Google Pay Rewards: Ideas and Opinions

Google Pay, also known as GPay, is Google's digital wallet and online payment system. In India, GPay leverages the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). GPay is known for its speed, ease of use, and the inherent trust users place in Google for a payment service. However, over time, the "Rewards" program on Google Pay has become less exciting, often feeling unrewarding. We'll note down our thoughts and suggestions in this post.

Table of Contents

• Google Pay rewards
• Rewards Bazaar — The Problem
• Suggestions and Solution

Google Pay rewards

Users on Google Pay can earn rewards through various actions such as: a) regularly transacting with individuals and merchants, b) completing specific tasks, or c) reaching certain milestones. One of the earliest and most popular rewards has been the "Referral reward," awarded for inviting new users to join GPay. The rewards generally come in the form of special offers or cashback.

Rewards Bazaar — The Problem

Over time, as users become regular Google Pay users, cash rewards often become rare or even nonexistent. The Rewards section increasingly fills up with promotional offers, transforming it into what feels like a digital marketplace. These promotional offers (or vouchers) themselves are often quite ordinary. This diminishes the appeal of the "rewards" experience.

Today, we scratched a bunch of Google Pay reward cards, and the rewards look like—

Google Pay Rewards are filled with promotional vouchers.

Suggestions and Solution

We suggest the following changes to Google Pay's reward system:

Allow Users to Stop or Pause Promotional Vouchers: While these vouchers might generate revenue for Google, it's important to give users the options to opt out of or temporarily pause the promotional offers. This respects user preferences and prevents the "Rewards" section from feeling like unwanted.

Opt-in/Opt-out for Offer Categories: Instead of a flood of generic offers, users might be given option to select specific categories of offers they are interested in. This would ensure they only find promotions relevant to their needs.

Prioritise Uniqueness in Rewards: The excitement of a reward significantly diminishes if the same (or a better) offer is easily available on other platforms. Google Pay rewards should offer something distinctly unique or exceptionally appealing to create a sense of exclusivity.

[Special suggestion] Integrating Google's Own Services for Enhanced Value: On ​Google Pay, there are cash rewards and third-party vouchers. We suggest an integration of Google's own services into the "Rewards" program. This could transform the rewards from mere discounts into tangible, value-added benefits that are directly linked to the Google ecosystem. These rewards might include—

• Google Storage: Offering "1 GB Google storage" (general reward) or "5 GB Google storage" (special reward). These could be activated via a unique code and can be added to the user's Google account, providing immediate and practical value.
• YouTube Premium: A reward of "1 month of YouTube Premium" could be highly attractive, introducing users to ad-free viewing and other premium features, thereby encouraging greater engagement with Google's services.

We anticipate that these integrations would not only improve user satisfaction by delivering more personalised and valuable rewards but also reinforce the integration of Google Pay within the broader Google ecosystem.

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This page was last updated on: 27 May 2025
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Google Gemini: Ideas and Opinions — Chapter #02

In March 2025, we published an article on this project with ideas and opinions for enhancing Google Gemini. Here, we are publishing our second article with ideas and recommendations aimed at improving Google Gemini's over-all usability.

Table of Contents

1. Enable Prompt Copying
2. Inline Response Mode
3. Response Convergence Point or Format Lock-in
4. See also

① Enable Prompt Copying (Browser)

In our previous article, we wrote about the absence of an easy way to reuse a prompt. Other than the "Reuse" option, it is also important for users to have an easy option to copy their own prompts. At present, AI responses might not be entirely accurate always, and users might need to ask the same or similar questions repeatedly. Additionally, users may want to reuse a particular question in the same or in different thread (or outside Gemini). At present, there is not an easy way to copy and paste a user's prompt. On Google Gemini, a lengthy prompt is displayed in a collapsed box, making selection difficult. This makes the copying more cumbersome. Hence, implementing a "copy" option for user prompts, similar to the feature available for code blocks and documents in the AI's responses, would be very useful.
Note: On Gemini mobile app, the prompt copy option is available.

