusive media partnerships with global and leading digital media names including Twitter, TikTok, Verizon Media, Spotify, Adobe Advertising Cloud, Huawei Ads, Bigo Ads and many more.

What this means to MENA

In 2021, Aleph is on track to generate $1 billion in sales with an expanded footprint reaching over 90 markets supported. The acquisition marks a key milestone in this journey.

“There is huge value in expanding throughout MENA, both to serve our current partners and clients and to expand on existing relationships in other parts of the world.”

“We have been following Connect Ads’ growth and geographical expansion over the last five years and I am excited to welcome them to the Aleph family and we will work together with Connect Ads and A15 to make this a successful partnership” said Gastón Taratuta, Founder & CEO of Aleph Holding.

The Value of Growth

“A15 is happy with the phenomenal results, value and growth that Connect Ads created over the years; it validates A15’s venture building strategy in creating outliers. This is A15’s second dragon exit from fund I, and our third major exit overall.” said Karim Beshara, General Partner of A15.

He adds “A15 is looking forward to continuing this journey with Aleph and Connect Ads and contributing to a global digital powerhouse. We are excited about the growth opportunities and potential returns this deal will bring in the future.”

“We see this as a giant leap in the right direction for Connect Ads and all our stakeholders including our teams, partners, and clients. Being a part of Aleph, this truly global structure, will give us more leverage in managing our business as well as global exposure and potential that goes far beyond MENA and EMEA.”

“The numerous synergies and shared vision make this a very exciting time for us. The enhanced accessibility that this entails will enable us to grow faster and bigger than ever before” said Mohamed El Mehairy, CEO of Connect Ads.

Aleph is the largest global digital media partner. In over 90 markets worldwide, the corporation is trusted to connect the biggest players in digital media with the advertisers that rely on them.

Aleph helps advertisers maximize the value of their investment through a complete service ecosystem – comprising innovative proprietary technology, digital expertise and deeply embedded local market knowledge.

Our teams help brands to master the leading digital platforms, bringing them closer to their customers. These services are delivered through their portfolio of digital media service brands: IMS; Httpool; WISE.BLUE; Social Snack; and AdDynamo.

At the same time, Aleph acts as an extension to the leading players in digital, giving them access to new and under-served markets. Their global infrastructure and scale mean that they can build any market into a new success story.

As a trusted partner to the whole of the digital community, Aleph believes that growth generates growth. That is why they hold the key unlock the last mile in digital media.

July 15, 2021
FasterCapital Launches Startup Program To Support Women Entrepreneurs

FasterCapital, an online incubator and accelerator based in Dubai, is launching a cohort for women entrepreneurs.

Recent statistics reveal that as of 2021 that 36% of small businesses are owned by women and this number is gradually increasing year over year.

In spite of the challenges they are facing, almost 90% of the female-owned businesses worldwide are up and running and are generating profits.

The situation in the Middle East when it comes to women entrepreneurship is different from other countries around the world where only 10% of businesses are owned by women.

In this cohort, FasterCapital is helping women founders in different aspects of their business-building or business-growing journeys.

The cohort launches in June 2021 and is a yearly initiative for women founders. Check out the programs website.

Tech Support for Women Founders

Through the Tech Cofounder program, FasterCapital will offer all the technical support needed to start your business or build your product.

Technology is an essential component of business today and a strong product is what makes a strong brand.

Many women are mostly starting businesses in areas of education, food, fashion, retail, and it is important to find strong technical teams to complement and translate these products into the language of today.

Credit: FasterCapital

Raising Capital for Women Entrepreneurs

Securing the capital needed is a very crucial step to start or grow any business, and female-led businesses are no different.

But the statistics show that women founders find it much more challenging to secure the money they need than men founders.

For this cohort of innovative female entrepreneurs, FasterCapital will match the businesses with a network of angel investors, venture capital, and other funding sources.

Many women – in the MENA and elsewhere – already have innovative and brilliant ideas but most of them end up giving up on these potential ground-breaking businesses.

This is mainly due to the lack of the capital needed and not having the right network or resources available.

FasterCapital supports all different stages of businesses and businesses from different industries.

