Articles about WhatsApp

Just as with any popular platform, WhatsApp has fans who are quite happy to use it while conceding that there are things that need to be improved. Having -- eventually -- made it possible to delete messages after sending them, WhatsApp is now extending the timeframe in which deletions can be made.

The Delete For Everyone option is now available to users for 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds after a message has been sent.

Continue reading →

BlackBerry -- yep, them -- has filed a lawsuit against Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, claiming that the companies infringed on patents relating to BlackBerry Messenger.

This is not the first time the company has sued other tech firms, drawing on its back catalog of over 40,000 patents in a bid to pull in money through licensing fees. BlackBerry insists, however, that litigation is "not central to [its] strategy."

Continue reading →

Security researchers have discovered a method of infiltrating group chats in WhatsApp, effectively rendering the chat tool's end-to-end encryption useless.

Researchers from Germany's Ruhr University Bochum have unearthed an encryption flaw that makes it possible for group conversations to be compromised. While the vulnerability is not one that poses immediate concerns -- it requires direct access to WhatsApp servers -- it still raises questions about the security of the platform.

Continue reading →

The start of a new year means saying hello to new beginnings and waving goodbye to a few old things. As 2018 rolls around, WhatsApp is killing off support for both Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10.

This should hardly come as major news. Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 are both very niche platforms, and WhatsApp had previously announced -- and then extended -- that support was coming to an end.

Continue reading →

A French privacy watchdog has ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with Facebook. The CNIL (National Data Protection Commission) issued the Facebook-owned company with formal notice to cease violations of the French Data Protection Act, suggesting that user consent was not properly obtained.

A change to WhatsApp's privacy policy last year saw the app transferring data to its parent company for the purposes of "business intelligence" and security purposes. It is the business intelligence side of things -- which analyses user behaviour -- that France considers illegal.

Continue reading →

It's a feature that users have been practically begging for forever. It's a feature that has been rumoured as being in the works for quite some time, and tested for a number of months. Now it has finally arrived. You can, at long last, delete sent messages in WhatsApp thanks to "Delete for everyone."

Whether you've sent a message in anger, under the influence, or just by mistake, there are numerous reasons for wanting to erase a message you've sent. While the ability to recall or revoke messages will be welcomed, it may well not go quite as far as people had been hoping.

Continue reading →

Following the lead of Facebook Messenger and iMessage, WhatsApp is gaining a location sharing feature. It's something that was tested earlier in the year, and now it has been deemed ready for prime time.

The "Share Live Location" feature can be enabled for a fixed period of time -- you can choose between 15 minutes, an hour, or 8 hours -- or you can manually switch it on and off as required. When enabled, WhatsApp will report your location to your contacts.

Continue reading →

The UK Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has admitted that she doesn't understand end-to-end encryption, but still wants to "to find the best way to combat" it anyway. Speaking at the Conservative Party conference, she said that Silicon Valley had a "moral obligation" to help fight the crime and terrorism she believes is abetted by encryption technology.

Despite having previously voiced support for back doors into systems such as WhatsApp, Rudd said she does not want such access, nor is she seeking to ban encryption. Saying "I don't need to understand how encryption works to understand how it's helping -- end-to-end encryption -- the criminals," she added that she wants technology firms to make it easier for police and security services to access encrypted data.

Continue reading →

The UK government has made no secret of its dislike of encrypted messaging tools, and it has made frequent reference to the problems WhatsApp causes it with regard to investigations into terrorism. Calls have been made by the government to force companies to allow access to encrypted content when asked.

In the wake of Theresa May's "more needs to be done about extremist content" speech, it has emerged that WhatsApp refused to add a backdoor that would allow the government and law enforcement agencies to access private conversations.

Continue reading →

WhatsApp users have many requests for new features that would improve the way the app works for them. One that is most frequently requested is the ability to unsend messages that have been fired off in haste, or contain mistakes.

Users of the Facebook-owned messaging tool will be pleased to hear that the unsend option -- also known as Delete For Everyone -- is undergoing testing, and could be on the verge of rolling out to all.

Continue reading →

Not content with amassing over a billion users, WhatsApp is branching out into new territory, testing out a new free WhatsApp Business app. The app will be free for small to medium-sized companies, but larger enterprises will be charged.

The announcement comes just days after it emerged that WhatsApp was introducing verified accounts for some business users. The new app is part of WhatsApp's drive to monetize the platform, and it will provide a line of communication between businesses and customers.

Continue reading →

On various social media platforms, attaining a verified account is a major goal for users. It's something that's been available on Facebook for a while, and Twitter users from all walks of life are able to apply for verification. Soon to be added to this list is WhatsApp.

The messaging app -- owned by Facebook -- has not only started to verify certain business accounts, but is also planning to release a standalone app that will allow companies to chat with customers.

Continue reading →

Amber Rudd, the UK Home Secretary, has claimed that "real people often prefer ease of use and a multitude of features to perfect, unbreakable security." Rudd holds the Conservative government's belief that it should be able to access encrypted messages, even when end-to-end encryption is used, such as with WhatsApp.

Using terrorism as a justification for wanting to gain access to encrypted messages, she goes on make extraordinary and misguided claims about what she and the government want. Her bizarre and misinformed rant in the Daily Telegraph is deeply concerning, not only because of the implications her suggestions have on privacy, but also the lack of technical knowledge she demonstrates while making her claims and demands.

Continue reading →

WhatsApp is slowly but surely strengthening its position in the messaging space, now boasting one billion daily users. It joins a very select club that includes parent company Facebook.

WhatsApp has also seen a significant increase in the number of monthly users. It has 1.3 billion monthly users, 300 million more than early last year when it broke the one billion monthly users mark.

Continue reading →

WhatsApp is now rolling out a new update for its messaging app that finally gives users the ability to send any type of file that they want. This feature was first seen in the beta channel last month.

That means that, among other types of files, users can now share items with extensions like APK (Android apps), DOC (Word files), XLS (Excel files), and so on. It is not the only change in the latest version of WhatsApp though.

Continue reading →