Latest news with #MyGate
Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
Local faults lead to outages and tripping in Ghaziabad societies
Ghaziabad: Residents faced severe power disruptions over the weekend, with Siddharth Vihar Prateek Grand City experiencing a five-hour outage on Sunday. Golflinks Landcraft Township on NH9 endured a 20-hour power cut till Saturday due to local faults "The power supply was disrupted from 2am on Sunday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now While the supply resumed around 7.20am, even after that, it kept tripping due to no changeover. In one tower, there was no fan or light in the lift, while for nearly 5 hours, a power backup supply was given, which cost Rs 22 per unit," NK Negi, a resident of Prateek Grand City at Siddharth Vihar, told TOI. The township has nearly 12,000 residents living in the complex across 3,000 units. The maintenance staff informed the residents via MyGate notification that the power supply from the Siddhartha Vihar substation failed at 2.10am early Sunday morning. "The supply was given to the society through a DG set at night. The UPPCL engineer was called at night, and he checked the fault in the line. A fault was later found in the substation line was checked, this took time in repairs," said the society estate manager's notice. The supply, which resumed around 7.20am kept tripping, and the power backup and changeover process continued until 7.40am. Later on Sunday, around 4pm, yet another outage occurred, this time, a shutdown notice was issued by the area substation. The notice issued by the estate manager of Prateek Grand City Siddharth Vihar stated that due to the UPPCL substation maintenance work on Sunday, the supply of the main grid will be disrupted . Similar was the situation in the Golflinks Landcraft Township on National Highway-9, Ghaziabad, where more than 4,000 families faced over 20 hours of outage.
Mint
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
How to skip ads, especially if you've watched that Black Mirror episode
Imagine if your brain started serving targeted ads to people around you, the way your phone dishes them out to you when you're browsing online. In Common People , the Season 7 premiere episode of Netflix's dystopian series Black Mirror , Amanda (Rashida Jones), a schoolteacher, undergoes surgery to replace her inoperable brain tumour with synthetic tissue connected to a tech company's cloud server. The procedure saves her life, but there is a catch. Stuck on its cheapest subscription plan, Amanda starts spouting ads mid-conversation without realising it. She pushes a snack brand to her students in class, recommends a religion-based counselling site to one of them, promotes a dating service to a senior colleague, and suggests lubricant to her husband Mike (Chris O'Dowd) during an intimate moment. The ads soon take over every part of her life, turning her into a human billboard. As it starts affecting her job and married life, Mike, a welder by day, resorts to performing degrading acts on a livestreaming platform at night to earn enough money to afford an ad-free upgrade for Amanda. Going to great lengths for an ad-free experience resonates deeply with many tech-savvy users. Arnav Gupta, a 31-year-old software engineer working with an MNC in London, has built a digital fortress to block ads from his screens. He uses a modified app called ReVanced for YouTube—'it skips not just ads, but even sponsored segments"—and a VPN called AdGuard on his phone that blocks ad servers across all websites he visits. 'It's easy to see how things could spiral the way Black Mirror shows," he says. 'It's already happened to so many digital services, like MyGate, which started as a simple visitor approval app for gated societies, and now runs ads." Also read: AI tracker: Anthropic is thinking about AI welfare as it gains agency As advertising creeps deeper into digital life—through auto-playing videos, pop-ups, forced viewing before access and even subscription-based services running ads—technology geeks, privacy enthusiasts and digital rebels are quietly fighting back. With sophisticated but free-to-use ad blockers and VPN settings, they are shaping a parallel version of the internet—one where users' attention isn't for sale at every blink. On platforms like Reddit, entire communities are devoted to trading hacks for an ad-free digital life. In these circles, 'Vanced"—short for 'advanced," but pointedly skipping the 'ad"—is shorthand for cleaner, ad-free versions of popular apps. Browsing through these community notes offers a glimpse into the modern history of digital ad blocking: how YouTube Vanced, once a go-to tool for skipping ads, was forced to shut down in 2022 after reportedly receiving a 'cease and desist letter" from Google. Its successor, ReVanced, quickly emerged to take its place, but the space remains locked in a constant cat-and-mouse battle against platform crackdowns. Also read: Sahil Patel discovered an ad blocker called uBlock Origin through a Reddit community in 2019. 'I installed it while in college and haven't looked back since," says Patel, a Surat-based founding member of an AI-solutions startup, Build That Idea. He also uses SponsorBlock, an open-source, crowdsourced browser extension for skipping sponsored segments in YouTube videos. In the past, he has tried blocking Instagram ads either by using Instagram through a browser with an ad blocker or by using third-party or modified Instagram apps like InstaAero and Instander—but those methods don't always work and risk getting your account flagged or banned, so he's just given up. 'Some ads on Instagram are useful, too, so I don't mind them anymore," he adds. 'I miss the days when ads were creative and fun. Now it's mostly irrelevant, repetitive noise that interrupts what I chose to watch," says Patel, 24. He prefers discovering new things through friends or online communities, rather than being nudged by targeted ads. He's aware that the internet depends on advertising to stay afloat, but draws the line at how it's done. 'I don't mind text-based ads in newsletters, which is why I've shifted to them for news. Podcast ads are tolerable, especially when the host claims to use the product," he adds. 