WhatsApp Messenger is a proprietary, cross-platform instant messaging application for smartphones. In addition to text messaging, users can send each other images, video, and audio media messages. The client software is available for: Android; BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, iOS; Series 40, Symbian (S60); and, Windows Phone. The company by the same name was founded in 2009 by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, both veterans of Yahoo! and is based in Santa Clara, California.
All stories in WhatsApp
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Zuckerberg is wrong about WhatsApp's superiority over iMessage
WhatsApp is the most popular chat app in the world, with more than 2 billion monthly active users. However, its fame has ...
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Pardon the Intrusion #35: WhatsApp's Messaging Mess
After alerting users of a change in privacy policy earlier this month and kicking up a storm, WhatsApp has backed down— ...
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Signal is drama-free for now, but it should prepare for the worst
Signal is now the new darling of the messaging world. The trouble is, it doesn't yet have mechanisms to boot bad actors off ...
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WhatsApp delays its privacy policy update by three months — but what's the point?
After a ton of backlash and user exodus, WhatsApp is delaying the rollout of its controversial privacy policy by three months. ...
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India wants WhatsApp to retract its controversial privacy policy
Update: In response to the government's letter, WhatsApp said that the app is not expanding its ability to share data with ...
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Signal has better privacy policies than WhatsApp or Telegram — here’s why
WhatsApp made one of its most controversial changes to its privacy policy last week. The new policy gives the app more freedom ...
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Here’s what that WhatsApp privacy policy pop-up means for you
If you use WhatsApp, you probably spotted a pop-up on your phone sometime in the last 24 hours, suggesting that the service ...
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Here’s how to easily get rid of large WhatsApp files
Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, ...
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WhatsApp now lets you assign separate wallpapers for your favorite people
WhatsApp is announcing a few aesthetic updates to its app today; you can now assign different background images to individual ...
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After two years in test mode, WhatsApp Pay finally launches in India
After serving 1 million users for over two years in test mode, WhatsApp Pay is finally launching in India. The company first ...
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WhatsApp now lets you mute a chat FOREVER — here's how you can do it
WhatsApp's mute function has been a boon for many who've wanted to keep their notifications at bay. However, the maximum ...
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WhatsApp might soon let you make calls from its desktop app
Video calls have increased due to the coronavirus pandemic, and companies such as Facebook and Zoom have taken full advantage ...
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WhatsApp might soon let you log into its desktop app with your fingerprint
Forget about those annoying QR codes: you might soon be able to log into WhatsApp's desktop version just with your fingerprint. ...
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WhatsApp debuts a new portal for all its security-related disclosure
WhatsApp has introduced a new portal today to have all of the app's security disclosure in one place. Plus, it has also released ...
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Android Auto vs Android Automotive: What’s the difference?
Android Auto and Android Automotive have very similar names, but they are different in a couple of key ways. Get to grips ...
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WhatsApp might soon let you mute annoying chats forever
You might soon be able to forever mute those annoying WhatsApp groups you never really participate in thanks to a new "Always ...
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WhatsApp Pay moves one step closer to Indian launch
WhatsApp's much-awaited payments launch in India has hit many regulatory roadblocks in the past. However, the company has ...
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Google is testing Smart Compose on WhatsApp and Telegram
Users of Gboard beta have spotted Smart Compose popping up in Google Messages, Telegram, and WhatsApp.
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WhatsApp's new payments service is suspended in Brazil
WhatsApp's newly launched payment service in Brazil is under threat. On Tuesday, The country's central bank ordered Visa ...
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WhatsApp launches payments in Brazil, with India still stuck in test mode
WhatsApp announced today that it's launching the payment feature in Brazil. The feature is powered by Facebook Pay technology ...
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WhatsApp is testing a nifty search-by-date feature
WhatsApp is currently testing a bunch of useful features including message search by date and better storage management. Last ...
