WhatsApp Download

Today we have great news for BlackBerry and Nokia users. The owners of our beloved instant messaging app have in fact decided to extend the support for BlackBerry 10 and Nokia platforms until June 2017.

This decision partially changes the one communicated at the beginning of the year, when WhatsApp has informed its users that by the end of 2016 certain operating systems, including Windows Phone 7.1 and Blackberry 10, will not be supported anymore. But this week the support page of the app has been updated  and BlackBerry and Nokia users have been informed that “We will soon be ending support for certain devices. On June 30, 2017, we will no longer support the following platforms: BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40, and Nokia Symbian S60.”

If the news comes as a sort of relief for some users, for others the situation is unchanged, since the company has confirmed that the support for Android 2.1, Android 2.2 and Windows Phone 7 will be dropped by the end of 2016.

So, let’s recap for which platforms the support of WhatsApp has been prolonged:

• BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10
• Nokia S40
• Nokia Symbian S60

As we said above, unfortunately the following platforms will no longer be supported by WhatsApp starting from January 2017:

• Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
• Windows Phone 7
• iPhone 3GS/iOS 6

The Facebook-owned Company explained its decision with this words: “These platforms don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android running OS 2.3+, a Windows Phone 8+, or an iPhone running iOS 7+ before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.” and adding that at the moment it is not possible to transfer users’ chat histories between platforms:

“Once you have one of these devices, simply install WhatsApp and verify your phone number on the new device to continue using WhatsApp. Keep in mind that WhatsApp can only be activated with one phone number on one device at a time. There is currently no option to transfer your chat history between platforms. However, we provide the option to send your chat history attached to an email.”

Great news for those of you who use WhatsApp with an iPhone: you can now send GIFs. This popular option is very used on social media, and messaging services such as Facebook, Twitter and iMessage already support it. And now GIFs have finally been added to WhatsApp for iOS, for the joy of the many users of the app.

So, what do you have to do in order to send GIFs with your iPhone device? The first thing to do is to download this latest 2.16.15 version of WhatsApp for iOS from the App Store (this passage is necessary because iOS operating system doesn’t natively support GIFs). Once you have installed this latest update, you will be enabled to send videos and photos as a GIF.

Now, let’s see how to send videos as animated GIF. The procedure is quite simple, you only have to select a video by tapping the Plus button which is located on the left of the text box. After that, you need to select Photo & Video Library and choose the video that you want to send (it is important though that you remember that the length of the video must be 6 seconds or shorter). Now from the top right of your screen you will be able to choose whether to send a video or a GIF.

As we said before, with this latest version of WhatsApp for iOS, users are also enabled to send live photos as animated GIFs, even if, for the moment, this option works only if you have an iPhone with 3D Touch. To send an animated GIF you have to go to the Photo/Video Library and choose “Select as GIF.”

Thanks to this latest update of WhatsApp for iOS, users will now be able to send GIFs they find on the internet. As it often happens with WhatsApp, the procedure is quite straightforward. Let’s see how it works. You have found a GIF on the internet and you want to send it to one of your contacts: you can simply do a “Copy” and “Paste” into the WhatsApp text field.

The ability to send and receive GIFs is already available in Beta version for Android users, but what about WhatsApp Web? WhatsApp Web is already able to read GIFs, but unfortunately it currently can’t send them.

European governments are giving a hard time to Facebook and WhatsApp after their recent decision to share WhatsApp users’ data. Germany has been the first country to ban the Data-Sharing Project of the two services and now the UK is officially following the same path.

It all started in September, when the information commissioner Elizabeth Denham asked for an investigation into the data-sharing. So, the UK’s National Data Protection Whatchdog, the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) has considered to take actions against Facebook and WhatsApp. Until now, when Facebook has officially agreed to put a stop to its plan to collect data about British WhatsApp users for the purposes of targeting adverts, but will continue to share data with WhatsApp to fight spam.

Elizabeth Denham is convinced that users don’t have a clear idea on what is going on, and stated that “I don’t think users have been given enough information about what Facebook plans to do with their information, and I don’t think WhatsApp has got valid consent from users to share the information,”. She also said that users should have total control over this new privacy policy option, and “not just a 30-day window”.

Facebook admits that many other European Data Protection authorities have asked for more information, but for the moment the company prefers to avoid to agree to specific resolutions with any one particular regulator. Recently Facebook said: “WhatsApp designed its privacy policy and terms update to give users a clear and simple explanation of how the service works, as well as choice over how their data is used. These updates comply with applicable law, and follow the latest guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. We hope to continue our detailed conversations with the ICO and other data protection officials, and we remain open to working collaboratively to address their questions.”

But, despite this sort of agreement, Elizabeth Denham is not completely satisfied and is convinced that the WhatsApp data-sharing case is just part of a bigger problem in the technology industry, and said that “Our digital comings and goings create rich portraits of our lives, and vague terms of service when we sign up aren’t giving us the protection we need,”.

Let’s see if other European countries will join Germany and the UK and will succeed in stopping the Facebook data-sharing program with WhatsApp.

If you have thought that another update was unlikely soon after the release of the much awaited Video Calling feature, well, you were wrong. The developers of WhatsApp in fact never stop working on updated and often release new and improved versions of the app.

So today we are going to talk about the new 2.16.329 Beta version for Android devices. Recently many new features have been added to the app, such as the ability to draw or to add text and emojis to photos and videos. Or also the addition of new emojis. Or, as we said, the Video Calling option, the very one we were all waiting for.

Have you already used it? If not, don’t panic, it’s extremely easy. You can install this new Video Calling feature by downloading one of the most recent updates of WhatsApp (from 2.16.318 or later). Once you have updated your Android device you simply have to tap on the call button (it is located next to the search icon) and choose between a WhatsApp Voice Call or a Video Call. Easy, isn’t it?

But let’s come back to the new 2.16.329 Beta version. After all these changes, we are not surprised that this latest update doesn’t add other new features, but just add bug fixes and performance improvements. This new 2.16.329 Beta version comes with build number 451473 and weighs about 31.5MB. The service works on Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread MR1, AP10), and its target devices are those running Android 6.0 (such as Marshmallow, API 23).

How can you install this latest beta version of WhasApp on your Android device? If you are a Beta Tester you can download it straight from the Google Play Store. If you are not a Beta Tester, you can always update your device downloading the latest APK from other safe sources such as APK Police or APK Mirror. Just always remember to enable the “Unknown Sources” option on your device and then follow thoroughly the instructions that you will be given.

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.