Growing and Entering New Markets for Savvy Women Founders

For women who have already started and established their businesses, joining this cohort will help them in growing their business further and in exploring new markets and potentials.

Sales, marketing, scaling, partnerships, and many other growth strategies are discussed and employed for the sake of taking your business to the next level.

This will be helpful for women entrepreneurs who are trying to grow and enter the MENA market and for women in the MENA market trying to reach new global markets.

FasterCapital logo

The future of women entrepreneurship

Although it is globally noted that the future is bright for women in business and that there is much progress done.

However, on the way of bridging the gender gap in entrepreneurial areas, we need to acknowledge that there is much yet to be done for women in different parts of the world.

Women entrepreneurs have many tools now but in markets like MENA, Africa, and others we need to enable them to grab these tools and build their businesses.

Supporting and encouraging women to step out of their own conventional duties and to enter this foreign territory.

This should merge with creating an inclusive and supportive environment are what we can do in the resent to ensure a truly bright future.

Women Entrepreneurship in the MENA market

Entering this massively men-dominated ecosystem is extremely challenging for women in the MENA markets, but is not impossible.

It’s the reason why women like Helen Al Uzaizi – CEO of BizWorld, Mona Ataya – Founder and CEO of Mumzworld, Sahiqa Bennett – CEO & Co-founder of Searchie, and Briar Prestidge – Founder & CEO of Prestidge Group PR have been able to work their way up and set an example.

It is also worth noting that many women from the Middle East are staring international businesses and are nailing it.

Hesham Zreik, CEO of FasterCapital comments, “through starting this cohort of female entrepreneurs, we hope to enable innovative and dedicated women in taking the steps needed to start and grow their empires.”

Women Entrepreneurship and COVID

The rise of COVID-19 had caused many extra challenges on women in business.

During shutdown, most retail businesses – which is mostly the niche market for many women entrepreneurs – witnessed major setbacks.

The focus on technology and online businesses resulted in more damage to many women entrepreneurs. This is why we believe enabling women to use technology and start tech-enabled businesses is a goal in itself.

Strengths of Women Leaders in Business

Women have their own superpowers that has helped them and that will help them in being successful business leaders.

Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of Bumble, and Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, are only some few examples of successful female CEOs in different industries.

High emotional intelligence is an asset that helps women in managing and leading teams successfully and in mediating their business goals to the language and understanding of their crew.

Many women entrepreneurs are motivated inwardly. They have a vision that they would like to see achieved. They are mostly not as motivated by financial gain as much as their male counterparts are.

This constant and strong motivation is a very powerful engine that makes many female-led business thrive indeed.

Join the female cohort and unleash your superpowers now!

June 1, 2021
Laverie: Egyptian Laundry Services provider raises seed round led by A15

Laverie, the first dry-cleaning & laundry app, announced securing an undisclosed six-figure (USD) seed round from A15, the leading Egyptian tech investor.

The upscale app has been operating since 2018 and currently boasts a month over month growth of 25%; catching the eye of A15, the leading tech investment giant which boasts an impressive array of successful startups.

A15 also boasts the region’s first Dragon exit (TPay) not to mention its previous major exit which was the sale of Otlob, one of the region’s leading online food delivery businesses, to Rocket Internet.

According to the announcement , Karim Beshara, A15 General Partner is quoted saying “We have noticed the work of the Laverie team, how they achieved early organic traction in the areas they operate in and the exceptional level of service they provide to their clients.”

The managing team consists of Laverie’s founders, Ayman Gaballah and Mohab Aloush as well as newly joining CEO Hani Salama who brought in his experience running his 30 year old family-owned laundry business.

We sat down with the team for more on consumer tech and the journey of Laverie onwards.

Hani says “Most of my early career has been spent building and operating digital assets at an early stage of the market. One of the biggest challenges at that stage has always been converging the behavior of potential users from traditional physical experience into a digital one.”

“My recent experience with the traditional laundry business grounded me with an insight of the psychology of customers.”

With this currently acquired investment, the Laverie team intends to disrupt the service quality level for the Consumer-tech industry in Egypt.

The Story

We spoke to Ayman Gaballah about Laverie’s journey and plans he says “Even in finding the name for the app, we had a focus on premium and high-end quality of service. This is what Laverie is all about.”

