Apps – Africa Tech Digest

What Happened to MXit? SA’s Own Super-Popular Chat App

7Oct

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Apps

What Happened to MXit? SA’s Own Super-Popular Chat App

South Africa’s communications minister said today that this week’s massive social media outage of Facebook Inc. apps including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook itself, serves as a reminder that governments around the world can do more to support the development of local social media platforms. Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that the creation and popularity of MXit, a Naspers-backed chat service established in South Africa, was evidence that local companies could indeed produce successful technology with the right backing. “South Africa needs to support young people and citizens to develop social media platforms that we use,” said the minister, who was transferred in August from the department of small business development, quoted by Bloomberg. “We cannot be dependent on the We...

Nigeria’s President gives conditions to be met before lifting Twitter ban

1Oct

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps, Nigeria, Social Networks

Nigeria’s President gives conditions to be met before lifting Twitter ban

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has said the suspension of the operations of Twitter in the country will end only if the company meets certain conditions, such as the setting up of a local unit and payment of taxes. Buhari listed these conditions during a broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 61st Independence anniversary on Friday, October 1. The Nigerian government suspended Twitter’s operations in June, following the social media platform’s decision to delete a tweet by Buhari, which it said breached the site’s rules. The state’s decision to ban Twitter triggered widespread criticism as online-based businesses recorded huge losses; lawsuits; and national assembly hearings meant to probe the circumstances leading to the ban. According to the president, a committee constituted t...

YouTube May Soon Let You Download Videos From Your Browser

26Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps

YouTube May Soon Let You Download Videos From Your Browser

YouTube is currently testing an official way to download videos on your desktop web browser saving you the hassle (and danger) of having to install sketchy 3rd party mods and having to go through 3rd party websites just to download your favourite songs. Users who want to see if they are eligible to be part of the testing phase, which runs through 19 October, should check out YouTube’s experimental features page, which lists any new features being tested that are currently available to Premium subscribers. The Verge writes that not everyone will be able to take part in the test. Continue reading Image: Speechling

FinTech Startup Chipper Cash Launches its Free App in SA

24Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps, Fintech, Southern Africa, Start-ups

FinTech Startup Chipper Cash Launches its Free App in SA

Yesterday, Chipper, one of the fastest growing African fintech start-ups that facilitates free peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers and instant cross-border payments in Africa, officially launched Chipper Cash to offer domestic P2P money transfers in South Africa. Chipper Cash will enable South Africans to enjoy free unlimited instant domestic money transfers, invest in cryptocurrencies, and buy and send airtime and data to anyone. Chipper was founded in 2018 by Ham Serunjogi (CEO) and Maijid Moujaled (President) and it is headquartered in San Francisco, USA. Continue reading Image: Tech Cabal

Netflix launches free plan in Kenya to boost growth

21Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Apps, Mobile

Netflix launches free plan in Kenya to boost growth

Netflix said on Monday it is launching a free mobile plan in Kenya as the global streaming giant looks to tap the East African nation that is home to over 20 million internet users. The free plan, which will be rolled out to all users in Kenya in the coming weeks, won’t require them to provide any payment information during the sign-up, the company said. The new plan is available to any user aged 18 or above with an Android phone, the company said. It will also not include ads. Netflix, available in over 190 countries, has experimented with a range of plans in recent years to lure customers in developing markets. For instance, it began testing a $3 mobile-only plan in India in 2018 — before expanding it to users in several other countries. Continue reading Image: Krisztian Bocsi /...

Datacentrix Partners OutSystems to Expand Rapid App Development in Africa

20Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Apps

Datacentrix Partners OutSystems to Expand Rapid App Development in Africa

Hybrid IT systems integrator and managed services provider Datacentrix has signed a partnership agreement, for both Africa and the Middle East, with the OutSystems industry-leading application development platform. “The OutSystems modern application platform was designed to accelerate the development and deployment of critical applications, while also delivering flexibility and efficiency. This allows us to assist customers in their application modernisation strategies, with a cloud engagement strategy that aligns to Datacentrix’ vision,” says Ahmed Mahomed, Datacentrix CE. OutSystems was recently named a leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Multiexperience Development Platforms (MXDP). Continue reading Image: Shutterstock

Facebook Launches Campaign to Take on Fake News in Nigeria

11Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps, Nigeria, Social Networks, Telecommunications

Facebook Launches Campaign to Take on Fake News in Nigeria

Facebook is collaborating with Nigerian companies Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic to launch the #NoFalseNewsZone educational campaign aimed at helping individuals identify fake news and educate them on how to minimise the spread of false information across Nigeria’s internet and otherwise. “We are super excited to be working with Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic to launch #NoFalseNewsZone in Nigeria,” said Oluwasola Obagbemi, Facebook’s Corporate Communications Manager for Anglophone West Africa, quoted by the Guardian Nigeria. Obagbemi says that the social media giant is committed to the well-being of individuals and communities. Continue reading

Twitter is Planning to Let Users Hide Old, Embarrassing Tweets

5Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps, Social Networks

Twitter is Planning to Let Users Hide Old, Embarrassing Tweets

Twitter is planning the addition of new privacy features on its platforms, one of which will reportedly be the inclusion of an option that will allow the archiving of old tweets so that they are only visible to other users after a set period of time (like 30, 60 or 90 days to a full year). Other options could possibly include a feature to limit who can see which tweets you’ve liked, an option to allow people to remove themselves from a conversation on Twitter and to allow people to remove followers without having to block them. According to The Verge, these new features, still in the concept phase, are being described as a “social privacy” suite of options aimed at making more people comfortable with engaging on Twitter. Continue reading

Nedbank Launches “Enbi” – A New Intelligent Chatbot Assistant

2Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

AI, Apps, Southern Africa

Nedbank Launches “Enbi” – A New Intelligent Chatbot Assistant

Nedbank South Africa has announced the launch of a series of enhancements to its digital services, including the introduction of a conversational AI-powered chatbot. “In line with its commitment to offer cutting-edge digital banking that adds real value to clients, Nedbank works tirelessly to add new features and services across its range of digital banking platforms,” the firm says in a statement. These recent value-adding enhancements include the introduction of cardless withdrawals, simplified cellphone banking registration to access extensive mobile transaction options, and Enbi, an innovative digital conversational chatbot assistant. Continue reading

Malware Spreading Through Popular WhatsApp Mod Uncovered

27Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps, Cybersecurity, Education, Telecommunications

Malware Spreading Through Popular WhatsApp Mod Uncovered

A malicious version of a popular WhatsApp messenger mod (unofficial modification of the app) called FMWhatsapp has been discovered by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. This mod spreads the Triada mobile Trojan, which downloads other Trojans and can launch ads, issue subscriptions, and intercept a user’s SMSs. Even though WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps for instant mobile messaging, not all users are satisfied with its features. Looking for the most user-friendly version, people can be tempted to install modified versions of WhatsApp, which provide many more options than the official one (such as choosing dynamic templates or the ability to read deleted messages). However, these modified apps do not have the same security and encryption features that the official version of...