Tag: WHATSAPP

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IT ministry to send notice to WhatsApp over spam calls

One of the problems being examined at this point is also how these numbers are accessed by scammers…reports Asian Lite News

The IT Ministry will send a notice to WhatsApp on the issue of spam calls from unknown international numbers, Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said today, asserting that the onus of ensuring user safety lies with the digital platforms.

The digital platforms are responsible and accountable for ensuring the safety of ‘digital nagriks’, the minister said, adding that the government will respond to every instance of alleged misuse or alleged breach of users’ privacy.

The minister’s comments assume significance as WhatsApp users in India have reported a massive surge in incoming international spam calls over the past few days. Many users complained on Twitter that a major chunk of these spam calls had country codes belonging to Indonesia (+62), Vietnam (+84), Malaysia (+60), Kenya (+254) and Ethiopia (+251).

Chandrasekhar on Tuesday said the ministry is taking note of the matter and will send a notice to WhatsApp on the issue.

“The Ministry is taking note of it, they will send them a notice,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI).

He also said that the government is mulling guidelines on what should be permissions for preloaded apps.  The minister made it clear that the platforms are responsible for ensuring the safety and trust of users.

“I have said repeatedly that openness trust, safety and accountability are the responsibility of platforms who deliver to digital nagriks. If there is an issue of spam, it is certainly an issue WhatsApp should look at or any messenger platform should look at, he added.

“Government will respond to every alleged misuse or alleged breach of privacy,” he said.

One of the problems being examined at this point is also how these numbers are accessed by scammers.

“How are they able to identify which numbers are on WhatsApp…are they doing it blindly…is it some database they have got? If there is a database it is a violation of privacy, or if not are they are doing it through a bot… sending messages to random numbers… But that is certainly something platforms will be asked to look at,” he said.

Chandrasekhar tweeted on Wednesday that the government will investigate a claim that WhatsApp accessed the microphone of smartphone users while the phone was not in use.

In a tweet, the minister had said the government will examine the alleged breach of privacy even as the new Digital Personal Data Protection Bill was being readied.

This followed a claim that WhatsApp accessed a user’s microphone while he was sleeping.

WhatsApp responded saying it has been in touch with the Twitter engineer over the last 24 hours, who posted an issue with his Pixel phone and WhatsApp.

“We believe this is a bug on Android that misattributes information in their Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and remediate,” WhatsApp said in a tweet.

The company also claimed that users have full control over their mic settings.

To a question on some online gaming platforms opposing any idea of the self-regulatory organisation (SRO) backed by the association IAMAI, the minister said it has already been clarified during the consultation process that no existing industry organisation can be an SRO.

“SRO has to be notified by the Ministry, which means SRO has to be approved by the Ministry as meeting criteria laid down in online gaming rules. There will be SRO that will be formed…100 will apply, and three will be selected based on who is most transparent, inclusive and who represents most stakeholders and who is more credible,” the minister said.

On the draft digital personal data protection Bill, Mr Chandrasekhar said he is hopeful that it will be introduced in the coming session of Parliament.

ALSO READ-Indian WhatsApp users flooded with spam calls

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Indian WhatsApp users flooded with spam calls

Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs

Users have also been advised to take advantage of the app’s privacy controls and keep personal details visible to only their contacts to help safeguard their accounts…reports Asian Lite News

Millions of WhatsApp users in India have been left baffled at the amount of international spam calls they have been receiving in the last couple of days, leaving many at the risk of financial loss.

These spam calls with international numbers, mostly from African and Southeast Asian countries, along with fake messages from unknown users, have flooded WhatsApp and Indians have nowhere to go but Twitter to share their ordeal.

Meta-owned WhatsApp has close to 500 million users in India.

Although the mobile numbers show country codes of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Ethiopia, it is not necessary that these calls are actually coming from these countries. Most of these calls start with +251 (Ethiopia), +62 (Indonesia), +254 (Kenya), +84 (Vietnam) and other countries.

Responding to the concerns, WhatsApp issued a statement and advised users to immediately block and report suspicious accounts so that required action can be taken.

”At WhatsApp, the safety of our users is at the core of everything we do and we have devoted efforts to empower users with resources and tools that equip them to safeguard themselves from scams. WhatsApp is an industry leader in preventing abuse, among end-to-end encrypted messaging services and over the years we have made significant product investments and launched user awareness campaigns that empower users to stay safe. Blocking and Reporting suspicious messages/ calls is an important step to effectively combat scams and when users receive calls from unknown international or domestic phone numbers.” WhatsApp said in a statement.

