Category Archives: NEWS

WhatsApp users are well aware that their favourite instant messaging app is constantly changing, and that WhatsApp developers almost every day release an updated version of this multi-platform mobile messaging app. Of course you are not forced to instantly upgrade your device but, in order to have WhatsApp running smoothly on your smartphone, it is strongly recommended to install the latest updates as soon as you can.

That said, today we are going to talk about the last updated version that has just been released for Android devices. This new 2.16.155 version of WhatsApp for Android, which can be installed on all Android smartphones and tablets doesn’t bring any new features, but bug fixes and performance improvements. This latest APK weighs about 28.71MB and its build number is 451245. This new 2.16.155 version is already a stable release, so you will be able to download it straight from the Google Play Store. Furthermore, being a stable release, it should be bug-free.

Whether you are an avid WhatsApper or not, there are some tricks that can help you to further enjoy the app on your Android device. Let’s recap some of them. For example, did you know that you can hide the blue ticks? These marks can be really annoying when you can’t (or don’t want) to reply instantly to someone. Well, you can turn them off simply going to Settings > Account > Privacy > Untick Read Receipts. But remember, when using this option you won’t receive read receipts for your messages either.

Another interesting option allows you to mark chats as unread. To use this feature you just have to: long press the chat, open the Menu and mark it as unread. Now, if you are part of several groups, you might prefer to hide your profile picture because there is the possibility that you don’t know every contact in the group. In that case you will be able to choose who can see your profile picture: everyone, only your contacts or no-one. To use this option just go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Profile Photo.Easy, isn’t it?

If you receive ton of messages, it might be useful to bookmark the more important ones. So grab your Android device and go to Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > hold down and press the star.

And these are just a few of the useful option that WhatsApp offers and that we often forget to use. So, keep your device updated and enjoy WhatsApp!

A new version of WhatsApp is already available for Windows Phone users. This latest 2.16.108 version confirms the updates introduced in beta phase, and now users with Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 can enjoy some new features,

If you have downloaded the previous version, it is important that you upgrade your device as soon as you can with this latest update, since it fixes the bugs which have been found in versions 2.16.102 and 2.16.106. In fact, unfortunately, many of you who were using these previous versions of WhatsApp for Windows Phone, have had the unpleasant experience to see the app freeze whenever they were trying to use the multi-select feature.

Luckily the developers of WhatsApp have immediately found the solution, and this latest 2.16.108 version solves this problem. And, more important, this new version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone not only brings these important bug fixes and performance improvements, but, as we said, confirms the addition of some nice new features brought by the previous versions.

For example the quoted messages feature. This new option enables you to copy and paste previous messages in a new one, adding your text below them. Nice and useful. Or the improved image picker, which makes it much easier for users to access and attach images within the app. Not to mention the users interface which has been finally revamped.

How can you install this latest 2.16.108 version of WhatsApp on your Windows Phone? There are two easy ways. The first one is through the Microsoft Store app, which you can find on your Windows Phone. Otherwise you can open the web browser on your phone, type microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps and then look for WhatsApp Messenger. At this point you just have to select “Get the app” . After that, in order to install the app on your phone, you simply have to follow the instructions.

It’s not a secret that with its one billion users WhatsApp is the most used instant messaging app in the world. We use it every day to communicate with our friends, family, colleagues, and it is safe to say that the app is rapidly changing our lives. WhatsApp is also a powerful way to spread news, and today the app is used around the world for many purposes.

For example, in some countries people use WhatsApp to let the world know about their lack of freedom, or to seek help in emergency. But the present scenario is quite complicated, and many governments often try to ban WhatsApp (we already talked about this on this blog), and the introduction of the end-to-end encryption has even worsened the situation. To give you an idea, let’s see what happened just in the last few days.

