Instagram tests new 'Instants' app for one-time photo sharing: How it works

by Hansraj Agrawal | Apr 24, 2026 | Technology

Instagram is reportedly testing a new app called “Instants” for casual photo sharing. According to a report from TechCrunch, the app allows users to take quick photos and share them with friends that can only be viewed once and remain accessible for up to 24 hours. It is currently available in select regions, including Spain and Italy. The report noted that the idea is to offer a low-pressure way to connect, without the need for editing or perfect-looking posts.

Users can take a photo with a single tap using the in-app camera and share it instantly. There’s no option to upload from the camera roll, and editing tools are limited — apart from adding text, photos cannot be modified. This means what you capture is exactly what gets shared.

How Instants works

According to the report, unlike the main Instagram app, which is often associated with curated content, Instants focuses on raw, real-time sharing. Photos disappear after being viewed once and stay available for 24 hours, adding a sense of urgency and privacy to interactions.

As noted, users can choose to share these “instants” with mutual followers or a Close Friends list. These lists are synced with the main Instagram app, so there’s no need to set them up again. Instagram is also testing Instants both as a standalone app and as a feature within the main app, giving users flexibility in how they access it.

The approach is similar to platforms like Snapchat and BeReal, which focus on unfiltered and temporary content. It reflects a shift away from heavily edited posts towards more spontaneous sharing.

Why Instagram is doing this

As reported, Instagram has become more focused on influencers, ads and highly produced content. With Instants, the company seems to be trying to bring back a more personal way of sharing, closer to how the platform started.

At the same time, the move appears to respond to competition from apps that prioritise private and real-time interactions. Features like Instagram Stories already offer quick sharing, and interest in apps like BeReal has slowed compared to earlier trends. For now, Instants remains in testing, and its wider rollout will likely depend on how users respond in the current trial.

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OpenAI says you can do more with GPT-5.5 even if you are not prompt expert

by Hansraj Agrawal | Apr 24, 2026 | Technology

OpenAI has introduced GPT-5.5, its latest agentic artificial intelligence model, with a shift in how users interact with it. The company said users no longer need to craft detailed prompts, as the model can handle rough or multi-part instructions and complete tasks independently.

According to OpenAI, GPT-5.5 is designed to understand intent faster and execute workflows on its own by planning steps, using tools, and verifying outputs.

The model is rolling out to Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users across ChatGPT and Codex, with API access expected soon. GPT-5.5 Pro is also being made available to Pro, Business, and Enterprise users.

What’s new in GPT-5.5

The biggest change in GPT-5.5 is how it handles instructions. Instead of requiring step-by-step guidance, users can provide a loosely structured request, and the model will plan and complete the workflow.

This marks a shift from prompt-driven interactions to more autonomous behaviour, where the model takes on a larger share of the task.

OpenAI said GPT-5.5 performs well in areas such as coding, research, data analysis, and document creation, where tasks involve multiple stages. The model is also capable of moving across tools and software environments to complete workflows instead of responding in isolated steps.

The company added that GPT-5.5 maintains response speeds similar to GPT-5.4 while offering improved capability. It also uses fewer tokens for similar tasks, which may reduce the need for repeated prompts.

Different modes in ChatGPT

GPT-5.5 is available in different modes designed for varying levels of complexity.

GPT-5.5: Focuses on understanding intent, gathering information, and converting raw inputs into structured outputs.

GPT-5.5 Thinking: Designed for complex problems, offering structured reasoning and concise responses for tasks such as coding, research, and analysis.

GPT-5.5 Pro: Available to higher-tier users, aimed at more demanding workloads with improved accuracy and depth, particularly in business, legal, education, and data-related tasks.

These modes are configurations of the same model rather than separate systems.

What changes in Codex

In Codex, GPT-5.5 is geared towards productivity and content generation.

OpenAI said the model performs better at:

Generating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations

Handling operational research and spreadsheet modelling

Converting unstructured inputs into structured plans

The update builds on recent Codex features, including improved document and slide generation, richer previews, in-app browser use, image generation, and auto review tools.