Users have also been advised to take advantage of the app’s privacy controls and keep personal details visible to only their contacts to help safeguard their accounts.

”Additionally, we have consistently invested in Artificial Intelligence and other state-of-the-art technology, data scientists and experts, and in processes, in order to keep our users safe on our platform. Our monthly user safety report that we publish in accordance with the IT Rules 2021, 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. As captured in the latest Monthly Report, WhatsApp banned over 4.7 million accounts in the month of March alone,” the statement added.

The company also stated that it has launched a safety campaign “Stay safe with WhatsApp” to educate users about its in-built product features and safety tools like Two-Step Verification, Block and Report, and Privacy controls, as safeguards to help protect users from online scams, frauds, and account compromising threats.

ALSO READ-WhatsApp rolling out ‘side-by-side’ feature on Android tablets

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WhatsApp rolling out ‘side-by-side’ feature on Android tablets

Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs

Users can also disable the side-by-side view by toggling the option available within — WhatsApp Settings > Chats….reports Asian Lite News

Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out a new “side-by-side” feature on Android tablets for some beta testers.

According to WABetaInfo, this feature will allow users to switch between conversations without losing track of their ongoing chats, providing more control over the WhatsApp interface on their Android tablets.

Users can also disable the side-by-side view by toggling the option available within — WhatsApp Settings > Chats.

The side-by-side view splits the screen, which can result in a smaller area for each conversation, especially on devices with smaller screens.

In order to have a larger interface for conversations, users can disable the side-by-side view on the app.

This would allow them to have a larger and more immersive experience while chatting with friends and family on the platform.

Moreover, the report said that the feature will be rolling out to even more people over the coming days.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp has announced that users will now be able to use the same WhatsApp account on more than one phone via its multi-device login feature.

Users can now link their phone as one of up to four additional devices.

This update has started rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks, the company said.

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WhatsApp working on new feature ‘channels’

Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs

The channels feature will also accept handles, allowing users to find a certain WhatsApp channel by just typing their username into WhatsApp…reports Asian Lite News

Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature called “channels”, a new one-to-many tool for broadcasting information on iOS.

According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp plans to rename the Status tab “Updates” in order to include channels within this section. A WhatsApp channel is a private tool in which phone numbers and user information are always kept private.

Messages received within a channel, on the other hand, are not end-to-end encrypted because the concept of one-to-many makes little sense for channels, according to the report.

Further, the report pointed out that as this is an optional extension of private messaging rather than pivoting to a public social network, people can choose which channels they want to follow and no one else can see who they follow, regardless of whether they have added them as contacts or not.

The channels feature will also accept handles, allowing users to find a certain WhatsApp channel by just typing their username into WhatsApp.

This feature is intended to increase channel accessibility, making it easier for users to receive updates that they like, the report said. Channels are currently under development and they will be released in a future update of the app.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp has introduced a ‘Keep in Chat’ feature that will allow users in a disappearing message thread to long-press a message and choose to save it.

WhatsApp has called this “sender superpower,” and it will be the choice of the sender to allow others in the chat to keep certain messages for later.

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WhatsApp chief slams British laws

Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs

The bill, introduced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is an attempt to force internet companies to remove illegal content…reports Asian Lite News

WhatsApp’s head, Will Cathcart, has penned an open letter against the controversial Online Safety Bill. In the letter, Mr Cathcart has addressed the risks that the Online Safety Bill poses to everyone’s privacy and safety.

In the letter, he urged the government to protect privacy rights and it highlighted the importance of end-to-end encryption as a robust defence against online threats and calls.

“As end-to-end-encrypted communication services, we urge the UK Government to address the risks that the Online Safety Bill poses to everyone’s privacy and safety. It is not too late to ensure that the Bill aligns with the Government’s stated intention to protect end-to-end encryption and respect the human right to privacy,” the text read.

He emphasized, “End-to-end encryption is one of the strongest possible defenses against these threats, and as vital institutions become ever more dependent on internet technologies to conduct core operations, the stakes have never been higher.”

“As currently drafted, the Bill could break end-to-end encryption,opening the door to routine, general and indiscriminate surveillance of personal messages of friends, family members, employees, executives, journalists, human rights activists and even politicians themselves, which would fundamentally undermine everyone’s ability to communicate securely.

The Bill provides no explicit protection for encryption, and if implemented as written, could empower OFCOM to try to force the proactive scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication services – nullifying the purpose of end-to-end encryption as a result and compromising the privacy of all users,” the letter read.

