The popular short video sharing platform TikTok has overtaken tech giant Google to become the most popular website of the year, according to a report.
According to a report in
BBC, Attributing the source to data released by IT security firm Cloudflare, the viral video platform got more hits than the US search engine.
According to the rankings, TikTok knocked Google down from first place in February, March and June of this year, and has been in number one since August, according to the report.
The reasons for Tiktok’s rise in popularity are believed to be the Covid-19 pandemic, as lockdowns meant people were stuck at home and looking for entertainment that shifted their attention to the platform. creation of short videos.
In 2020, Google was first, and a number of other sites, including TikTok, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Netflix, all made the top 10.
The app, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, has grown rapidly this year attracting millions of people with trending short video clips from around the world. TikTok uses a secret algorithm to understand the user’s mood and preferences, and accordingly suggests videos they think you’d like.
The platform has made careers of many rising celebrities such as Addison Ray, Charli D’Amelio, Khaby Lame, Riyaz Aly, Bella Poarch among others.
According to a report in the
the Wall Street newspaper, TikTok said it has over one billion monthly users.
However, like other social media sites, TikTok also has its own negative impacts on users, especially minors, who are often pushed into sex, drugs, and eating disorders through the video on the web. ‘application, the same
WSJ report said.
In June 2020, the Indian government banned the popular shorthand video app TikTok amid border tensions with China.
Telegram, Signal, Viber: everything you need to know about the best alternatives to WhatsApp
Best WhatsApp Alternatives
WhatsApp’s new update to its privacy policy and terms of service has not been well received by users, many of whom are now looking for better alternatives to move on. Last week, the instant messaging giant launched a new privacy policy stating that it will share user data with parent company Facebook, and those who do not agree to the updated terms by 8 February will no longer have access to their cats.
The notification, which users across India started receiving early last week, has sent people, tech experts and cybersecurity advocates into a frenzy. Several multinational companies have also started advising their employees to avoid disclosing or sharing sensitive company-related data or information on WhatsApp. These companies have warned their staff against crucial business calls on the messaging platform.
Tesla CEO and world’s richest man Elon Musk in a rooted tweet for “Signal,” a messaging app on Thursday.
Although WhatsApp released a new clarification regarding its changed policies on Tuesday, the privacy debate continues to hang over it. Which brings us to the big question: are there any good alternatives to WhatsApp? Well, there are quite a few, and we have compiled a list of email services with some cool features.
Telegram
This cloud-based, cross-platform instant messaging service comes closest to WhatsApp. Telegram, which was initially launched for iOS and Android in late 2013 by two Russian brothers – Pavel Durov and Nikolai Durov, has significantly increased its reach in recent months. It is a free service that offers video calling, VoIP, file sharing, among other features. Instant messaging software can be used on both mobile platforms and desktop computers.
“Secret chat” mode
One of the interesting features of Telegram is its ‘Secret Chat’ mode which is encrypted with its MTProto protocol. Messages sent in the secret chat can only be accessed by the device through which the text was sent or received. Texts can be deleted at any time, and it can also optionally self-destruct. Secret chat can only be initiated through an invitation, after which the “encryption keys” for the session are exchanged between the users.
Apart from that, users can also send texts, voice messages, images, documents, contacts, locations, music and many more things.
In 2020, Telegram reached over 400 million monthly active users and was the 8th most downloaded app in the world, according to data shared by Apptopia.
Signal
This is another user-friendly app which is a cross-platform encrypted messaging service. Compared to other free instant messaging apps available in the market, Signal Messenger is considered to be the most secure. Unlike WhatsApp and Telegram, Signal has a very simple and neat appearance, making the user experience for people of different age groups just as easy and user-friendly.
If that’s not reason enough for you to give it a try, it’s also recommended by Musk.
What is Signal?
In 2018, Moxie Marlinspike and WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton launched Signal Messenger, an open source app. Simply put, that means any security developer can test it for bugs or flaws. The app offers end-to-end encryption, ensuring that no one can access or store your private chats or media.
The messaging app also allows users to set a recording lock PIN. It provides a ‘screen lock timeout’ interval as extra protection in case the user loses the phone. Regarding privacy, Signal said it only stores users’ phone numbers and nothing else. It also offers a feature that turns off screenshots.
But the app’s USP should be the “Sealed Sender” feature which hides the sender and recipient details. Signal also has a feature to blur people’s faces in photos to protect their identity.
Viber
This is another instant messaging app that supports end to end encryption. Your messages, videos, photos, video and voice calls are protected. It is a cross-platform platform operated by the Japanese company MNC Rakuten, which allows you to save your application data to your disk.
Just like Telegram, Viber also offers the feature of disappearing messages. You can set a particular time and your text will disappear on its own. It also offers a “screenshot lock” feature, similar to that of Signal. Viber is accessible on iOS, Android and Windows.
How secure is your data with Viber?
Although Viber is a free app, you may see some ads on the messaging platform. However, the company clarified in a blog post that the ads only help them keep the app free for everyone, and no user data is actually shared with the ad providers.
The messaging platform collects your device’s IDs, location, phone number, and user ID, in addition to product interaction, email ID, name, and contacts. .
Wire
It is a unique messaging application created by Wire Swiss and protected by European data retention laws. The app supports end-to-end encrypted messaging, file sharing, video and voice calls. It also has a feature called guesthouses for external communication, where users can chat with external parties without having to register on the app. Mail service is available for mobiles, desktops, and the web.
Different modes
In addition to Wire Personal, which is a secure personal messaging platform with end-to-end encryption, Wire offers three modes based on its security technology: Wire Pro, Wire Enterprise and Wire Red.
Wire Pro offers collaboration features for businesses, Wire Enterprise also comes with the same features as Pro but with additional services for large scale business organizations, then we have Wire Red, the on-demand crisis collaboration suite .