Laverie operates with a focus on seamless customer experience and journey while using the app as well as the quality of service and after-sales customer care.

The company also offers order tracking, and various payment options for convenience.

Ayman adds “We (Ayman and Mohab) had previous experience in the retail sector and launched several startups and software development initiatives in wholesale and healthcare.”

“(When raising) we saw A15 as one of the best-fit tech investors for us. Considering their current mix of companies as well as a good track record of successful exits and portfolio companies’ growth.”

Airing the Laundry

Consumer tech is a highly evolved industry worldwide but Laundry takes precedence in how ‘delicate’ (no pun intended) the process might be when it comes to the Egyptian market.

With pitfalls such as last mile pickup and delivery, payment and overall experience, the challenge can be quite interesting.

Ayman explains “The Egyptian market has evolved big time, customers are much more into using technology and accepting new ways of communication and B2C relationships. On the other hand, the market is still struggling with the shift between cash and online payment, many customers still prefer cash, but we are on track.”

Laverie offers several payment options as well as order tracking.

Our biggest challenge will always be to maintain a superior quality and customer experience.

Hani adds “I am hoping with my new team to be able to map a unique customer journey that smartly removes that barrier and positively affects our targets.”

On their plans for the near future, Ayman says “ this seed round will fuel our coverage of Greater Cairo and expansion into several GCC countries while focusing on offering new services and optimizing the customer experience.”

May 9, 2021
Access Bridge Ventures: Exclusive Interview
Access Bridge Ventures is a leading early stage venture capital fund supporting budding entrepreneurs across MENA region & Pakistan.

With their current role in funding the growth of Cassbana, Egypt’s 1st Financial Identities platform, Digital Boom interviews Issa Aghabi, Access Bridge Ventures (“ABV”) Founder and Managing Partner about their current roles and what the future holds for early stage investment in MENA.

We have noticed ABV is primarily interested in Early Stage startups, when asked about their reasoning behind that.

Issa says “We see a rising supply of early-stage startups with great potential but are facing challenges in obtaining the investments between seed and Series A. A portion of these startups end up dying due to the lack of funding. It could take a founder a longer period of time, then needed, to raise funds.”

He adds that while this situation is evolving quickly and positively yet we can still see more room for support and investment.

ABV is not a new-comer by any means, the partners has been investing in some exciting startups in the past 15 years. They collectively have over 8 exits in venture backed startups ahead of launching the fund. “This is what excites us the most.” Adds Agahbi.

Issa Aghabi, Managing Partner at Access Bridge Ventures

Seed to Series A

Access Bridge Ventures is positioning itself as the go to Seed to Series A investor; explains Issa. Typically, we strive to be “The First Institutional Investor” or major Co-investor while adopting a hand on approach to help add value and provide our investments with that an “unfair advantage” of some sort.

We look to provide added value through leveraging our exceptional networks across the region, our collective investment and operational experiences, strong governance and overall discipline, he elaborates.

He adds “We are happy to lead, co-lead and collaborate. Our goal is to invest in great entrepreneurs at the beginning of the journey and help them become industry leaders.”

What the Future holds

When asked about what industries are expected to boom and flourish in 2021 and the coming years, Issa notes that while the venture tends to focus on sectors they “understand and have subject matter expertise in”, the venture is also focusing on sectors that are relevant to the region and “jive with our pattern recognition thesis”.

Issa sees the potential in Health-tech, Edu-tech, E-Commerce enablers & Marketplaces not to mention Enterprise Tech, SAAS and of course, Fintech.

These industries support the underserved communities as well as budding businesses across the region which could largely support emerging markets’ goals.

Making it or Breaking it

So what are ABV’s must haves when it comes to choosing startups to work with?

Issa says that while it differs based on the stage the venture is investing at but the top 5 characteristics every investor should be looking at are:
1. TEAM TEAM TEAM (Make it or Break it )
2. Scalability and Market Size
3. Traction / Sector Leader and Innovators
4. Our Value add
5. Clear exit path
Issa adds” This was the case with Cassbana, they have a very strong founding team with clear experiences in founding successful startups, we found them to be honest, capable, smart and truly understand their business and industry.”

In Cassbana, ABV team saw “amazing traction on operations and technology despite starting with limited capital in a short period of time.”