② Inline Response Mode

Google Gemini, similar to other generative AI models, follows an instant messaging (chat) format. This would be useful to incorporate an inline response feature, similar to how one can select and respond to a specific message in instant messaging applications. This inline response option would be particularly beneficial in two scenarios:

1. Clarity in lengthy threads: A conversation thread might contain numerous messages, and in such scenario, users could quickly highlight a specific message to clearly point out the subject of their next query or the message they are referencing.
2. Targeted modifications in long responses: When Google Gemini gives a lengthy answer and a user wants to suggest a modification to a specific section, they could quickly highlight a particular portion, and ask their questions around it.

③ Response Convergence Point or Format Lock-in

This is a common experience when interacting with Google Gemini that achieving the desired output format and structure can be a time-taking iterative process. Let us consider the following interaction:

1. User asks a question.

2. Google Gemini gives an initial response.

3. User suggests a specific modification or change.

4. Google Gemini revises the answer accordingly but introduces another error.

5. The user highlights the new error and requests a further correction.

6. Google Gemini makes that requested correction.

This cycle of response and refinement might take place several times. Finally, Google Gemini produces an answer that perfectly aligns with the user's specified format, structure, and requirements. We can identify this point as the "Response Convergence Point."

At this point of convergence, a helpful next step would be to "lock in" this desired format. We have noted that explicitly asking Gemini to "follow this exact format in future answers" doesn't ensure consistent adherence. Gemini still deviate quite often, necessitating the entire refinement process to begin from the scratch.

We need "inline response", "convergence point". 

To reduce repetitive effort, especially when someone is working with large datasets and similar queries, the ability to lock in this "Response Convergence Point" should be beneficial. Possibly, users might have a way to tag and label a satisfactory response format for Gemini's and their own future reference. This would significantly streamline workflows and ensure consistency in subsequent questions and answers.

See also

• Google Gemini — Ideas and Opinions #01, the first chapter of this series
• Google Gemini with Customised Commands, an exploration

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NPCI's UPI Mandate Validity for General Payments and Consent Management

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an Indian public sector entity, owned by the Reserve Bank of India, has significantly empowered Indian citizens over the years. In the past decade, NPCI's diverse initiatives and services have revolutionised digital payments for individual and retail users across India.

Among the diverse services, NPCI provides "UPI Autopay," a feature that allows users to automate recurring payments from their bank accounts using UPI. While, this is a helpful method to settle payments there is an area that probably needs attention. 

UPI Mandate Validity

According to a circular NPCI/UPI/OC-123/2021-2022 (archived copy), the merchants are advised to create the recurring payment mandates with a maximum validity of 30 years from the start date, a mandate widely followed by the services. 

We have tried the autopay options of several popular services. The following table shows the UPI mandate duration for some of these, including OTT platforms—

Merchant	Autopay Duration
Discovery+	10 Years
Gaana	15 Year
JioHotstar	30 Years
Netflix	30 Years
SonyLiv	10 Years
Tata Play	13 Years
The Times of India+	10 Years

Our review of various products and services show a fixed mandate duration of 10–30 years. There is no option for customising this mandate. Groww, an asset management company states— "The AutoPay duration is set to 30 years to ensure a smooth repayment experience." 

We can categorise an auto-payment into two categories—

1. Loans and Obligations (Existing Products): Autopay mandates for ongoing financial obligations such as housing loans, personal loans, and car loans, where a user avails the service first, and gradually makes payments.
2. General and Usage-Based (Flexible Services): Autopay for services where payment is tied to usage. Both the merchant and the user can terminate the service at any point.

Now—

While a 30-year mandate might be justifiable for long-term obligations like loan repayments. For simple services such as OTT subscriptions a forced 10 or 30 year UPI mandate seems excessive. Although users can cancel these subscriptions anytime, there should be an option for customized consent.

