Author Archives: Christine

After all the criticism that followed the recent decision to start sharing some data with Facebook, WhatsApp founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum have once again explained their point of view during the last Wall Street Journal Tech Conference. This last WSJDLive was held this week in Laguna Beach (California), and, along with WhatsApp founders, many tech leaders and lumimaries were invited.

During the Conference Brian Acton and Jan Koum reassured their many users that WhatsApp remains committed to their privacy, saying that “We try to be really thoughtful so that users are happy about the changes,”. If the introduction of end-to-end encryption for messages was generally appreciated by users, the change in WhatsApp’s terms of service and privacy policy (the first in four years) generated a lot of criticism.

But Jan Koum has pointed out that WhatsApp has never collected personal data of its users, and that Facebook won’t be able to obtain data that users themselves don’t want to be shared: “We never asked our users for their names, for their genders, for their age or where they live, so it’s not like sitting on the wealth of information,”. Furthermore, Brian Acton said that the decision to update the terms of service was taken in order to take advantage of Facebook’s technology (in particular its spam-detection system), adding that the previous terms of service of WhatsApp were “somewhat woefully out of date,”.

Now that the service is completely free (and without adverts or spam), many users wonder how WhatsApp manages to make money. That move is part of a more articulate plane to generate revenue. And enabling business-to-consumer communication is another essential part of the strategy. On the matter Brian Acton said: “There was pent up demand. It meant we really needed to build this,” adding that the Company is just “at the beginning of this,” and that 2017 is the year “when will really go deep.” We know that WhatsApp is one of the most successful instant messaging app, and that now the service already has more than 1 billion users. But Acton and Koum won’t stop, since they would like to reach 2 billion users.

If despite these reassurances many users are still puzzled, a recent research done by Amnesty International shows that WhatsApp is the most secure messaging app, followed by iMessage, FaceTime and Telegram. According to the study carried out by Amnesty, Skype ends up to be one of the worst.

That’s the explanation given by the organization: “Skype has been a major target of government surveillance worldwide. Despite Microsoft’s strong policy commitment to human rights, it is still using a weak form of encryption on Skype.” adding also that “Facebook is doing the most to use encryption to respond to human rights threats, and is most transparent about the action it’s taking. WhatsApp is the only app where users are explicitly warned when end-to-end encryption is not applied to a particular chat, but Messenger does not apply end-to-end encryption as a default, and does not warn users that regular conversations use a weaker form of encryption.”

A major, and much awaited, update of WhatsApp is available for Android users. Obviously we are talking about the Video Calling feature, the functionality that we were all really waiting for. This fantastic option has been finally added with the latest 2.16.316 Beta version of WhatsApp for Android, and is currently available to users who are part of the Android Beta Testing Program.

How can you use the new Video Calling feature? It’s really simple and intuitive, since this option works pretty much as the Voice Calling feature. So, let’s see together how to make a video call. First of all, grab your Android device and tap on the call button (you will find it next to the search icon). At this point a dialog box will appear, giving you the option to either make a WhatsApp Voice Call or a Video Call. As simple as that.

But remember that this new feature will work only if both the caller and the recipient are part of the Android Beta testing program. Furthermore, if the recipient has not yet updated his/her device with the latest version of the app, you will receive a message saying “Couldn’t place call” followed by text, “Couldn’t place call. Recipient [name of contact being called] needs to update WhatsApp to receive video calls.”

Some users are reporting problems with this new feature, and Android Police suggests to try wiping app data and re-logging into the app. Another solution could be to update your device with one of the latest beta versions available. As we said, for the moment this new Video Calling feature is available for Beta Testers. If you are not yet one of them, you can still sign-up for the program. Otherwise you can download the APK of this latest 2.16.316 beta version of WhatsApp for Android from APK Mirror.

It is not the first time that we are talking about the Video Calling option, since it has already been spotted in May. But something cliearly didn’t work out because it was immediately removed.

