What you need to know

• Samsung Messages is shutting down this month, though the company hasn't confirmed an exact date yet.
• Users on Android 11 and earlier are unaffected, and emergency calls still work after the shutdown.
• Google Messages is the official replacement, and Samsung has made the transition fairly easy to do.

It's July, which means the month has finally arrived for the Samsung Messages app on Galaxy phones to shut down.

Back in April 2026, Samsung announced it would be shutting down its Messages app later this year. The company published an official notice on its U.S. website confirming the change and specifying July 2026 as the cutoff. That month is now here, which means the app could stop working at any point.

Samsung still hasn't confirmed the exact date, but the shutdown is expected to happen fairly soon. The company has already stopped preloading the Messages app on flagship Galaxy devices since 2024, and while users could still install it from the Galaxy Store, even that option was pulled with the Galaxy S26 Ultra earlier this year. A full shutdown now looks imminent.

It's over for Samsung Messages on Galaxy phones

Users on Android 11 and earlier won't be affected and will still be able to use Samsung Messages on their devices. It's also worth noting that even after the shutdown, you'll still be able to use Samsung Messages on a Galaxy device to contact emergency services. However, you won't be able to send or receive messages from regular contacts.

Samsung has already confirmed it's transitioning Galaxy phones to Google Messages, and the company has made the switch fairly straightforward. We've written a detailed guide on how to move your messages from Samsung Messages to Google Messages that you can follow to transfer all your messages from the old app to the new one.

If you'd rather not use Google Messages, there are a few Samsung Messages alternatives worth exploring. That said, none of them are a true one-to-one replacement, so there's a good chance you'll end up going with Google Messages anyway.

Android Central's Take

I get why some people are upset about this. Nobody likes being forced off an app they've used for years. That said, Google Messages is in a much better place than it used to be, so the switch isn't as painful as it sounds.

If you haven't been paying attention lately, the Samsung Messages app on your Galaxy smartphone is going away. Samsung announced the discontinuation of the Samsung Messages app back in April 2026, saying the app would lose the ability to send and receive text messages starting in July 2026.

While the Samsung Messages app still does a few things better than the alternatives, like offering deeper chat customization and a cleaner experience without Gemini integrations everywhere, Samsung has clearly made up its mind. This means the app will effectively become useless later this year.

All of this also means that you'll eventually have to switch to another texting app on your phone. Thankfully, you won't need to start from scratch, as your chats and conversations can be transferred over pretty easily. Here's how it works.

Google Messages will automatically transfer your chats with a single step

With Samsung Messages being discontinued, Samsung is officially recommending that users switch to Google Messages as the default messaging app on their phone. Google has spent the past few years improving Google Messages, and at this point, it has become a fairly solid replacement for most Samsung users.

Thankfully, once you switch from Samsung Messages to Google Messages, your chats and existing conversations will transfer over automatically. You don't really need to do anything extra apart from setting Google Messages as your default messaging app.

Samsung says that depending on the version of One UI running on your Galaxy phone, you'll receive an in-app notification in the Samsung Messages app prompting you to move over to Google Messages. From there, you'll be asked to download Google Messages from the Play Store if it isn't already installed on your device.

Once you install and open Google Messages, you'll see a prompt asking you to make it your default SMS app. Just tap Set default SMS app, select Google Messages, and then tap Set as default again. And that's pretty much it.

Samsung says that once Google Messages is set as the default, all your conversations will automatically transfer over from Samsung Messages.

That said, depending on how many messages and media files you have, it might take some time for everything to fully appear. Samsung notes that some conversations may temporarily look missing while the app re-indexes your messages, and the process could take up to a full day.

What's nice is that Samsung is also trying to make the switch feel seamless. On newer Galaxy phones, the company will automatically replace the Samsung Messages icon on your home screen with the Google Messages icon, so you don't have to retrain your muscle memory.

However, users on Android 12 or Android 13 may have to manually add the Google Messages app to the home screen themselves.

What to do if your Samsung Messages chats don't transfer immediately

A few users have recently reported issues with messages temporarily disappearing after switching apps, but Samsung says those conversations aren't actually lost. The data and media still remain stored locally on the device while Google Messages re-indexes everything in the background.

Once the indexing process finishes, all your conversations should properly show up inside Google Messages. So if you don't see your messages being transferred over immediately, you should see them within 48 hours of transferring your chats.

It's also worth noting that even though Samsung Messages is being discontinued, Samsung says users will still be able to use the app for emergency communication, including contacting emergency services and emergency contacts.

Samsung also mentions that this discontinuation currently only applies to the U.S. region. There still isn't much clarity around other regions, so for now, the app may continue to work elsewhere.

That said, if you're in the U.S., you can still continue using Samsung Messages as your default app for a couple more months before the shutdown fully kicks in.

However, Google Messages has caught up in a lot of ways over the past few years, and if you don't want to wait until the deadline, you can simply download Google Messages from the Play Store and switch over right away.

What you need to know

• Instagram has removed end-to-end encryption from DMs, meaning your messages are no longer fully private.
• Meta can now access and analyze message content for moderation, including detecting harmful or illegal activity.
• The company says low adoption and safety concerns are the main reasons behind removing encrypted chats.
• Users can download their chats, but ongoing conversations are no longer protected by encryption.

If you care about privacy in your messages, you should stop using Instagram as a texting app starting today.

Earlier this year, Meta announced a major privacy shift, revealing that it would remove end-to-end encryption for Instagram chats. The company said the change would take effect on May 8, 2026, and that date has now arrived.

This means that starting today, Instagram DMs no longer support end-to-end encryption. As a result, Meta can access the contents of your messages, and your chats are no longer protected in the same way.

For those unfamiliar, end-to-end encryption ensures that only the sender and receiver can read the contents of a message. With this feature removed, Meta now has the ability to access and process those conversations.

Instagram never had encryption turned on by default, but since introducing it in 2019, users could opt into encrypted chats. That option is now being removed.

Meta says the decision was made due to low adoption and to strengthen moderation against issues like child exploitation, fraud, and harassment, since encryption makes it harder to detect such activity.

The bigger implication here is that Meta can now access your messages and potentially use that data for things like moderation and even ad targeting based on what you send and receive.

Meta says users affected by this change will see prompts explaining how to download their messages and media if they want to keep them. If you still want end-to-end encrypted messaging, the company suggests moving to WhatsApp, which continues to support it.

If you've been living under a rock, the Samsung Messages app is going away. Samsung has officially confirmed that it will shut down the app in July 2026, with Google Messages taking over as the default.

The company has already started notifying users that they won't be able to send messages through Samsung Messages (except for emergency services or contacts), and the app will also no longer be available to download from the Galaxy Store. It's worth noting that you already can't install Samsung Messages on the Galaxy S26 series.

Alongside Google Messages, Samsung Messages was one of the only apps on Android to fully support RCS. And now, you'll have to move to Google's alternative. That said, Google Messages still doesn't get everything right, and there are a few features I'll definitely miss once I make the switch.

No Gemini clutter taking over your screen space

Google has been pushing Gemini across Android wherever it can, and Google Messages is no exception. The app now includes a dedicated Gemini button, letting you start chatting with the AI directly from within your conversations. The idea is to make things like drafting messages, brainstorming ideas, or planning events easier without leaving the app.

While that sounds useful in theory, it also means Gemini sits right alongside your personal chats. You can disable it from the settings, but I'm not entirely comfortable having an AI assistant so tightly integrated into an app that handles my private conversations.

With Samsung Messages, you didn't have to deal with any of that. It was just a simple, easy-to-use RCS messaging app without any AI features taking up space or attention.

More chat customization options built right in

One thing Android users are used to is customization, and Samsung Messages absolutely nailed it. The app lets you tweak almost everything, from changing chat colors and message bubble colors to adjusting contrast, applying theme-based styles, and even using wallpaper-based color palettes.

Google Messages, on the other hand, feels pretty bare-bones in comparison. You only get light and dark themes out of the box, and while Google has been working on adding more chat themes, the feature still isn't widely available yet (even in the beta channel).

So if you've been relying on deep customization in Samsung Messages, that's something you'll definitely miss when moving to Google Messages.

Simple and useful message categorization tools

Another great part of Samsung Messages, and probably the most important feature in my opinion, is message categorization. Just like you can organize emails into different tabs like Primary, Updates, Social, or Promotions in Gmail, Samsung Messages lets you do something very similar with your texts.

You can group different senders into specific categories. For example, you can put all your bank and card messages into a financial category, keep your close contacts under primary, and even create categories for things like food deliveries or shopping updates. It makes managing messages so much easier.

Google Messages, however, doesn't offer this. While it has added features like a trash section, there's still no way to properly categorize messages by sender. This feels like something Google could easily improve with AI (even if that raises some privacy questions), but for now, it's a big feature missing from Google Messages.

Google Messages isn't a bad RCS alternative

With the Samsung Messages app shutting down in July 2026, the brand is asking users to switch to Google Messages as the default messaging app on their phones.

And while it's not a like-for-like replacement, it's currently the only SMS app on Android that fully supports RCS. So if RCS texting matters to you, with features like high-quality media sharing, typing indicators, stickers, and emoji reactions, Google Messages is the app you'll have to move to.

That said, Google Messages itself isn't a bad app. There are some customization options available, and similar to Samsung Messages, you can disable Gemini from the settings if you don't want AI in your chats.

It also includes features like Messages for Web, which is handy for entering OTPs on your laptop, and enhanced spam protection that isn't available in Samsung Messages.

Google Messages has improved a lot over the past few months

The reason I'm not entirely frustrated about Samsung Messages going away is that Google has been putting in real effort to improve its Messages app recently.

We've seen additions like a trash folder to recover deleted chats, small but helpful tools like copying specific parts of a message, and the ability to mark RCS notifications as read from Wear OS. And all of these updates have arrived fairly recently.

These updates show that Google is actively working to improve the Messages app, not just for Samsung Galaxy users but for Android users overall.

What you need to know

• Google Messages now adds a trash folder, letting you recover deleted chats instead of removing them instantly.
• Deleted conversations stay in the trash for 30 days, with options to restore or permanently delete anytime.
• New messages from deleted chats appear as fresh threads and don't restore the original conversation.

If you've ever accidentally deleted a conversation in Google Messages, the app is now giving you a second chance to recover it.

After testing it in beta, Google Messages is now rolling out the trash folder for all users. Previously, when you deleted chats in the app, they were removed immediately. But now, instead of being deleted right away, the chat will move to a trash folder before being permanently deleted.

When you delete a thread, it stays in the trash folder for 30 days, after which it is automatically deleted. Of course, you can go in and delete the thread permanently anytime if you want. Similarly, you can also restore conversations from here within that one-month window.

Now, when you tap the delete icon after selecting a chat, Google Messages will show a prompt that the chat is being moved to trash. To access it, you can tap the profile icon on the top right, where it appears under the 'More from this app' section below the Archived option.

You will be able to access trashed chats, restore them, or delete them permanently using the options available in the trash folder.

It's worth noting that if you receive a message from a trashed conversation, it will show up as a new thread in the main inbox and will not restore the original chat from the trash folder.

The feature is now rolling out to Android phones. I was able to access it on version 20260403_00_RC00 of the app on my Oppo Find X9 Pro. If you're not seeing it yet, you may need to update the app from the Google Play Store.

It's good to see Google adding more features to Messages, especially with Samsung planning to phase out its own Messages app on Galaxy devices later this year. This comes after Google also started testing the mentions feature in the app.