Suggestions

We suggest to categorise payments as "Payment First, Service Later" (PFSL) and "Service First, Payment Later" (SFPL). We could also classify them as "Obligation" and "General," or based on the total payment amount.

For PFSL, especially simple subscriptions,  any mandate exceeding 5 years is unnecessary. Importantly, users must have an option to customize the mandate duration for the payments.

This could be implemented with a "minimum" and a "suggested" mandatory duration. For example, if "ServiceA" sets a 10-year mandate with a 2-year minimum, during activation, users should be able to customise the duration to any period between 2 and 10 years.

"I wanted a simple OTT subscription,
and they want a 30 years' promise."

Conclusion

The suggested consent management option will be in alignment with the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) bill. More importantly this will enable users to make more informed decisions about their subscriptions and payments.

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JioHotstar and the Disruptive Advertisements in Mobile and Super Plans

Reliance Jio has played an important role in transforming India's internet and telecom landscape in the past decade, and has made internet access more affordable. In 2025, Reliance Industries collaborated with the Walt Disney Company and their Indian media assets to form JioHotstar. According to a report published in The Mint, Reliance Industries owns 60% stake in the new venture, while Disney Company retains 37% stake. 

Reliance Jio's history of introducing exciting offers, from free (and then low-cost) internet to free IPL streaming on JioCinema, has consistently benefited Indian users. With Reliance's involvement in the JioHotstar venture, it is expected that the subscribers will experience an enhanced and more affordable service.

We have been using Reliance Jio and Jio's OTT platform for a long time. We are also very excited with the JioHotstar venture. However, there is a potential issue that could negatively impact the overall user experience. In this blog post we will describe the specific hindrance.

Observations

JioHotstar has been using the same multi-tiered subscription model that Disney Hotstar used earlier. This subscription structure includes tiers like the Mobile Plan and Super Plan, and the higher-tier JioHotstar Premium. The Mobile and Super Plans are "ad-supported," meaning users will see frequent advertisements. To get rid of the advertisements, subscribers need to opt in for the Premium tier. This multi-tiered subscription model might be a standard business approach. However, the advertisements within the lower-tier JioHotstar subscriptions are diminishing the over-all user experience. Here are our observations—

1. Users prefer OTT content because those are mainly advertisement-free. The imposition of advertisements, even after purchasing a subscription, significantly damages the viewing experience.
2. Moreover, the sheer volume of advertisements is problematic. For instance, a 40-minute web series with four advertisement slots, each containing two 10–15 second advertisements, results in too much interruptions.
3. The advertisements are generally automatically placed at specific time intervals. During crucial scenes sudden advertisements damage the excitement of the scenes, and undermine the emotional impact.
4. The multi-tiered subscription approach may not resonate well with Indian viewers. This model also might not be in alignment with Reliance Jio's service pattern, which prioritises providing a seamless viewing experience for its users.
5. It is to be noted that currently a large number of advertisements are placeholders in nature and those show trailers or clippings available on the same platform.

Suggestions

Following the observations above, we offer the following suggestions. Please consider one, more, or all of the suggestions below—

1. Single, Unified option: We suggest to simplify the subscription model to a single, unified option. This could be priced between the current Super and Premium tiers. This would resolve the frustration of forced advertisements within a paid subscription.
2. Limit number of advertisements: If the current multi-tiered subscription model is continued, we urge a reduction in the frequency and duration of advertisements. Possibly there should not be more than 15 seconds of ads per 30 minutes of viewing. There could be models like "One advertisement break per web series" or "Two advertisement breaks per movie".
3. Placement of advertisements: Placement of advertisements is also important. Please ensure that the sudden advertisements do damage the excitement of crucial scenes. Possibly, reducing the number of advertisements will help here. This could also be achieved by strategising advertisement placement zones within the videos.
4. Benefits for Jio Users: The Jio mobile networks users might get some benefit. They are already paying for Jio mobile services. Possibly the ads-free option could be included in the basic plans for Jio users.
5. Rewards and User Engagement: Similar to JioRewards, please offer incentives and rewards, such as "Earn Ads-free minutes" where a user will be rewarded upon completion of tasks, or for their over-all engagement (daily login, shares, comments etc.).