WhatsApp developers have just released a new update of our favourite instant messaging app. This is both good news and bad news because we are talking about the introduction of the feature we were all waiting for: the Video Calling option. Good news because WhatsAppers will finally be able to make video calls, bad news because only users with Windows Phone devices will be able to use this much awaited feature.

If you think about it, that’s quite odd because it is usually the Android platform to receive major updates first, since its users are the majority. Actually the Video Calling feature was added in a previous APK of WhatsApp for Android, but it didn’t work as expected. But we think (and hope) that this is a sign that this amazing option will soon be added on all the other platforms supporting WhatsApp.

That said, let’s see how you can use WhatsApp to make video calls with your Windows Phone device. First thing to know is that this new feature comes with the latest 2.16.260 beta version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone devices. Good news is that you don’t have to do anything tricky: the feature will be enabled by default. It means that users will be able to use it as soon as they update their smartphone with this latest 2.16.260 beta of WhatsApp. Now let’s see how you can use this new feature.

When you click on the call button, along with the Voice Call option you will see also the Video Call option, from the same menu. Another way to use this new option is from the contact details: when you click and expand a contact to have more details, an option to make a video call will show up. It appears that this new feature works as the voice calling option.

It means that you will have your call history, and that if you miss a call, you will be notified in the same way as with the voice call. Furthermore, users will be able to mute the audio and to swap between the front and rear cameras during their video calls.

The first website to report the news was OneWindows.es, a Spanish site, but obviously now many other websites are talking about this latest fantastic update of WhatsApp.

The developers of WhatsApp have released a new update for Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile. This latest version, number 2.16.256, doesn’t bring major changes to the app, nonetheless there are some new features along with the usual bug fixes and performance improvements. The changelog has not been provided, so we are not able to see if there are going to be many new features, but one change is already available. We are talking about the Camera Button which is now available on the Chat Page. You can download this latest version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone straight from the Microsoft Store using this link.

As we said, this latest update doesn’t bring major changes, but it comes just after a few days from the release of the last one, which added some important features such as:

• GIF Support (and the ability to send videos as GIFS);
• OneDrive BackUp (you can find it going to Settings–>Chats & Calls–>Backup–>OneDrive settings);
• Ability to forward messages and images to multiple contacts or groups;
• Ability to share images from gallery with multiple contacts or groups.

By now, everybody knows that WhatsApp is one of the most successful instant messaging app in the world, with over one billion active users. This Facebook-owned service is now used everywhere in the world to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues for free and, most important, it’s become a powerful way to share and spread news all over the world.

That’s why some goverments try to limit or even prevent its use. And what happened last Sunday during the election day in Montenegro showed once again the importance reached by the app. During the country’s parliamentary election, WhatsApp and Viber were blocked for several hours because, according to the authorities, “unlawful marketing” was being spread through the networks. It was the regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services itself to order telecom operators to ban the use of these two popular instant messaging apps.

Obviously this decision has created negative critics and reactions all over Europe. Telenor, a Montenegrin local operator, tried to explain the blocking order through some tweets, saying that “The Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services ordered all telecommunication operators to turn off the option to use the applications Viber, WhatsApp and the like, which were used today for unwanted communication with the users. The possibility for use of these services will be turned off until the Agency determines an end of the ban with a special notice.”

The developers of WhatsApp have released another update of the app dedicated to Android users. As you certainly know, it is possible to install this Facebook-owned multi-platform instant messaging app on iOS, Android, and Windows devices. But, since Android users are the majority, this platform receives updates more often.

So today we are going to talk about this latest 2.16.306 version of WhatsApp for Android devices. Let’s see immediately what changes according to the changelog:

• Now you can draw or add text and emojis to photos and videos you capture within WhatsApp. You can also pick a brush size or font style by dragging left on the color selector.
• In groups, you can now mention specific people by typing the @ symbol.
• Group admins can now invite people to join a group by sharing a link. From group info, just tap Add participants > Invite to group via link.
• New emoji. And sending a single emoji will now appear larger in chats.