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Facebook announces Workplace Rooms, basically Messenger Rooms for work
Facebook recently launched Messenger Rooms, one of its biggest new products in years. It attempts to provide an alternative ...
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Facebook and ByteDance investor General Atlantic pumps $870 million into Reliance Jio
India's Reliance Jio has scored its fourth investment in four weeks. US-based firm General Atlantic has invested ₹6,598.38 ...
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Messenger Rooms, Facebook's 50-caller Zoom competitor, is now available
Messenger Rooms is now available and rolling out globally, supporting up to 50 video callers at once. Here's how to use Facebook's ...
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A developer's guide to building a WhatsApp chatbot
Long ago, I built a web app for an enterprise (200k+ employees). Feedback on the web app prompted me to do an experiment. ...
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WhatsApp may soon support 50-person video calls through Messenger Rooms
Ever since Facebook bought WhatsApp back in 2014, the company has managed to keep the the mega-popular chat app quite separate ...
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Xiaomi's new Mi Commerce platform lets local retailers sell phones to Indian consumers
Xiaomi has announced a new ecommerce platform called Mi Commerce to let local stores sell the company's products -- including ...
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Poynter Institute is launching a WhatsApp bot to help debunk coronavirus myths
Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checkers Network (IFCN) is launching a bot on WhatsApp to curb fake information ...
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WhatsApp increases group call limit from 4 to 8 people (Update: Rolling out)
Update (29/04/2020): This feature is rolling out to everyone through updates for iOS and Android apps. https://twitter.com/wcathcart/status/1255168854382137347?s=20 WhatsApp ...
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Facebook-backed Reliance Jio pilots basic grocery ordering service on WhatsApp in India
Reliance Jio's ecommerce arm, JioMart, is now testing a system for WhatsApp users to order goods via the messaging service. ...
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Facebook challenges Zoom with Messenger Rooms, supporting 50 video callers at once
Video calling and virtual meetings have become our new normal during this pandemic, and everyone from Zoom, to Microsoft, ...
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WhatsApp will soon support group calls with up to 8 people
Zoom, Houseparty, and Duo should be afraid. The world's most popular chat service WhatsApp is expanding its group call limit ...
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Apple was the most imitated brand for phishing attacks in Q1 2020
Phishing is one of the most common attacking methods used by cybercriminals to dupe people into giving up data or money. ...
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The coronavirus pandemic isn't making Facebook any money
Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns might have all of us on social media more than ever, but business isn't exactly booming ...
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Keeping in touch: How to start a WhatsApp group
WhatsApp is a great way to keep up with friends in a time of quarantine and social distancing. Here's how to set up a group. ...
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Instagram now lets you share posts with your friends directly in video chats
Instagram wants you to feel cozy as you video-call friends during the coronavirus outbreak, so it's adding a feature that ...
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PSA: Netflix isn't giving away free subs due to coronavirus — it's a scam
Nope, Netflix isn't handing out free subscriptions to its streaming service due to the coronavirus outbreak — but hackers ...
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World Health Organization's WhatsApp bot texts you coronavirus facts
The Coronavirus outbreak is spreading rapidly, and so is misinformation related to the pandemic. In these testing times, you can only rely on trusted sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO), and the health departments of your local governments. To reach more people ...
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WhatsApp launches a rather basic coronavirus information site
The world's most popular chat app, WhatsApp, has launched a coronavirus-related information center. The company has partnered ...
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7 tips for my fellow humans stuck working from home
Struggling to work from home? We've put together 7 simple — but useful tips — to make it more bearable and help you stay ...
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WhatsApp may let you set a self-destruct timer on private messages
Your WhatsApp conversations may soon become a little more ephemeral. A recent Beta of the app introduced to the Google Play Store suggests WhatsApp will allow you to set a timer on messages to delete themselves in private chats, as reported by WABetaInfo. While we reported on this ...
