A security researcher revealed an oddity in the way WhatsApp allows smartphone numbers to be listed on Google. It's not ALL phone numbers that've been used to gain access to WhatsApp, but those that've conversed with website operators. If you've never spoken to anyone on WhatsApp except for the people you know personally, you're probably not subject to this relative break in security on the platform.
The next major update for WhatsApp will add some real encryption for chat history in iCloud. That's not to say that WhatsApp was necessarily unencrypted in any other way in the past, but this newest update adds a key component to the mix, specifically for iOS user. There's also a QR code element that'll soon - we can only cross our fingers and hope - be added to the system to make the sending of user details faster and simpler.
In late April, Facebook introduced Messenger Rooms, a new video chatting feature that enables up to 50 people to participate in the same group call. The feature was introduced as demand for video messaging services has skyrocketed, joining Skype, Zoom, and other similar platforms. The latest WhatsApp beta adds an integration with this feature.
Today the folks at WhatsApp - owned by Facebook - increased the number of people that can join a group video meeting to 8 users. WhatsApp calls this Group Video - and before now, the service was slightly more limited, with a max of 4 users at a time. Per WhatsApp officials, this boost is due in part to the drastic increase in use of WhatsApp over the past month, during our current global pandemic.
A new report this week suggests that Facebook plans on utilizing WhatsApp to serve advertisements at some point in the future. That's the plan, according to inside sources, but the timeline for this update isn't entirely clear. The idea that Facebook would eventually integrate WhatsApp into their family of data-harvesting, ad-serving apps isn't a brand new idea. It's a good time to remind ourselves that, regardless of what's happened over the past few months and years, Facebook remains dedicated to monetizing all of their properties with user data turned into targeted advertisements.
Popular messaging app WhatsApp has introduced a new batch of stickers that are mostly related to social distancing. The stickers obviously reference the ongoing quarantines around the world, which has driven many people to messaging apps and other social platforms as substitutes for real-life interactions. In addition to encouraging social distancing, the stickers include things related to hygiene and more.
Many things about the COVID-19 coronavirus still remain a mystery even for doctors and scientists, let alone ordinary people. During such times of fear and uncertainty, there is no shortage of incomplete or downright misleading information being passed around disguised as truth. Today's messaging technologies have made it all too easy to spread such misinformation. WhatsApp, which was already in hot water for such cases, is now putting some hard limits when forwarding messages due to the COVID-19 situation.
WhatsApp has become a hive of misinformation related to the novel coronavirus, the COVID-19 disease it causes, and the state of outbreaks around the world. The World Health Organization is combating this fake news by launching its own chatbot called WHO Health Alert to spread accurate, timely information. The chatbot will provide direct information on the latest case numbers, myths related to the disease, and more.
If you're using WhatsApp for iOS or Android today, you can get an update that allows Dark Mode. This update changes the way that WhatsApp looks on all devices, switching dark tones for light tones, and light tones for dark. It makes better use of your display's power drain - to a tiny, yet significant degree. Dark Mode is a lot kinder to your eyes, too.
This week, leadership at the European Commission (executive branch of the European Union) sent a staff-wide message pushing the secure messaging app Signal. This end-to-end encrypted messaging app was recommended on an EU internal discussion board for all staff. The message included, in part: "Signal has been selected as the recommended application for public instant messaging." Why would the EU do this?
Today WhatsApp announced that "WhatsApp supports more than two billion users around the world." The company suggested that this high water mark was reached today - February 12, 2020, after reaching a similarly major mark in January of 2018. WhatsApp didn't say specifically that they had "monthly users" in this amount, but "supports" this amount as of today. It could be that this 2 billion mark is just total downloads of the app, or amount of users that've sent messages over the last year - but let's explore some other, more solid numbers while we get some confirmation from the WhatsApp crew.
Today the folks behind the development of the WhatsApp mobile app released a new version with a Dark Theme. This means more than just a color flip is in play - it means we're seeing a whole new UI with color choices based on the users' desire to keep screen brightness as low as possible. Users will need to become part of the Google Play Beta Program, where they'll gain access to version 2.20.13 as of this week.