Safeguards and risk controls

OpenAI said GPT-5.5 includes updated safeguards, particularly for sensitive areas such as cybersecurity.

The company has introduced stricter controls for high-risk queries and expanded monitoring systems to detect misuse.

Its capabilities in areas such as cybersecurity and biology are classified as high under OpenAI’s preparedness framework, indicating increased capability compared to earlier models, though not the highest risk level.

Availability

GPT-5.5 is rolling out across ChatGPT and Codex for Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users. GPT-5.5 Pro is limited to Pro, Business, and Enterprise tiers.

API access is expected soon, with pricing likely to be higher than GPT-5.4. However, OpenAI said improved efficiency may offset costs by reducing token usage per task.

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Google to host 'The Android Show' on May 12 ahead of I/O 2026: Details

by Hansraj Agrawal | Apr 24, 2026 | Technology

Google will once again host a dedicated ‘The Android Show’ event ahead of its annual developer conference, Google I/O 2026. The company has confirmed that “The Android Show | I/O Edition” will take place on May 12, about a week before I/O begins on May 19.

The event will be streamed online at 10 am PT (11:30 PM IST) and is expected to preview upcoming updates across Google’s hardware line, including Android phones, Android XR-powered headsets and possibly a new Android-based platform for desktops. At the event, Google could also highlight Gemini-powered updates coming to its devices.

According to a report from 9To5Google, the YouTube listing for the stream hints at a major year for Android. The description reads: “This is going to be one of the biggest years for Android yet… be the first to take a look at what the future holds.”

Google appears to be following the same approach it introduced last year—splitting announcements between two events. Consumer-facing updates are expected to be revealed during The Android Show, while more technical and developer-focused changes will likely be discussed during I/O.

What to expect from The Android Show 2026

With Google sticking to last year’s format, The Android Show on May 12 is likely to focus on user-facing updates, especially around Android, AI and new device experiences.

One of the major talking points could be Android 17, which is already in beta. Google recently rolled out beta 4 to select Pixel devices, giving a clearer idea of what might be announced. The update brings a mix of practical changes rather than major visual shifts. There are also small usability tweaks, such as a redesigned screen recording toolbar that lets users record a specific app rather than the full screen. There are also signs of Android becoming more flexible on larger screens, with better widget scaling and desktop-style features like interactive picture-in-picture windows.

Beyond smartphones, Google may talk about its longer-term plans for a desktop-style Android experience. Earlier, Google announced it is working on a new Android-based system for PCs that will bring Android and Chrome OS together into a single platform, internally referred to as “Aluminium OS.” The company is actively developing a unified platform for laptops and tablets, with Android at its core. It also points to AI being a key part of the system, with deeper integration of Gemini expected. This indicates that Google may bring its AI features, already seen on smartphones, to larger-screen devices like PCs.

Another area to watch is extended reality. Google first showed its display-based AI smart glasses at “The Android Show: XR Edition” on December 8 last year, confirming partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. The prototype included a subtle in-lens display that could show contextual details such as navigation directions and live translation captions. Google has earlier indicated that these smart glasses are expected to launch sometime in 2026. Google may preview these glasses at the event.

For Gemini, the focus at The Android Show 2026 is likely to be on how it expands across devices rather than just adding new standalone features. Google is expected to show tighter system-level integration within Android, where Gemini can handle tasks across apps more seamlessly—such as pulling information from messages, emails and other apps to complete actions without switching between them.

Another expected area is deeper on-device AI capabilities. This may also tie into better contextual awareness, where the assistant understands what’s on your screen and responds accordingly in real time. Google may also preview how Gemini fits into a broader ecosystem, including wearables, cars and possibly XR devices. This could mean more natural voice interactions, continuous assistance and smarter suggestions that work across different screens rather than being limited to smartphones.

What happened last year

Last year’s The Android Show | I/O Edition” was mainly used by Google to preview most of its Android-related updates ahead of the main I/O keynote, rather than saving them for the conference itself. The company introduced Android 16 with a noticeable design shift through Material 3 Expressive, which focused on brighter visuals, smoother animations and more customisation across phones and wearables.

