WhatsApp

There is no stopping WhatsApp's, really Facebook's, changes to its privacy policy despite the immense backlash from its own users as well as privacy advocates. The bottom line remains that if you want to keep using WhatsApp, you'll have to agree to share some of your data with Facebook, despite WhatsApp bragging about its privacy-focused operations. You won't, however, immediately lose access to your account after the May 15th deadline if you don't agree to that policy but you will slowly see yourself pushed out of the service until you do.

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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.

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Despite the many privacy concerns WhatsApp has recently been involved in courtesy of parent company Facebook, there are still many users that remain heavily invested in the messaging service. To be fair, WhatsApp does currently have strong privacy safeguards, at least for now, and it is expanding its features to support a multi-device world. Ironically, those two goals don't always align, as seen in the case of transferring between Android phones and iPhones, something that might finally become easier once this chat history migration feature becomes available.

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WhatsApp today announced that it's bringing one-to-one calls to its desktop app. Calling will be available both for voice and video and they'll be end-to-end encrypted as well. While these calls have been a centerpiece in the WhatsApp mobile app for a long time, the company says that it's bringing calling to the desktop app to help support the increase in calls that have come with the pandemic.

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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.

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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.

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Facebook isn't one to back down from a fight or making controversial changes, at least until its hands are forced by laws. Even as it faces inquiries and lawsuits about its alleged monopolistic business practices, it is still pushing through with unpopular actions that practically put its mark on everything it owns. The Oculus Quest's new multi-user support, for example, is still tied to Facebook accounts, and WhatsApp is now resuming the journey to revamp its privacy policy to favor Facebook.

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WhatsApp, the popular messaging app that many users have abandoned for alternatives, is now using Status messages in an effort to reassure users that their data is safe. Put simply, Status messages are the same as Stories found on other platforms like Instagram -- and WhatsApp plans to use them to talk about privacy.

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This week Telegram announced that they'd be accepting chat history from other apps. Starting today, a Telegram representative suggested, "everyone can bring their chat history - including videos and documents - to Telegram from apps like WhatsApp, Line, and KakaoTalk." This system will work for all sorts of chats, including groups and "private chats" alike.

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WhatsApp has announced new security features for its web and desktop versions that make it easier for users to login securely. WhatsApp Web and desktop now supports both face and fingerprint unlocking when linking devices. WhatsApp does note that it never sees your face or fingerprint data.

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Beeper is a new app from the guy (Eric Migicovsky) who founded Pebble, one of the first very interesting smart wearable devices in the modern smartphone age. The app Beeper "gives you a unified inbox for 15 chat networks" and makes the whole process relatively simple. This app connects to Signal, Discord, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Android Messages (SMS), Telegram, Twitter, and a whole lot more.

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WhatsApp is pushing back its controversial privacy policy change, delaying the date by which users must agree to the new terms over what the Facebook-owned messaging platform described as "misinformation" about how it shares data. Concerns began earlier in January, after an upcoming policy update seemingly required WhatsApp users consent to some of their data being passed over to Facebook.

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