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It's official: WhatsApp is rolling out Dark Mode to all users
WhatsApp is finally launching its most requested feature: Dark mode. The stealthy option has basically become a must-have feature for apps over the past year or two, and though a select few Android users have seen previews of the feature show up, this is the first time the company ...
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WhatsApp is bringing dark mode to desktop (but you can't use it yet)
WhatsApp already has dark mode on Android (and it'll soon also be on iOS), so the company is now shifting its attention to ...
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WhatsApp now has more than 2 billion users
WhatsApp announced today it has crossed the mark of 2 billion users today. It's the second Facebook-owned service to achieve that milestone after the social network got to that number in 2017. The mobile messaging app was initially released in 2009, and was acquired by Facebook ...
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WhatsApp beta reveals dark mode is finally coming to the iPhone
Dark mode for WhatsApp is soon coming to the iPhone, as numerous users in its beta program have spotted the feature in the ...
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WhatsApp fixed a bug in its desktop app that allowed access to files on your computer
Last month, WhatsApp fixed a bug in its desktop app that allowed attackers to read files from your computer. A post published by security firm PerimeterX last night suggests the bug affected folks who used either WhatsApp's Mac or Windows app paired with an iPhone. The company's ...
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Report: India will force WhatsApp, Telegram to trace sensitive messages back to their originators
In its upcoming intermediary rules -- which will govern the policing of content on digital platforms with more than 5 million ...
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WhatsApp finally gets dark mode on Android — here's how to enable it
WhatsApp is finally getting dark mode on mobile — but only for Android for the time being, so iPhone users will have to ...
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Facebook has reportedly shelved its plans to show ads on WhatsApp
Good news! Facebook is dropping its plans to show ads on its popular messaging service WhatsApp. According to a report by ...
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Google topped app downloads in Q4 2019, but Facebook dominated the year
For the first time in five years, Google has snatched the reigns from Facebook to become the world's top publisher of mobile ...
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This WhatsApp script texts your parents every morning so you don’t have to
In our busy work lives, we often forget to WhatsApp our loved ones. Looking at how regular my parents are messaging me with ...
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Kashmir's police want people to 'register' their WhatsApp groups
Local police authorities in parts of the northern state of Kashmir in India have reportedly issued a circular, urging people ...
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[Best of 2019] WhatsApp finally lets you prevent people from adding you to their shitty groups
WhatsApp is finally rolling out a feature that will prevent anyone from adding you to a group without your permission from ...
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[Best of 2019] No, end-to-end encryption isn't a marketing gimmick
Sound the bad take claxon.
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WhatsApp will sue businesses for abusing bulk messaging
Getting a barrage of bulk messages is one of the most annoying parts of modern messaging services, but now WhatsApp says ...
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Facebook wants to pay you to answer social media questions
We already know apps like Facebook try to learn as much about you as possible, so why not at least get paid for it? Facebook ...
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WhatsApp fixes bug that would have let hackers exploit devices using MP4 files
WhatsApp has fixed a vulnerability involving involves malicious MP4 video files that could potentially allow an attacker ...
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WhatsApp spyware was used to snoop on 2 dozen Indian activists and journalists (Updated)
WhatsApp reveals at least two dozen academics, lawyers, Dalit activists and journalists in India were the target of surveillance ...
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Facebook is quietly testing an Instagram feed-like feature
Facebook is trying to really hard to tell people it owns Instagram and WhatsApp. Earlier this month, the company introduced ...
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Facebook Pay will let you make payments through Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram
Last night, Facebook launched its new payment service called Facebook Pay in the US. The service will let you pay other people ...
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How to lock WhatsApp with your fingerprint (or face) on Android and iOS
Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, ...
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WhatsApp sues Israeli security firm for injecting malware into targets' phones through its app
WhatsApp just sued Israel-based security company, the NSO Group, in a US federal court for allegedly injecting malware into ...