He adds “This along the fact that we gathered a nice consortium of Investors for this round that are keen on adding value and driving success.”

Making the Case for Fintech

Issa says “we believe what is happening is merely the beginning for Cassbana, they are building a world-class technology that they keep on perfecting day by day in order to reach their own disruptive vision. “

He adds that Cassbana is a prime example for successful Fintech company models “we believe this is exportable to other similar markets. This is a theme we have been seeing a lot in Egypt. Amazing people solving hyper local issues that are very relevant to other emerging markets.”

“We also feel that the current offering is just scratching the surface. As we scale and grow that could be deepened and widened drastically.”

What is next

With ABV freshly launched in 2021, Issa expects this to be “a pivotal year for us”.

The venture has already invested in three companies with several others in advance pipeline.

Issa says the venture aims to invest in another 5-7 startups during 2021 with several follow-ons.

He concludes saying “We are excited about the region and aim to invest across MENA including key markets such as Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia where we are seeing amazing traction and good people.”
April 19, 2021
Exclusive: Egyptian Fintech Startup NowPay Joins Y Combinator

Cairo-based fintech startup NowPay has joined Y Combinator’s Winter 21 batch, following a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBE).

“We are very excited to be part of the Y Combinator network. Learning from the best of Silicon Valley is a huge growth enabler for NowPay. International recognition for a regional startup is something that we are very proud of accomplishing”, said Ahmed Sabry, NowPay’s co-founder, and CTO.

Launched in 2019, NowPay provides corporate employees with a fintech solution to get their salaries in advance any time in the month through its mobile app, allowing access to emergency funding anytime and better management of their budget.

The startup aims at lowering employees’ financial stress by improving the four pillars of financial wellness for employees; saving, spending, budgeting, and borrowing.

The company raised $2.1 million in seed investment in May 2020 in a round that Foundation Ventures led and Endure Capital, in addition to investors from the U.S., UAE, China, and Egypt, after raising $600,000 in seed funding from Endure Capital and 500 Startups in 2019.

NowPay has managed over $200 million in salaries and signed some leading companies, including SODIC, Wadi Degla, Domty, Beyti, and Axa.

Mostafa Ashour, co-founder lead the startup, and CEO, who previously led the innovation teams at Microsoft; Ahmed Sabry worked at Amazon Lending; Gehan Fathi, former Managing Director at EFG; and Mahmoud ElHosseiny who managed Egypt sales for Stanley Black & Decker.

March 11, 2021
Egyptian Fintech Dayra Joins Y Combinator, Secures US $3M in Pre-Seed

Dayra is a Cairo-based fintech startup providing unbanked gig-workers and micro-businesses with financial services. The company has joined Y Combinator’s Winter 21 batch, closing the largest debt and equity Pre-Seed round in MENA and bringing its total funding to $3 million.

Dayra is funded by Tanmiya Capital Ventures, EFG EV Fintech, EFG Hermes, Y Combinator, and multiple prominent angel investors.

Only 30% of 105 million Egyptians are banked, leaving most of the country unbanked and reliant on cash transactions. Requirements such as proof of income by the banking sector make it hard for gig-workers and micro-business owners to open bank accounts. This leads to a lack of transactional data available to banks and micro-finance institutions and to the non-existence of virtual financial identities for the majority of Egyptians, a problem that directly contributes to financial exclusion in Egypt. It also makes it hard for many companies to disburse payments to their contractors, gig-workers, and customers.

With little to no access to credit options, unbanked individuals are left to borrow from traditional micro-lenders known for their large application fees, manual investigations, long processes, and high rejection rates. Others end up borrowing from informal sources at inconsistent and unfair terms.

This is where Dayra comes in; the company was founded in early 2020 by Omar Ekram to improve the lives of millions of unbanked individuals in MENA, starting with Egypt. Dayra empowers companies to provide their unbanked gig-workers and customers with financial solutions via API integrations while taking the payment disbursement hassle off those companies and allowing them to extend their payment terms. Dayra’s financial solutions include virtual bank accounts, prepaid cards, and access to credit – instantly, hassle-free, and at lower costs than traditional lenders.

