Facebook as ditched plans to fill WhatsApp with advertisements, according to a new report, instead choosing to focus on paid features designed for companies. The sources behind the leak claim that Facebook has gone so far as to scrub the code from WhatsApp that would have been used to implement the advertisements. This doesn't, however, mean that Facebook will never bring ads into WhatsApp.
This week WhatsApp shuts down service - ends connectivity - for a number of older smartphones. This includes some Android phones, a few iOS devices, and all Windows Phone devices. If you're still using a Windows Phone device at this point at the tail end of 2019, there may be no mercy for you in the days to come.
WhatsApp will stop working for some older devices in early 2020 in one of the biggest updates in the app's history. For affected older versions of operating systems affected, WhatsApp developers suggested the following: "Because we no longer actively develop for these operating systems, some features might stop functioning at any time."
Facebook's person-tracking camera-display system Portal is getting an update so that users can avoid Facebook. That's right - the Facebook-made Portal, Portal Mini, Portal+ and Portal TV device collection can now be used without a Facebook account. Users can utilize "WhatsApp login" to work with video calls and features like Story Time. Let's talk about why Facebook would allow this to happen.
WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Facebook, has been updated on Android and iOS with an important new feature: call waiting. The feature is common on traditional and mobile phone systems but is rare for VoIP services like the kind offered by messaging apps. The new feature makes it possible to view and jump to a new call, but there's one big issue with the new capability.
At this moment and for the foreseeable future, it's a good idea to avoid opening MP4 files in WhatsApp. There's a bug in WhatsApp for both iOS and Android where a malicious person can send a specially-crafted MP4 file to ultimately control a users' phone. This bug was patched, but not all people in the world have said patch right this minute.
Facebook is launching a new payment service, Facebook Pay, that spans not only the social network itself but Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. While each of those services already supports payments, the company is tying them together so that users will only have to enter details once if they prefer - though there's an upside for Facebook, too.
Today WhatsApp, a Facebook company, updated their so-called Privacy Settings. This is the latest in a line of updates with the word "privacy" in the title released by Facebook and Facebook companies that, collectively, likely aim at doing some good for the overall image of the social networking giant. The latest update is for WhatsApp Groups and it has to do with your Contacts.
WhatsApp has announced a new layer of security for Android users: the ability to lock the app with a fingerprint. The new feature joins the previously released support for Face ID and Touch ID on the iPhone. Similar locking features are found on a number of competing apps, including popular encrypted messaging app Signal.
After the almost unending litany of scandals that have rocked Facebook, many drawing intense criticism from the US government, the social networking giant is ready to turn a new leaf. Ironically, it is also receiving criticism from the US, specifically the Justice Department. In its efforts to begger protect the privacy of users that it has violated, Facebook is reportedly planning to introduce strong encryption in WhatsApp, Instagram, and its other messaging services. For Facebook, it is to protect users but the government insists it will be putting them in danger in the long run.
When it comes to security and privacy, one of WhatsApp's main draws is its use of end-to-end encryption. It may not be long before WhatsApp is offering another feature to pull in the privacy-first crowd: self-destructing messages. As it turns out, the company is currently testing "disappearing messages" functionality that essentially allows users to put a timer on their messages with others.
Over the past 3 years, my relationship with Facebook changed in several drastic ways. In the year 2015, I discovered the "Unfollow" button, and my journey away from Facebook reliance began. I was a Facebook addict for longer than I care to think about. I lived in fear of getting away from the social network, my former primary source of stress in life. I thought I'd never be able to stop - how could I?