Android Central's Take

This is one of those small features that should've been here a long time ago. I've lost count of how many times I've deleted a chat by mistake. Having a trash folder just makes Google Messages feel more complete now.

What you need to know

• Google Messages is testing a new Smart Reply option that lets you edit preset responses before sending them.
• The feature changes Smart Reply behavior from instant sending to inserting the reply into the text field first.
• A new toggle in Settings > Suggestions lets users choose between Tap to send and Tap to draft replies.

Google Messages is adding a new Tap to draft option for Smart Replies that will make it easier to edit preset responses before sending them.

Google Messages has been testing several quality-of-life improvements over the past few months. The company recently started experimenting with the ability to copy only a part of a message, and also added real-time location sharing.

Now Google appears to be working on another feature that tweaks how Smart Replies behave, something that arguably should have existed from the start.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Google Messages beta version 20260303 includes a new toggle inside the Smart Reply settings that changes how the feature works. Right now, when Google Messages shows Smart Reply suggestions as preset chips above the text field, tapping one of those replies sends the message instantly.

With the new behavior enabled, tapping a Smart Reply chip will instead insert the text into the message field so you can edit it before sending. The message will no longer be sent immediately. Instead, it will appear in the text box so you can modify it before hitting send.

The feature is already live in the beta version. I was able to access it on my Google Pixel 10a running the latest Google Messages beta. You can find the setting under Settings > Suggestions. Turning the toggle off keeps the old Tap to send behavior, while turning it on switches the feature to Tap to draft.

For now, the feature is limited to the Google Messages beta. We'll update you once it starts rolling out to the stable version of the app.

What you need to know

• Google is adding RCS message archival on company-managed Pixels, allowing employers to view employee messages.
• The feature helps organizations meet strict compliance rules now that RCS breaks traditional carrier logging.
• Third-party archival apps can read message data on-device and even notify IT when messages are sent or edited.
• Archival works only on company-managed Pixels, and employees will see a clear notification when it's active.

Google has worked a lot on improving the security and privacy of Android devices, especially Pixel phones. However, the company now seems to be rolling out a new RCS feature in Google Messages that could let employers view messages on company-managed Pixel phones.

As noted by Google in a blog post, the company is rolling out a new "RCS message archival" feature for fully-managed Google Pixel devices. According to Google, this will help organizations meet "strict compliance" requirements for record-keeping and legal requests for employee communications.

In simple terms, this means that if you use a company-managed Pixel phone, your employer may be able to see the messages you send and receive.

Google enables RCS messages logging on work phones

RCS, as we all know, is the new standard for end-to-end encrypted messaging on Android and also enables secure texting with iPhones. While this is great for users, it has made it harder for organizations to meet compliance rules, since encrypted messaging breaks the old carrier-level logging systems. Previously, companies relied on carriers to log messages, but that's no longer possible.

To work around this issue, Google has introduced support for third-party archival apps that can integrate directly with Google Messages on work-managed devices.

When enabled on an organization-owned Pixel, the archival app is notified whenever an RCS message is received. It's also notified when a message is sent, received, edited, or deleted.

Google mentions that the archival app can read the message data and make it available to the IT department. However, the company notes that everything remains end-to-end encrypted and the archival app doesn't share data online or with Google since the entire process happens on-device.

Google says it has already added support for third-party vendors including Celltrust, Smarsh, and 3rd Eye, with more coming next year.

That said, this feature is limited to company-managed devices and won't affect personal Pixel phones. Even on work devices, the feature must be enabled by IT administrators, and when it's active, employees will see a clear notification indicating that archival is running.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp’s new “Layout” feature enables users to share collaged photos as status updates, similar to Instagram’s Stories.
• Users can select from multiple grid options to share up to six photos from their Android gallery.
• The feature is currently hidden and in testing, with a demo showcasing its potential appearance and functionality.

WhatsApp was found testing a new feature that is popular on Meta's other social media platforms like Instagram. The feature allows users to share collaged pics as status updates.

According to an APK Insight performed by folks at Android Authority, the messaging app was seen using a new “Layout” feature, which helps users pick a collage layout to post multiple pictures at once while sharing them as status updates. It is similar to Instagram’s Stories feature as it also supports layout photo sharing format.

With the new upcoming WhatsApp feature, the aim here is to keep the status updates cleaner than clumsy as is the case now when users want to share multiple photos at once. The Layout feature allows users to share up to six photos at once and they can be picked up from their Android phone’s gallery, and it additionally provides multiple grid options to choose from.

While currently hidden, the feature's showcased demo by the publication gives us an idea of how the "Layouts" will supposedly look when it rolls out to the masses shortly.

Users can head over to the status page and hit the camera icon, which takes them to the phone’s gallery the Layout option should be seen right next to the “voice” and “music” options, and they can add the preferred six photos and choose from the provided grid styles. The final status update screen, however, remains to be seen as the feature is still in the testing phase.

WhatsApp Status has seen significant improvements over the past few months. They've started allowing users to like the status updates alongside allowing users to privately mention their friends from the contacts, who can further repost the update as their status update. All these features are also borrowed from Instagram, and the upcoming new one might soon be added to that list.

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What you need to know

• Telegram’s latest update includes the ability to cast videos on Chromecast-supported devices.
• The other new features give content creators and public figures more control over their privacy and monetize their popularity.
• They can filter out unwanted messages and put a fee for people who message them outside their contacts.

Telegram has announced a bunch of new features for the messaging platform, including the ability to cast videos to TVs for Android phone users.

According to the latest blog post, shared videos on Telegram can be viewed on TVs as the messaging platform gains support for Chromecast devices. It could likely work with smart TVs that already support Chromecast sharing.

“Android users can now cast videos straight to their Chromecast devices — whether you're watching memes with friends or presenting important content in a meeting, enjoy it all on the big screen!”

Casting a video also appears hassle-free as Android phone users need to open a video on the Telegram app, select the Settings icon on the top right, and look for the Chromecast option. It is pretty similar to what we are used to on other streaming apps like YouTube or Netflix, for instance.

Aside from the ability to cast videos, other features of the messaging platform are tailored for content creators and public figures. They are privacy-focused and also offer new ways to monetize their popularity.

As prominent figures receive numerous messages daily, they can now set a fee for incoming messages from people who are not on their contacts list. It further allows them to earn Stars as well. Additionally, they can filter out unwanted messages, and strangers can contact them only when they are willing to share Stars.

Telegram says these new features can be applied to group chats and channel discussions as it lets interactions stay focused and free from spam.

Furthermore, when someone tries to contact a user for the first time, Telegram will provide a new detailed info page that showcases information like country, shared groups, their Telegram joining date, and other such essential details, which further help in tackling spam and avoid impersonators.

Lastly, Telegram Gateway is a cost-effective and privacy-focused solution from the messaging platform that offers user authentication. It allows users to verify their customers’ phone numbers through Telegram. The aim is to replace standard SMS verification, and it “elsewhere can cost $0.50 or more per message, while Telegram Gateway offers authentication for just $0.01.”

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What you need to know

• Samsung brings “Suggested replies” for Galaxy S25 devices, offering AI-powered responses in messaging apps.
• The feature is currently spotted in Labs settings, requires Samsung Keyboard to use it.
• Users can edit and send the responses, and the feature currently works with WhatsApp.

Samsung started making the flagship Galaxy S25 series widely available to the masses last week. As more users get their hands on the devices this month, the company seems to have already been rolling out new features for the trio.

As Mishaal Rahman notes (via Android Authority), Samsung is bringing an advanced feature for Galaxy S25 devices dubbed “Suggested replies.” The new feature works in conjunction with Samsung Keyboard for messaging apps like WhatsApp to give AI-powered replies to chat.

The feature comes as a part of the Labs settings found in the Galaxy S25 series. Per the screenshots shared by Rahman, the new feature’s description goes on to indicate that users can get AI-powered suggested replies to chat and text messages they receive — but only while using the native Samsung Keyboard.

Since it is an experimental feature and works only with Samsung Keyboard, Rahman notes that it is highly unlikely that it would work with a third-party keyboard like Gboard or SwiftKey, for instance. Samsung also doesn’t say which messaging apps the respective new feature works with, but, according to Rahman’s testing, it worked pretty well with WhatsApp.

The cited example indicates a question sent to a user asking which AI assistant is better, Galaxy AI or Apple Intelligence. The receiver on the other end using Samsung Keyboard with the suggested replies feature enabled has seen a couple of suggested responses like “both have their pros and cons.”

However, a user needs to pick the provided options and has the ability to edit it before sending, which appears handy. While it worked with WhatsApp, for Rahman, it didn’t work with Google Messages — although it has its version of suggested replies dubbed Smart Reply.

For those wondering, in order for the new Suggested replies feature to work seamlessly, it requires the data from the chat, and Samsung doesn’t yet say whether it is taking the help of Gemini to generate these suggested responses. However, the feature description indicates that “Messages are processed on your phone to provide suggested replies,” followed by instructing users to check the terms and conditions of the Galaxy AI’s features.

Right now, the rollout of the feature is limited to the Galaxy S25 series; however, the One UI 7’s official rollout to older Galaxy phones like the S24 Ultra would indicate whether the feature is for more Galaxy phone users.

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What you need to know

• WhatsApp announces some new and upcoming features for its Android and iOS platforms.
• The messaging service brings video call effects for traditional photo and video sharing within the chats.
• Users can also share quicker emoji reactions to messages in their respective WhatsApp chats.

WhatsApp has announced that it is starting 2025 with a bunch of new features coming to Android and as well as iOS users.

In an accompanying blog post this week, the messaging platform shared some new features and design improvements that users can see on WhatsApp this year. Meta-owned messaging service introduced an effects feature for video calls last year.

With the new update, people who often take photos and videos in chats will now be able to use those effects. This means users will be able to choose the same 30 backgrounds, filters, and effects to transform what they capture and share in their chats.

WhatsApp on Android phones already allows users to take selfies and immediately convert them into relevant stickers. This can be done by tapping the create sticker option, which opens up the camera for users to click selfies and create stickers hassle-free. According to the blog post, it is coming soon to iOS users this year.

The messaging platform will also allow users to easily share their favorite sticker packs right from their chats. Lastly, WhatsApp users will be able to quickly react to a message in a chat by simply double-tapping the respective message and scrolling through the most-used emoji reactions.

While these seem to be a bunch of new features coming to the platform, WhatsApp notes that it is looking forward to introducing "more exciting features" that are set to be released throughout 2025.

In other news, WhatsApp was also found working on a new widget, seemingly bringing Meta AI onto users' home screens. The relevant widget has been spotted recently in the WhatsApp beta 2.25.1.27 version. It is believed to be coming in a 4x1 layout, and users are required to access WhatsApp's AI chat feature to use it.

Once the widget is enabled, users can tap the text field to start asking Meta AI or use the camera icon in the same widget to click something and ask questions about it.

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What you need to know

• The latest beta of WhatsApp for Android has revealed an interesting new feature.
• Dubbed “Search on web, “ it allows users to do a reverse image search that they receive on the messaging platform.
• The aim is to combat misinformation shared through manipulated or misrepresented images via chats.

WhatsApp has been constantly working on rolling out nifty features to the messaging platform. After unveiling a few updates recently, the latest beta version has revealed an interesting image search feature coming soon.