Zimbabwe
Last Wednesday WhatsApp has been blocked all over the country. People blamed the government, which instead replied that the service was inciting people to protest. Supa Mandiwanzira, Minister for Information, Communication Technology and Courier Services, strongly denied that the government was involved in the block of the service, adding that it could have been simply a problem of the network. That’s what he said: “I as minister and on behalf of the government have resisted these demands because we see their value to Zimbabweans. So there is no basis that I as minister or government will work up to ban them when we are on the forefront of denying the request by operators. We know there are elements, very few of them, who abuse the platform but they must not be allowed to spoil its very good use by the majority of citizens”. Despite what the government said, citizens decided to carry on their protest and did not go to work.

Brazil
In Brazil the situation is particularly crucial and controversial, because this is one of the countries where WhatsApp is used the most. So, what happened? In May a judge has ordered Facebook to shut down WhatsApp since the company refused to release data to the government as part of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation. For this reason the government has decided to freeze $6 million from a local bank account of Facebook (WhatsApp doesn’t have any assets in Brazil). Why $6 million? Tech Crunch reported that this sum ($19.5 million Brazilian reais) corresponds to the total amount of fines that WhatsApp accumulated in Brazil for refusing to consent to the government’s demands. In fact in December 2015 WhatsApp was banned in Brazil for a similar reason.

ISIS
And we can’t ignore the obnoxious usage that ISIS is doing of WhatsApp. The Islamic State (Isis) instead of banning WhatsApp, is using it to sell women, some of them extremely young (12 years old). An activist (on the condition of anonymity) told Associated Press that the militants post advertisements with pictures of the women with a price tag for each, along with the names of the women’s “owners”.

The growth of WhatsApp around the world seems unstoppable, and with it, of course, there will be several downsides.

Here we are again, talking about a new feature added to our beloved WhatsApp. As we know, WhatsApp developers do a very hard work to keep the service at the top, and they constantly release new updated versions of the app. The one we are going to talk about today is the latest 2.16.150 Beta version of WhatsApp for Android devices. So, what changes with this new version of WhatsApp?

First of all, a new, nice feature that allows you to draw has been added. This new option also allows to add some effects to your pictures like arrows, shadows and circles. That’s really, really remarkable, isn’t it? From a more technical point of view, if you download this latest 2.16.150 Beta version of WhatsApp for Android you will also notice that the size has been increased by 27KB and that there are 421 modified files connected to all the functions of the app. Furthermore, some new files have been added and 6 of them are icons. The two related to the new drawing feature are named draw_tool_background_selectedl.xml and draw_tool_background_normal.xml.

That said, let’s see how to install this latest 2.16.150 Beta version of WhatsApp on your Android device. If you already are a Beta Tester, you can download this latest update directly from the Google Play Store. If you are not yet part of the program, you can easily subscribe going to this page and tapping on the “BECOME A TESTER” button. Being a Tester allows you to download all the latest updates straight from the Google Play Store.

You simply have to open the Google Play Store, search for the latest Beta (in this case 2.16.150) and then install it on your Android device. Once the installation is complete, use your mobile phone number to get verified and log again into your WhatsApp account. If for some reasons you are not interested in becoming a Beta Tester, you will always be able to find the latest APK files of WhatsApp on some other sites such as APKMirror.

After the last couple of beta versions, today we are going to talk about the latest stable version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone that has just been released. It is an interesting update, and brings some useful changes. The first good news about this latest 2.16.106 version is that it is already available from the Windows Store. It means that every user will be able to update the app on his/her own device, since this is not a beta testers version.

That said, let’s see what actually changes with this latest 2.16.106. version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone. This new version of the app, along with the usual bug fixes and performance improvements, brings a couple of new features that we are sure will be really enjoyed by the many users of the app. So, the first change is the quoted messages feature, which enables users to reply to a message via quotes (yes, you are right, this feature is similar to Twitter Quotes).

The other new feature that has been brought with this latest 2.16.106 version is an improved image picker, which makes it much easier for users to access and attach images within the app. And that’s not all, because also the users interface has been revamped. That’s what WindowsCentral said announcing this improvement:“UI tweaks that make using the app much more bearable, such as moving the send message button to the right of the text box, rather than right above the Start button”.

