#TechFriday n°2️⃣4️⃣7️⃣- Issue of 15/08/2025

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This week, African and global tech is buzzing 🔥: Cameroon’s digital elections, misleading period-tracking apps, anti-counterfeit currency tool, AI privacy leaks, WhatsApp’s AI writer, free West African roaming, Perplexity controversy, Telegram’s big update, Congo–Angola signal deal, and Mauritania’s mining e-governance. Here’s your #TechFriday roundup 📩

#Elections2025 : Cameroon’s electoral body goes online — but can it earn citizens’ trust? 🗳️📱

For the 2025 elections, ELECAM is rolling out digital tools: online registration verification, information on social media, and increased transparency. This is a welcome step forward, but there are high expectations regarding interactivity and data reliability. Click here for full story

Period-tracking apps failed them — now some Cameroonian women are facing life-changing consequences 🤰🏾

In Cameroon, young women are relying on menstrual tracking apps to avoid pregnancy. The result: several unwanted pregnancies. These tools, though practical, remain imprecise without medical support or appropriate sex education. Click here for full story

BEAC NG2020: The mobile app taking on counterfeit currency in the CEMAC 📱 💸

The BEAC is going digital with a free app to detect counterfeit banknotes and boost confidence in the currency in the CEMAC zone. The “BEAC NG2020” app is part of a comprehensive strategy to modernize the fight against fraud. It complements traditional awareness campaigns and banknote security measures already in place. Click here for full story

Over 130,000 AI chats exposed online — and yours could be one of them 🚨

Thousands of conversations between users and generative AI (ChatGPT, Grok, Claude) are now available online on the Internet Archive, raising important security and privacy concerns. An essential warning for all AI users. Click here for full story

WhatsApp’s AI writing assistant wants to perfect your texts — but at what cost ? 💬

What if your WhatsApp messages became clearer, sharper… but less authentic? The app is testing an AI writing assistant that can rephrase your texts, change the tone, and give your words a boost. The promise: more style, fewer mistakes… but also a risk: smoother, more polished, and less “real” conversations. Click here for full story

Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia Just Made Cross-Border Calls Free 🇨🇮 📶 🇱🇷

When AI ignores the rules: the Perplexity–Cloudflare showdown 🤖

Perplexity, an AI search engine, is accused by Cloudflare of circumventing web blocks to access content that refuses robots. The case reignites the debate on AI data collection practices and the future of web accessibility. Click here for full story

From HD photos to paid DMs: Telegram’s bold new feature drop 🚀

Congo and Angola join forces to stop cross-border signal spill 🇨🇬 📡 🇦🇴

Mauritania’s Mining Sector Gets a Transparency Boost with New Digital Tool 🇲🇷 💻

Mauritania unveils a digital platform to control and monitor mining permits. This one-stop shop simplifies procedures, secures data, and improves transparency. A major step forward toward e-governance and the attractiveness of the mining sector in a country that is still lagging behind in terms of digital technology. Click here for full story

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That’s it for this week. We wish you a good weekend and look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

TechGriot ✌🏾😁