WhatsApp

Billions of messages are sent over the WhatsApp chat platform every day. One of the reasons for the service's massive popularity is that it lets users send and receive as many media-rich messages as they want, which – as long as they've limited WhatsApp's use of their cellular data plan – costs them next to nothing. That's great news for senders, but one of the drawbacks of receiving...

WhatsApp has made it easier to organize your conversations with the global rollout of custom chat lists. This new feature expands on the chat filters introduced earlier this year, and offers a more personalized way to manage your messaging. To create a custom list, tap the plus (+) icon in the filter bar at the top of the Chats tab. You can add both individual contacts and group chats to...

Meta's WhatsApp chat platform offers more than just the ability to send messages. It also provides various text formatting options to help you emphasize your messages. Whether you want to make your text bold, italicize it, strikethrough, or change the font, WhatsApp has you covered. Here's a quick guide on how to use these text formatting features to enhance your chatting experience,...

WhatsApp has introduced a custom sticker creation tool for iPhone users running iOS 17 or later. Keep reading to learn how to use it. In the world of instant messaging, stickers offer a dynamic and playful way to express your emotions and thoughts. But instead of using standardized stickers from an existing stock, wouldn't it be better if you could create your own? WhatsApp on iPhone has...

WhatsApp has rolled out a new option that lets users on iPhone share photos and video over the messaging platform in their original quality. Here's how it works and how to use it. Previously, WhatsApp users could only send media in high resolution or "HD quality." But while that is a welcome improvement that addressing the service's low quality media sharing limitation, it still involves...

WhatsApp has rolled out a new option that lets users send photos and video over the messaging platform in high resolution. Keep reading to learn how it's done. WhatsApp has released an update allowing iPhone and Android users to send photos and videos in high resolution, finally addressing the service's low quality media sharing limitation. Called "HD quality," the option means users can...

Unsolicited phone calls are a regular annoyance and even a cause of stress for many smartphone users these days. Thankfully, iOS includes an option to automatically silence calls to your iPhone from unknown numbers, and now you can do the same for calls you receive via WhatsApp, too. WhatsApp announced a new Silence Unknown Callers feature for the encrypted messaging platform in June 2023....

WhatsApp in May 2023 introduced a new Chat Lock feature that allows you to secure select conversations in your inbox behind a passcode, fingerprint, or Face ID authentication. Keep reading to learn how it's done. Millions of users rely on WhatsApp as a means of privately and securely communicating with others, which is why the company's developers are continually seeking new ways to improve...

WhatsApp is rolling out a new ability for users to edit messages after they have been sent over the popular Meta-owned encrypted chat platform. Keep reading to learn how it works on iPhone and Android. It's been a long time coming, but WhatsApp has finally brought its much-anticipated sent-message editing feature to the chat service. When Apple released iOS 16, it introduced the ability...

Previously, WhatsApp has allowed users of the encrypted messaging platform to link up to four devices to their account, but only one of those devices could be a smartphone. Happily, that's now changed, and WhatsApp has introduced the ability to use the same account on multiple phones. So now you can link another phone as one of up to four additional devices, the same as when you link with...

In a new privacy-centric update released in August 2022, WhatsApp has added the ability for users to adjust the visibility of their "Last Seen" status on a contact-by-contact basis. Keep reading to learn how it's done. As regular WhatsApp users will know, the "Last Seen" status of a contact you're in conversation with sits atop the conversation thread, informing you when that contact last...

After a long wait, Meta this week announced the ability to transfer WhatsApp chat history, photos, videos, and voice messages from Android to iPhone while maintaining end-to-end encryption. The system uses Apple's Move to iOS app for Android phones, and can be initiated during the setup process for a new (or factory reset) iPhone. This article runs through the steps involved in transferring...

WhatsApp in 2020 launched disappearing messages on its end-to-end encrypted chat platform as a way of doubling down on user privacy. If you want to have control over how long a message lasts in WhatsApp, read on to learn how it works. When you sit down and have a face-to-face conversation with someone, usually you're reasonably confident that your conversation isn't being recorded and stored ...

For a long time now, WhatsApp has included a feature that shows when a user was last online or last active on the messaging platform, which can be either helpful or a hindrance, depending on your personal or business situation. As regular WhatsApp users will know, the "Last Seen" status of a contact sits atop the conversation thread, informing you when that contact last opened the app and...

Despite strong competition from the likes of Telegram and Signal, WhatsApp remains the most popular mobile messaging platform by a mile, connecting over a billion active users around the world every day. As a smartphone app, WhatsApp messages are principally exchanged between iPhones and Android phones, but WhatsApp is known to be developing an iPad app that would increase the number of...