As reported by WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp beta (version 2.24.23.13) is testing a new image search feature. This tool lets users verify the authenticity of images shared in chats or groups, helping to spot fake or misleading pictures. It’s expected to roll out to more beta testers in the coming weeks.

WABetaInfo points out that the new feature is designed to help users check if an image has been altered or misrepresented. To use it, simply open an image in a chat or group, tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner, and you’ll see a new "Search on web" option.

Clicking the option will give users a new window indicating, “Searching for more info will upload only this message to Google.” This means the image you receive on the platform will be sent to the search engine to check for its authenticity and give users an accurate result. This could likely make it easier to spot AI-generated images or fake images that users receive on the platform, which would help in dealing with misinformation more effectively.

Previously, if you wanted to search an image received on WhatsApp, you’d have to save the image on your Android phone first, and later open the Google Search app and upload the image for reverse search. The upcoming feature on WhatsApp, however, does all this without the need to leave the app, which is convenient.

WABetaInfo further notes that the said feature is optional, and users can choose to either use it or hit cancel, as showcased in the shared screenshot.

As mentioned, the new feature is available for Android phones and users who are subscribed to WhatsApp beta via the Google Play Beta Program. However, the official rollout for Android and iOS operating systems could take weeks to months.

Meanwhile, the Meta-owned messaging platform has recently rolled out new customization options for users to manage their chats via lists. The company now allows users to create personalized lists/chat filters to sort their contacts or WhatsApp chats, which were previously confined to predefined filters.

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What you need to know

• WhatsApp users will soon be able to save contacts from WhatsApp Web and Windows devices.
• Until now, people could only save contacts for WhatsApp on their primary phone.
• The ultimate aim of the messaging platform is to soon add usernames instead of phone numbers and the ability to sync them irrespective of the device.

Meta has revealed some exciting new features coming to WhatsApp, making it simpler to add and manage contacts. Soon, users will be able to privately add and manage their contacts, no matter what device they’re using.

While the messaging platform already offers cross-platform support, users were able to add a new contact only via the primary Android phone or iOS handset—by adding a phone number or scanning a QR code.

In a press release, WhatsApp notes that users will soon be able to add and manage contacts through WhatsApp Web and also through Windows platforms or their preferred device, like Android tablets.

In some cases, users would want a certain contact only on WhatsApp and not as a contact on their phone contacts list. The messaging platform also adds such possibility, making handling personal and business numbers easier. It helps when people have more than one account on their device.

WhatsApp adds that contacts saved on the messaging platform can be readily restored when a user switches devices, which will be useful if they lose their smartphones and phone numbers.

The messaging platform's primary aim with the introduction of these new capabilities is to eventually "manage and save contacts by usernames." 

Usernames aren't new, and most Android apps and even Meta-owned apps like Instagram utilize them. They create a unique identity for a person, irrespective of their phone number. This is an extra layer of privacy on the platform, which is likely to be coming soon to WhatsApp.

It is encouraging to see WhatsApp add such functionality. Hopefully, it will prevent people from spam, which rely heavily on phone numbers shared with businesses. 

WhatsApp has also shared that the new feature to manage contacts across platforms is specifically designed for a new encrypted storage system dubbed Identity Proof Linked Storage (IPLS) that allows users to store contacts directly on WhatsApp, as mentioned. 

It further allows new contacts to get synced to their phone even if saved from another WhatsApp-linked device. The IPLS also assures that stored contact names are encrypted within the platform, which is seen only by the user. 

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What you need to know

• WhatsApp announced two new features to the platform, which are heavily inspired by Instagram.
• Users can now share statuses with private mentions, and the mentioned person will get a discreet notification.
• Plus, mentioned users can share the Status on their own profiles and even give it a like.
• Users on the receiving end will now be able to like WhatsApp Statuses of all in general.

WhatsApp rolled out Status updates a while back, similar to Instagram Stories. It's another fun way to stay connected with friends and family by sharing quick videos or photos that disappear after 24 hours. Now, the feature is getting a cool update to make it even more engaging.

According to a recent blog post from WhatsApp, users can now receive likes on their Status updates. The experience and interface appear familiar to Instagram Stories.

Just like Instagram Stories, users can now reshare their friends' WhatsApp Status updates if they're mentioned privately, which is new to the messaging platform.

In keeping with WhatsApp's signature green, the like/heart button for reactions will also be green, unlike the usual red or pink seen on other platforms. Plus, these likes will remain private.

"Status likes are private and don't have a counter, so only the person whose status you liked can see them as a  in the list of viewers," WhatsApp notes in the blog post. 

For mentions, WhatsApp users can tag close friends in their Status updates, allowing them to reshare the Status if they choose. The mentioned person will get a private notification, and the mention won’t be visible to anyone else on the user's contact list.

These new features were spotted in testing a few weeks ago, and it's exciting to see them already rolling out. WhatsApp confirmed it's a global rollout, so Android and iOS users should see the update soon.

Not very long ago, WhatsApp also rolled out another Instagram Stories-like feature: the ability to share longer video status updates. Previously, users could share only 30-second videos; however, after the update, users are able to share up to one minute video, just like Instagram, which isn't surprising since both are Meta-owned platforms.

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What you need to know

• SMS is still used as a fallback for modern messaging services, like iMessage and RCS, although it is insecure.
• Bad actors can trick your phone into connecting to a False Base Stations (FBS) or Stingrays, which are portable radio devices.
• Then, these scammers and fraudsters use the frailty of aging and insecure 2G networks to try and deceive users and capture information.

New messaging standards are the talk of the town, from RCS to iMessage. However, you may know that critical infrastructure still relies on SMS messaging, which is decades old and has many security issues. In fact, SMS and MMS text messages are often used as a fallback when better options, like iMessage or RCS, are unavailable. It’s this reliance on aging and insecure messaging infrastructure that allows bad actors to use it to their advantage, committing text message fraud.

It’s tough to keep up with all the evolving scams and tricks, and Google published a security blog post explaining the latest Android text message scam, which exploits 2G networks. It’s called SMS Blaster Fraud, and it tricks your device into what it thinks is a secure cell tower. Instead, you’re actually connecting to a stranger’s device, which will then be used for a smishing attack (SMS phishing). You could think you’re giving information to a trusted source, but actually end up handing it right over to the bad guys. 

Your cell phone is constantly searching for cell towers to ensure it has a constant and fast network connection. However, it could end up connecting to what is known as a cell-site simulator, False Base Station (FBS) or Stingray. Essentially, these are small radio transmitters that mimic a real cell site. Your phone may connect to them unknowingly, perceiving a cell-site simulator as a true and authentic cell tower. According to Google, cellular carriers have reported more frequent instances of SMS Blaster Fraud in recent years.

The scam is simple. A false base station is small enough to fit into a backpack, so it’s portable. An attacker could go to a high-density area, where there are sure to be many cell phones around. Then, it creates a false 5G or LTE network that is actually a trap for cell phones. When a device connects to the false base station, the connection is really downgraded to a 2G connection, which is woefully insecure. The whole point of this attack is merely to get your phone to ditch its secure 4G LTE or 5G connection for a weak 2G one. 

2G connections lack mutual authentication and encryption, so someone in the middle of your phone and a fake cell site simulator can “blast” SMS phishing attempts with ease. Additionally, the scammer can alter every field of a message sent using a cell site simulator, making it look authentic. This means that unknowing users — and even those with excellent digital literacy — can fall victim to SMS Blaster Fraud.

In case that wasn’t enough, there’s another aspect of SMS Blaster Fraud that makes it particularly dangerous. Because your phone is connecting directly to a fake cell tower, there are no protections in place to stop SMS phishing attempts from reaching your device. Typically, carriers have protections and filters in place to root out spam and scams. However, by using SMS Blaster Fraud, fraudsters can take things out of carriers’ hands. 

To make matters worse, the technology needed to exploit these security vulnerabilities is cheap, easily accessible, and requires little to no expertise. As such, they are appealing to scammers, and they will likely become more prevalent over time.

What you can do to protect yourself

Being that SMS Blaster Fraud is quite dangerous and could become more common, Google is sharing a few tips to help protect yourself. There have been protections against the attack vector included in Android since Android 12, the company says. You can turn off 2G at the modem level to block this kind of attack. Moreover, Android 14 added an option to disable null ciphers as a key protection method since SMS blasting requires them to deliver payloads.

However, a deterrent to disabling 2G altogether is that it could impact your ability to contact emergency services, which still depend on the technology. With that being said, Google notes that emergency calls will always work with 2G, even if the option is disabled. The company also points to its built-in Android spam protection features, which can help you figure out if an SMS is fraudulent before you fall victim to the trap.

So, is it worth disabling 2G to prevent SMS Blaster Fraud? It might be, but a better option may be to become more aware that SMS messages have a high chance of being scams. If you are being asked to share personal information, one-time passwords, or other types of highly sensitive information, it’s probably not authentic. Keeping a keen eye for fraud and scams and being more vigilant could be more helpful in the long run than disabling 2G and forgetting about it.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp is highlighting a few updates to improve its calling experience across Android, iOS, and PC.
• The app now supports "Speaker spotlight" which highlights the person talking and moves them to the front alongside audio during screen share.
• These updates will roll out over the "next few weeks" and join other updates to improve calling through the MLow codec.

WhatsApp details a few improvements coming to its platform that are aimed squarely at your calling experience.

As detailed in a blog post, one of the first updates involves a "speaker spotlight." WhatsApp states that when on a call with multiple people, the one speaking will appear first on your screen. Accompanying this will be a highlight to ensure everyone recognizes who's got the mic.

Next, WhatsApp is bringing audio to screen-sharing sessions. The platform states that users can now watch videos together or anything else with audio, and your friends and family will hear it, too.

WhatsApp's latest update concludes by expanding its participants list for a call to 32 people. This applies to video calls, and every device running WhatsApp supports this new expansion of the feature.

The service states that these updates will arrive on Android, iOS, and desktop computers "over the next few weeks."

The Meta-owned app highlights its recent attempts to better the audio and video calling experience through the MLow codec. The codec improves call reliability while mobile users see updates to noise and echo cancellation. Other video updates include bringing a higher resolution for users with quicker internet speeds.

Additionally, older Android and iOS devices can still enjoy crisp voice calls despite rocking some aged hardware.

These updates for calls on WhatsApp are light, but it follows behind some major design changes. The Head of WhatsApp Design, Idit Yaniv, stated that the app's redesign was made with three principles in mind: to be fresh, approachable, and simple.

The old navigation bar with Chats, Status, and Calls tabs is now positioned at the bottom of the UI, and some new chat filters are entering the mix. WhatsApp also offers its own dark mode now, a highly requested user feature over the years.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp changes the app to make it "feel more fresh and modern."
• The changes include a design overhaul and new features for iOS and Android devices.
• The primary ones, however, include chat filters, darker dark mode, and the inclusion of a Meta AI chatbot, which is yet to be launched.

WhatsApp has had a significant design revamp over the past few weeks, and Idit Yaniv, VP, Head of WhatsApp Design, Meta, indicates that these changes to the product are to "feel more fresh and modern" while keeping the messaging platform's core functionality.

While some design changes have been rolling out to WhatsApp for some time now, Yaniv explains the three principles on which these changes were built in an accompanying blog post:

• Fresh: WhatsApp should feel fresh, fun, and yours with a look familiar and native to your device.
• Approachable: Everyone should feel comfortable using WhatsApp. It's accessible at home within the OS and feels unmistakably WhatsApp—friendly and slightly quirky.
• Simple: The new design should enhance simplicity, be scalable, and be future-proof.