'Sites that respect your attention usually have better content. The more desperate they seem to monetise, the less I trust them." For Rohini Lakshané, the problem with online ads runs deeper than mere annoyance — it's about privacy and security. 'Some of these ads come embedded with trackers that follow our activity across the internet, collecting personal data," says the technologist and interdisciplinary researcher from Mysuru in Karnataka. 'Though users technically consent by clicking 'I agree' on terms of service, most don't read them, and even if they do, legal ambiguity and dark patterns often make true consent impossible. Some ads also carry risks like malware (malvertising), scams, or deceptive content," she adds. Lakshané uses browser extensions like Privacy Badger and Ghostery, in addition to uBlock Origin, to prevent ads and trackers from following her online activity. She argues that every internet user should follow digital hygiene, the way every person should follow physical hygiene. It is not only a thing for specialists like her. Apurva Chaudhary, 36, a business development professional at a tech firm in Bengaluru, regularly checks her father's phone to block the flood of push notification ads that brands now send directly. She adjusts his settings to prevent accidental taps that could lead to spam or regret. For her own devices, she relies on AdGuard VPN, which lets her block ad-serving domains and keep most of her digital space free from intrusive ads. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Cyprus, AdGuard has over 50 million paid as well as free individual users of its ad-blocking extensions, a company spokesperson tells Mint via email. 'India currently ranks 15th overall in terms of AdGuard ad-blocking solutions users across all platforms, but it holds the 6th position specifically among Android users," the AdGuard spokesperson adds. 'Given that Android holds around 95% of the smartphone market share in the country, it's clear that Indian users are becoming more privacy-conscious and increasingly seeking tools to enhance their browsing experience by blocking intrusive ads and trackers." As more people turn to these tech-savvy users for guidance, ad-blocking could move from the margins to the mainstream. If that happens, the future of the attention economy may no longer belong to platforms, but to individuals reclaiming control over what gets their time and mindspace. For now, though, it seems we're closer to living a Black Mirror episode than holding up a mirror to big tech. Browsers: Brave, Ghostery Browser extensions: uBlock Origin, LocalCDN, Privacy Badger VPN services: AdGuard For YouTube: ReVanced, SponsorBlock For Instagram: Instander, InstaAero Also read: When you are ghosted by your phone
New Indian Express
26-04-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Can't complain
I turned 34 a couple of months ago, and ever since my birthday, I've been having what I can only describe as teenage image issues. Not existential questions — more like: What is my vibe? What is my aura? Am I the main character or do I live in Delulu Apartments? To get answers, I put myself under the scanner of 'observational awareness' (which is just a fancy term for narcissism with lighting). And what I noticed is this — me, and a lot of other decent, middle-class 30-somethings in Hyderabad, have quietly slipped into the role of 'eternal can't complain'. We've technically been adults for a while now — our adult life is now an adult. It can vote, hold a learner's driving license and knows which roads you can drive on the wrong side without getting caught. We could have taken better care of our health, but we took the resistance of our youth and tested it heavily with Mysore bonda, biryani, and all other items fried in crude oil. Now we have a tummy that can legally apply for a PAN card. We move at 0.75x speed and still need a lift to reach the gym. The word uncle now refers to both your title in the building and the chips you eat with whisky. But hey — being called uncle is way better than being dead. I mean, so many people in their 30s have died randomly that just being alive with an unhealthy lifestyle makes you feel like one of the invincibles. A wise man in his 30s invests. But the stock market right now? It looks like it just went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. It's bleeding red. Still, we believe in the finance ministry. Not that they'll fix it, but they'll definitely make it worse. But hey — we've got jobs (somehow), money comes in (and immediately evaporates), and our UPI apps still say transaction success. So again… can't complain. Family? Oh, they've got plans. If you're married, they want a kid. If you're not married, they want a wedding. If you have both, they want you to buy a flat and offer your soul as collateral. But just when you want to scream, your mom gently slides in a plate of pappu annam and aloo fry . And suddenly your inner child whispers, 'Maybe my therapist was wrong. My parents are perfect.' And love? If you've reached your 30s, you've met someone and felt love. It either died painfully, or you married them — and now you're putting effort into the relationship like it's your second job. No, it's not the Bollywood song sequence you always imagined, but yes, you get loved for being silly. Sure, you're asked to behave maturely after the same silliness repeats over and again. But if you're still in the ballpark of love in your 30s, again — can't complain. Yes, the world is not in a good place. There's war, religious unrest, and general chaos. But your city? Peaceful. Yes, there's traffic, construction, and religious speakers on full volume at all times — but you've got noise-cancelling headphones on EMI, so you can now listen to the same sound in HD. Your society is so secure, even your own father needs MyGate approval to enter. Forget an airplane crashing into your Aparna Sarovar Heights — we know that trend is over. The only riots happen over raita — and if you've got it on Swiggy, you can outsource that pain to a delivery guy. Basically, when you zoom in, things are wrong. But when you zoom out? They seem fine. So for the last two months — and for the rest of this year — if anyone asks me how I am, I say, and will only say: Can't complain. Sandesh Johnny @johnnykasandesh (This comedian is here to tell funny stories about Hyderabad) (The writer's views are his own)