Alongside this, Google expanded its AI push by bringing Gemini to more platforms, including cars, smartwatches, TVs and XR devices, signalling a move towards a more connected ecosystem. The event also highlighted updates around safety features like improved scam detection and introduced Find Hub, an upgrade to its device-tracking system. Overall, the show wasn’t about one big feature, but a mix of design changes, AI expansion and ecosystem improvements that set the tone for what was later discussed in more detail at I/O.

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Nothing brings Essential Voice to turn speech into clean text: How it works

by Hansraj Agrawal | Apr 24, 2026 | Technology

Nothing has introduced a new software feature called Essential Voice, expanding its Essential AI tools with a focus on voice-based input. According to Nothing, instead of typing everything on your phone, users can just speak and get properly formatted text in real time. The company is positioning this as a step towards making interactions more natural, since speaking is faster and more intuitive than typing for most people.

What is Essential Voice?

Essential Voice is a voice-to-text feature developed by Nothing that turns spoken input into clean, usable text in real time. Instead of simply transcribing speech word-for-word like traditional dictation, it refines what you say by removing filler words, fixing sentence structure and making the output look like properly written text. The feature can be activated by long-pressing the Essential Key or directly from the keyboard on supported Nothing smartphones and it works inside apps where users typically type, so there’s no need to switch between tools.

Essential Voice: How it works

With Essential Voice, the system automatically cleans up what the user says. It removes filler words like “um” or “uh,” improves sentence structure and turns spoken input into text that feels ready to send. Nothing said that Essential Voice only works when you actively turn it on and does not run in the background. When used, your audio is encrypted and processed on the server, after which the final text is sent back to your device. The audio or text is not stored on the servers.

The feature includes auto-correction tools that improve clarity and flow, making the output more usable. There is also support for personal mappings, which act like shortcuts for commonly used words, phrases or links. For example, a user can assign a spoken phrase to automatically insert a specific format or address.

Another addition is a translation tool that allows users to speak in one language and generate text in another. Nothing said that Essential Voice supports over 100 languages with auto-detection, along with options for regional variations. The company said that it makes the feature useful for multilingual communication without needing separate apps.

Availability

Essential Voice is currently available on Nothing Phone 3 and will roll out to Phone 4a Pro later this month and Phone 4a in early May. According to Nothing, future updates will bring context awareness, allowing the feature to adjust its output based on where it is being used, such as messaging or emails. The company is also looking to expand this across its ecosystem, suggesting a broader shift towards voice-first interaction across devices.

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Meta rolls out parental monitoring of kid's AI chats on FB, IG, Messenger

by Hansraj Agrawal | Apr 24, 2026 | Technology

Meta has introduced new supervision tools that allow parents to view the topics their teens have been discussing with Meta AI across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger over the past seven days. According to Meta, this is designed to offer greater visibility into how teens are interacting with AI, while also equipping parents with expert-backed conversation prompts and additional safeguards aimed at making these interactions safer and more transparent.

The feature is now available in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It will be released for supervising parents globally in the coming weeks.

What insights will parents now see

According to Meta, parents supervising Teen Accounts will now have access to a dedicated Insights tab, available both in-app and on the web. This section shows a summary of topics their teen has asked Meta AI about over the last week.

These topics are broad and categorised, ranging from:

School

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Travel

Writing

Health and Wellbeing

Parents can tap into each topic to explore more specific categories within it. For instance, “Lifestyle” may include fashion or food, while “Health and Wellbeing” could cover fitness or mental health.

How will this work

The feature is built into Meta’s existing parental supervision tools across its apps. Once enabled, parents can access the Insights tab to get a weekly snapshot of their teen’s AI interactions.

To make these insights more actionable, Meta says it has partnered with the Cyberbullying Research Center to develop conversation starters. These are open-ended questions designed to help parents initiate discussions about AI use in a non-judgmental way.

