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According to WhatsApp, this update was made for the incoming Christmas period for users to inform their contacts on their activities during the holidays. WhatsApp also introduced chat filters, allowing users to sort their chats by All, Unread or Groups. In April 2024, an AI-powered "Smart Assistant" became widely available in WhatsApp, allowing users to ask it questions or have it complete tasks such as generating images.
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- On May 9, 2014, the government of Iran announced that it had proposed to block the access to WhatsApp service to Iranian residents.
- When this multi-device feature was first introduced to Android and iOS users, it could only show messages for the last three months on the Web version, because the Web version was syncing with the phone.
- In April 2018, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum announced he would be leaving the company.
- In August 2021, WhatsApp launched a feature that allows chat history to be transferred between mobile operating systems.
- A month earlier, after Koum purchased an iPhone, he and Acton decided to create an app for the App Store.
Higher usage was reported by frontline clinical staff to keep up with care needs, even though NHS trust policies do not permit their use. Further, the Cabinet Office had claimed that since many messages were not relevant to the inquiry, it only needed to hand over material it had selected as being relevant. A personal device of the former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had been compromised by a security breach, and it was claimed that it could not be switched on to recover messages. The researchers notified, Meta (who updated the enumeration problem in October), and deleted their copy of the phone numbers. At the beginning of 2022, it was revealed that San Diego–based startup Boldend had developed tools to hack WhatsApp's encryption, gaining access to user data, at some point since the startup's inception in 2017. On November 29, 2021, an FBI document was uncovered by Rolling Stone, revealing that WhatsApp responds to warrants and subpoenas from law enforcement within minutes, providing user metadata to the authorities.
Updates appear as small bubbles inside chats for quick visibility.
Later on, it also added support for iOS, Nokia Series 40, and Nokia S60 (Symbian). Originally it was required for the primary phone to keep an online connection to WhatsApp for linked devices to work, but now WhatsApp can run on linked devices without such requirement. Linked devices automatically log out after 14 days of inactivity on the primary phone. As of 2025, the software requires at least Android version 5.0 or iOS version 15.1 respectively. By default, it is set to disappear in 24 hours, but it can be set for a longer amount of time and can be restricted for viewing by other contacts in the Settings menu. Unlike messages in groups or private chats, channels are not end-to-end encrypted.
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On November 25, 2019, WhatsApp announced an investment of $250,000 through a partnership with Startup India to provide 500 startups with Facebook ad credits of $500 each. In September 2017, WhatsApp's co-founder Brian Acton left the company to start a nonprofit group, later revealed as the Signal Foundation, which developed the WhatsApp competitor Signal. On May 18, 2017, the European Commission announced that it was fining Facebook €110 million for "providing misleading information about WhatsApp takeover" in 2014. (The word "telegram" appeared in WhatsApp's code.) Some considered it an anti-competitive measure; WhatsApp offered no explanation. Sequoia Capital received an approximate 5,000% return on its initial investment.
This ability (named multi-device support) began testing in July 2021 and rolled out to all users in April 2023. In September 2024, WhatsApp expanded support for Meta AI, allowing users to send text and photos to Meta AI to ask questions, identify objects, translate text or edit pictures. In June 2023, a feature called WhatsApp Channels was launched which allows content creators, public figures and organizations to send newsletter-like broadcasts to large numbers of users. Now, the feature is also made available to iOS users, allowing them to link up to four iPhones.
He also said that the app would not display any third-party ads, and that it would have new features such as the ability to communicate with businesses. In April 2015, Forbes predicted that between 2012 and 2018, the telecommunications industry would lose $386 billion because of "over-the-top" services like WhatsApp and Skype. He also said that new mobile phones would be sold in Germany with the WhatsApp brand, and that their ultimate goal was to be on all smartphones. Three days after announcing the Facebook purchase, Koum said they were working to introduce voice calls. This would give them some context for why they are important, and that will lead them to pay for more services like this – or so the hope goes. These could be a social networking service like Facebook, a messaging service, maybe search and other things like weather.
The updated interface now allows users to set timers ranging from a few hours to a month. “Many people use services like WhatsApp on their computers when they’re at work. Another industry representative pointed out that forcing frequent logouts on services like WhatsApp Web could interrupt work routines, especially in office environments. “So far, when you use a new SIM card abroad, you can continue using services like WhatsApp without any additional registration. But now that the directives are formal, some industry representatives have raised concerns about how they may affect everyday users. Fraudsters often take advantage of inactive or foreign SIM cards to run phishing scams or financial fraud targeting users in India.
Rollout is gradual, with availability expanding to more iOS devices.
This new encryption feature added an additional layer of protection to chat backups stored either on Apple iCloud or Google Drive. The new privacy policy would not apply within the EU, as it is illegal under the GDPR. On December 16, 2020, a claim that WhatsApp gave Google access to private messages was included in the anti-trust case against the latter. In its revelation via documents received from court, the group claimed that the lawsuit brought against the company by WhatsApp threatened to infringe on its clients' "national security and foreign policy concerns".
Version History
In a later update on November 30, WhatsApp added a Secret Code feature, which allows those who use locked chats to enter a unique password that hides those chats from view when unlocking the app. In October 2023 they also introduced passkey support, where a user can verify their login with on-device biometrics, rather than SMS. In August 2021, WhatsApp launched a feature that allows chat history to be transferred between mobile operating systems. In July 2021, WhatsApp announced forthcoming support for end-to-end encryption for backups stored in Facebook's cloud.
In August 2013, WhatsApp added voice messages to their apps, giving users a way to send short audio recordings directly in their chats. WhatsApp has rolled out a feature called 'Voice Status Updates', which allows users to record voice notes and share them as their mexican restaurant toronto downtown status on the app. This allows users to send messages between other messaging apps and WhatsApp while maintaining end-to-end encryption.
When the selected window closes, the status disappears automatically. WhatsApp’s App Store changelog now prominently features the redesigned About page, indicating that the rollout is expanding to more devices. The updated About works similarly to WhatsApp Status, but it is intended for quick, contextual updates that appear directly inside chats. Experts also note that despite strict verification systems in banking and UPI apps, financial fraud hasn’t gone away. Some also have to use them without their phones around in some instances.
