News

Bahraini Artist Hala Al-Abbasi Creates Ramadan Stickers For Instagram

To celebrate Ramadan, Hala Al-Abbasi was approached by Instagram and asked to create a series of new stickers inspired by her favorite aspects of the holy month.

Published

4 years ago

April 21, 2021

Joanna Melki

Hala Al-Abbasi

For many artists, being approached by a major social media network to create a piece of art for all hundreds of millions of users to enjoy is a dream come true. For Bahraini artist Hala Al-Abbasi, it’s reality.

To celebrate Ramadan, Al-Abbasi was approached by Instagram and asked to create a series of new stickers inspired by her favorite aspects of the holy month. She chose to reflect on the moments people celebrating Ramadan share together, creating three unique stickers, each as dazzling as the next one.

“I am very grateful and so happy to be chosen by the Instagram team. I really loved and enjoyed working with them and am so proud to be the first in the region to work on the stickers and share them with the world,” Al-Abbasi said in an interview with Emirates Woman. “This amazing opportunity has a very special place in my heart, the love that I have put into my work has been everything to me to share and spread that with the people around the world.”

Also Read: 12 Arab Women Dominating Instagram In 2023

The collaboration between Hala Al-Abbasi and Instagram has proven successful as millions of users around the world have used her stickers in their stories.

The first of the three stickers shows a colorful mosque against a starry sky.

Instagram @Haluulie

The second one is a visual of a crescent and stars.

Instagram @Haluulie

The last one is an illustration of tea and dates.

Instagram @Haluulie

Using the three stickers is easy: simply open the Instagram Story tray and add your favorite Ramadan sticker.

“Hala hopes that her stickers will be used throughout Ramadan to mark moments of celebration, from greetings to special suhoors and iftars, all the way to celebrating Eid,” shared Instagram on its design account. Considering how well-received the stickers have been, we think it’s safe to say that Al-Abbasi’s wish will come true.

News

Truecaller For iPhone Gets Real-Time Caller ID And Auto Spam Blocking

The latest update integrates with Apple’s Live Caller ID Lookup framework, launched with iOS 18 last year.

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2025

Nour Nasir

Truecaller

Truecaller has rolled out a major update for iPhone users, introducing API support that brings real-time caller identification and automatic spam blocking. The upgrade aims to bring the iOS version of the app closer to its Android counterpart, which has long offered these advanced call-screening features.

The latest update integrates with Apple’s Live Caller ID Lookup framework, launched with iOS 18 last year. The technology allows third-party apps to cross-check incoming calls against a database of known spam numbers in real-time. Importantly, the process employs “homomorphic encryption,” ensuring user privacy by masking the caller’s number, concealing the client’s IP address, and using anonymous authentication.

With this update, Truecaller has also introduced global automatic spam call blocking for iPhones. However, the real-time caller ID feature is being released gradually and is available only to Truecaller Premium subscribers on iPhones running iOS 18.2 or later. Free users will still have access to ad-supported features, such as manual number searches and caller identification for verified businesses.

How To Enable The New Features

To activate the new features, follow these steps:

Update the Truecaller app to version 14.0 or newer via the App Store.
Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification on your iPhone.
Turn on all Truecaller toggles, then restart the app.

Also Read: “AI Seal” Certification Now Required For Dubai Gov Partnerships

While these features are new to iOS, Truecaller has hinted at this update for months. Following Apple’s iOS 18 update and the introduction of its Live Caller ID API last September, Truecaller Co-founder Alan Mamedi shared his excitement on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Truecaller finally works on iPhone”.

The global rollout of spam call blocking is already live, but users may need to wait for gradual access to the live caller ID feature.