TheNewsGuru

Tag: WhatsApp

  • How to switch to the official WhatsApp app

    WhatsApp recently started placing temporary ban on accounts that use third-party versions, like WhatsApp Plus or GB WhatsApp, of the instant messaging app.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the Facebook-owned app made this known in a frequently asked questions (FAQ) it posted recently.

    How to switch to the official WhatsApp app

    You might need to backup your chat history before moving to the official WhatsApp app.

    The name of the unsupported app you’re using determines whether you need to transfer your chat history.

    Locate the name of the app by tapping More Options > Settings > Help > App info.

    Follow the steps below based on the name of the app: WhatsApp Plus or GB WhatsApp.

    If you’re using an app other than WhatsApp Plus or GB WhatsApp, we recommend saving your chat history before downloading the official WhatsApp app.

    GB WhatsApp

    We recommend following the steps below to save and transfer your chat history. Failure to follow these steps could result in lost chat history.

    Wait for your temporary ban to end. The timer will show you the length of the ban.

    In GB WhatsApp, tap More options > Chats > Back up chats.

    Goto Phone Settings > tap Storage > Files.

    Find the folder GB WhatsApp and tap and hold to select it.

    In the upper right corner tap More > Rename and rename the folder to “WhatsApp”.

    Navigate to the Play Store and download the official WhatsApp app.

    In WhatsApp, verify your phone number, and on the Backup found screen, tap Restore> Next.

    WhatsApp should load with your existing chats.

    WhatsApp Plus

    For WhatsApp Plus, if your chat history was previously saved, it should automatically transfer to the official WhatsApp app.

    Navigate to the Play Store and download the WhatsApp app. Verify your phone number, and that’s all.

    For any assistance, drop a comment.

     

  • WhatsApp begins temporary ban of WhatsApp Plus, GB WhatsApp users

    WhatsApp has started placing temporary ban on accounts that use third-party versions, like WhatsApp Plus or GB WhatsApp, of the instant messaging app.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the Facebook-owned app made this known in a frequently asked questions (FAQ) it posted recently.

    “If you received an in-app message stating your account is “Temporarily banned” this means that you’re likely using an unsupported version of WhatsApp instead of the official WhatsApp app.

    “If this is the case, you must download the official app to continue using WhatsApp. Unsupported apps, such as WhatsApp Plus and GB WhatsApp, are altered versions of WhatsApp.

    “These unofficial apps are developed by third parties and violate our terms of service. WhatsApp doesn’t support these third-party apps because we can’t validate their security practices,” the FAQ post read.

    If your account has been placed on temporary ban, there is no cause for alarm, here is how to switch to the official WhatsApp app.

     

  • WhatsApp working on key new features

    WhatsApp working on key new features

    WhatsApp has been said to be working on several new features like ‘Advance Search,’ Dark Mode, a group invitation control system, and more.

    The new ‘Advanced Search’ feature will now reportedly be available to all iOS beta app users in a future update.

    According to reports, the feature will allow users to search for photos, links, audio, GIF images, and even videos, apart from the usual text search that is already enabled.

    The Advanced Search feature will also show recent searches as well, and this feature will trickle down to Android users eventually.

    Of course, WhatsApp already has a Search feature that allows you to search for specific chats, but it is limited to text only.

    The ‘Advanced Search’ feature will reportedly allow users to search multiple types of message and you will be able to search between photos, GIFs, videos, documents, links and even audio.

    WhatsApp beta tracker WABetaInfo made this claim in a report earlier this week. Once you tap on the advanced search bar, the screen will report on how many media files are stored in your WhatsApp Storage.

    If you tap on Photos, WhatsApp will open all photos shared in all groups and chats in a list format. The search result will also include a preview, so you avoid opening the search result in order to see it. This result can then be filtered further by typing more keywords in the search bar.

    The same thing will occur if you tap GIF images, links, or documents in the new search bar. The new Advanced Search feature also reports your search history, and it also comes with an option to clear all of those recent searches, if you so prefer.

    As mentioned, this feature is still under development, and will roll out to all iOS beta app users in a future update.

     

  • Anti-spam engineer says WhatsApp not megaphone

    WhatsApp has sought to present itself as a private messaging app designed for communication between individuals or small groups.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Matt Jones, WhatsApp anti-spam engineering team lead, hinted on this on Wednesday as the company battles to curb spread of fake news and misinformation.

    He said the social messaging app was not built with the aim “to give people a megaphone”, but expected to be used for private messaging.

    “We are not here to give people a megaphone, we are here for private messaging,” he said.

    WhatsApp, publishing data as part of a white paper on “stopping abuse” that was launched on Wednesday in India, said it is deleting 2 million accounts globally per month.

    Jones revealed that around 95% of the 2 million accounts banned each month were as a result of “abnormal WhatsApp behaviour” detected by the company, rather than from user reports.

    The company had earlier limited the number of people to whom a message could be forwarded, in same effort to curb spread of fake news and misinformation using the platform.

