WhatsApp is launching a new shopping button that enables users to find businesses and browse their offerings directly in the app. The move expands WhatsApp for Business, an e-commerce platform similar to what we've already seen on Instagram. The existing voice call button is being replaced by the shopping button.
WhatsApp has announced a big new feature that is already available on a number of other platforms: disappearing messages. With this feature, users can ensure their messages will automatically disappear after a predetermined amount of time. WhatApp's disappearing messages have a big limitation at this moment compared to platforms like Wickr, but it's better than nothing.
The latest update to WhatsApp allows the user to bulk delete their content. This system has a "new and improved way to manage storage on the app," as it were, allowing users to "easily identify, select, and bulk delete content that may be filling their phone." This update should be available for all users on iOS and Android this week, so long as they've downloaded the latest version of the app.
WhatsApp added an option to chats today that allows the user to mute said chat forever. The Facebook-owned app and ecosystem previously only allowed a chat to be muted for 8 hours, 1 week, or 1 year. This was fine, sure, but what if you wanted to stay in a chat and never, ever hear a notification from the chat ever, ever again? Now that's possible, if you dare.
Today the folks at Sensor Tower delivered a list of top app store downloads for iOS and Android devices for the month of September, 2020. This list has a bunch of entries you'll likely expect, like TikTok and YouTube, but a few that you might've never heard of before, like Snack Video. Suffice to say - we're dealing with a COVID-19 universe in the app market right now: these lists make that very clear.
It just recently made a major step in unifying its messaging systems but Facebook might soon be facing pressure to break it up again. It is no secret that the US government wants to break up Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp due to the parent company's influence in social as well as political spheres and Facebook's numerous missteps in those same areas. Of course, Facebook won't be taking it sitting down and the bottom line of its defense might boil down to "it's too hard".
Today we're taking a look at a set of three WhatsApp news stories that should help you decide whether to continue using the app. One has to do with a viral "Argentina Is Doing It" message about COVID-19. Another is about a future update to WhatsApp that'll introduce a Vacation Mode - hopefully. The third story includes information on 6 previously undisclosed security vulnerabilities delivered by WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is adding an easier way to fact-check forwarded messages, a shortcut to potentially better debunking viral information and fake news. The new tool adds to the messaging service's limits around forwarding that were added back in April, and which were billed at the time as a way to stem the spread of conspiracy theories and false claims which had proved to be rampant.
Many people these days own multiple devices, at least a phone and a laptop. Many people also use multiple messaging services, not even counting the venerable SMS. Juggling these two pluralities is no easy task, especially in cases where a messaging service puts limits on how many devices you can use the same account on. WhatsApp is one such service but that might soon be changing with a new Linked Devices feature that was just added to the latest beta version on Android.
WhatsApp has been making some changes here at the beginning of July, first to the way users interact with each other at the beginning of the month and today to the way users interact with businesses on the platform. WhatsApp today announced new features that will make it easier for you to contact a business using the app, while at the same time making it easier for businesses to share products from their catalogs.
Today we're taking a peek at what you need to know about the next update for WhatsApp for multiple platforms. This update adds new Animated Stickers, upgrades QR codes, and adds Dark Mode for WhatsApp web and desktop platforms. If you're working with video calls, you'll find the newly upgraded ability to include 8 people on a call. If you're one of the growing pack of people using a phone with KaiOS, you're in luck - a new feature, at last!
This week the Facebook for Android app updated the way they show their brand - with all sorts of icons. You'll see Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. This is just the tip of the iceberg, really, as Facebook's ramped up acquisitions of companies over the last several years. Do you know if your favorite app and/or service is owned by Facebook? Let's take a look at the list of names that are actually owned and/or run by Facebook, from top to bottom.