The APK file of this latest update of WhatsApp for Android weighs around 26MB and can be downloaded on all devices running at least Android 2.3.4 OS. You can already download this latest version of WhatsApp straight from the Google Play Store, or, if you prefer to download it manually, you can install the APK file for free thanks to some safe
sources such as APKPolice.com.

Some of these new features were added with previous Beta, but it seems that not all of them have been entirely appreciated. It seems in fact that users are not happy with the new format of the emojis, that now appear bigger and more expressive. This recent update, which is now available for both Android and iOS platforms, has received many negative comments by users (just to give you an example, someone said that “The new emoji style on Whatsapp is hideous“). And you? Do you like these new emojis?

An updated Beta version of WhatsApp for Android devices is already available. This latest 2.16.300 Beta version of WhatsApp not only comes the usual bug fixes and
performance improvements, but also adds support for Giphy and Tenor.

To be completely honest, this new feature has not yet been activated, but it seems that it will soon be available to WhatsApp users. What are Giphy and Tenor? These two platforms allow users to find particular GIFs, since they are hosting many of them. Now let’s see what else is changing with this latest 2.16.300 Beta version of WhatsApp for Android devices.

First of all the APK file, which has been increased by 53KB, so now the download file weighs 31.17MB. This latest update is compatible with Android 2.3.4 and above. In addition, over 1110 files have been modified. These modified files are related to the optimizations of icons and emoji, and, surprise surprise, a few files related to Video Calls and internal players can also be found.

Talking about Giphy and Tenor, you will find that two icons related to these platforms have been added (ic_attributes_giphy.png and ic_attributes_tenor.png). That said, let’s see how you can install this updated version of WhatsApp on your Android device. If you are a Beta Tester, you can download this latest 2.16.300 Beta version of WhatsApp straight from the Google Play Store. If you are not yet a Beta Tester but you are interested in becoming one, you just have to follow a few simple steps.

So, open this Google Play Store webpage and tap on the “BECOME A TESTER” button. Now you will be enabled to find this latest update of WhatsApp on the official Android store and install it on your Android device. But, as we said, you are not forced to become a Beta Tester. You can actually download this latest updated manually from some safe sites such as APKPolice.com or APKMirror.com.

A new update of WhatsApp are available for Windows Phone users. This latest 2.16.240 version of WhatsApp for Windows 10 Mobile comes with some new features and
confirms the introduction of what was added with recent Beta. So, let’s see in detail what changes with this new version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone. First of all, let’s begin with the OneDrive integration for backups.

Thanks to this new feature, now users are allowed to backup their chat history and messages, which can be restored after resetting their Windows Phone device (or even on a new phone). In addition, this latest 2.16.240 version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone allows users to decide when to backup their data: daily, weekly and monthly. What if you don’t want to backup your data from WhatsApp? Simple, you can disable this option. And that’s not all. Users who prefer not to start the backup process while they are using cellular data, will be able to configure their device to start backups when they are using Wi-Fi.

This latest update of WhatsApp for Windows Phone also brings another feature that will surely be appreciated by WhatsAppers: GIFs support. Actually you are not yet allowed to send a real GIF, but in the meanwhile you can follow this simple procedure: select any video, crop it to 6 seconds or less and click on the GIF button to send it as a GIF. Last but not least, this latest version of WhatsApp brings also an improved set of emojis with even some 3D emoji.

How can you install this latest 2.16.240 version of WhatsApp on your Windows Phone device? You can download it directly from the Windows Store app. You just have to open the Windows Store and search for WhatsApp 2.16.240. Once you have found it, you can install it on your smartphone. At this point, if you are sure that the installation is complete, you need to use your mobile phone number to get verified in order to log again into your WhatsApp account.