     

  • How to use Face ID, Touch ID on WhatsApp

    How to use Face ID, Touch ID on WhatsApp

    WhatsApp for iPhone recently received an important update that allows users to lock the app by deploying the native Face ID or Touch ID.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the latest update brings the much anticipated biometric authentication through build version 2.19.20.

    The update essentially applies biometric authentication to open WhatsApp.

    However, the feature does not add the additional security to individual WhatsApp conversations.

    With the new update, WhatsApp users can lock the app with Face ID or Touch ID by going to Settings > Account > Privacy > Screen Lock.

    Once on the Screen Lock screen, the app shows the available authentication method – either Face ID or Touch ID – that you can enable to lock WhatsApp.

    Users can also choose whether to use the biometric authentication requirement immediately or after an interval of a minute, 15 minutes, or an hour.

    However, WhatsApp still allows users to reply to messages from notifications and answer calls, without requiring biometric authentication.

    Also, once unlocked after successfully detecting the correct biometrics – either through Face ID or Touch ID feature – the instant messaging app opens access to all your messages.

    This means the latest development doesn’t lock your WhatsApp chats on an individual basis.

    To experience the new change, you need to download the latest WhatsApp version from the App Store.

    The app is 137.7MB in size and is compatible with iPhone models running iOS 8.0 and above.

    WhatsApp for Android is also in the rumours to bring a similar form of authentication layer in the coming future.

    The use of biometrics to unlock could help WhatsApp officially launch its payments feature.

     

  • Nigerians react as Whatsapp reportedly crashes worldwide, except in Nigeria

    WhatsApp users in the country on Wednesday rejoiced that the messaging app did not crash on Tuesday contrary to what was experienced in some parts of the world.

    It would be recalled that several users worldwide, both on Android and iOS, were unable to log into their apps on Tuesday.

    The development manifested itself just a few hours after the messenger announced that it would be curbing the number of forwards for users worldwide.

    However, it was observed that the app did not crash in Nigeria as many Twitter users claimed the app worked perfectly well for them throughout Tuesday.

    Some Nigerians reached to the development differently .

    Some said the country’s President Muhammadu Buhari deserves a second term of office since we didn’t experience any crash.

    “We are now the most powerful country in the world. What a time to be alive, “Wizz official tweeted.

    Aquila_Olaniyi tweeted, “At least we can see the evidence of the prayer meetings we have been holding for Nigeria.

    “Even, the Bible worked for us this time, Psalm 91:7 says, `A thousand shall crash at thy side and 10,000 at your right hand but it will not come near us, Oniyi said.

    Nishant Kumar tweeted “Everybody checking on Twitter if Whatsapp is down, including me, reminds me of childhood days when everyone would check with neighbours to confirm a power cut.

    “What a good day to be a Nigerian.’

    Princewill Felix tweeted: “Nigeria WhatsApp is operating on a very high level encryption, reason why the app didn’t crash in Nigeria.

    “In summary Nigeria is the most secured cyberspace in the world, “he tweeted.

     

  • WhatsApp will stop working on these phones from today

    WhatsApp announced end of support for a slew of mobile devices a few years ago, and this includes devices that run on BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry OS, Nokia Symbian S60, Windows Phone 8.0, Nokia S40, Android versions 2.3.7 and older, iPhone iOS 7 and older.

    WhatsApp no longer invests in developing its service for these platforms, and it will stop working on all of them by 2020.

    It already does not work with devices that run on Nokia Symbian S60, BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, and Windows Phone 8.0 OS.

    After December 31, i.e., today, WhatsApp will also stop working for devices that run on Nokia S40.

    To recall, Nokia series 40 was one of the most popular smart feature phone operating systems a few years back, but after the acquisition by Microsoft, the OS was put to an end.

    The Nokia S40 OS was seen in the company’s mid-tier devices like Nokia Asha 201, Nokia Asha 205, Nokia Asha 210, Nokia Asha 230, Nokia Asha 500, Nokia Asha 501, Nokia Asha 502, Nokia Asha 503, Nokia 206, Nokia 208, Nokia 301, Nokia 515.

    WhatsApp says that devices that run on Nokia S40 won’t be able to use WhatsApp after December 31, i.e., today.

    Support was expected to end in June this year, but WhatsApp extended it till December, bringing some relief to the few Nokia S40 users.

    It is presumed that the number of people affected by this will be very few, as the Nokia S40 OS is extremely old – first unveiled in 1999, updated in 2005, and last used on Nokia 515 in 2013.

    The app will stop working on phones running Android 2.3.7 and older (Gingerbread) and iPhone 3GS/ iOS 6 from February 1, 2020.

     

  • How to use WhatsApp Web PiP feature

    WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out the picture-in-picture (PiP) feature for WhatsApp Web users globally, however not so many users have come to know or understand its usage.

    WhatsApp is known to release new features for its users regularly, and the WhatsApp Web PiP feature rollout, said to be gradual, should be seen by all users in a few weeks.