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Facebook defends Libra comparing it to some of the 'most meaningful innovations' of our time — lol
Facebook’s Libra lead has defended the technology giant’s ‘cryptocurrency’ project at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas.
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WhatsApp for Android has mysteriously disappeared from Google Play [Update: It's back]
WhatsApp, one of the world's most popular privacy-oriented messengers, has suddenly disappeared from Google Play — and ...
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Instagram may finally add DMs to desktop with Messenger-like interface
People don't really use Instagram on their PCs. The platform is clearly aimed at mobile users, with a relatively sparse desktop UI and small images given the large amount of desktop real estate. Worse, Instagram tends to add new features to the web version months after it hits the ...
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WhatsApp is testing a 'self-destructing' feature for your secret chats
Several popular messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and Signal offer a "self-destructing messages" feature. You ...
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WhatsApp's 'Delete for Everyone' doesn't delete media files from iPhones
WhatsApp's 'Delete for Everyone' feature could leave traces of your messages, due to a discrepancy in the way the it works ...
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PSA: You can use emoji to easily find the right GIF to use on Twitter, WhatsApp, and more
GIFs are great for punctuating your tweets and message replies. Here's a simple trick to find the right one real quick, using ...
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Here's how to add italics and bolding to your WhatsApp messages
Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, ...
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WhatsApp played a big role in the Nigerian election — not all of it was bad
There is growing concern about the potential for the message and media sharing platform WhatsApp to undermine democracy in ...
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Instagram and WhatsApp get a 'from Facebook' stamp to remind you who's boss
To be honest, I'm kind of impressed Facebook held out this long. After buying WhatsApp and Instagram several years ago, ...
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WhatsApp is reportedly building a desktop version that works without your phone
WhatsApp is reportedly working a desktop version of it apps that works independently without your phone. So you can message ...
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India doesn't want WhatsApp sharing your payment data with Facebook
Indian government raises concerns that WhatsApp’s payment service might share user data with Facebook and Instagram, compromising ...
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WhatsApp Pay will officially launch by the end of the year in India
WhatsApp has been testing its payment service in India for over a year now. Today, the company's head said it'll launch by ...
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Russians caught peddling spyware disguised as legit Google and Pornhub apps
Researchers say a Russian software firm fined by Obama for meddling in the 2016 US elections is making spyware disguised ...
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Android vulnerability lets hackers hijack your phone with malicious videos
A vulnerability in Android ( found in versions between 7.0 and 9.0) enables hackers to hijack your phone by tricking you ...
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How to send uncompressed images on WhatsApp
Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, ...
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TikTok is testing a WhatsApp shortcut to let you share videos with your best friends
TikTok is testing a bunch of new features, including a new Discover tab, account linking with Facebook and Google, and a ...
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Bitcoin scammers texted victims informing them they’d been conned out of $30,000
After putting over $30,000 into fake Bitcoin investments, a pair of amateur investors received a WhatsApp message telling ...
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Here's why India wants to build its own WhatsApp and Gmail
The Indian government is reportedly plannning to build its own WhatsApp-like chat platform to facilitate secure communications ...
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WhatsApp tests letting you share your Status to Facebook and other apps
Though WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, plenty of the app's users are happy to ignore the fact the big blue parent network ...
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India is still hounding WhatsApp to make its messages traceable
Indian aks WhatApp to "digitally fingerprint" every message sent on its platform without breaking encryption, according to ...
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Facebook bans Huawei from pre-installing its apps, but does it matter?
Facebook has banned the Chinese tech company from pre-installing its apps – Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – on Huawei's ...
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A German minister wants access to your encrypted WhatsApp and Telegram messages
Germany's Federal Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer wants encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp and Telegram to provide ...
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Here's what Facebook announced at its F8 developer keynote
Facebook announces a redesign of its social network alongside updates to Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp at F8 deve conference. ...
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How to stop people from adding you to WhatsApp groups
WhatsApp announced a feature that allows people to stop others from adding them to group without consent. Now, the feature ...