The primary design changes have included shifting the navigation bar comprising Chats, Status, and Calls tabs from top to bottom. This should help people who use bigger, at least 6-inch screens (and above) on Android phones navigate more quickly as it is closer to the thumb. 

The change also means the addition of chat filters at the top that should help people to set apart between "All," "Unread," and "Group" chats — these were introduced very recently on the messaging platform.

The popular green shade at the top has also been replaced with a much cleaner look. Besides, WhatsApp has also chosen a new consistent green palate that should be visible across the app and its menus and settings.

Yaniv also notes that users have been requesting a darker dark mode. WhatsApp has made relevant changes with higher contrast and deeper tones, which promises to reduce strain when using the app in darker environments.

While the intended changes are for both iOS and Android platforms, iOS users have also seen a new attachment layout: an expandable tray replacing a full-screen menu that should allow people to send photos and videos effortlessly. 

As mentioned, most of these changes have already been made through WhatsApp app updates and server-side updates. The other prominent changes on the messaging platform are the overall icons on the app, next to refreshing doodles for background on WhatsApp chats.

One common thing to note across the changes and accompanying images is the inclusion of a new Meta AI chatbot in the messaging app's search pane. 

While the blog post does not mention it or its launch time frame, we expect it to roll out in the coming days or weeks,

 as the wider rollout was recently seen for users across regions.

What you need to know

• Google Messages app in beta brings handy new features from the November 2023 announcement.
• They include voice moods accompanied by an audio recorder redesign.
• Users can also see the new noise cancellation feature as part of the interface redesign.

Beta users of the Google Messages app are seeing voice moods roll out alongside a redesign of the audio recorder interface, which features noise cancellation, as spotted by 9to5Google. 

In November 2023, Google announced some exciting new features for its messages as part of the celebration of one billion RCS users. The voice moods on the messaging app were part of this, and they are now seeing a broader rollout.

Previously, users were accustomed to long-pressing the voice memo button, which opened up the traditional “Slide to cancel” interface. However, the new one in the beta version has been revamped with a new Material You-inspired design.

Users can notice “Tap to record your voice” aided by the microphone icon, cancel, and attach buttons. When users start recording, they can see the “Noise Cancellation” button, which can be turned on or off, per requirement. 

While the feature helps turn off background noises for recording, Google says the improvements in overall audio quality can also be seen due to increased sampling and bit rate.

On the other hand, the new voice moods are added from the aforementioned new interface wherein users can pick from nine voice moods accompanied by relevant emojis, which can be added by clicking the attach button.

Users then would see a gradient emoji background added to the waveform for the interface, as mentioned. The same card will be sent as a message to the recipient with all the emoji and wallpaper stuff. 

It is encouraging to see Google Messages finally seeing the nifty new interface amongst other announced features from last year. The features, such as the redesigned audio recorder interface, can be seen on the latest Google Messages beta bearing 20240501_RC00 version. 

However, as 9to5 points out, the voice moods rollout doesn’t appear as extensive as the interface. However, we could see the rollout soon, followed by the official rollout in the coming weeks. 

What you need to know

• WhatsApp is working on a new in-app dialer in the latest beta version.
• The messaging platform will likely add this convenience to help users call users whose numbers have not been saved.
• The app also brings a new setting in Communities that allows users to join groups only on an invite basis.

WhatsApp's latest beta version for Android has revealed some interesting new features that will likely be convenient add-ons for contacting other users.

According to WABetaInfo (via Android Authority), the Meta-owned messaging platform is testing a new in-app dialer that lets users quickly add or even just dial phone numbers that aren't in their contacts list. The feature is being tested in WhatsApp beta for the Android 2.23.15.11 version.

The WABetaInfo has also shared the new screenshot of the new in-app dialer, which may be seen in future updates on the messaging platform. It can be a convenient addition for users who don't want to store certain numbers in their address book, especially with businesses or one-time interactions. It should also make it generally more convenient to call directly from the app, as it avoids switching between the Phone app and WhatsApp on their Android phones.

additionally, Android tipster Assemble Debug has revealed a new Hidden Group setting for Communities on WhatsApp. The new feature was seen on some WhatsApp beta version 2.24.9.27 users. The tipster enabled it by tweaking some flags in the Group permissions section on the messaging platform. 

It comes under the Group visibility parameter, and enabling it only allows invited members to find and join the respective group. Likewise, the same group admins can "only find and remove" the specific group per their requirement. 

WhatsApp is seen constantly working on rolling and testing out new updates to the messaging platform to catch up and stay on top of its rival messaging apps. The app recently tested a new "Favorite" contacts feature that lets users feature their top contacts. WhatsApp has also been testing a longer Instagram-like Stories feature.

What you need to know

• Messenger users can share photos and videos in HD with the new update.
• They can also share up to 100MB of files in the messaging platform.
• Messenger users can also create albums within a group chat on the service.

Meta announced new abilities to its Messenger platform on Tuesday (Apr. 9), Which include sharing HD photos, creating shared albums, and more.

WhatsApp was one of the first Meta-owned messaging platforms to gain the ability to share HD photos within chats. Messenger joins the list and works similarly to what we have seen on WhatsApp. Messenger users must open their chat composer> select an image> turn on the new HD toggle> and hit Send. They can also send multiple HD photos simultaneously by enabling the HD toggle.

Messenger now supports sharing all major file formats, such as Word, PDF, and Excel, as well as even larger files for up to 100MB. Tapping the “+” button in the chat will allow sharing such large files.

Creating albums of photos and videos in Messenger is going to be easier as the messaging platform now allows doing so. Meta has shared the relevant steps to create an album in a group chat: 

• Select multiple photos from your chat composer
• Tap Create album (you can also long press a photo in the chat and tap Create album)
• To add to an existing album, tap Add to album

Meta says users can further rename the album according to their preferences. All group chat members are also allowed to view, add, delete, and download pictures and videos from the respective album.

Additionally, users can quickly locate the album whenever they want by tapping on the group chat name and hitting the Media button. Meta further indicates that this feature should be rolling out in the coming weeks.

Meta also wants Messenger users to easily connect with each other using a QR code, not specifically the contact name or associated phone number. Users can head to Settings and tap the QR code to share it with others they’d like to connect with by showcasing it directly to the respective user or sharing a corresponding link.

What you need to know

• Sunbird, the messaging app that aimed to bring iMessage to Android users, announced Friday that it is relaunching in beta.
• The original app quickly shut down after users exposed critical security and privacy flaws that left user messages susceptible to being intercepted.
• The company added a page to its website detailing what went wrong the first time around and what has been changed since.

Sunbird, the messaging app that infamously partnered with Nothing to bring iMessage to Android before being swiftly shut down, is now returning. The company announced Friday, April 5, that it would relaunch the beta version of its app after making changes to its backend infrastructure. Sunbird says that over 165,000 users have registered for the app's waitlist and that invitations will become available in small phases.

The first time around, Sunbird brought iMessage to Android through its own app and the Nothing Chats app. Nothing, the Android phone manufacturer behind the Nothing Phone 2 and Phone 2a, wanted to make all of its devices compatible with iMessage through Nothing Chats. However, users quickly discovered that the messages and internal processes were unencrypted, leaving user messages and shared files available for anyone to access. 

Sunbird explained the technical changes to its iMessage architecture, intended to increase security and fix the original app's privacy woes, on its website. If you're curious or skeptical, here they are: 

• Unencrypted messages are never stored anywhere on disk or in a database. When messages are decrypted to be passed to the iMessage and RCS/Google Messages network, they exist in that state only within memory for a limited period of time. In the front-end app, messages are only stored in an encrypted state within the in-app database.
• Static files transmitted through the service are stored in secure cloud storage buckets that are encrypted in transit and at rest. They are protected through permissioned URLs that prevent unauthorized access and are completely expunged from the Sunbird systems no later than 48 hours after sending or receiving them.
• All communication from the Sunbird app to the Sunbird API is protected at the transport layer, either through HTTPS or the MQTTS protocol.
• The MQTTS broker is secured via strict access control lists to ensure that users are only able to access broker topics specifically assigned to them and no others.
• Further, the contents of the message payload itself is encrypted at the application layer using AES encryption with an encryption key controlled completely by the client and only held in memory on the Sunbird side. Messages flow through the Sunbird system in an encrypted state and are only decrypted (in memory) at the moment of transfer of messages to the native messaging platform.

Sunbird also indirectly mentions Beeper in its press release, which discontinued support for its iMessage client — called Beeper Mini — after repeated moves by Apple to shut it down. The company claims that Sunbird is a solution to the iMessage compatibility problem that doesn't take steps to provide unauthorized access to Apple's iMessage servers. Ironically, Sunbird points out the "security and privacy concerns" related to Beeper Mini due to the app's "unauthorized access to iMessage."

However, it's up to end users to decide whether Sunbird is actually worth trusting. For what it's worth, the company has already been caught in the middle of a discrepancy again. 9to5Google  noticed that Sunbird claimed that it brought on Jared Jordan, a Google engineering director, as a formal advisor. However, Jordan's LinkedIn page reveals that he left the company months ago. Sunbird quietly updated its website to change the wording around Jordan's past experience, with no mention or acknowledgment of the change. 

Sunbird says that the reason the company pulled the app for months was due to its "unwavering commitment to the privacy and security of our users." Instead of shipping a quick fix, Sunbird opted to rebuild its internal architecture entirely.

Still, it remains to be seen whether users trust Sunbird again. The app still has a long way to go, as it is now starting over from scratch in a very limited beta.

What you need to know

• The latest WhatsApp for iOS update brings a handy new feature to the messaging platform.
• Users, post the update, can double tap the screen to skip/rewind a video for ten seconds.
• The feature is widely popular on YouTube and Twitter, and chances to venture into the Android version of WhatsApp are likely.

WhatsApp has a new nifty feature rolling out to iOS users this week that should make video watching on the messaging platform hassle-free.

Early this week, WhatsApp on iOS, bearing a 24.6.77 version number, brought in a new handy feature that allows users to quickly forward or rewind a video by double-tapping on the edge of their screens (via WABetaInfo). The feature has been quite popular in leading video apps like YouTube and social media apps like X (formerly Twitter).

During the playback of videos, double tapping on either edge of the video would fast-forward or rewind the video by ten seconds.

For now, the feature is official on WhatsApp for iOS. The feature's rollout to Android devices is still unclear; however, the video control was featured earlier in WhatsApp beta for Android in November 2023. It was seen as functional in the beta version, albeit the feature didn't see the light of day in the stable version of the app.

With iOS users now receiving the functionality, we could soon see it on Android phones and tablets, too. It would be one handy feature to see amongst several others that have popped up over the past few weeks.

Some of the latest WhatsApp features include Instagram-like longer status updates, which are also found in the app's latest beta for Android devices. Another feature seen in the works is the ability to hide link previews shared in messages on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp on Android is also testing the ability to transcribe voice notes within the chats, which is very helpful in certain scenarios where users are unable to hear the voice messages and want to read them instead. The interesting aspect of the feature is that they are still end-to-end encrypted and don't leave the device. Notably, the feature is already live on the iOS platform.

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What you need to know

• Currently, sending a hyperlink in WhatsApp will generate a link preview, revealing information about the website or page shared. 
• WhatsApp is planning a new option in settings that will allow users to disable link previews in messages. 
• The privacy feature was spotted in the latest version of the WhatsApp beta for Android, but it's not ready for end users yet.  