    According to reports, the PiP mode will work only on shared videos for now, with support for Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram videos coming soon.

    Recall PiP mode was rolled out for Android and iOS users over the course of this year, and now it works for all videos shared on the social networking app.

    As for desktop, WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp is now rolling PiP mode gradually for WhatsApp Web users globally.

    The feature has been enabled with the latest version 0.3.1846, and users do not need to manually install this update.

    Every time a user starts WhatsApp Web, the site recognizes if there is an update available and installs it automatically.

    In order to double check if you are on version 0.3.1846, head to WhatsApp Web > Settings > Help. If you are on an older version of WhatsApp Web, then try clearing the cache and restart the service.

    To use the feature, try playing a video in chat, and see if a floating box appears that plays the video in-app.

    In our test, we saw that the feature was working fine.

    After the video finished downloading, hover the mouse over the playing video, and you will find a PiP logo on the top left edge of the video.

    Clicking on that will enable the video to play within the chat box. It will continue to play even when you leave the chat box and browse through other parts of WhatsApp.

    While iPhone users had PiP mode enabled since January this year, all Android users got it via an update just a few days ago. The feature was in beta for Android users since October.

     

  • Indian govt meets with WhatsApp to trace fake news – Source

    Indian tech ministry officials met with senior WhatsApp executives to ask the Facebook Inc (FB.O) unit to start tracing the origins of misinformation spread through its messaging platform, a senior government official said on Friday.

    WhatsApp has been working to curb the circulation of what technology minister Ravi Prasad termed “sinister” content in India, the firm’s biggest market where it boasts over 220 million users.

    Such misinformation has led to the lynching of over 30 people since January last year, according to data portal IndiaSpend, prompting Prasad to call on WhatsApp to trace its origins.

    WhatsApp has previously declined to trace the origin of messages, citing security issues.

    “We have been asking them for traceability,” said the official at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, declining to be identified as the meeting was private.

    “They (WhatsApp) are non-committal on it but we are forcing this issue.”

    Officials said WhatsApp was represented by Director & Associate General Counsel Brian Hennessy and one other executive, and said it was working on measures to prevent the spread of misinformation.

    “WhatsApp regularly engages with the Government of India to discuss our commitment to maintaining a private and safe platform for people to communicate with one another,” the firm said in a statement.

    “We look forward to continued discussions on how we can work together toward these common goals.”

    WhatsApp maintains that building traceability into its messaging service would undermine its private nature and end-to-end encryption, creating the potential for misuse.

    It has also said it will not weaken the privacy protection it provides.

    The firm has since launched print, radio and television advertising campaigns to educate users on the dangers of misinformation.

    It is also conducted roadshows in partnership with mobile phone network provider Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.

    WhatsApp has held digital literacy training for community leaders and law enforcement as well as introduced features on its app such as limits on message forwarding and labels for forwarded messages.

  • WhatsApp users spend 85 billion hours in-app + other interesting stats

    WhatsApp users spend 85 billion hours in-app + other interesting stats

    According to a report released by Apptopia WhatsApp users spent a cumulative of 85 billion hours using the Facebook-owned messaging app in the past three months.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports that the data released by the US-based app analytics company showed that people globally spent 85 billion hours on WhatsApp that has 1.5 billion users.

    Put into perspective, this is 3.5 billion days or over nine million years — 9,582,650 years to be precise. This means that every human being on the planet spent 11.425 hours on the app in the period.

    Conversely, users spent 31 billion hours on its parent company Facebook.

    “It’s clear that WhatsApp is the global messaging app of choice,” Apptopia’s spokesperson Adam Blacker was quoted by Forbes as saying.

    “Apps having to do with communication take up most of our time spent on our mobile apps,” Blacker added.

    The top 10 apps overall in terms of time spent globally are WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook, Messenger, Pandora, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Google Maps and Spotify.

    Top Sessions by Apps-2

    The data does not put into consideration all of China’s third-party Android app stores, or WeChat and other China-focused apps would very likely top the standings. Even so, WeChat is in second place overall, the report said.

    Four of the top 10 apps by time spent are Facebook’s Messenger, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Google is a leader as well, with YouTube and Google Maps in the top 10 apps by time spent overall.

    Gamers were not left out in the report and users 3.31 billion hours playing Candy Crush Saga. Among the games, Clash of Clans topped the list with 3.83 billion hours time spent followed by My Talking Tom, Candy Crush Saga, Fortnite, Lords Mobile, Subway Surfers, Helix Jump, Slither.io, PUBG Mobile and Fishdom.

    TEST-3

    According to market research company eMarketer, American adults spend an average of more than three and a half hours a day on their mobile devices. In countries like Nigeria that are basically mobile-first and others that are mobile-only, with very low PC penetration, that’s likely to be even higher.

    According to Apptopia, it gets its numbers by being integrated into hundreds of thousands of apps, allowing it to see performance data globally.