The new feature allows audio and video calls from people in your address book, people you follow, verified users, or all of the three options….reports Asian Lite News
In a bid to take on Meta-owned WhatsApp, Elon Musk-owned X Corp has started to roll out support for audio and video calls.
Several X (formerly Twitter) users received a notification while opening the social media app that reads: “Audio and video calls are here!”
There’s also a new “Enable audio and video calling” toggle within the app’s settings. It says you can “turn the feature on and then select who you’re comfortable using it with,” reports The Verge.
“Early version of video and audio calling on X,” posted Musk.
X teased users with a cryptic post saying “ready for it…?” before the new feature started appearing.
The new feature allows audio and video calls from people in your address book, people you follow, verified users, or all of the three options.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino had confirmed last month that video calls will arrive on the platform as part of its transition into an “everything app.” The X CEO said that soon, “you’ll be able to make video chat calls without having to give your phone number to anyone on the platform”.
Musk always wanted Twitter to become “an everything app” like China’s WeChat. X will soon roll out two new paid premium tiers and one of that tier with ads will cost lower than the current $8 a month. The other tier will be a more expensive one, which will remove all ads, the billionaire said.
“Two new tiers of X Premium subscriptions launching soon. One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads,” the X owner posted.
Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs
The company received only one order from the Grievance Appellate Committee in the country in August, and complied with it…reports Asian Lite News
Meta-owned WhatsApp banned a record over 74 lakh bad accounts in India in the month of August, in compliance with the new IT Rules 2021. Between August 1-31, the company banned “7,420,748 accounts”.
About 3,506,905 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users, WhatsApp said in its monthly compliance report.
The most popular messaging platform, which has over 500 million users in the country, received another record 14,767 complaint reports in August in the country, and the records “actioned” were 71. “Accounts Actioned” denotes reports where WhatsApp took remedial action based on the report and taking action denotes either banning an account or a previously banned account being restored as a result.
“This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp’s own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform,” according to the company.
Moreover, the company received only one order from the Grievance Appellate Committee in the country in August, and complied with it.
In a bid to empower millions of Indian social media users, the Centre recently launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) that looks into their concerns regarding content and other issues. The newly-formed panel, a move to strengthen the country’s digital laws to tame the Big Tech companies, will look into appeals by users against decisions of social media platforms.
“We are an industry leader among end-to-end encrypted messaging services in preventing and combating abuse. In addition to our safety features and controls, we employ a team of engineers, data scientists, analysts, researchers, and experts in law enforcement, online safety, and technology developments to oversee these efforts,” said WhatsApp.
The report mentioned that Meta wants to standardise the colour of the verification checkmark across all of its apps, as it is blue on Instagram and Facebook…reports Asian Lite News
Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly planning to replace the green verification badge with a blue checkmark for verified channels on Android.
According to WABetaInfo, the change will also apply to verified businesses.
This is not surprising, especially given Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement about the ability for businesses on WhatsApp to subscribe to Meta Verified in the future, which would provide them with a verification badge as well as several benefits such as impersonation protection and dedicated tech support.
Moreover, the report mentioned that Meta wants to standardise the colour of the verification checkmark across all of its apps, as it is blue on Instagram and Facebook.
WhatsApp could create a consistent visual identity across Meta platforms by aligning the verification badge colour with Meta’s branding and changing it to blue, the report added. The blue checkmark for verified channels and businesses is under development and it will be available in a future update of the app.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out a new feature designed to keep channel creators informed about the status of their channels on Android, especially when they are closed in specific countries.
This move comes in response to local laws requiring the platform to restrict access to specific content within certain regions.
This feature will allow WhatsApp to notify the channel creator if their channel’s visibility is restricted in certain countries due to legal requirements.
This feature will allow WhatsApp to notify the channel creator if their channel’s visibility is restricted in certain countries due to legal requirements…reports Asian Lite News
Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out a new feature designed to keep channel creators informed about the status of their channels on Android, especially when they are closed in specific countries.
This move comes in response to local laws requiring the platform to restrict access to specific content within certain regions, reports WABetaInfo.
This feature will allow WhatsApp to notify the channel creator if their channel’s visibility is restricted in certain countries due to legal requirements.
According to the report, channel alerts work by notifying the channel creator when their channel is closed in a specific country, meaning users with phone numbers associated with that country will no longer be able to access or follow the channel.
The channel alerts feature to notify creators about the status of their channels is available to some beta testers, the report said. Meanwhile, WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out an ‘automatic security code verification’ feature for end-to-end encryption to a limited number of beta testers on Android.
With this feature, the app will try to automatically verify if messages are end-to-end encryption without requiring any user intervention.
This process will be called “Key Transparency”, enhancing the overall security and privacy of users’ conversations by checking if they are using a secure connection. However, WhatsApp still provides users with the manual verification feature in case the automatic verification fails or it is not available.
Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs
According to the report, the chatting platform already allowed group calls of up to 32 participants in the past updates, but users initially had a selection limit of 15 contacts when starting such a call…reports Asian Lite News
Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out a feature to initiate group calls with up to 31 participants, along with minor improvements to the calls tab on Android, and it is available to some beta testers.
WhatsApp has made some minor changes to the calls tab. Call links, in particular, are no longer mentioned on this screen, which now only states that it is possible to call one or more contacts, according to WABetaInfo.
In addition, the floating action button was updated with a plus icon.
According to the report, the chatting platform already allowed group calls of up to 32 participants in the past updates, but users initially had a selection limit of 15 contacts when starting such a call.
With this update, users can now immediately begin large group calls by selecting up to 32 people, including the caller who initiated the call, removing the previous restriction that could appear restrictive in some situations and cause user confusion.
The feature to initiate group calls with up to 31 participants, along with minor improvements to the calls tab, is available to a limited number of beta testers and will roll out to even more people over the coming weeks, the report said.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out an ‘automatic security code verification’ feature for end-to-end encryption to a limited number of beta testers on Android.
With this feature, the app will try to automatically verify if messages are end-to-end encryption without requiring any user intervention.
This process will be called “Key Transparency”, enhancing the overall security and privacy of users’ conversations by checking if they are using a secure connection.
Education Industry with WhatsApp Classes.(photo:IANSLIFE)
Ministers met big tech companies including TikTok and Meta in Westminster on Tuesday…reports Asian Lite News
The UK acknowledged possible technical hurdles in its planned crackdown on illegal online content after encrypted messaging companies including WhatsApp threatened to pull their service from the country.
Regulator Ofcom can only compel tech companies to scan platforms for illegal content such as images of child sexual abuse if it’s “technically feasible,” culture minister Stephen Parkinson told the House of Lords on Wednesday, as the chamber debated the government’s Online Safety Bill. He said the watchdog will work closely with businesses to develop and source new solutions.
“If appropriate technology does not exist which meets these requirements, Ofcom cannot require its use,” Parkinson said. Ofcom “cannot require companies to use proactive technology on private communications in order to comply” with the bill’s safety duties.
The remarks aim to allay concerns by tech companies that scanning their platforms for illegal content could compromise privacy and encryption of user data, giving hackers and spies a back-door into private communications. In March Meta Platforms Inc.’s WhatsApp even threatened to pull out of the UK.
“Today really looks to be a case of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offering some wording to the messaging companies to enable them to save face and avoid the embarrassment of having to row back from their threats to leave the UK, their second largest market in the G7,” said Andy Burrows, a tech accountability campaigner who previously worked for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
The sweeping legislation — which aims to make the web safer — is in its final stages in Parliament after six years of development. Parkinson said that Ofcom would, nevertheless be able to require companies to “develop or source a new solution” to allow them to comply with the bill.
“It is right that Ofcom should be able to require technology companies to use their considerable resources and their expertise to develop the best possible protections for children in encrypted environments,” he said.
Meredith Whittaker, president of encrypted messaging app Signal, earlier welcomed a Financial Times report suggesting the government was pulling back from its standoff with technology companies, citing anonymous officials as saying there isn’t a service today which can scan messages without undermining privacy.
However, security minister Tom Tugendhat and a government spokesman said it was wrong to suggest the policy had changed.
“As has always been the case, as a last resort, on a case-by-case basis and only when stringent privacy safeguards have been met, it will enable Ofcom to direct companies to either use, or make best efforts to develop or source, technology to identify and remove illegal child sexual abuse content – which we know can be developed,” the spokesman said.
Facebook meta.(photo:Pixabay.com)
Ministers met big tech companies including TikTok and Meta in Westminster on Tuesday.
Language around technical feasibility had been used by the government in the past. In July Parkinson told Parliament “Ofcom can require the use of technology on an end-to-end encrypted service only when it is technically feasible.”
The NSPCC, a major advocate of the UK crackdown, said the government’s statement “reinforces the status quo in the bill and the legal requirements on tech companies remain the same.”
Ultimately, the legislation’s wording leaves it up to the government to decide what is technically feasible.
Once the bill comes into force, Ofcom can serve a company with a notice requiring it to “use accredited technology” to identify and prevent child sexual abuse or terrorist content, or face fines, according to July’s published draft of the legislation. There is currently no accredited technology because the process to identify and approve services only begins once the bill becomes law.
Previous attempts to solve the dilemma have revolved around so-called client-side or device-side scanning. But in 2021 Apple Inc. delayed such a system, which would have searched photos on devices for signs of child sex abuse, after fierce criticism from privacy advocates, who feared it could set the stage for other forms of tracking.
Andy Yen, founder and CEO of privacy-focused VPN and messaging company Proton, said “as it stands, the bill still permits the imposition of a legally binding obligation to ban end-to-end encryption in the UK, undermining citizens’ fundamental rights to privacy, and leaves the government defining what is ‘technically feasible.’”