Most of us can probably recall a time when something popped up on our smartphones that we weren't expecting. Whether it's an embarrassing link sent by a friend or family member or just something stumbled upon on social media, some things are just better kept private. That's why WhatsApp is preparing to introduce a new feature for Android users that will let them disable link previews in messages. That way, WhatsApp users won't ever have to worry about a link preview unexpectedly showing up. 

The new option for WhatsApp was spotted by WABetaInfo, which found the toggle in the app's advanced settings menu. Specifically, this option only appeared in version 2.24.7.12 of WhatsApp via the Google Play Beta Program. That means you won't be able to find it in your public release of the WhatsApp for Android app, and it might not even show up for everyone running the beta software. 

The option is fairly self-explanatory. WhatsApp currently generates a link preview for URLs sent in messages in the Android app. This makes links appear larger than typical messages, and they include more information. When all the information is available, WhatsApp will show the webpage title, excerpt, and thumbnail image. Depending on the link, this might not be an issue. However, link previews in WhatsApp messages could reveal things you might want to keep private for a variety of reasons. 

In the public version of the app, link previews are not optional. But in the latest WhatsApp beta, there's a toggle called Disable link previews in the Advanced section of WhatsApp settings. By default, link previews will still be generated in WhatsApp messages. However, the upcoming feature will give privacy-conscious users the option of turning them off as they see fit. 

As of now, the ability to disable link previews is not rolling out publicly, but it's likely to appear in a subsequent WhatsApp update. We don't know the timing of a public rollout for the toggle, though. 

What you need to know

• The latest WhatsApp beta on Android brings in a handy new voice note transcribe feature.
• The update will likely roll out soon for Android, as it is already available for iOS.
• Users who'd like to use the feature would have to install an additional 150MB of app data to enable the feature.

WhatsApp is working on yet another nifty feature for Android devices, which will finally bring the ability to transcribe voice messages. The feature was introduced earlier for WhatsApp on iOS and might soon be included in Android phones.

Tipster AssembleDebug has spotted the feature (via TheSpAndroid) in the Meta-owned messaging platform's latest beta (WhatsApp version 2.24.7.7). The APK teardown has revealed some strings regarding the feature, indicating the Android device's requirements to enable transcripts on WhatsApp.

Per the strings, enabling transcripts should become accessible. However, users who want to test the new feature must download 150MB of new app data. After allowing, users will then get to read the transcripts before they listen to the voice messages they receive.

"WhatsApp uses your device's speech recognition to provide end-to-end encrypted transcripts. Learn more," the string further explains.

WABetaInfo further shares some insights about the new feature alongside the screenshot of the feature in the works through the WhatsApp beta 2.24.7.8 version, available through the Google Play Beta program. The feature is believed to be "designed to enhance accessibility and convenience for users who prefer reading text over listening to voice notes," notes WBI. 

The strings from the aforementioned APK teardown can clearly be seen in the screenshot shared by WBI. It is presumably the end user interface that WhatsApp users can expect before enabling the feature when the update rolls out officially soon. 

The upcoming feature utilizing on-device speech recognition and not just relying solely on the voice note audio is a win-win, as the transcription doesn't leave the device and is simultaneously end-to-end encrypted.

As the feature is expected to roll out soon, users will be able to see the voice transcriptions right under the voice note bubble in the conversation pane of any individual chat or group. As of now, the feature is currently in development and still in beta and is expected to come in an official rollout soon.

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What you need to know

• By default, your phone number will no longer be available to everyone on Signal.
• Users can now connect with one another without needing to share a number, thanks to usernames.
• New privacy settings limit who can find you by your phone number.

Up until today, Signal users had to utilize phone numbers in order to initiate a chat on the app, but now that is no longer the case. As part of a new update, Signal is rolling out a new username feature, which will allow users to connect with each other without a number, the company announced Wednesday. 

Currently in beta with plans to become available to all users in a few weeks, the feature makes what is already an extremely secure end-to-end encrypted messaging app even more secure. Through this update, by default, a user's phone number will no longer be available to everyone they chat with on Signal, though if another user has that number saved as a contact, they still will be able to see it on account of already knowing such information.

With that in mind, users can now connect without a phone number serving as the intermediary. Instead, users can create a unique username that they can use in place of providing their number.

It’s important to note that a phone number will still be required to sign up for Signal, but beyond that, users can connect without sharing one. Additionally, per Signal’s announcement, a username is not a profile name, nor is it permanent; rather, it’s “simply a way to initiate contact on Signal without sharing your phone number.” 

Finally, as part of these enhanced security features, users can also limit who is able to find them on Signal. An optional privacy setting ensures that a user can only connect with another user if they have their exact unique username. Even if they have your phone number, they won’t know that you are on Signal unless they have your username, thus adding enhanced protection. 

If these new features aren’t something of interest, users can revert to the original privacy settings, including the ability for everyone to see their phone number or simply those who have saved that user as a contact, also known as a “Nobody” setting.

Signal notes that usernames will not work like those found on other social media platforms in that it is not how a user will be known on the app and it is not something that will be displayed on a user’s profile. A profile has and will remain whatever it has been set to, and a directory of usernames will not be provided.

In that same vein, a username must be unique – which is achieved by the requirement of at least two numeric characters at the end. According to Signal, this “helps keep usernames egalitarian and minimizes spoofing.” And unlike social media handles, usernames can be changed as often as possible or deleted entirely. Finally, users can share a unique QR code or URL as a shortcut to connect with another user or groups of users. 

Through this update, Signal continues to serve as one of, if not the most secure messaging platforms. The company reiterates in its blog post that “Signal is built so that we do not know who you message, what you say, which group chats you participate in, who’s in your contact list, and more.” And judging by these new features that will continue to be the case.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp is adding four new text formatting options for messages, joining the existing bold, italic, strikethrough, and monospace formats.
• The new options are bullet lists, numbered lists, block quotes, and snippets of inline code. 
• These text formatting options are available now on Android, iOS, web clients, and macOS. 

Sending complex messages and text in WhatsApp is getting easier starting today (Feb. 21) because Meta is releasing an update that will add four new text formatting options. Users can now format text with bulleted lists, numbered lists, block quotes, and snippets of inline code. 

Here are the ways you can start using each new text formatting option in WhatsApp:

• Bulleted lists: You can start a bulleted list by entering the - character, and then pressing space
• Numbered lists: You can start a numbered list by typing one or two numbers, entering a period, and then pressing space
• Block quotes: You can use a block quote in text by typing the > symbol, pressing space, and then typing out the quote
• Inline code: You can write text in the inline code format by enclosing the text in single quotation marks

The new additions to text formatting join the four existing options: bold, italic, strikethrough, and monospace. That means there are a total of eight ways that users can format text in WhatsApp moving forward. 

The company says that the new additions will help people communicate more effectively, especially in group chats. They also bring WhatsApp on par with competing messaging services, like Discord for casual communication and Slack for workspace messaging. Those apps are just two examples of messaging services that have advanced text formatting options that were available prior to WhatsApp's announcement. 

WhatsApp is a popular alternative to traditional SMS and MMS messaging, and it's used by billions of people. There's now more of a reason to use WhatsApp over text messaging with these new formatting options. Plus, there are other WhatsApp features rumored to be in the pipeline, such as an overhaul for the Status tab. There's even been some talk of a full redesign for WhatsApp, but that is all just speculation for now. 

You can start using bulleted lists, numbered lists, block quotes, and snippets of inline code in WhatsApp starting today on Android, iOS, web clients, and macOS.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp is working on a new security feature to prevent people from taking screenshots of your profile photos.
• This feature is currently available to some beta testers and is expected to be rolled out to more users soon.
• This could close a loophole where users could capture personal images without the owner’s consent.

Protecting yourself online can be a headache, with people trying to download your profile photo as a common example. A recent beta update rolled out by WhatsApp may just end this unwanted activity.

According to WABetaInfo, the update introduces a new feature that will block screenshots of profile images. If implemented fully, it promises to make it much harder for people to capture and share your profile photos without your consent, adding an extra layer of privacy and control over your content.

According to the report, when a user attempts to take a screenshot of a profile photo, a notification appears telling the user that they “Can’t take a screenshot due to app restrictions”. They are also left with a black screen rather than the image they were attempting to capture.

This isn’t the first time WhatsApp has attempted to protect users’ privacy. Years ago, the ability to save someone else’s profile photo was removed from the messaging service. But the ability to capture a screenshot remained, leaving a loophole that was easily exploited. The update addresses this loophole, making it much more difficult to capture an image.

At this stage, the update is only available to some beta testers, with the expectation that it will be rolled out to more users “over the coming weeks.” And, given the importance of privacy, this is one update we’d expect to be extremely popular among users. 

There are already plenty of options to help protect your privacy in WhatsApp. In particular, you can change your profile photo privacy settings to restrict who can see your profile picture. But as with the restrictions on saving someone’s picture, this doesn’t stop someone from taking a screenshot of your photo if you’ve given them access to viewing it. This new update promises to fix that issue and help make one of the best messaging apps for Android an even better option for the privacy-conscious.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp is working on a ‘Favorites’ feature, which will allow users to separate their most important conversations from the main chat list.
• The favorites are expected to sit in a separate tab that can be easily accessed.
• This feature is currently in development, with no definitive timescale on a rollout to all WhatsApp Web users.

WhatsApp is one of the most widely-used chat apps around, with billions of people making use of its services worldwide. Its popularity stems from its ease of use, its security, and the fact that it’s free. 

But WhatsApp isn’t resting on its laurels, with regular updates to its UI and features in order to keep it as relevant as possible. These range from blocking spam messages without having to open them to rumors of a new file-sharing feature in development. Added to these is a new favorite contacts filter feature, which has been spotted by WABetaInfo and is currently being developed for the WhatsApp Web client. 

Previously, WABetaInfo spotted a similar development for the iOS version of WhatsApp, with a beta update introducing a favorite contacts feature. The feature allows users to select their favorites and place them in a separate tab. 

Favorite contacts will also appear at the top of the call tab, making it much easier to make a phone call to your nearest and dearest. Now, it looks like this same feature is being prepared for WhatsApp Web.

While WhatsApp is easy to use, anyone with lots of different conversations on the go will know how easily a specific chat can disappear from view. And, while WhatsApp does allow users to pin up to three chats to the top of their chat list, it remains a relatively basic solution that won’t work especially well if you have lots of important conversations. A favorites tab could easily solve this issue.

While this is encouraging, there are still plenty of unanswered questions – for example, we don’t know whether the favorites list will be capped or uncapped. At the time of writing, there is no confirmation of when this feature will get rolled out to all users of WhatsApp Web. It is also unclear whether we will see this feature added to the Android version of WhatsApp. 

However, the fact that this feature is in beta testing for both iOS and WhatsApp Web suggests that we should expect to see a favorites tab appear on the Android app at some point in the future.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp Channels users can now share voice notes as part of the new update.
• Channels can also share polls for their followers to answer.
• The messaging platform users can also share someone's Channel update as their personal WhatsApp Status.

WhatsApp Channels are getting new features, which will provide new means to engage within the broadcast channels feature launched last year, notes the messaging platform in a shared announcement post.  

Mark Zuckerberg announced, revealing the new features coming to the messaging platform. After the launch, WhatsApp Channels soon gained 500 million active users, notes WhatsApp in the announcement post. As part of the new update, people who use Channels to share updates or broadcasts can now send voice updates as a new way to engage with their followers.

