If everything goes right, then we might get an advanced messaging service other than WhatsApp. Recently, it was revealed that tech giants Google and Samsung are working together to offer an improved messaging service. The messaging app will come equipped with features that would allow the exchange and transfer of large files without the need for additional apps. The partnership is aimed at conflating Android messages and Samsung messages to make them work together seamlessly. This will result in better coverage of Rich Communication Services (RCS). RCS is a communication protocol that enables enhanced SMS and MMS experience resulting in a better messaging experience. However, to [...]
It is no mystery that India is reeling from an unprecedented turmoil. Malicious hate speech, spewing unwarranted venom and spreading fake news have become a norm, inflicting our erstwhile public comity. An easy and unchecked access to social media channels is one of the many reasons for this tragic onslaught. In fact, a report submitted by a panel of secretaries to the government on Wednesday said that lynching incidents are part of a larger problem of unchecked malicious content on websites and social media platforms, mainly targeting children, women and minorities.
In the wake of this fierce torrent, Government is cracking down on the social media platforms like WhatsApp, [...]
India has been subject to a lot of violence because of fake news spreading across social media platforms. Because of fake WhatsApp news going viral in the district of Tiruvannamalai, a family of five lost their lives. Facebook currently owns the messaging platform and is now planning to bring major changes in the way WhatsApp works. In their latest announcement, Facebook said that they will limit the number of messages users can forward.
Also Read: New Twitter Update Will Reduce Follower Count As Locked Accounts Are Removed
The limit currently in India for forwarding a message is 250. The new WhatsApp update will bring this down to just 5 in India and globally [...]
Facebook, the social network which bought the messaging service, WhatsApp back in February 2014, has been updating the platform. The new beta update for the app brings stickers to its users. Though the WhatsApp beta version has been around for a while, Facebook has never tested this feature for the app before. There are many other messaging platforms which have already embraced this concept. It will be the first time that WhatsApp will introduce stickers to its users.
The new WhatsApp beta update will bring a lot of interesting sticker packs. A Twitter post shows two sticker packs, Unchi & Rollie and Bibimbap Friends.
WhatsApp beta for Android [...]
At Facebook’s F8 Conference, the company focussed a lot on data privacy and essentially showing how much it cares for every user’s data. While all of these features are essential for a safer space on the internet, the company also unveiled a few interesting features for Instagram and WhatsApp. One of those features was group voice and video calling. Now, the new feature is rolling out to WhatsApp Beta users.
First and foremost, only users who have signed up for WhatsApp Beta will be able to use this feature for now. It is worth noting that the WhatsApp Beta program on Play Store is already full. This means that WhatsApp is not signing up any new Beta testers. While [...]
A few days ago, Mark Zuckerberg took to stage and announced all the new features coming to Facebook and its properties. WhatsApp, bought by Facebook in 2016 for US$ 19 billion has been receiving a few interesting features over the past few months. WhatsApp on iPhones will now allow users to embed and play Instagram and Facebook video directly within WhatsApp with PIP.
PiP is picture-in-picture wherein users can essentially watch a video without leaving the current app and simultaneously do other tasks. With the new feature rolling out to WhatsApp for iPhones, users will be able to watch Instagram and Facebook videos within the app, without leaving WhatsApp. This feature is [...]
Facebook has been embroiled in a huge debate about the internet as a whole. As social media has grown to become such an integral part of our lives, it is no secret that users have given more personal information than needed to various social media platforms over the years. Facebook has been under the cosh for allegedly, not using that information in an ethical manner. Now, it appears that the conversation of privacy has trickled down to Facebook-owned properties, mainly WhatsApp. Co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp, Jan Koum has announced that he will be leaving WhatsApp soon.
It's been almost a decade since Brian and I started WhatsApp, and it's been an [...]
Not a long time ago, we used to send wishes through postcards, which was later replaced by SMS. However, the rise of the internet has made SMS services redundant. Instant messengers have evolved into more than just text messaging mediums. Users can do things like international video calling to sending money, all in one single app. While these apps are free to use, the internet is the only prerequisite.
The instant messengers help for all kind of stuff. From making an international video call to sharing a presentation. However, usually, the only requirement of these apps is the internet. Almost all the instant messengers work fine in either cellular data or a Wi-Fi network. So, [...]
Back in early 2016, WhatsApp introduced end-to-end encryption for WhatsApp chats. However, a new report claims that the group chats in WhatsApp can be easily infiltrated. A group of German cryptographers have discovered flaws in WhatsApp’s encryption that makes this possible.
The cryptographers from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany announced this at the “Real World Crypto Security Conference in Zurich, Switzerland on the 10th of January. The report from Wired says:
Anyone who controls the app’s servers could insert new people into private group chats without needing admin permission. The [...]
Up until a few years ago, SMS packs were a big selling point for holidays and major festivals. However, with the internet becoming more affordable and accessible, users have resorted to instant messaging apps like WhatsApp to communicate on a daily basis. A report claims that on the 31st of December 2017, over 75 billion messages were sent on WhatsApp worldwide. For context, Earth’s population is 7.6 billion.
In India alone, WhatsApp has over 200 million monthly active users who sent over 20 billion messages on New Year’s Eve. That is a staggering figure for one country which constitutes more than 1/4th of the total messages sent across the world. Incidentally, the [...]
Back in 2014, Facebook bought one of the most famous instant messaging apps in the world, WhatsApp. Over the course of three years, there have been many Facebook features which have trickled down to WhatsApp as well, WhatsApp Status being one of them. Being the parent company, Facebook started using the user data from WhatsApp to develop targeted advertising, security measures, and to gather business intelligence.
To tackle the free-sharing of personal user data among the two firms, France’s ultra-strict privacy watchdog CNIL has ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with parent company Facebook. WhatsApp has a month to comply with the order, according to a public notice [...]
WhatsApp has been the most successful instant messaging app and right now, it barely has any competition. But, an app needs to keep on evolving and adding new features incentivises users to come back to your app rather than switching to some other new one.
Keeping that in mind, WhatsApp has recently updated its iOS app to add a new functionality which will enable WhatsApp to play YouTube videos within the app.
The new update comes with WhatsApp version 2.17.81, which is currently available to download via the App Store. However, the PiP mode is currently not working and the YouTube link in the conversations still takes you to the YouTube app.