India Today
22-04-2025
- India Today
Between MyGate and my house, it is unfortunate that MyGate keeps winning
It is everywhere, all of us use it, and it rules over the lives of city dwellers like no other app, because often it controls whether they can enter their house in a fuss-free manner or not. Yes, I am talking about MyGate. And about is an often-repeated - and hence somewhat cliched - quote by Rousseau: 'Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.' In a way, this quote is about bureaucracy, petty and big. Nowadays, I am reminded of this quote every time I enter my residential complex. MyGate, which my residential complex uses diligently, verifies me and certifies that I exist, that I am real, and that I live in the house I live in. It does so with a unique code - a number - or with a QR code. And as I recall the born-free quote, I also see the irony in the moment, because when I started living in this house, MyGate did not exist. Now, it is the app that validates my existence, metaphorically a way, this has been the story of our physical world gradually turning digital. What was solid once now doesn't seem to exist unless it also exists in some way digitally. Consider a road or a shop. Does it exist if it is not on Google Maps? A SIM card, does it exist if it is not identifiable on TrueCaller? Does a restaurant exist if it is not on Zomato or Swiggy? Does a product exist and can be bought if it is not on Amazon or Blinkit? And not just the physical world but us humans too have been digitised and we too seem to exist in records only because there is a number attached to us. If a person is without Aadhaar, does she exist? I know many government departments will deny the existence of a person, even if that person is standing in flesh and blood in front of them, because she doesn't have But let's not go deep into these 'existentialist' questions. We were talking about MyGate. NoBrokerHood. And the ilks. Though my residential complex has used MyGate for several years now, recently the app became the only way to gain entry into the gated community - unless one decides to ride in a Fortuner with tinted windows in which case all doors open in a city like Noida. The rule applies to all, irrespective of whether they own the house, rent it, or if they are just visiting. The experience, more often than not, is degrading at worst and hassling at Indian cities, apps like MyGate and NoBrokerHood have become de facto authorities on controlling access to residential complexes. Their use is most likely without any legal backing. Making them mandatory for accessing personal property, like a house, is most likely illegal. In fact, in most instances, residents do not opt for these apps. The apps are forced on them. MyGate, NoBrokerHoo,d and others often work in sundry - and mysterious - ways with private security companies or certain people managing the residential complexes to embed themselves in people's lives. Their pitch to people is that they can improve the security of a place. But their real motive is to collect data from their users so that they can sell services and ads to call MyGate and similar other apps part of techno-solutionism. This is an idea greatly pushed by Silicon Valley companies, that technology and apps can provide solutions to all issues, including complex and layered social issues. The idea is pushed even when it is evident that the technical solution would only gloss over the problem and not solve it. When these app-based solutions are added to the mix, they almost always result in a new layer of bureaucracy that is worse than the older bureaucracy. In the older one, at least, there are humans with whom you can argue. In the bureaucracy brought about by technology, nuances are lost. Instead, everything becomes binary, quite literally, as a person is reduced to a number and a QR more alarmingly, apps like MyGate - and essentially most techno solutions - are exclusionary and predatory when it comes to collecting are exclusionary because they exclude people who are not familiar with technology or do not have access to it. They also exclude poor people who might not have a phone or a smartphone with them. They exclude people who might not know how to use technology. I came across another techno-solutionism recently. The Delhi Zoo has stopped selling tickets through a counter. Instead, all tickets need to be bought from the Zoo website. The hassle it creates for hundreds of zoo visitors, who are willing to pay cash at the counter for a ticket but are not allowed to, is immense. In some cases, the exclusions and divisions are even deliberately built into apps like MyGate. For example, I can rate my maid on it and leave a review, but my maid cannot respond to then there is privacy. The data collection and then sharing of this data with third parties is the least of the problems. A bigger issue is the personal data these apps leak all around them. For example, with MyGate and NoBrokerHood, certain people, who have been deemed 'admins', not only see but can also record and keep a copy of all my visitors. In most instances, MyGate users don't even know who these 'admins' are and what they are doing with this back to the chains of Rousseau, in our era, technology has increasingly become a form of chain. In ways that could be direct, and sometimes metaphorical, nowadays, we live lives where we have been tamed and are controlled using multiple tech solutions. And that probably explains why, nowadays, tech makes us miserable. It no longer feels like a tool that used to free us. Instead, now, whenever there is some new tech-based service or product, many of us don't feel any excitement or joy. Instead, we groan - oh no, not another app!advertisement(Javed Anwer is Technology Editor, India Today Group Digital. Latent Space is a weekly column on tech, world, and everything in between. The name comes from the science of AI and to reflect it, Latent Space functions in the same way: by simplifying the world of tech and giving it a context)(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)