According to WhatsApp, around seven billion voice messages are sent on the messaging service on a daily basis, keeping it at the top of other messaging apps. And, it will be interesting to see more users can now share the same through Channels as well.

The messaging platform further notes Puerto Rican rapper and singer Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, professionally known as Bad Bunny, who has a dedicated WhatsApp Channel with more than 19 million followers, is the first person to utilize the voice updates through his channel to his followers.

Additionally, WhatsApp Channel users can share polls for their followers to answer, a popular feature seen across WhatsApp Chats and Groups until now. Furthermore, WhatsApp users can share someone's channel updates as their personal status on the messaging platform.

Pressing the chat or an image from the channel gives users an option to forward it to others; the same window shows an option to share their personal status. This ability was also seen earlier across other sections on WhatsApp.

Lastly, WhatsApp is also amping up the number of admins a channel can have from one to up to 16, making it easier to manage the channel by posting the latest updates. 

All the announced features are said to be rolling out globally to all users starting today. So, ensure you are using the latest version of the Meta-owned messaging platform.

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What you need to know

• Found in a Messages deep dive, Google is working on a new "Selfie GIFs" feature.
• Users long-pressing the camera icon will be given a new, circular frame where they can record a four-second video to be sent as a GIF.
• More work toward creativity in Messages was evident as Google started its beta for "Photomoji" in December.

Google is seemingly working on a way we can take our messages and selfies to another creative level.

As spotted by TheSpAndroid, Google Messages may soon gain "Selfie GIFs" that users can send (via Android Authority). The feature had to be enabled during a code deep dive and showed that users could get into things by long-pressing the camera icon in Messages.

The app will showcase a new UI with a rounded camera frame and a lens switcher at the bottom. So, it looks like users can swap between their selfie camera and their rear primary lens. Additionally, the feature will let users send a quick four-second video as a GIF.

Before recording, Messages offers a quick three-second timer to get you ready. The timer is shown prominently in the center of the circular frame.

Afterward, users will be given a chance to review what they've recorded alongside a couple of extra options: "reset" and "send." The former lets you give things another go while the latter sends it off to the person or group chat you started recording in.

It's not clear how far into development Google is for its "Selfie GIFs" for Messages. So, it's hard to say when or if we'll see this arrive, but it looks promising and worth keeping an eye out.

Google has continued to plug more creativity into Messages, such as "Photomoji." The feature rolled out in beta in December, which gave users a way to turn their pictures into a unique emoji. Unlike Snapchat, users have no control over the way Messages converts the photo into an emoji.

So, it's advised that testers choose photos where the primary subject is in full view and not muddled in the background. After creation, users can use their uniquely created emojis in text messages and as reactions.

Google Messages was also recently seen preparing to handle dual SIM in RCS. Users will be able to see both phone numbers within Messages' RCS chat settings, however, it's not functioning properly as Google likely needs to flip a server-side switch.

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What you need to know

• WhatsApp has announced a new feature, allowing users to pin their messages in individual and group chats.
• Users can set a time limit for pinned messages, although the feature is currently not available for Channels.
• Being able to pin messages is a feature found on other top messaging apps.

Starting this week, Meta is bringing new functionality to its popular messaging platform WhatsApp, which is the ability to pin messages in one-on-one chats and groups.

WhatsApp will now allow users to pin their chats/messages, which can include individual messages or even polls within the conversations, be it in one-on-one chats or groups. Users can also set a time limit for pinned chats, which can remain pinned for 24 hours, seven days, or 30 days.

Pinning a message is also fairly easy in the conversation pane. Users can select the respective message and click on the three dots on the top right of the conversation to reveal the options menu. Here, they will find the "Pin" option, and users can similarly remove the pinned message whenever they want using a similar process.

In a corresponding support page, WhatsApp has further revealed how users can set their pinned messages on various devices, including Android phones, iOS devices, and web and desktop versions of the messaging platform. If users want to navigate to the message within the chat, they can tap on the chat within groups or one-on-one messages. All users can pin conversations in groups provided admins on the respective group allow them to do so.

Pinning a chat would provide all users associated with the chat or group a system message indicating that a message was pinned and who has pinned the message in the chats. Furthermore, WhatsApp explains on the support page that new users who join after a message was pinned won't be able to view it. This also applies to users who clear or lose their chat history.

WhatsApp is considered one of the leading messaging apps, and rivals like Telegram have been using the "Pin" chat feature for a long time. The latest move from the Meta-owned messaging platform is an excellent addition to the host of features that it recently introduced, including disappearing voice messages, secret code for your locked chats, and Channels. The latter, however, doesn't yet have the Pin feature, which is currently limited to one-on-one chats and groups.

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What you need to know

• Google Messages achieves an incredible one billion users mark when it comes to its RCS users over the globe.
• The search giant has announced seven new features to Google Messages to complement the feat.
• The features include photomojis, voice moods, and screen effects.
• A new Profile feature allows users to edit their photo and name so it appears how they want across Google services.

RCS has been a topic of discussion for a while now. As an evolution of traditional and out-of-date SMS and MMS protocols on Android devices, RCS has shown to be a more secure and effective messaging technology. It has become so widespread that, thanks to Google Messages, it now has slightly more than one billion monthly active users.

Google announced the feat in a shared press release and thanked its partners and users who have adopted RCS over the years. To complement the one billion active users feat, the search giant is introducing new fun ways to improve Google Messages and the RCS experience on Android phones.

Photomoji is a new way to share your reaction to a message in conversation that uses photos from your gallery. You can pick any image — for example, your pet’s photo — then press and hold it, which will highlight the subject and turn it into a Photomoji that you can send as a reaction to a particular message in a conversation on Google Messages. It’s likely using the similar AI responsible for the Magic Editor feature, and these creations are saved by default and can be reused in other chats and conversations.

Voice Moods is yet another enhancement coming to voice messaging. Users who use the voice messaging feature often can choose from nine different emojis to add as an effect to the voice note expressing their current mood in which they are sending the voice note, which can include a sprinkle heart-eye emoji, break out the party poppier amongst others.

Additionally, Google says that it has improved the overall audio quality of voice messages by increasing sampling and bit rate. Users will also be able to use noise cancelation when recording voice messages, which can help clear up and reduce background sounds.

Other expressive effects coming to Google Messages include animated emoji, reaction effects, and Screen Effects, the latter of which brings new vibrant animations for your conversations “that will transform your words into dazzling visual displays.”

Google Messages will also let users customize colors in the app, from the text bubbles to the background color within the conversation, as a way to differentiate between the chats with your friends and family easily. It also seems to poke fun at Apple’s green bubble texts by allowing users to just change the color, even as Apple opts to leave green bubbles present after it adopts RCS on iPhones.

As expected, Google is updating Emoji Kitchen with fun new mashups to make your combinations more unique.

Lastly, Profiles are the last addition in the new update that allows you to edit your name and profile picture as you want to be recognized across Google services. With the recent addition, users would be able to see who the person is even though the respective person isn’t saved in your contacts.

The feature has started appearing for some, but when it becomes active, the photo they set for themselves, for example, will be the one that appears for you in Google Messages.

Google wants you to sign up for the beta version of the Google Messages app, as some of these features are already starting to roll out today. Some of them are also available in the stable version of the app, and we recommend downloading the latest update from the Google Play Store.

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What you need to know

• Google Messages users may soon be able to send formatted text.
• The app is gaining markdown support, which is currently seen in the beta version of the app.
• The feature is expected to roll out to users very soon, along with noise cancellation for voice messages.

After bringing text formatting to Google Keep earlier this year, it looks like Google Messages is also prepping to gain support.

Text formatting in Google Keep lets users select the text style with a press of a button. The Google Messages approach, however, appears to work differently as it uses markdown text formatting, notes AssembleDebug, who first spotted and shared the feature on TheSpAndroid.

Using markdown lets you use symbols such as asterisks to format text. The incorporation of markdown in Google Messages means users who want to share texts in bold would type **Bold Text** to receive it as Bold Text. Similarly, placing two underscores before and after for it to appear in italics. Other options such as text strikethrough, headings, and even inserting images using markdown also appear to work.

AssembleDebug notes that not only do the prominent markdown options appear to work in Google Messages, but they should also work with both SMS and RCS. The feature was seen in action in Google Messages beta version 20231113 by enabling a few flags. Tipster also notes that the company will likely roll out to stable users soon.

Text formatting should be familiar to users of Android messaging apps and some social media apps, as many allow you to do so. For instance, X (formerly Twitter) allows it for premium users, as does Telegram. Meta-owned WhatsApp also allows users to send texts in markdown format. It is not an entirely new feature if you use these apps, but having the option of tweaking the texts on Google Messages would be a nice addition to the app, especially as Apple prepares to bring RCS support to its iPhones next year.

Another exciting feature in the works is the ability to send voice notes on Google Messages with noise cancellation turned on. This feature allows users to send their voice notes with less background noise and is also pretty convenient.

Users can tap on the new "noise cancellation" button before sending the voice note or during recording. This will enable the feature and make the user's voice heard clearer on the recipient's end. Tipster could enable the feature in Google Messages beta version 20231113_01_RC00, which is also expected to roll out soon to general users.

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What you need to know

• Users with two phone numbers and compatible phones can will soon be able to have two accounts on WhatsApp.
• The app will allow users to easily switch between the accounts.
• Both accounts can have individual privacy and notification settings.

After allowing the same WhatsApp account to be accessed across multiple devices early this year, Meta is bringing a new ability to the messaging service: setting up multiple accounts on a single device.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the feature across multiple platforms, including Facebook and the newly introduced WhatsApp channels. The feature has been in the works via the beta and WhatsApp Business versions over a couple of months, and it is finally official. The new capability aims to let users easily switch accounts, for example, between their personal and professional numbers, Meta mentioned in a shared press release.

Until now, users either had to rely on two separate phones, or features like app cloning, which lets users clone multiple social media apps and messaging apps, including WhatsApp so they can use them with multiple accounts.

Regardless, the functionality built in the native app is a convenient move from WhatsApp as not many top leading messaging apps incorporate this feature. Setting up a multi-account is also easy on WhatsApp. Users have to navigate to their WhatsApp settings, click on the arrow beside their name, and click the new "Add account."

Users have to bear in mind that to enable this feature, their devices should either support multi-SIM or eSIM and carry a second phone number other than the primary. After adding the account, users can still have privacy and notification settings sorted separately per their preferences. 

As mentioned, this comes as a new addition to WhatsApp's plethora of new features announced recently. They include the ability to add the same WhatsApp account to another Android tablet, followed by using the same WhatsApp account on up to four devices, and the most recent announcement of passkeys for the first time on the messaging service.

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What you need to know

• Google is introducing new message bubbles on Google Chat.
• The aim is to differentiate incoming and outgoing chats.
• The rollout begins gradually for the web, followed by Android devices later this month.

Google Chat finally got the much-needed redesign that makes it look more like Slack, Teams, and other messaging apps, for that matter. After sharing the big announcement of features for web and enterprise users late last month, the company is highlighting another small change to help Chat look more modern.

In a new Google Workspace post, the search giant has announced message bubbles in the Chat message stream that lets users more easily differentiate between incoming and outgoing messages. It is supposedly among the most requested features amongst users as the current stream doesn't have any visual containers that can ideally separate the messages.