The company’s typical end-users range from gig workers such as delivery couriers, truck drivers, and freelancers to micro-business owners such as kiosks, small shops, restaurants, and artisans. Analyzing end-user transactions enables Dayra to create alternative credit scores and virtual financial identities for them. Businesses can integrate with Dayra in two ways: they can offer Dayra’s financial solutions directly from within their app using the API integration or, if they don’t have their own app or portal, they can use Dayra’s app directly.

“We are thrilled to be part of YC’s W21 batch and to close our pre-seed round. This is a key milestone in realizing our vision of providing the most accessible financial services solution in MENA and delivering digital financial services to millions of financially excluded individuals, leveraging on our strategic partnership with EFG Hermes,” said Omar Ekram, the founder and CEO of Dayra.

Before starting Dayra, Ekram co-founded the private equity fund Tanmiya Capital Ventures, which participated in Dayra’s Pre-Seed round. Ekram was able to closely observe the inefficiencies of Egypt’s financial services sector and its impact on financial exclusion during his years in the financial services sector. As a self-taught programmer, he built the MVP for Dayra and subsequently landed its first client in March 2020.

Since its launch, Dayra has grown at a monthly growth rate of over 50%. It has allowed thousands of unbanked individuals to access their income early through tens of thousands of transactions worth millions of dollars, with an average loan size of USD 500. Thanks to the trust its partners have placed in the company.

Dayra has received an investment from YC as part of the YC W21 batch. The team has now grown to 10+ individuals, fulfilling operations, BD, product, and tech functions. The company plans on doubling its team members to grow the company and build out new product features.

“We are exceptionally proud to be the first institutional investor partnering with Dayra, in whom we see vast potential due to their disruptive and relevant business model as Egypt works to build financial inclusion and intermediation. Today, EFG Hermes has several key facilities on offer to empower companies with great ideas such as Dayra to come in and fill essential gaps in the market. We have funneled key investment capital in the company through EFG EV Fintech and offered a bespoke, multi-million financing facility through our factoring and leasing arm EFG Hermes CorpSolutions. We are confident that Dayra has the tools in place to make the impact it hopes to see in the market, and we’re proud to be helping them get there,” said Walid Hassouna, CEO of the NBFI Platform at EFG Hermes and Group Head of Debt Capital Markets.

Mahmoud El Zohairy, CEO EFG EV Fintech, also said: “We are thrilled about partnering with Dayra and look forward to seeing them through on a path of success. Dayra’s unique go-to-market approach empowers gig economy participants while alleviating working capital stress on their employers in a seamless manner, something that the market needs right now. Thanks primarily to the world-class team Dayra has put together, including a founder with first-hand knowledge of the financial system as well as deep knowhow in the tech space, we are excited to see what they have in store for the market.”

March 10, 2021
XPLOR Secures $3M Seed funding from Ayana Holding

XPLOR, the 3D tech, digital twin, and master planning software, has raised a seed fund of US $3 million from Ayana Holding to accelerate its growth, taking a holistic approach to real estate digitization covering marketing, sales, leasing, and facilities management.

XPLOR helps real estate developers to reduce their operational expenditure, increase market share, and minimize the possibility of human error. It also assists investors by giving them complete control to choose, book and explore units.

After choosing their destination, the software lets customers search deeper into the community by analyzing the location, infrastructure, landmarks, availability of properties masterplan, amenities, and floor plans. It also allows them to see the 3D exterior and walk-through the property to view the interior.

The startup will endeavor to develop future technologies that help enhance customer experience and improve operational efficiency in various asset classes. The company will harness the potential of new and emerging technologies such as blockchain to offer solutions to key challenges facing service providers and consumers.

Can Turkan, Founder of XPLOR, said, “Although digital transformation has been on the agenda of many businesses for years, the COVID-19 pandemic has expedited its adoption across industries including real estate. As a company that pioneers new technologies that transform the sector, XPLOR is excited about the prospects of increased focus on digitization. Most real estate investors will decide after seeing it in person, but this software truly outdoes that experience.

“We are confident that the fresh funding will incentivize our pursuit of innovations and further enable us to create a meaningful impact on the regional real estate industry. We thank Ayana Holding and our partners for their support that motivates us to aim for greater successes.”