The bill, introduced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is an attempt to force internet companies to remove illegal content such as child sexual abuse or terrorism. However, critics including Meta have said scanning for such content would be incompatible with the end-to-end encryption that is common protection offered by messenger apps.

According to Bloomberg, the bill doesn’t explicitly describe a blocking mechanism but calls for fines of as much as 10% of annual global revenue if companies don’t comply. It also could lead to criminal charges against executives if they don’t provide the regulator Ofcom details on how they run their services upon request.

WhatsApp, Session, Signal, Element, Threema, Viber and Wire have all signed a letter asking the government to “urgently rethink” the proposed law, according to BBC.

Last month, Cathcart told reporters that the Online Safety Bill before Parliament could effectively make the service’s privacy features illegal, according to Bloomberg.

Last month, Signal Foundation’s President Meredith Whittaker told the BBC her messaging service would leave the UK if the Online Safety Bill forced it to weaken its privacy protections.

ALSO READ-WhatsApp working on new ‘Lock chat’ feature for Android beta

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WhatsApp working on new ‘Lock chat’ feature for Android beta

WhatsApp.

When a chat is locked, it can only be accessed using the user’s fingerprint or passcode, making it almost impossible for anyone else to open the chat….reports Asian Lite News

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new “Lock chat” feature for Android beta which will allow users to lock chats and keep them hidden.

This new feature will improve the users’ privacy as it will help users to lock their most private chats within the chat’s contact or group info, reports WABetaInfo.

When a chat is locked, it can only be accessed using the user’s fingerprint or passcode, making it almost impossible for anyone else to open the chat.

Also, if someone attempts to access the user’s phone and fails to provide the needed authentication, they will be asked to clear the chat to open it.

This feature also helps to keep media private by making sure that photos and videos sent in a locked chat are not automatically saved to the device’s gallery.

The ability to lock chats is currently under development and is expected to be released in a future update of the application, the report said.

Meanwhile, on Friday, it was reported that the messaging platform was rolling out a new text editor experience to some beta testers on Android beta.

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Whatspp new features empower group admins

Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature called “audio chats”, which will be available within conversations in a future update of the application on Android…reports Asian Lite News

Mark Zuckerberg announced two new updates for WhatsApp groups recently. With the new updates, admins will get more control over their group privacy.

These changes follow some updates made over the last few months, including making groups larger, and giving admins the ability to delete messages sent in the groups they manage. “Groups continue to be an essential part of WhatsApp, and we’re excited to give people even more tools to get the most out of groups. Today, we’re excited to roll out a few new changes we’ve made to make these more manageable for admins and easier to navigate for everyone,” Meta’ statement read.

New ‘audio chats’ feature on Android

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature called “audio chats”, which will be available within conversations in a future update of the application on Android.

According to WABetaInfo, a new waveforms icon will be added to the chat header, allowing users to initiate audio chats, plus users will see a red button for ending ongoing calls.

As the waveform icon signifies the potential for real-time audio visualisation, the report states that it is likely that the space above the chat header could be reserved for displaying audio waveforms.

It will provide a minimalistic interface that allows users to view audio waveforms while navigating between their conversations.

Moreover, the report mentioned that there is not much information available about how this feature will work as it is still under development. Meanwhile, Meta has introduced a new WhatsApp application for Windows that loads faster and features an interface similar to the mobile version of the app.

Users can now host group video calls with up to eight people and audio calls with up to 32 people. The tech giant has also made improvements, including faster device linking and better syncing across devices, as well as new features like link previews and stickers.

ALSO READ-WhatsApp rolling out new updates for ‘communities’

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WhatsApp rolling out new updates for ‘communities’

Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs

WhatsApp also moved the community icon from the bottom bar to the chat header in order to improve the user interface and maintain consistency with other chats…reports Asian Lite News

To make it more user-friendly, Meta-owned WhatsApp has rolled out new updates to the community feature by introducing some changes to the interface of the “announcement group” for users on iOS and Android.

According to WABetaInfo, the company has renamed the announcement group to “Home” on WhatsApp beta for Android, and its new name is “Updates” on WhatsApp beta for iOS.

The community feature on WhatsApp allows users to create and join groups of people who share similar interests or hobbies.

The report said that this renaming decision may have been made because the announcement group is typically a read-only conversation to which only community admins have access, and it may not fit the traditional definition of a group.

WhatsApp also moved the community icon from the bottom bar to the chat header in order to improve the user interface and maintain consistency with other chats.

In addition, the latest WhatsApp Communities update for iOS and Android provides community admins with a more bug-free experience when posting messages to their community.