At this point, you just have to install this latest 2.16.106 version of WhatsApp on your Windows Phone. How? Easy, you can download this latest update straight from the Windows Store.

Even if it is the most successful instant messaging app in the world, the life of WhatsApp is not always a bed of roses, particularly in some countries. One of the most recent issues comes from India, where RTI activist Sudhir Yadav has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) trying to ban the use of WhatsApp. Why? The reason, once again, is the decision of the Facebook-owned company to add end-to-end encryption to all the platforms that support the app.

According to Yadav the end-to-end encryption violates Indian interception laws, therefore allowing terrorists to exchange messages. On Wednesday the Supreme Court dismissed the petition, but it seems that the story hasn’t come yet to an end. The Court, in fact, told Yadav to move his petition to a more appropriate forum that has the authority to rule on the matter. This other forum will probably be the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). So, let’s see what happen. If Yadav wins his petition, as a consequence the government will certainly impose restrictions on the encryption.

The developers of WhatsApp have just released a new updated version of our favourite app, and with this latest update we are now at version 2.16.102. What changes with this new Beta of WhatsApp for Windows Phone devices? If you use WhatsApp frequently probably you already know that, thanks to the previous update, the image gallery has become much more faster.

Well, this latest 2.16.102 version further changes the way you can use the Gallery: when logging on to it you will be directed to folders and not anymore to the All Images section. Another change that has been brought with this new update concerns the messages: in fact it isn’t possible anymore to copy the messages received in the group messages. But before you try to install this latest Beta from the Windows Store, we remind you that this is a closed Beta, so you will have to wait for the public version of the app, which we are confident will be released soon.

By now everyone knows that WhatsApp is the most successful instant messaging app in the world (with over one billion monthly users, and  more than 100 million calls per day, which means over 1,100 calls a second), but this success has a downside. We are talking about hackers. In Europe there is alarm for a new malware able to spoof the user interfaces of WhatsApp, Google Play and Uber in order to steal credit card information.

According to security vendor FireEye, for the moment this latest malware has interested Android users in Italy, Denmark and Germany and works through a phishing campaign over SMS. As we said, this malware creates fake users interfaces that ask for credit card information. These data will then be sent to the hacker. And unfortunately this is just the last one in a long series. FireEye reports that in Europe there are other 55 malicious programs that use the same overlay technique.

The developers of WhatsApp never stop updating our favourite instant messaging app, and nearly every day they release a new version of the service. Sometimes these updated versions bring major updates, adding new features to the app, sometimes the new versions just fix some bugs and improve the overall performance of the app. Anyway, by keeping your device updated with the latest version of WhatsApp you’ll be sure that it works properly.

Today we are going to talk about the latest 2.16.141 APK of WhatsApp for Android devices. This latest beta version of WhatsApp doesn’t bring any new features, but, as we said, fixes some bugs. The download file weighs about 28.68 MB and its build number is 451231. How can you install it on your Android device? In two ways. If you are a beta tester, you can download this latest APK file straight from the Google Play Store. If not, you can download this latest 2.16.141 updated  version of WhatsApp from other safe sites such as APKPolice.com or APKMirror.com.

We already know that WhatsApp is currently the most used instant messaging app in the world, and the number of its users (which now are 1 billion) will surely increase in the near future. This app, which was born mainly to exchange messages with your family and friends, now is actually used a lot also to call our contacts. Don’t you believe it? Well, you have to, considering that now the app hosts more than 100 million calls per day, over 1,100 calls a second.

The announcement was given this week by the Company through a blog post, saying: “For more than a year, people have used WhatsApp Calling to talk with friends and family around the world. It’s a great way to stay in touch, especially when connecting with people in other countries, or when messages alone won’t do. Today, more than 100 million voice calls are made every day on WhatsApp – that’s over 1,100 calls a second! We’re humbled that so many people have found this feature useful, and we’re committed to making it even better in the months to come.”