   

   Too many ads, specially during crucial scenes  may damage user's experience

        Too many ads, specially during crucial scenes 

   may damage user's experience

Conclusion

Not just another OTT platform, JioHotstar definitely has potential to take the OTT experience in India to the next level. We anticipate the suggested tweaks will improve the experience of the users.

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Privacy Check: WhatsApp Voice Messages and Voice Calls

On this website we have been publishing ideas and opinions on WhatsApp. In this post, we'll share a "Privacy check" of WhatsApp on two areas— Voice Messages and Voice Calls. WhatsApp is definitely one of the most popular and widely used instant messaging services. Our writings attempt to highlight and discuss areas, with suggestions and ideas, that could enhance the platform's user experience  and service for its billions of users.

Voice Message on WhatsApp

WhatsApp Voice Message is an option that allows users to send messages in form of audio recordings instead of typing text. To use the voice message option a user can simply tap and hold the microphone icon within a chat panel to record a voice message.

While this voice message offers convenience to the sender, on WhatsApp receivers lack the ability to completely disable the feature. Users may wish to disable voice messages for various reasons such as—

• Text messages offer control over reading speed and users can selectively skip portions, unlike voice messages which dictate the listening pace.
• Voice messages are more like one-way communication and interactive nature of instant messaging, and social media communication.
• Voice messages do not have features like quote replies and future searchability.

Etc,

Voice message is a core feature on WhatsApp, and it lacks a user (receiver's) option to disable reception. Currently, the only workaround appears to be individually blocking contacts, which is not really feasible.

Voice Calls on WhatsApp

WhatsApp voice calls, allow users to communicate via the internet within the app. This is a convenient option, however here also we currently lack an option to restrict incoming calls. WhatsApp help documentation state— "Anyone who has your phone number can call you on WhatsApp. An unknown caller might be someone you haven't contacted before or saved as a contact." There is not an option to decide who can call on WhatsApp. One can silent "unknown callers" (non–contacts), but advanced controls are missing.

Privacy Options are Needed!

WhatsApp does not have advanced options
to restrict or control incoming voice messages
and voice calls.

The absence of controls for incoming calls and voice messages on WhatsApp appears to be a part of the service's fundamental design. In other words, the option is or is not there, because that is the design. The workaround of blocking contact is not really a feasible option. 

We suggest to add a privacy setting that allows users to control voice message reception, similar to other privacy options. The privacy setting "From who you want to receive voice messages" options or choices like "Everyone," "Contacts," or "Selected contacts". Implementing these privacy controls might substantially benefit users experience and privacy on WhatsApp.

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AI Studio Chat Bots on WhatsApp: Identification Clarity Needed on the List View

Meta AI is a research division of Meta Platforms, Inc. In the recent past Meta AI capabilities have been integrated directly into the WhatsApp messaging interface. WhatsApp now allows users to interact with AI characters created through the Meta AI Studio. According to Meta AI documentation, this platform empowers "anyone to create conversational AIs based on their interests, for fun, utility, or support".

While these AI characters attempt to bring more excitement for WhatsApp users, there's a potential area for improvement that requires attention.

Currently, in the message list view WhatsApp lacks clear visual indicators to differentiate between human and AI character interactions. Within a conversation thread an indicator 'AI by...', and an AI studio logo are visible, and prominent. However, the list view relies on profile pictures and profile names that often closely resemble those of real human accounts, making it difficult to distinguish between them. Hence, implementing visual cues like highlighters or icons on the list view might be crucial for clarity.

