Articles about WhatsApp

WhatsApp has addressed a serious security flaw in certain versions of its app. The vulnerability was a zero-click exploit, which the company says was being used to target specific users.

No details have been provided about those who were being targeted, so it is not clear whether they are celebrities, people linked to businesses, or something else. What is interesting, however, is the fact that it was Apple users who had been single out.

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WhatsApp is getting another injection of artificial intelligence in the form of Writing Help. As you would guess from the name, this is a tool designed to help you come up with the perfect message for different scenarios.

With Writing Help being billed as something that could be of assistance in all manner of communication, there will be understandable concerns about privacy. WhatsApp is one step ahead of worried users here, pointing out that Writing Help is built on top of Private Processing technology.

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WhatsApp beta testers have access to a new option that allows them to link to a verified Instagram profile, complete with a special icon that others should recognize.

This ability is not necessarily something that will appeal to or interest all WhatsApp users, but it is certainly something that has value for some types of user. Creators are among those who are likely to welcome this addition, as are companies and brands looking to build trust and drive engagement.

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WhatsApp would like you to leave a message after the beep. In what feels like a blast from the past, Meta is testing what equates to an answerphone service in WhatsApp.

Currently undergoing beta testing with a limited number of users, the feature seeks to encourage conversation and connectivity. You have almost certainly been notified of a missed WhatsApp call on your phone, but how many times has the person who called followed up with a text message? Probably not often, and this is something WhatsApps is looking to address.

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WhatsApp is now an essential communication tool for both personal and business use, and its popularity means that it is also a prime target for scammers. As such, the company has just announced the rollout of a new series of tools designed to help keep users informed and protected.

Among these new tools is a safety warning for group chats that warns about being added to new chat groups by unknown contacts. There are also tools and advice for individual chats, which are also targets for scams.

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There is some disappointing news for WhatsApp users who like to work with the desktop app. In what appears to be part of a streamlining process, Meta is dropping the UWP app in favor of a web wrapper.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this, but few people who have compared the native Windows app with the web-based version off WhatsApp can have failed to notice the performance difference. The WhatsApp UWP app has always been snappier, more responsive, and used fewer resources, so in some ways it feels like a backwards step to switch to a web wrapper.

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WhatsApp is not only one of the most popular communication apps out there, but also one of the most dynamic and frequently updated. The beta releases for WhatsApp are exciting places to hang out and a great way to try, or at least glimpse, new features.

The latest update does not buck the trend. In the most recent beta release for Android, we see developers working a new way to make use of status updates. These are already highly versatile but soon will provide a way to pose questions.

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While WhatsApp is, ostensibly, a messaging, chat and video calling platform, it is more than that; it is also a pseudo social media platform. The Status section of WhatsApp has gradually evolved over the years to become a way to not only indicate your availability, but to express much more.

And now Status has received another massive upgrade. It is now possible to display a collage of multiple photos, share music, and much more. A plethora of new options are rolling out globally; here's what you have to look forward to.

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Using WhatsApp on an iPad has long meant making a compromise or two. The reason is that there has simply not been a version of WhatsApp designed for Apple's tablet, forcing users to turn to WhatsApp Web in Safari.

After an incredibly long period of development, Meta has finally produced an iPad version of WhatsApp. So how does the iPadOS port of WhatsApp look?

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WhatsApp has announced the expansion of its Voice Chat feature for groups. The live audio feature is something that was well-received when it first appeared in the chat app, so the wider rollout makes a lot of sense. There is a twist, however.

While the feature is now available to more users than before, the expansion is not like most feature expansions.

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WhatsApp is in the process of rolling out a redesigned app for Windows users. The latest update to the beta version of the chat client sees the app echoing the design language used for WhatsApp Web, as well as some UI changes that will be familiar to macOS users.

One of the most notable changes to be seen in this refresh is the way in which channels are accessible. There are also changes in the Community section of the app, but the most welcome aspect of this latest update is the consistency which can now be enjoyed across platforms.

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Although WhatsApp is primarily seen as a mobile app -- which makes sense, as accounts are linked to a phone number -- the web client is also an excellent part of the family. The web-based version of WhatsApp has evolved and progressed impressively, but there remain areas in which it is found wanting.

A key example is the lack of support for placing voice or video calls from the WhatsApp web client -- but this is set to change.

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There are lots of privacy and security features built into WhatsApp, but there have been a few oversights. Looking to remedy this, a new “privacy layer” called Advanced Chat Privacy provides powerful options.

The feature has been designed with those conversations that need to be kept private in mind. It gives the option of blocking anyone you are chatting to -- one-on-one or in a group -- from exporting chats. It’s a nice security boost, but it’s not infallible.

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Despite the popularity of WhatsApp and other messaging apps, Meta’s Messenger (or Facebook Messenger) maintains an incredibly healthy userbase. Millions of people continue to use this stalwart of social messaging even though it has various limitations when compared to its rivals.

But Meta has just addressed an issue that has irked users for a long time: the size of file attachments. For far too long, a file size limit of 10MB has been in place -- a limit that is way out of line with modern file sizes (although it was higher for some users). Now it has been increased.

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The development of WhatsApp continues to be rapid and surprisingly exciting for a messaging app. It seems that hardly a week goes by without something new and interesting being added, and this can actually work against the app sometimes.

It is with this in mind that the developers acknowledge that their pace of work means it “can be easy to miss out on useful and exciting ways you can use WhatsApp”. So the team has put together a lengthy roundup of the new features that have been added, including document scanning on iPhone, video call zooming, and voice message transcripts on Channels.

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