Amaya Toman The issue of WhatsApp continues to move the world. Recently, more and more users are starting to leave this previously popular communication platform. The reason is the new contract terms, which many people do not like. One of the consequences of the massive outflow of WhatsApp users is the surge in popularity of rival apps Telegram and Signal, with Telegram becoming the most downloaded mobile app in January. Cookies are also a hot topic - a tool that is slowly beginning to annoy an increasing number of users. That's why Google decided to test an alternative that should be a little more considerate of people's privacy. At the end of today's summary, we will talk about Elon Musk, who with his company The Boring Company is trying to be awarded the contract to excavate a traffic tunnel under Miami, Florida.
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Telegram is the most downloaded application of January
At least since the beginning of this year, many users have been dealing with the transition from the popular communication application WhatsApp to another platform. New rules that many people don't like are to blame. On the Jablíčkára website, we already informed you in the past that the hottest candidates in this regard are especially the Signal and Telegram applications, which are experiencing an unprecedented rise in connection with the changes in the use of WhatsApp. The number of downloads of these apps has also risen sharply, with Telegram performing the best. This is evidenced, among other things, by the report of the research company SensorTower. According to a ranking compiled by the firm, Telegram was the undisputed most downloaded app during January this year, while WhatsApp fell to fifth place in the ranking of the most downloaded apps. As recently as last December, Telegram was in ninth place in the "non-gaming" application sector of the mentioned ranking. The aforementioned WhatsApp was in third place in December 2020, while Instagram took fourth place at that time. The number of downloads of the Telegram application is estimated by Sensor Tower at 63 million, 24% of which were recorded in India and 10% in Indonesia. The Signal application took second place in the list of the most downloaded applications in the PlayStore in January of this year, and it was the tenth place in the App Store.
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Google is looking for an alternative to cookies
Google is starting to gradually get rid of cookies, which, among other things, enable, for example, the display of personalized advertisements. For advertisers, cookies are a welcome tool, but for defenders of user privacy, they are in the stomach. Last month, Google published the results of testing an alternative to this tracking tool, which, according to the company, is more considerate of users and, at the same time, can bring relevant results to advertisers. "With this approach, it is possible to effectively hide individuals 'in the crowd'," says Google product manager Chetna Bindra, adding that when using the new tool, your browsing history is completely private. The system is called Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), and according to Google, it can fully replace third-party cookies. According to Bindra, advertising is necessary to keep the browser free and in good standing. However, user concerns about cookies are constantly increasing, and Google must also face criticism regarding its approach to their use. The FLoC tool appears to be working, but it is not yet certain when it will be put into practice across the board.
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Pavel Jelic Musk's tunnel under Florida
Last Friday, Elon Musk announced to the mayor of Miami that his company, The Boring Company, could implement the excavation of a tunnel over three kilometers long. Excavation of this tunnel has been planned for a long time and its price was originally calculated at one billion dollars. But Musk claims that his company could undertake this task for only thirty million dollars, while the entire work should not take more than six months, while the original estimate was about one year. The mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, called Musk's offer amazing and also commented on it in a video he uploaded to his Twitter account. Musk first publicly expressed interest in digging a tunnel in the second half of January this year, when, among other things, he also stated that his company could contribute to solving a number of traffic and environmental problems by digging a tunnel under the city. However, The Boring Company's official agreement with the city of Miami has not yet been concluded.