WhatsApp has rolled out multi-device support to all users on iOS and Android, allowing WhatsApp to be used on up to four linked devices without users needing to be connected via a smartphone. Previously, the WhatsApp mobile app was required to authenticate an account used on another device, such as a computer, and used a QR code to link a user account to a web browser or desktop app. While...

WhatsApp end-to-end encrypted backups are now rolling out for iPhone users, Facebook has announced. Until now, WhatsApp let users back up their chat history to ‌‌iCloud‌‌, but the messages and media contained in the backups weren't protected by WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption while in ‌‌Apple's cloud servers‌. End-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you're...

If you're a heavy WhatsApp user and your iPhone is running low on storage, it may be that all the videos, voice messages and photos stored in the app are taking up a hefty amount of space on your device. Fortunately, WhatsApp features a built-in media management tool that can help you identify, select, and bulk delete GIFs, photos, and videos that may be filling up your phone. The tool...

Despite strong competition from the likes of Telegram and Signal, WhatsApp remains the most popular messaging platform by a mile. At the last count in 2020, the Facebook-owned service had more than 2 billion WhatsApp users around the globe and rising. If you consider that it had 1.5 billion users in 2018 and 1 billion in 2016, then the number of active WhatsApp accounts has been increasing...

Over 100 million new users joined encrypted messaging app Telegram in January 2021. The stunning growth in the platform's user base was linked to an exodus from rival chat app WhatsApp, which concerned many of its users with a confusing privacy policy update that seemed to imply that more of their data would be shared with Facebook. WhatsApp tried to deal with the fallout by clarifying that...

In WhatsApp, you can set a custom alert tone for messages and calls from a specific person in your contacts, just like you can in the Contacts app on iPhone. Setting a special alert tone for a WhatsApp contact enables you to recognize when that particular person is calling you or has sent you a message, without you even having to look at your phone's screen. To know instantly when someone...

Facebook's free WhatsApp instant messaging app uses end-to-end encryption so that messages exchanged over the platform can only be read by the intended recipient. If you use WhatsApp for important conversations and you want to further ensure your privacy, you can prevent WhatsApp messages from showing previews on your iPhone. When you receive a WhatsApp message on your iPhone, the...

WhatsApp on iPhone includes an option to lock the app with your device's Face ID or Touch ID authentication. This article explains how to enable the feature. Locking WhatsApp is a neat way of doubling the security and privacy of your messages, and especially useful if your iPhone isn't set up to automatically lock after a few minutes of idle time, because even you leave your iPhone unlocked,...

WhatsApp has been updated to allow users to create group video chats with up to 50 people on the social platform, thanks to an integration with Facebook's recently announced Messenger Rooms feature. Facebook unveiled Messenger Rooms as an alternative to Zoom and Group FaceTime in April, releasing it to a small trial group of users. Facebook said part of its plan was to extend the capability to ...

WhatsApp has upgraded its end-to-end encrypted video call feature, which now allows groups of up to eight participants to chat together, up from the previous limit of four. WhatsApp has been gradually developing its group video call capabilities through beta builds, as rival video call services like Zoom, FaceTime and Skype have exploded in popularity amid the ongoing stay-at-home measures....

WhatsApp messenger recently rolled out its long-awaited Dark Mode theme for iPhone, which is good news for anyone who uses the chat app in bed when they just can't sleep. With Dark Mode enabled, users will benefit from no more bright white splash screen blinding them upon opening WhatsApp, a less harsh app interface, new dark themes for chat threads, and potentially less battery drain....

WhatsApp has announced some improvements to its calling features across desktop and mobile platforms ahead of the holiday season, such as the ability to choose participants from group chats, use new effects on calls, and take advantage of higher resolution video. The ability to select specific participants when initiating a call from a group chat aims to let users avoid disturbing the entire ...

WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process. From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...

Popular Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp today announced a new transcription feature that's designed to provide you with a transcript of a voice message received from a friend or family member. WhatsApp says that voice message transcripts are designed for instances when you're in a loud place and can't stop to listen to a traditional voice message. Transcripts are created on-device, are...

Popular messaging app WhatsApp was today updated to add a new Home Screen widget that's specific to chats. The widget is available on the iPhone after updating to version 24.21.81, which came out this afternoon. After updating the widget can be added to the ‌Home Screen‌ using the Edit interface. Users can choose from Recents, Favorites, Pinned, or Frequently Contacted to get quick access to ...

WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature that allows users to tag other people in their Status updates, further enhancing the platform's Instagram Stories-like functionality. The addition aims to make it easier for users to connect with friends and family on the popular messaging app. The new tagging feature enables users to mention up to five other WhatsApp accounts in their Status updates....