Celebrating the UAE’s Hope Probe Mars Mission’s success, XPLOR has also designed a masterplan on the Red Planet. Visitors to the company’s website can take a 360° tour of ‘Burj Mars,’ ‘Mars Marina’ and ‘Mars Opera’ to discover the mission through an interactive journey and get a feel of life on another planet.

Source: Magnnit

February 16, 2021
ElCoach Releases 2020 Numbers- DB Exclusive

Today, ElCoach, MENA’s premier on-demand fitness, and nutrition app released its Year in Review 2020 and we are seriously impressed.

With demand on Fitness apps growing by 46% during COVID-19’s first wave, it looks like this team worked harder to offer Arabs a chance to be slimmer and healthier.

Assem Emam, CEO & Co-Founder of ElCoach.Inc says “(we) worked like a beehive to grow our business in this tough time.”

He adds “(aiming to) help people of the MENA region find new and creative ways to stay fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Work paid off for Users and ElCoach

As the “best-in-class workouts engine in the MENA region”, ElCoach adapts users’ next workouts to push them faster & smarter towards achieving their goals.

Since it is a community-based model, the ElCoach community has collectively performed 2,843,388 workouts during 2020 to lose weight, gain muscle, or increase their fitness level.

No Couch but more Coach

The app also pushed users to turn their locked-down living spaces into gyms with the use of virtual fitness with videos.

As demand for “at home workout programs” with 8 times the size of demand for gym-based workouts. 90% of the demand was targeted towards “Weight Loss”.

Forget Baking, how about 150 K of Healthy Meals?

With ElCoach focusing on nutrition as part of a healthy lifestyle, their year-in-review shows users being less interested in stressing about calories and BMI.

Instead, users were more about nutritional factors like food macros and environment-friendly ingredients.

The app now boasts a roster of delicious vegetarian/vegan meals which empowered the ElCoach community to cook 157,369 healthy meals and eventually burning 165,864,300 calories collectively.

And with the economy suffering in 2020, 69% of ElCoach users opted for “pocket-friendly meals”.

Sweaty Steps for the Win

In November of 2020, ElCoach introduced a progress tracking & step counting feature to aid users in setting goals and measuring the progress of their steps, workouts, calories, and water consumption all in one place.

So, ElCoach community collectively walked 23,240,147 steps, and consumed 2,171,493 cups of water.

The Icing on the Healthy Cake

My most inspiring number, reading this report, was the fact that 88% of ElCoach’s premium subscribers reporting “noticeable change in their body shapes & fitness levels after trying ElCoach for the first few weeks”

It seems the app’s focus on offering a truly local and inclusive perspective on fitness gave the users a push to truly maintain a healthy yet very attainable lifestyle.

Assem wraps it eloquently, saying “It fuels our energy to know that our product resonates with customers and is fueling them to lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.”

Learn more about ElCoach Year in Review 2020 Report here.

Got a case study to share with us? Hit us up at [email protected]

January 19, 2021
Samsung introduces Galaxy S21 & Galaxy S21+

Samsung announced the release of two flagship devices; Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+. This line features a new “head-turning, iconic design”.

It also features a pro-grade camera and Galaxy’s most advanced processor to date.

According to TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics “We are living in a mobile-first world, and with so many of us working remotely and spending more time at home, we wanted to deliver a smartphone experience that meets the rigorous multimedia demands of our continuously changing routines.”

Here is what we are loving so far about the new Galaxy release.

A Bold Innovative Style

Since the Galaxy S21 is built for expression, it seems to be designed to light and compact with a larger battery, serving the binge-watchers among us.

The overall aesthetic of the phones is sleek but noteworthy, it comes in a range of hip colors including Samsung’s new signature share: Phantom Violet.

The display is also designed to be easy on the eyes.

To help reduce eye fatigue from your Bridgerton binge, Galaxy S21’S new Eye Comfort Shield automatically adjusts the blue light based on the time of day, content you’re viewing, and your bedtime.

Making Everyday Epic

And that requires an epic pro-grade camera and Galaxy S21 continues to deliver.

Samsung’s legendary camera heritage with pro-grade enhancements and video innovations that enable users of every skill level to get the best shot.