“For all the good intentions of today’s statement, without additional safeguards in the Online Safety Bill, all it takes is for a future government to change its mind and we’re right back where we started,” he said.
The platform also rolled out a ‘link with phone number’ feature on Android beta, which allows users to link their account to WhatsApp Web by using their phone number…reports Asian Lite News
Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new passkey feature for account verification on Android beta.
The passkey feature will provide users with an easy way to sign in safely, reports WABetaInfo.
A passkey is a short sequence of numbers or letters that is used to verify users’ identity. It also serves as a kind of security code that makes sure that only authorised devices can be verified.
“Since the passkey will use your fingerprint, face, or screen lock to verify your identity, this definitely enhances security, adding an extra layer of protection beyond traditional methods like PINs,” the report said.
The passkey feature is currently under development and is expected to be available in a future update of the app.
On Sunday, it was reported that the messaging platform had started to roll out an admin review feature for group chats on Android beta.
The feature allows everyone in the group chat to report messages shared in the conversation to the group admins. With this feature, the group admins can gain assistance in monitoring the group even when they are not there.
Last month, the company had released new safety tools for when users receive messages from unknown phone numbers, on Android beta.
The platform also rolled out a ‘link with phone number’ feature on Android beta, which allows users to link their account to WhatsApp Web by using their phone number.
In June, the Meta-owned platform had launched a feature which allows users to send high-quality videos, on Android beta.
While this feature preserves video dimensions, minor compression will still be applied to the video, thus sending videos in their original quality is not possible.
Education Industry with WhatsApp Classes.(photo:IANSLIFE)
Taking to Twitter, several users reported the issue. While one user asked “is it just me or is WhatsApp down?” another posted: “Me turning my wifi on and off 7 times but it was just WhatsApp down.”…reports Asian Lite News
Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is now back online after facing a global outage, including in India, due to “connectivity issues”.
The company acknowledged the issue early Thursday and tweeted: “We’re working quickly to resolve connectivity issues with WhatsApp and we’ll update you here as soon as possible.” After about 20 minutes, it posted, “and we’re back, happy chatting!”
When a user posted, “fix it before it is morning in India, don’t want to miss out on the Good Morning messages”, the Meta-owned platform replied: “We’re back, we don’t want you to miss them!”
According to the outage monitor website DownDetector, 61 per cent of people had reported problems while sending messages, 35 per cent while using the application, and 4 per cent while using the website. On Downdetector, reports of the users peaked at over 41,000.
Taking to Twitter, several users reported the issue. While one user asked “is it just me or is WhatsApp down?” another posted: “Me turning my wifi on and off 7 times but it was just WhatsApp down.”
Last month, the messaging platform had faced a global outage that lasted for about two hours.
Some WhatsApp users were unable to use the platform on their mobile and desktop devices, while some were experiencing issues with sending and downloading media.
According to DownDetector, 76 per cent of people had reported problems while using the website, 17 per cent while using the application, and 7 per cent while sending messages.
In January this year, the messaging platform had faced a server-side issue globally on iOS, making it impossible to update the privacy setting “who can see when I’m online”.
In October last year, the platform had suffered a global outage including in India that lasted for over two hours.
Education Industry with WhatsApp Classes.(photo:IANSLIFE)
This feature informs users that their phone number is only visible to community admins and other people who have saved them as a contact…reports Asian Lite News
Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is rolling out a new ‘phone number privacy’ feature on Android and iOS beta
Beta users will see a new option in the community announcement group info named ‘phone number privacy,’ reports WABetaInfo.
This feature informs users that their phone number is only visible to community admins and other people who have saved them as a contact.
It also helps users to hide their full phone numbers from other participants in the conversation. However, the feature is limited to only community members and the community admin’s phone number will always be visible.
The new phone number privacy feature for communities is available to some beta users that install the latest WhatsApp for Android update and WhatsApp for iOS update, and it is rolling out to more users over the coming days, the report said.
Meanwhile, last week, it was reported that the messaging platform was working on a new group suggestions feature for communities, for Android beta.
Community admins would be able to approve or reject any request made by other community members using this section.
The section is also expected to have two shortcuts to quickly approve or reject the suggestions.
The official changelog of the application mentioned that an updated sticker tray with improved navigation is now available on the platform…reports Asian Lite News
Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is widely rolling out a tweaked interface that features translucent bars, on iOS.
With the new interface, the platform is providing users a translucent tab bar and navigation bar, reports WABetaInfo.
Users can open any section of the application to check if the translucent effect is available to their account. However, users might need to restart the app once after downloading the new update.
“If you don’t have this feature, note that some accounts may receive it over the coming weeks, as indicated in the official changelog,” the report said.
Meanwhile, last week, the messaging platform was widely rolling out a redesigned sticker and GIF picker on iOS.
The official changelog of the application mentioned that an updated sticker tray with improved navigation is now available on the platform.
This updated feature lets users scroll the picker upwards, allowing them to easily access a larger grid of items.