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WhatsApp says its fake news tip line is just for research
Earlier this week, WhatsApp announced that it's launching a tip line in India to verify messages during the election. But ...
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WhatsApp launches a tip line in India to battle fake news ahead of national elections
WhatsApp has launched a tip line in India to which you can send forwards, rumors, and suspicious-sounding messages and have ...
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What we know about Facebook’s secretive cryptocurrency – and what we don’t
Rumours about Facebook's potential entry into the world of cryptocurrency have been swirling around for months, but it now ...
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How to stop WhatsApp from downloading photos automatically
WhatsApp is probably one of the most used apps all over the world. And people send photos to each other freuqently that clutters ...
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Why Germany wants to block Facebook's Messenger-Instagram-WhatsApp merger
Facebook made a splash recently when CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plans to integrate its messaging platforms on Instagram, Messenger, ...
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WhatsApp can now protect your chats with TouchID and FaceID (and I hope it gets copied)
WhatsApp is launching a new security feature that's so simple and useful, I'm surprised more messaging apps haven't implemented ...
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After Facebook, Google apologizes for running a user data collection program on iOS
Last night, just when we were trying to get our heads around Facebook's data collecting program, TechCrunch reported that ...
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It's not just WhatsApp - India's fake news problem plagues several popular social networks
You can't discuss the 'fake news' phenomenon in India without bringing up WhatsApp. The Facebook-owned messaging service ...
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Open standards can disrupt Facebook’s messaging monopoly
Facebook is working on integrating Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp's messaging platforms into a monopoly. Here's how it ...
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How to send files, links, and text from your phone to your desktop
Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, tricks, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, ...
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WhatsApp to roll out forwarding limit globally
In order to curb fake news, WhatsApp tested limits on forwards in India including containing forwarding a message to only ...
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Report: WhatsApp surpasses Facebook as the social network's most popular app
In recent years, Facebook has arguably been the most popular app in a lot of major markets across the globe. However, WhatsApp, ...
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This study shows why people fall for fake online profiles
The first step in online propaganda and misinformation campaigns is a fake social media profile. According to this study, ...
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WhatsApp could be getting its own cryptocurrency
Kik might not be the only messaging app to support cryptocurrency payments if Facebook's latest dream for WhatsApp comes ...
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Turn any photo into a WhatsApp sticker with this free Android app
Snap photos or import images into Sticker Studio, and you can quickly create stickers to use in WhatsApp on your Android ...
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Instagram gets WhatsApp-style walkie-talkie voice messages
Facebook-owned Instagram has just added one of the best features from its sister app, WhatsApp: direct voice messages.
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WhatsApp Business finally rolls out for Android — and it’s totally free (for now)
After years of waiting and limited trials, businesses finally have their own WhatsApp solution. The company today launched ...
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Nigeria caught in WhatsApp fake news whirlwind ahead of elections
After numerous infamous cases of people in India and Brazil falling prey to fake news spread on WhatsApp, the problem is ...
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I communicate with my parents via email... is that weird?
Parents are weird — you love them, but also want them as physically far from you as possible. Until you miss them, or want ...
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Study: WhatsApp helps Nigerian women get their voices heard
Mobile phones have become widespread all over the world, including in rural and low-income communities. As research shows, ...
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The 7 deadly sins of email security
Email is one of the most fundamental forms of business communication today. Not many of us can imagine our lives without ...
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50% of American WhatsApp users don't know it's owned by Facebook
Research from the search engine DuckDuckGo has revealed 50 percent of American WhatsApp users don't realize Facebook owns ...
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Now is the perfect time for foreign developers to focus on the Chinese app market
Although there are issues with China's tech scene — like its harsh censorship. Now is the perfect time for us developers ...
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WhatsApp's label for forwarded messages won't be enough to battle fake news
Continuing its mission to help fight the spread of misinformation on its platform, WhatsApp is introducing a label to help ...