Improved 8K Snap lets the users grab sharp clear images from their 8K video footage, which means you get to record the action live but still get fascinating still shots every time you hit record.

There is also the new Director’s View which allows you to see, switch, and select the best shot to tell your best story.

Our Most Anticipated Accessory of 2021

Welcome the new Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro, which will help you capture both ambient sounds and your voice at the same time using the multiple mic recording feature. Imaging setting up Galaxy S21 in Pro Video Mode on a tripod and using the Buds Pro as your voice mic.

Privacy Matters

Samsung also announced commitment to protecting sensitive information through arming Galaxy S21 with Samsung Knox Vault, Samsung’s own proprietary chipset level (SoC) security platform.

By adding tamper-resistant secure memory to this secure processor, Samsung Knox Vault adds a new layer of protection.

Galaxy S21 has a new tool to protect and monitor privacy which allows you to safely remove location metadata from photos before sharing. With Galaxy S21’s all-new Private Share function, you can also control who gets access to the content you send, and how long it’s available – so you can share content worry-free.

Let’s see what Apple is gearing up for, 2021 is shaping up to a pretty epic start with Galaxy S21.

January 14, 2021
WhatsApp Dilemma: To Signal or Not to Signal

Update: Whatsapp announced on January 15th, 2021 that it is moving back the date from February 8. It also announced it will ” go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15″.

So, Whatsapp, your beloved instant messenger, updated its privacy policy.

Do you know Whatsapp? The encrypted “secure” messenger is owned by Facebook and estimated to be worth 1.5 Billion USD.

Oh, wait. What?

The update caused an uproar, especially after Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube started suspending President Trump.

The facts were; our conversations will help Whatsapp sell our online behavior as advertising data to Facebook.

This means a huge privacy breach from an app priding itself on end-to-end encryption and other security features.

Now, Whatsapp’s 2 Billion users started heading to other less sophisticated rivals, Signal and Telegram. Whatsapp was bleeding users by the minute.

Shots Fired

When Elon Musk and Edward Snowden, Former CIA employee, and famous whistleblower, both tweeted about Signal.

Signal is a similar app to Whatsapp that uses the same protocols.

It escalated so that Signal went from 14 million users to dominating social networking charts on Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play.

WhatsApp Responds, Finally!

Here are the facts as we know them from WhatsApp.

In a statement issued this week, the Whatsapp team said, “ We want to be clear that the policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family in any way. Instead, this update includes changes related to messaging a business on WhatsApp, which is optional, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data.”

As you recall, Whatsapp has rolled out a feature to register business accounts and personal accounts, which means businesses can use the platform to communicate with clients and potential customers.

What Whatsapp changed is how it will use this data to optimize advertising and targeting for business accounts.

Furthermore, they added, “We want to make this easier and better if you choose to message with businesses. We will always be clear within WhatsApp when you are communicating with any business that uses these features.”

In a nutshell, chatting with friends or calling your mom is fine and secure. But once you are on Facebook and choose the “Go to Whatsapp” button to message a business, things will be a bit risky.

Facebook will then use some of your data, such as battery level, IP address, browser information, mobile network, phone number, and ISP.

Whatsapp will also allow larger businesses to use “secure hosting services from Facebook to manage WhatsApp chats with customers.”

That is your conversation with that business hosted on Facebook.

Freaky Coincidences

WhatsApp made a clarification that was as vague as every privacy-related clarification made from Facebook.

This is proving to be one more stop in Facebook’s endless fights regarding user and data privacy.

As I sit here writing this, I know the “sounds okay.” I know that I will most likely not become affected by these changes. Suppose I choose not to interact with businesses via Whatsapp or use Facebook’s Shops feature. But, knowing all the facts, I still feel uneasy. WhatsApp may not share my everyday chat data with Facebook, but it still feels like it does.

The same way I talk about PJs with a friend, and my entire Facebook feed fills up with home-wear ads the next day. No one admits it or can prove it, but we all know it is out there.

We call them “freaky coincidences,” but they are actually what experts define as Surveillance Capitalism.

This is how any mention of our everyday interests is now goods. Ones that get sold and bought for us to become better and penniless consumers.

But hey, welcome to 2021. This keeps on getting interesting.

January 13, 2021