WhatsApp has announced it is rolling out new filters and backgrounds for users to personalize their video calls. The popular chat platform said the new effects are designed to make video conversations "more engaging" and give them a "more personal touch." The update includes 10 filters and 10 backgrounds that users can apply to improve their video calling experience. Filters range from...

WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature that lets users organize events within group chats, according to the release notes for the latest update. The new event planning feature lets users organize events, meetings, and social gatherings directly within a group chat. The feature was rolled out exclusively to Communities group chats in May, but the Meta-owned messaging platform is now rolling it ...

WhatsApp this week reached a significant milestone of 100 million monthly active users in the United States, a market traditionally dominated by other messaging services such as SMS and iMessage. The achievement, announced in an official blog post, indicates a potential shift in the American messaging landscape, where WhatsApp has steadily gained ground despite the longstanding popularity of ...

WhatsApp is receiving a refreshed design on iPhone and Android, the first interface overhaul of its kind since 2021. The new design rolling out for the Meta-owned social media platform is meant to be fresh, approachable, and simple, according to WhatsApp. WhatsApp says that sending photos and videos on iOS is now easier, thanks to a new attachment layout. Instead of a full screen menu,...

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp today announced that it is rolling out support for passkeys on iOS, a feature that will let WhatsApp users log in to their accounts on iOS devices using Face ID, Touch ID, or their device passcode. Passkeys serve as a replacement for a traditional password, and because device authentication is required, passkeys put a stop to online attacks like...

WhatsApp is rolling out new Chat Filters to make it easier to find the messages you are looking for and reduce the need to scroll through your inbox. The following three new filters appear at the top of the app's main conversation list: All, Unread, and Groups. In a blog post, WhatsApp describes them like so: All: The default view of all your messages. Unread: Perfect for when you want to ...

WhatsApp has added new text formatting options to the chat platform, enabling users to message each other everything from grocery lists to step-by-step instructions in mid-conversation. Following Wednesday's update, WhatsApp users can now use bulleted and numbered lists, block quotes, and inline code to communicate more effectively. The new formatting options join the existing bold,...

As part of its compliance with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) legislation, WhatsApp is putting the final touches to introducing platform interoperability with other encrypted messaging apps. In September, EU lawmakers designated WhatsApp parent company Meta as one of six so-called "gatekeepers," along with Google, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, and Microsoft, giving them six months to begin...

WhatsApp is rolling out a new option that lets users on iPhone share photos and video over the messaging platform in their original quality. As spotted by WABetaInfo, the official changelog included with WhatsApp's 23.24.73 update on the App Store says that users can now "easily send original quality media as a file." The update follows a recent feature addition that lets WhatsApp users ...

WhatsApp has started allowing users to authenticate their account on a device with an email address as an alternative to using a phone number, for times when cellular coverage is poor. The new option to link an account to an email address does not replace SMS verification via a six-pin code, and opening a WhatsApp account still requires the user to provide a number. But with email...

WhatsApp is rolling out a new voice chats feature in groups that lets users start voice calls without disturbing everyone in the group. Previously in WhatsApp group chats, the only option was to start a voice call, which rings every member in the group. If no-one joins, the call doesn't go ahead. In contrast, voice chats can be initiated in a group without anyone joining, and users are...

WhatsApp has introduced a new privacy feature that lets you hide your IP address from whoever you call over the encrypted communications platform. As it stands, one-to-one calls over WhatsApp are established as a direct peer-to-peer connection between users. While this ensures the best possible voice quality, it means the connected devices must reveal their IP addresses to each other....

WhatsApp is planning to add passkey support to its iPhone app, according to code discovered by software researcher @aaronp613 in the latest beta version of the app. Passkey support would allow iPhone users to sign in to WhatsApp with Face ID, Touch ID, or the device's passcode. Passkeys are stored in iCloud Keychain. To use passkeys on the iPhone, the device must be updated to iOS 16 or...

WhatsApp for iPad finally appears to be nearing a release. In the latest version of WhatsApp Beta for TestFlight, Meta has introduced an option to use WhatsApp on an iPad independently of an iPhone, thanks to an update to its Link a Device feature. WhatsApp currently allows users of the encrypted messaging platform to link up to four devices to their account even when their main smartphone...

Meta today released its overhauled WhatsApp app for macOS, introducing support for group calls, dragging and dropping files, and more. The new native Mac app is optimized for large displays and desktop-class experiences like dragging and dropping files into chats and viewing more messages in chat histories. It also touts better performance and supports WhatsApp group calls from macOS for the ...