Image illustration

The following images illustrate the suggestion. Certain portions of the images are redacted for privacy reasons.

Within a Conversation Thread

Once you open a chat thread, there are indicators
to differentiate between a human contact and an AI bot.

Conversations List View

List view relies on profile
pictures and profile names. Please observe here, on the list view, visual indicators to differentiate between human and AI character interactions might be needed.

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Google Gemini: Ideas and Opinions — Chapter #01

Gemini (formerly known as "Bard") is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Google. As of March 2025, Gemini offers multiple chat models such as Gemini Flash (2.0, Experimental, Thinking Experimental with Apps), Gemini Advanced, etc. Google Gemini is a wonderful service, with fewer restrictions than some other AI chatbots. The excellent capability in Indic languages is definitely beneficial for many users.

On this website "Silent Contemplation," we strive to publish content with meaningful advocacy. We also share ideas and opinions on important subjects and content. In this post, we are writing our Ideas and Opinions on Google Gemini.

Notes:

1. The ideas and opinions are based on our usage of Gemini general chatbot on Android App interface, and web interface at gemini.google.com. We don't have access to Gemini Advanced.
2. A few features such as "Modify response", "Export to Doc" are available on Gemini App, and not on the web interface.
3. This post may not be all–inclusive. There might be follow-up posts in the future with additional ideas and opinions.

Table of Contents

1. 📌 Pin inside a discussion thread
2. Labels — Google's power feature
3. Search Option inside Gemini
4. Delete specific parts of a chat thread
5. Reuse a Prompt and Generate Another Response
6. Grouping message
7. Privacy Policy and Data Retention visibility
8. Search Operators
9. Theme and Background Image
10. See also

📌 Pin inside a discussion thread

While Gemini allows to pin a chat thread in the message thread view, it lacks the ability to pin individual messages within a conversation. This option, which seems to be missing now, allows to pin and quickly access some important parts of a discussion inside a thread, and possibly is an important feature of instant messaging.

Gemini does not have an option to 📌 pin a part inside a chat thread

Labels — Google's power feature

Labels or Labelling messages or content has been a wonderful feature used by Google. Labels (also folders, and tags) empower users to organize information effectively. Labeling feature has been widely used on Gmail, Google Keep, Google Contacts etc.

This feature appears to be missing on Google Gemini. On Gemini, where a user often generates a large volume of information, this "label" feature might be very useful to better organize the information. Ideally, a user should be allowed to label both entire chat threads and specific parts of a thread.

Search Option inside Gemini

For rapid information retrieval purpose a search option plays a very crucial role. A search option inside a user's Gemini account is not integrated still. A search option inside Gemini will allow a user to quickly locate content from the previous chats.

Gemini interface showing a search box.
The left panel has been edited to demonstrate the suggestion

Delete specific parts of a chat thread

Currently users can delete a chat thread. There seems to be no option to delete specific portions inside a chat thread. The only option seems to be deleting an entire thread. This option will allow a user to keep chat threads less cluttered and remove the specific parts they don't want to store.

Reuse a Prompt and Generate Another Response

There is an option on both the mobile application and on the web interface to edit a prompt. However there is no direct "reuse a prompt" option. A "reuse a prompt" option would significantly save a user's time and effort.

Similarly, to facilitate exploration of various answers from a single prompt, we suggest adding a "Generate more responses" button. This will allow to explore more options with the same prompt. Of course one can simply type "Generate/Give one more response". However, a quick button or option should be very useful.