The new WhatsApp Communities update is now available to some users who have installed the latest versions of WhatsApp beta for iOS and Android, and it will be available to even more people in the coming days, the report said.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp is reportedly working on a redesigned chat attachment menu for Android beta.

The tweaked chat attachment menu is more clearer and offers a better user-friendly experience.

ALSO READ-Lulu unveils AI-powered customer experiences on WhatsApp

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Lulu unveils AI-powered customer experiences on WhatsApp

Chinese hackers luring Indian WhatsApp users into 'part-time' jobs

Since July 2022, Salem has delivered over 300+ personalized offers on WhatsApp, recording a 40% increase in opt-ins through them…reports Asian Lite News

Committed to driving excellence in customer experience, international retailer Lulu Hypermarket has launched Salem, a new AI-powered customer service channel available on WhatsApp. The service is powered by Yellow.ai, a leading enterprise-grade Conversational AI platform.

Customers can now receive in-app purchase receipts, quickly track the delivery of their online orders and message for purchase-related customer support – all through WhatsApp. Customers in  the UAE can also use WhatsApp to order products for in-store collection.

Lulu Hypermarket has also become one of the first retailers in the Middle East to introduce a loyalty programme via WhatsApp, through which customers can sign up for personalized offers based on their purchase history. Since July 2022, Salem has delivered over 300+ personalized offers on WhatsApp, recording a 40% increase in opt-ins through them.

With deep backend integration with the retailer’s CRM and Order Management system, Salem is capable of efficiently engaging with customers across the stages of their purchase journey, and has markedly improved customer satisfaction by up to 60%.

V. NandaKumar, Director of Marketing and Communications at Lulu group, said: “Salem has considerably reduced the workload on Lulu Hypermarket’s customer support agents, allowing them to concentrate on more crucial tasks. Within 4 weeks of going live, it has successfully handled queries from over 3M unique users on WhatsApp and will continue to scale up in the coming months. At the same time, it is capable of smoothly switching customer conversations to live agent support in the case of complex issues”.

Raghu Ravinutala, CEO and Co-founder, Yellow.ai, said, “Conversational AI-powered solutions coupled with conversational commerce on messaging channels such as WhatsApp are quickly and effectively changing the game of retail digital commerce and helping brands stand out in a highly cluttered market. The sheer convenience quotient that this provides not only helps elevate customer experiences but also translates to greater conversion rates. And Salem is a true testimony to that. We are excited to work alongside a legacy brand like Lulu Hypermarket towards delivering delightful customer experiences and contributing to their overall digital transformation journey”.

Nicolas Farin, Head of Client Sales EMEA, Business Messaging at Meta says, “We continue to see a growing demand from customers, particularly in the Middle East, to connect with a business in the same way they chat with their friends and family – through quick, easy and secure messaging. We hope this partnership will continue to improve customer journeys, offering new and innovative ways to connect on WhatsApp”.

Click here to start a chat with Lulu Hypermarket on WhatsApp today!

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WhatsApp may let users ‘mute calls’ from unknown numbers

WhatsApp.

With the new feature, the chat list will always be visible when opening a chat…reports Asian Lite News

Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly developing a new feature, “silence unknown callers”, which will allow users to mute calls from unknown numbers while still showing them in the calls list and notification centre.

According to WABetaInfo, the new feature is currently under development on WhatsApp beta for Android. This feature will also include several advantages, such as reducing interruptions and potentially avoiding spam calls.

Users will find the toggle located in the app settings, and once enabled, calls from unknown numbers will get silenced, but they will still be shown in the calls list and notification centre, said the report.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp is rolling out a new “Split view” feature for tablets, which will allow users to see and use two different sections of the application side by side at the same time, on Android beta.

Usually, the chat view takes up the entire screen when users open a chat on the tablet version of the application and then users have to go back to the chat list again if they want to open a different conversation.

With the new feature, the chat list will always be visible when opening a chat.

WhatsApp rolling out ‘Split view’ feature

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is rolling out a new “Split view” feature for tablets, which will allow users to see and use two different sections of the application side by side at the same time, on Android beta.

Usually, the chat view takes up the entire screen when users open a chat on the tablet version of the application, reports WABetaInfo.

And then users have to go back to the chat list again if they want to open a different conversation. With the new feature, the chat list will always be visible when opening a chat.

The split view will help users to manage and organise chats by quickly scrolling through the list of conversations without having the need to exit the current chat. The new feature is available after installing the latest update of WhatsApp beta for Android from the Play Store, and is expected to roll out to more users over the coming days, the report said.

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