"Each incoming message will have an independent message bubble aligned to one side with a solid color background," the company mentioned in the Workspace post. Similarly, every outgoing message will have an independent bumble alongside another color background. The latest modernization of Google Chat comes in handy in group conversations as it would be easy to differentiate messages at a glance.

Like Slack, users can hit the new "Jump to the bottom" to check for the latest missed messages instead of scrolling down multiple times. Users in groups will be able to add their Google Docs and Google Sheets with previews and relevant captions again with a different color background as well as bubbles.

The update comes as an extension to what it announced for Google Chat in August. The messaging platform has gained many features, including the Duet AI that helps summarize missed conversations, amongst several others.

Google says that users will be able to see these updates in web and mobile versions of the Google Chat application over the next several weeks. The gradual rollout of the feature begins this week for the web and on September 27 for Android devices. The feature will be available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.

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If you've followed my writing here at Android Central over the years, you likely know that I'm a dual-carry kind of person. Most of the time, my primary SIM is in whatever the latest iPhone is, but I also carry an Android phone, usually a foldable. But with that comes some frustrations with communication between the two platforms, particularly when it comes to sending and receiving text messages, and that's something that I hoped the Beeper app would be able to alleviate.

One of the biggest frustrations about being in the Apple ecosystem is that I can only see and respond to texts from my iPhone. I've tried different workarounds in the past, such as using AirMessage, but they never quite "stuck." There have been many cases where I'd be using my Android phone only to have someone send me a message on a different platform because they needed a response.

For the majority of the apps and services out there, this isn't really much of a problem. I just have a folder labeled "Chat" on my Home Screen, which is currently filled with eight different messaging apps. Well, technically, nine of you include Beeper, but that's only in the Chat folder in the app drawer on the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Getting started with Beeper

To provide a few cliff notes for those who don't know, Beeper is an app that was announced in 2021 by the same individual who released Pebble smartwatches to the world. The company's tagline is "All your chats in one app. Yes, really." It includes support for 15 different messaging platforms and can even become the default SMS app on your Android phone.

After putting my name and email on the waitlist ages ago (seriously, I don't remember when), I finally gained access to the app earlier this year. I tinkered around with it a bit and went through the motions of setting things up, but I didn't really do much else.

A little over a month ago, I decided to give Beeper the good ole' "college try," using it for everything and anything I could. Of the 15 different supported platforms, I'm "only" using it for Google Chat, Messenger, Slack, Telegram, RCS, and, of course, iMessage.

Things I like about Beeper

The thing that I love the most about Beeper is that once you're in the "cool kids club," you can use it practically everywhere. So I have installed it on my iPhone, Galaxy Z Fold 5, custom-built desktop PC, MacBook Pro, and even on a few Chromebooks I'm testing. Everything syncs everywhere, so I don't have to worry about "waiting" for the servers to catch up, and I can just grab whatever device is closest and respond.

The app itself might seem a bit cluttered, but there are a few different organizational-type features available. At the bottom, there's a dock that swipes up to reveal the different "Spaces," along with a list of your most recent chats.

When it comes to the actual "messaging" portion, there's really not much that's different between using the corresponding apps. You can react to messages, create threads in Slack, and you can even go so far as to set shortcuts to different conversations on your Home Screen. There's nothing really game-changing as far as the Beeper app goes other than putting pretty much everything in one central location that isn't just a folder.

Using Beeper instead of relying on your messaging app of choice will probably take some getting used to. You'll be greeted with almost the same interface, regardless of what device you're using, with a couple of exceptions. So, as long as you "stick with it," there aren't any game-breaking features that are missing.

Frustrations are expected

The biggest irritation when it comes to Beeper is the dreaded waitlist. Some folks waited for over a year before their invite arrived, meaning that there's a good chance that their excitement waned, if not completely evaporated. A lot of that likely has to do with Beeper needing to continue to build up its infrastructure to handle all of the information being sent. And in the case of iMessage, well, I'll touch on that in the next section.

After you get your invite and sign in with all of your different messaging apps, go through and turn off all notifications for the individual apps. Otherwise, you'll be constantly barraged with duplicate messages, which can make you want to pull your hair out if you're in a group message on a Friday night. Seriously, save yourself the headache.

Something that I noticed when using Beeper on both iPhone and Android is that there is a slight difference between the two apps. On the iPhone, I'm able to pin the different spaces to the "sidebar," but there's no such feature found on Android. You can pin or favorite conversations that will stay at the top, but that's not quite the same as being able to switch between platforms with just a tap. I'm hopeful that this will come to the Android version of the app, but there's no telling whether that'll be the case.

What about privacy?

So here's the thing that worries me about Beeper: privacy. I'm not as worried about linking apps like Telegram or even Facebook Messenger to the app, but I am a little concerned about iMessage. At the top of the company's "Getting Started Guide," there's a callout block that says, "Beeper may be less secure than using encrypted chat apps by themselves." 

It doesn't say anything about what apps might be less secure than others, and there's also a dedicated privacy page. But what worries me is that using iMessage on Android means my Apple ID is being signed into a Mac in a server rack somewhere in the world. 

This is even confirmed on the Beeper Help page for iMessage, as it says, "On the Mac server, new received messages are processed, encrypted with your Beeper zero-access encryption and forwarded to Beeper servers. The same process happens in reverse when you send an iMessage via Beeper. Beeper employees cannot read your iMessages after they have been processed."

Again, this doesn't leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy about signing in with my Apple ID on a Mac that I don't have access to. Is my data actually "immediately and permanently deleted" from the server when I sever my iMessage connection? It's a question that I don't have a concrete answer to, and it feels like Beeper just wants you to trust that it's telling the truth and not doing anything nefarious.

There are ways around this if you sign up for Beeper and then decide that it isn't for you. You'll just need to go into your Apple ID account settings and remove the "Beeper Mac" from your account. But in the meantime, I can't help but wonder what would happen if Beeper's encryption methods failed somehow.

On the flip side, there actually is a way to use Beeper without signing into a random Mac Mini on the other side of the world. You can set up an "iMessage Bridge" for Beeper, but that's a path that I haven't traversed just yet.

It should be noted that messages sent between Beeper users are end-to-end encrypted, but the likelihood that you'll find another user is pretty slim, especially while the app remains in a closed beta.

Will I be sticking with Beeper?

For the time being, I'm going to continue to ride out the Beeper wave and see where it takes me, at least until I have enough time and energy to dedicate to try and figure out how to set up the iMessage Bridge and host it on my personal Mac Mini. 

It's not the perfect solution, as there are a lot of quirks, but that's kind of to be expected when one app is being used to handle a bunch of different chats at the same time. Using Beeper has been just as reliable as using any of the different dedicated apps on my phone. 

I'm really hoping that the EU can put some pressure on Apple to make iMessage available in some capacity across both iOS and Android. It's something I've been wanting for years, and while Beeper is the "best" current implementation, I'd feel a lot better if it were coming from Apple. 

What you need to know

• WhatsApp users can finally share their favorite videos in 720p (HD) format.
• The feature is currently being rolled out for Android and iOS devices.
• The process is similar to what we have seen in HD photo sharing.

WhatsApp recently added the ability to share photos in HD alongside the "standard" quality. While that was a welcome change, the Meta-owned platform is introducing the capability to share videos in HD.

On Friday, the company confirmed the feature rollout to TechCrunch. With this new feature, WhatsApp users can see the benefit of sharing videos in HD, which is in 720p resolution — a significant bump from the previous "standard" set at 480p.

The feature was seen coming since it was earlier introduced in the beta version of the messaging platform in July. The steps to sharing the video in HD are quite similar to the process of sharing photos in HD. 

Users would see the new "HD" button after selecting the respective video they want to share with their contacts. The HD button can be found in the edit screen after selecting what media you want to share. Clicking the button would present the user with resolution options.

The default will be the standard 480p version and the new HD 720p version if either is available. Users can select either, and the respective file sizes can be seen before sharing. After sending the HD video, the recipient can also see the video has been shared in HD with the relative "HD" watermark on the video.

Users have to bear in mind that aside from the larger file size (since it is in HD), it also takes up a significant amount of time to share large files, unlike the standard quality that takes less space and faster transfer speeds. Yet, sharing your favorite videos in a higher and crispier format with your friends and family in the widely used respective groups on the platform will be enjoyable.

As Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, mentioned during the HD image-sharing update that the ability to send higher-quality video was also highly requested. It is good to see WhatsApp working on user feedback and rolling out features that have been available in some of the leading messaging platforms already.

TechCrunch notes the feature is already arriving on devices, and some users can already share HD videos. It is rolling out to both Android phones and iOS handsets simultaneously. Lastly, like the photos and videos, HD videos shared are also end-to-end encrypted.

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What you need to know

• An APK deep dive unearths Google Messages' new voice recorder redesign, equipped with a new UI panel.
• Upon recording, Messages will display a timer and waveform that users can then scrub back through once they're finished.
• The voice recorder includes "delete" and "attach" buttons on either side of a large, pill-shaped "stop" option.

It looks like Google is preparing to roll out a revamp to its voice recorder option within its native messaging application.

Through an APK deep dive by 9to5Google, the publication spotted a second redesign that lets Google Messages' voice recorder stand on its own. The dive unearthed a new dedicated UI panel for recording your voice that starts by showing a quick illustration of the feature.

Tapping the microphone button begins the recording and displays a timer above a much smaller waveform.

In testing, after completing your recording, Google will let users scrub back through their voice messages to make sure it has captured things correctly. Additionally, aside from the red pill-shaped "stop" button, users can delete or attach the message if they'd like to send it off.

Attaching it still seemingly functions much like it does currently, appearing as a small bubble and offering the chance of typing something out before sending it.

As previously stated, this is the second redesign Google has gone through with Messages' voice recorder. The last iteration looked more akin to the Pixel Recorder app, offering "restart" and "done" buttons on either side of the "stop" option instead.

The voice recorder offered today through Messages is pretty barebones. Holding the microphone begins the recording (indicated on the left side of the typing space). Sliding your finger over to the left will effectively delete the recording, and lifting it after speaking will complete it, attaching the vocal message to the text.

Unfortunately, there's no indication as to when users can expect this revamp to appear.

Earlier this summer, Google experimented with a design for making its RCS-enabled chats stand out a little easier from the rest. While that was spotted toward the end of June, it didn't take the company too long to roll it out for users shortly thereafter. Google has also been spotted working on bringing emergency SOS satellite support for when users are in a difficult situation but are woefully out of cell services' reach.

Backing up and restoring text messages on Android has never been easier. Google now automatically includes SMS and MMS in your device backup when you switch phones. Even media in Google Messages gets saved, assuming you use RCS and are on Android 9 or newer. That said, Google Messages' interface is pretty simple. And when I moved to a new device once, not all my messages appeared. Therefore, reliability can still be hit or miss when you're restoring messages.

So I switched to Microsoft's SMS Organizer several years ago, and it has been a revelation. SMS Organizer does an excellent job backing up all your SMS messages to Google Drive, and it also restores them effortlessly when you switch to a new phone. The latter part is key for my use case as I switch devices every alternate week, and SMS Organizer has been rock-solid in this area for four years now.

The most convenient part of the service is that it automatically backs up all your messages to Google Drive. You can set it to back up daily, weekly, or monthly.

How to back up and restore text messages on Android

Before we get started, you'll need to install SMS Organizer on your phone. Just head to the Play Store to install SMS Organizer. Once that's done, you will need to give it access to read messages on the first run. You can choose how much access you want to give the app. You should then be able to view all your messages within SMS Organizer.

