New Whatsapp Features for iPhone and Android!

WhatsApp, the popular Facebook-owned messaging service, has started rolling out a new ‘Starred Messages’ feature for iOS users in the form of an app update. The feature aims to let users quickly access bookmarked messages including images, videos, or other content quickly.

WhatsApp users would now be able to ‘Star’ a message using tap and hold gesture. The message would then be saved in a separate new ‘Starred Messages’ tab. The feature is also available for WhatsApp Groups.

Starred Messages has been seeded to iOS users in the app version 2.12.7 and is likely to reach Androidand Windows Phone soon. The updated app is available to download form the App Store.

The more we rely on our smartphones for every facet of our lives, the more risk there is of losing important data if your phone gets lost, stolen or destroyed. Android already has some backup services built in, but the massively popular chat client WhatsApp has just announced a partnership with Google to make sure its 900 million users don’t lose anything important to them. Starting today, WhatsApp users on Android will have the option to back up their entire WhatsApp history right to Google Drive. The backup will include chat histories, voice messages, photos and video, and you’ll be able to restore all of that data to a new phone when you set up WhatsApp.

Unfortunately, as with many new Google features, this one will be coming by the ever-popular gradual rollout. This is a particularly long one — Google says the feature will become available over the next few months. Once it’s available, you’ll find the option in WhatsApp’s settings. Why it’ll take so long isn’t clear, so you’ll have to just start checking your app periodically if you want to take advantage of the new feature.

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WhatsApp Adds an Option to Disable Blue Ticks, Here’s How You Can Get it!

Last week WhatsApp introduced ‘read receipts’ in the form of two blue ticks, letting users know if their message or picture had be seen by their chatting partner.

However, it seems that this wasn’t a universally popular move and WhatsApp is now introducing the option to disable this feature if they want to keep the nagging out of their conversations.

It’s only available to Android users who have downloaded the new beta version of the app (whatsapp.com/android), but those that have can go to Settings > Privacy > and disable the ‘Read Receipts’ option to banish the blue ticks when you read other people’s messages.

Here’s Why Your Whatsapp Arrows(Double Checks-Ticks) Started to Turn Blue!

Are you surprised why your whatsapp arrows (Ticks) started turning blue suddenly today? Here’s why!

New WhatsApp update for iOS & Android tells you when the person has read your messages by making the arrows turn blue.

So the Whatsapp Hide Last Seen feature is now useless since you can know when someone reads your message!

NOTE: You do not need to update the app to receive the feature. Changes will apply automatically within the app.  The update is still rolling out. It’s not available to all users yet, so be patient!

WhatsApp is violating Phone Number privacy laws, reforms being made!

WhatsApp, the popular mobile messaging service, has been accused of violating international privacy laws over its handling of personal information.

In a collaborative investigation by Canadian and Dutch data privacy officials, it was determined that app users “do not have a choice to use the app without granting access to their entire address book.”

While the focus by privacy officials was around WhatsApp’s violations, the committee did note that the company had taken steps to implement many of its recommendations in order to comply with Canadian and Dutch privacy laws, of which was the basis of the charges. And while some of the privacy issues have been resolved, a statement revealed that there are other outstanding issues that have yet to be fully addressed.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada cited examples that it believes shows WhatsApp’s lax privacy enforcement:

• In order to facilitate contact between application users, WhatsApp relies on a user’s address book to populate subscribers’ WhatsApp contacts list.  Once users consent to the use of their address book, all phone numbers from the mobile device are transmitted to WhatsApp to assist in the identification of other WhatsApp users.  Rather than deleting the mobile numbers of non-users, WhatsApp retains those numbers (in a hash form).
• At the time the investigation began, messages sent using WhatsApp’s messenger service were unencrypted, leaving them prone to eavesdropping or interception, especially when sent through unprotected Wi-Fi networks.
• Over the course of the investigation, it was found that WhatsApp was generating passwords for message exchanges using device information that can be relatively easily exposed.  This created the risk that a third party may send and receive messages in the name of users without their knowledge.

The investigation has already resulted in some reforms. WhatsApp has introduced encryption in its platform that it says will prevent anybody from intercepting or eavesdropping. What’s more, the company says it has strengthened its authentication process in its latest version — it uses a “more secure randomly generated key instead of generating passwords from Media Access Control (MAC) or International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers.”

Although both countries have conducted a joint investigation, they have issued separate reports, respecting each of their data protection laws. However, both say that they will be monitoring WhatsApp’s progress to ensure that it is fulfilling its commitment towards user privacy.

According to the investigators, WhatsApp is committed to making changes to protect the users’ privacy by letting them manually add contacts to their profiles.

This investigation comes at a time when WhatsApp has achieved enormous popularity. Earlier this month, it announced that it has processed 18 billion total messages in a single day, exceeding an August 2012 record of 10 billion messages — this surpasses Apple’s iMessage service, which generated more than 1 billion a day.

Additionally, WhatsApp has partnered with Hong Kong operator Three as its first carrier roaming deal giving customers unlimited access to the app in Hong Kong and 78 other countries.