Grouping message

We have two suggestions to allow users to group messages

1. Seamless Chat Model Switching: Gemini offers multiple chat models like 2.0 flash, 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental. On the web interface if a user wishes to switch the chat model during a conversation, it creates a new thread. On the application, there is no option to switch the chat model within a discussion thread. We suggest to enable users to switch chat models within an existing thread. This option would allow for better organization of related messages, preventing fragmentation across various threads.
2. How do you want to start the Gemini interface? Currently, when Gemini opens the interface, it starts a new chat thread by default.  There may be too many threads as a result of this.  We suggest including a prompt with the choices to "Start a new discussion" and "Continue an existing discussion" (with a dropdown menu for choosing) in order to increase and improve user control.  Additionally, users could customize their experience by selecting a "default new chat option" setting from the "Settings" menu.  This would enable a user to specify whether they would prefer to be prompted or to always start a new topic.

Privacy Policy and Data Retention visibility

On the Gemini chat interface, one of the most common questions a user might have is how is Gemini going to protect and use the data. Although the 'Privacy Hub' can be accessed via the 'Help' menu, the 'Privacy Policy' and 'Data Retention' details ought to be simpler to find. We suggest improving accessibility of important information inside the Gemini chat interface in order to boost user confidence and address standard data privacy and retention issues. This may also be randomly shown as a tip at the bottom of the text input box.

Search Operators

Google services like Gmail, Google Search, Google Drive allow users to use search operators. Search operators enable users to narrow down their search and eliminate irrelevant results. While Google Gemini is designed to answer a user's text–based query without any code, occasionally the answers might have errors or issues. At times, the search operators should be helpful in finding presice information. Example (common Google search operators): a) " " (Quotation Marks): Search for an exact phrase. - (Minus Sign): Exclude specific words or phrases etc.

Theme and Background Image

Currently Gemini allows to toggle between a dark and a light theme. To enhance personalization, we suggest to introduce a theme selector and a background image picker, similar to the options offered on Gmail and Google search.

See also

• Google Gemini — Ideas and Opinions #02, the second chapter in this series
• Google Gemini with Customised Commands, an exploration

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Instant Messaging Delivery Receipt and Possible Privacy Issue

Several instant messaging services, such as WhatsApp, provide message delivery reports to senders. While delivery reports offer a useful confirmation that a message has reached its intended recipient's device, they can also present privacy concerns. 

My investigation into this issue began after a contact accurately deduced on multiple occasions that I was keeping my phone switched off during the afternoons. This detection surprised me. They later explained that they observed WhatsApp messages sent to me in the afternoon remained undelivered, and were consistently delivered after 6 am.

According to WhatsApp's help documentation a "delivery report" signifies that—

The message was successfully delivered to the recipient's phone or any of their linked devices.

Given that internet connectivity is required for message delivery, a user's decision to remain disconnected for personal reasons or digital well-being should remain private. However, the current delivery report system inadvertently often reveals a user's online connectivity status, including the precise time they regained internet access (i.e. the time when the message was delivered).

While services like WhatsApp offers to disable read receipts in settings, there appears to be no corresponding option to disable delivery reports. I have consulted available resources and help articles, conducted various tests, and inquired with AI models such as Meta AI and Gemini. The consensus is that users currently lack control over delivery reports.

Test screenshots

Test message sent to a contact.
The message was sent at 7:43 am. Most possibly they regained internet access around 9:30 am 

Another test message.
The message was delivered in a few minutes after sending.

Message sent to Meta AI bot on WhatsApp.
The bot is always online, so both delivery and reading were instant

Solutions

Just as we expect letters to be placed in the letterbox and couriers at the doorstep, respecting the privacy of personal space, a message delivery report revealing precise internet connectivity times might like an unwelcome overreach.

A potential solution would be to implement "sent reports" in place of "delivery reports." This approach, similar to that used by email services, would provide confirmation of message transmission and notification of bounce-backs, without disclosing the recipient's device arrival or internet connectivity status (and timing).

Alternatively, users could be provided with a toggle to disable "delivery reports" within settings, analogous to the existing "read receipts" functionality. .

A third potential solution would be to eliminate the "delivery to device report" feature entirely. 

Finally we hope that our observations and suggestions contribute to enhanced user privacy and a more positive instant messaging experience.

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