Each prompt is accompanied by guidance explaining:

What the question is intended to uncover

How parents can approach the conversation constructively

These conversation starters are available through Meta’s Family Center and are also linked directly within the Insights tab. As per the company, this will make it easier for parents to move from observation to engagement.

What protections and tools already existed

Meta positions these new insights as an extension of its existing safety framework for Teen Accounts.

The company states that its AI experiences are designed around standards inspired by 13+ movie rating guidelines, aiming to ensure responses remain age-appropriate. In cases where a query crosses those boundaries, Meta AI may:

Decline to answer

Redirect teens to appropriate resources

In addition to AI-specific safeguards, Meta’s supervision tools already allow parents to:

Set screen time limits

Schedule breaks

View who their teen has interacted with over the past seven days

The company also reiterated that it is working on proactive alerts that would notify parents if a teen attempts to engage with Meta AI on sensitive topics such as suicide or self-harm. More details on this feature are expected to be shared later.

What is the AI Wellbeing Expert Council

Alongside the new parental insights, Meta has also introduced its AI Wellbeing Expert Council, a group of specialists tasked with guiding the development of AI experiences for teens.

The company said that the council includes members from Meta’s existing advisory groups covering areas such as suicide prevention, youth safety, and body image as well as new experts focused on responsible and ethical AI.

As per Meta, these members are affiliated with organisations and institutions, including:

National Council for Suicide Prevention

University of Michigan

University of Texas

University of Southern California

Meta added that the council will meet regularly with its internal teams to review upcoming AI features, provide feedback, and help ensure that its products remain safe and age-appropriate. The company also confirmed that the council has already contributed to shaping the parental insight tools being rolled out now.

How to set up supervision

Visit the Meta Family Center or open the Meta Horizon app on your phone

Click on Menu, then tap on Family Center

Click on “add family member” and select “invite a teen” to generate a link

Send the link to your teen via email or text

The teen must click the link and follow the prompts to allow supervision

Adjust privacy and safety settings, such as who can message them, who can follow them, and what content they can see

Set up limits and boundaries, such as how much time they will spend online and when they should take breaks. After that you will start gettings alerts on their activity

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DeepSeek rolls out new flagship AI model a year after breakthrough

by Hansraj Agrawal | Apr 24, 2026 | Technology

By Saritha Rai and Luz Ding

DeepSeek rolled out preview versions of a new flagship artificial intelligence model a year after upending Silicon Valley, calling it the most powerful open-source platform in a challenge to rivals from OpenAI to Anthropic PBC.

The Chinese startup unveiled the V4 Flash and V4 Pro preview series, touting top-tier performance in coding benchmarks and big advancements in reasoning and agentic tasks. They come with several architecture upgrades and optimization improvements, and can operate with a million-token context length, the startup said on Hugging Face. DeepSeek singled out a technique it dubbed Hybrid Attention Architecture, which it said improves the ability of an AI platform to remember queries across long conversations.

The V4 arrives more than a year after the Hangzhou-based startup ignited a trillion-dollar stock market selloff with the release of the R1, an open source model that mimics the process of human reasoning. The R1 rivaled the performance of cutting-edge AI systems from companies like OpenAI but was purportedly built for a fraction of the cost.

Almost overnight, some tech firms and investors began rethinking the wisdom of pouring billions of dollars into AI development. Those outlays have since sprung back, as American technology giants are projected to invest around $650 billion in 2026 on AI infrastructure and data centers.

DeepSeek also sparked a frenzy in China, as tech leaders from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Baidu Inc. flooded the market with low-cost AI services. Rivals from ByteDance Ltd. to Zhipu and Minimax raced to update their models in the weeks leading up to April, hoping to steal a march on DeepSeek.

With stardom also came scrutiny. American tech leaders and government officials have accused DeepSeek of using illicit techniques and hardware to develop its models. One focus is so-called distillation, through which one AI model relies on the output of another for training purposes to develop similar capabilities. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have alleged they detected such attacks from DeepSeek, a concern OpenAI began privately raising shortly after the R1 model’s release.

The other concern is that DeepSeek may have access to banned Nvidia Corp. AI chips, a possibility US officials began probing last year.

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