Following a limited test of the feature, Twitch is finally rolling out threaded replies in chat for everyone, adding some organization to conversations that, historically speaking, tend to be chaotic and hard to follow. As you'd expect, the threaded replies feature indents replies under the original comment, making it easier to follow the conversation.
Signal has surreptitiously declared war on smartphone data extraction tool Cellebrite, dropping heavy hints that it will update its secure messaging app in a way that could compromise any law enforcement use of the controversial analyzer. Cellebrite offers one of a number of data analysis devices - also known as phone hackers - which promise to pull out messaging logs, call and SIM records, and more from iPhone and Android handsets.
Earlier this year, we heard a rumor which claimed that popular messaging and voice chatting service Discord might be looking to either sell or go public. At the time, Microsoft was said to be interested in buying Discord for as much as $10 billion. That report had some Discord fans on edge because Microsoft doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to buying up and maintaining messaging services.
WhatsApp has been stewing in a pot of bad PR for the past few years but it seems that things have been heating up more recently. Despite that, the messaging service still enjoys millions of users that seem to be more at risk each day as new vulnerabilities and even corporate policies keep popping up. The latest may be one of the most worrisome because it could cause any user to lose access to their account forever even with all the security measures properly in place.
There are two primary iOS apps that Android users want on Google's platform. iTunes, which eventually became Apple Music, did eventually land on Android but iMessage and its convenient messaging systems remain a distant dream. There may have been a time when bringing iMessage to Android was a possibility but, as revealed in a document used by Epic Games in its Fortnite-related lawsuit against Apple, the iPhone maker's execs shot that idea done in fear of losing people to Android.
Encrypted privacy-centric messaging app Signal has announced a beta test called Signal Payments. As the name suggests, this new beta involves testing a beta feature that lets users send and receive money through the app -- though, in this case, the transactions involve a private cryptocurrency called MobileCoin.
![App Store, iMessage & iCloud all seeing outages and issues right now [Updated]](https://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/iphone-12-pro-max-12-1280x720.jpg)
Apple is currently experiencing outages of the App Store and issues with iMessage, iCloud, and other services, the company has confirmed. The problems have seen some users unable to access the App Store and Mac App Store altogether, while the two download stores are still available but much slower to respond than normal for others.
![Slack Connect opens DMs to people outside of your company [Update]](https://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/slack-connect-1-1280x720.jpg)
Slack is adding the ability to direct message users at other companies, with Slack Connect paring back some of the separation between different teams. It's the latest attempt by the popular business messaging platform - which Salesforce is currently in the process of acquiring for $27.7 billion - to oust email from the office.
WhatsApp's Facebook-friendly privacy changes have caused many users to flock to other secure messaging services. Those services, in turn, have rapidly pushed out changes to improve their features as well as prepare their servers for the sudden influx of new users. For its latest set of updates, Telegram is adding a touch of transience to some of its features, such as public chats as well as invite links, while also making sure that refugees from other messaging platforms will feel at home as well.
WhatsApp users who don't accept the company's controversial upcoming privacy policy will steadily lose functionality over a few weeks, as the Facebook-owned messaging platform squeezes them into agreeing with the new rules. Announced last month, the new privacy terms met with near-instant backlash, as they appeared to allow WhatsApp to share user data with other Facebook products and services.
Signal is adding a new way for those blocked from using the private messaging platform to connect, a workaround particularly for those in Iran who have found the service censored. News broke in late January that Signal had been targeted by the Iranian government and placed on its internet block list, after the app hit the number one spot for downloads in the country.
Signal just received a new update, and it seems to be rolling out a number of new mainstream features in anticipation of a flood of users incoming from WhatsApp. This update consists of a broad range of features that seem to add a lot to the service, beginning with chat wallpapers. With this update, users can pick from a collection of backgrounds and apply them to chats individually or choose one to apply to all chats.