Here's how you can back up your texts with SMS Organizer:

1. Launch SMS Organizer.

2. Select the overview button (three vertical dots).

3. Hit Settings.

4. Choose Backup and restore.

5. Add a Google account. This is what will be used for backing up all of your texts.

6. Choose how often you want the service to back up your messages, and hit Back Up to start backing up all the texts stored on your phone to Google Drive.

If you ever need to check when your SMS messages were last backed up, the app shows the exact date right in the settings.

And that's all there is to it. One of the biggest reasons I keep using SMS Organizer is how easy it is to restore text messages on a new Android phone. When switching devices, install the app and verify your phone number, and the app will automatically find and restore your latest SMS backup from Google Drive.

It's very straightforward to use, and having used the service for over four years now, I can confidently say that it is among the best messaging apps for Android. If you're interested in learning more about the service, be sure to check out my SMS Organizer post, where I outline all the features.

What you need to know

• The ability to send HD photos on WhatsApp rolls out of beta and becomes official.
• Users can now choose to send the photos in Standard or HD quality before sending them.
• The new ability has apparently been the most requested one amongst the users.

WhatsApp often took heat for compressing images on the messaging platform. The Meta-owned service might have had its reasons — to save storage space and faster data transfer, amongst others. But now, WhatsApp is finally getting the ability to send HD photos to others.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the new upgrade on a Meta Broadcast Channel via Instagram. He didn't specify the precise rollout of the feature for all, although it's presumably rolling out starting today. The messaging platform has been testing the feature for quite a while now; it has been earlier released in the WhatsApp beta version for both Android phones and iOS devices.

Using the feature is relatively simple; once it rolls out, WhatsApp users can select a high-quality image from their gallery (via the camera icon right next to the mic icon in the app). Above the view to add a caption to the image, the app will showcase a new HD icon, amongst other options. 

Selecting the HD icon allows users to choose the photo quality they want to send in; it either could be Standard quality with lower resolution, which apparently takes less space and is faster to send, or users can elect the HD quality option. Both the sender and recipient can further see an HD mark on the image.

According to Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, many users have been asking for the ability to share HD images with their friends and family. Additionally, it seems the ability to send high-quality video is also in the works (via The Verge).

While it's a welcome feature on WhatsApp, other leading messaging apps, like Telegram, have already had similar HD photo-sharing capabilities for a while now.

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What you need to know

• Telegram's 10-year celebration brings a massive update including opening Stories to all users and introducing Dual Camera.
• Dual Camera lets users record or capture photos using their front and rear camera.
• A new set of "Granular Privacy Settings" await those looking to create Stories with customizable parameters.
• Users can edit Stories that have been posted without needing to repost.

Telegram is celebrating 10 years of operation, and in doing so, the platform is rolling out a highly requested feature for everyone.

According to Telegram's blog post, the messaging service is rolling out an update that brings Stories to all users. Regardless of Premium status, all users can post, view, interact, and reply to Stories on Telegram. The latest feature is contained within an expandable section at the top of the app.

Additionally, Telegram adds users will find stories from their contacts on their homepage by default.

Capturing Stories gets a little more exciting as Telegram introduces Dual Camera mode — similar to Snap and other apps. The platform states users can snap photos or capture video using their front and rear cameras simultaneously.

There is also the option to decide where a camera should be positioned beforehand or during a recording session.

If the content going up is time sensitive, there are several story duration options of up to 48 hours. There's also the option of saving Stories to your profile, as well, for "old contacts and new connections."

The included media editor contains ways users can add text, drawings, stickers, or a location tag. Telegram adds longer forms of description are possible via captions for Stories, as well. There's also the ability to add links and tagging friends, too.

Furthermore, Telegram added several editing tools users can interact with when their Stories have already been posted. All elements of a user's story can be edited after the fact, including visibility, captions, on-screen text, stickers, and more. Changing anything will not require story-goers to repost their content — it'll simply update.

However, users can only edit their story if they are accessing it from the same device it was posted from.

Telegram is also introducing a new set of "Granular Privacy Settings" for its rollout of Stories. The platform states users will find four privacy options: everyone, my contacts, close friends, and selected contacts before posting. The post explains each option offers further customization with the added choice of creating a list of users who should never see your Stories.

Opening your own story will deliver a list of people who have seen your content alongside any interaction, such as a reaction emoji they may have had.

Telegram's Stories started arriving on the platform back in July, but posting was restricted to Premium users only. With posting open to everyone, the platform is still trying to entice users to subscribe. On its tour page, Stories is said to offer Priority Order which bumps Premium subscribers to the top of the viewing order over those who aren't.

Stealth mode conceals the fact that you've viewed someone's story, while permanent view history gives you inside information into who looked at your content even after it's expired.

Lastly, saving stories to the gallery, longer captions, and the ability to create up to 100 Stories a day round out the Premium benefits.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp users can now share their screens on video calls with friends and family.
• The feature was announced by Mark Zuckerberg via the Meta broadcast channel.
• In addition, video calls now support landscape orientation, which extends to screen sharing. 

After introducing instant video messages late last month, WhatsApp is getting a new ability that allows users to share their screen on a video call.

On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg took to the Meta broadcast channel on Instagram to announce the new feature. He even shared a screenshot of how it looks when rolled out to Android phones and other compatible devices. The feature is similar to what we have seen on other video conferencing apps like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.

During an ongoing video call, a new "share screen" button will be at the bottom of the WhatsApp interface alongside the camera icon, video mute, call mute, and call end buttons. Hitting the share screen button will share the existing screen on your handset. Users can use WhatsApp's picture in picture mode if they want to share and simultaneously see their screens.

The user sharing the screen will take up significant space on the recipient's screen; the other participants will be vertically stacked up on the side. The screen-sharing feature on WhatsApp supports both portrait and landscape orientations. This also extends to regular video calls, which are now supported in landscape mode for a "wider and more immersive viewing and sharing experience."

The video calls, in general, are end-to-end encrypted, and screen sharing will be, too.  However, users may still be greeted with a warning pop-up when sharing their screen.

As for the rollout, we have already seen the feature available on WhatsApp for Android on devices like Pixel 6a and iOS on the iPhone 14 Plus. It will also be available on desktop, although it may take some time for you to see the feature show up.

While the new feature is a welcome change on WhatsApp as it puts it ahead of other competing messaging apps, users have to bear in mind and be cautious before sharing sensitive information on video calls with their friends and family for the time being.

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What you need to know

• Meta is testing a new safety tool for WhatsApp users on a handful of beta testers.
• This upgrade will feature an overlay warning screen that will prominently appear above a user's chat window when they receive spam messages.
• There is no word yet on the when the update will get a stable release.

WhatsApp may be widely known as one of the world's top messaging apps, but with its popularity also comes an increased likelihood of unsolicited messaging and spam calls. The Meta-owned platform has already taken steps to increase security and reduce spam, but now the app is taking further action to make these security warnings more prominent.

Meta's messaging app is currently beta testing a new safety tool, according to WABetaInfo, which will warn you when you're contacted by an unknown number. The new feature is currently in the works on the release of version 2.23.16.6 of WhatsApp, rolling out through the Google Play Beta Program. 

While WhatsApp already provides the option to report or block unsolicited messages, these options appear in the chat body, which often makes them easy to miss. 

However, now Meta is testing out an overlay screen that noticeably appears whenever you receive a message from an unknown number. This Safety Tools screen provides the same two options that exist — blocking or reporting suspicious messages — but the upgrade makes the alert appear more visibly to users above their chat window. 

Below these two options, the Safety Tools window also features information on how to handle cases of receiving suspicious messages. This includes suggestions such as double-checking the phone number's country code to ensure that it is one you recognize. It also advises users to verify the name and profile photo associated with the phone number, especially since WhatsApp doesn't validate these details.

The WABetaInfo report further notes that if you block or report a questionable phone number, the recipient won't be notified in any way. Additionally, WhatsApp won’t show read recipients to the recipient — even if the setting is turned on — unless you respond to them.

WhatsApp is in the process of testing the new safety warning screen to only a handful of beta testers, so you can try to test it out by downloading the latest update from the Google Play Store. There is no word yet from Meta on when the safety tool will receive a stable release. But, in the meantime, there are steps you can take to protect yourself against frustrating spam calls and pesky unwanted messages on WhatsApp.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp has announced a short video-sharing feature. 
• The videos can run up to 60 seconds and are featured in a circular format.
• The new feature will roll out to the app in the coming weeks.

WhatsApp is seen as constantly evolving by adding features to keep up with the competition. The app is now gaining a new instant video-sharing feature for quick, expressive messages.

Mark Zuckerberg first announced the feature through the Meta broadcast channel on Instagram. It is a video-sharing feature for WhatsApp chats akin to the current voice note feature. It even sits in the same place where the microphone resides, which is currently used to send quick voice notes. Users can tap on the "mic" icon, which transforms into the "video camera" icon, after which users can record and share personal videos in the chat.

Additionally, users can swipe up to lock and record the video hands-free. These videos will be played automatically at the receiver's end, but they will be on mute until the receiver on the video turns on audio, which is pretty convenient.

A sample video shared by Zuckerberg in the broadcast channel reveals the CEO using the feature, switching from a voice note to send a video clip. WhatsApp also showcases the feature on its Twitter/X account (embedded below):

With over 2.7 billion users worldwide, having the new convenience of sharing short clips could be a handy feature at a time when short-form video is becoming more of the norm. 

"Video messages are a real-time way to respond to chats with whatever you want to say and show in 60 seconds," WhatsApp notes in a blog post. "We think these will be a fun way to share moments with all the emotion that comes from video, whether it's wishing someone a happy birthday, laughing at a joke, or bringing good news."

Of course, privacy is a critical aspect of these videos, which feature the same end-to-end encryption that secures text-based messages and voice notes. The announcement further notes that the feature will be available for WhatsApp users (likely to both iOS and Android devices) in the coming weeks.

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What you need to know

• Telegram Stories arrives a little late in July and only Premium users can post them.
• Regular users have the ability to view Stories, reply, and react, as well.
• It's unclear whether or not Telegram will open Stories' availability, making the $4.99 subscription the only option for those looking to post Stories.

Telegram is finally rolling out one of its most "highly requested" features but it's not for everyone.

As spotted by Engadget, the messaging platform has started rolling out Stories to users, as mentioned in a tweet. Unfortunately, as Telegram informs, only Premium users are able to post Stories currently. It's not locked entirely to Premium users as it looks like regular users can still see Stories, react, and reply to them, as well.

For those unaware, Telegram Premium costs $4.99 and offers some extra goodies such as double limits (1,000 followable channels), larger file uploads, faster downloads, and more.

Telegram started teasing its new Stories feature back in June and stated that the feature would roll out in "early July." The platform is a couple of weeks late, however, the feature directly mirrors that of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in functionality. Users can not only share videos through Stories but photos, captions, and emojis are tossed in, as well.

Additionally, users can tag others, which brings the new feature more in line with Instagram's variant.

Premium Telegram users looking to hop in and try it out can find Stories nestled at the top of their app above the "Chats" tab. Users will be able to set an expiration timer for their Stories, ranging between six and 48 hours, and they'll also be able to select who can view them.

It's unclear at the moment whether or not Telegram will open this feature up to everyone on the platform.

Premium subscribers earlier in the year got an exclusive feature as part of a larger update in February. Those subscribed gained the ability to translate entire chats, group chats, and channels in real-time as messages roll in. Whenever a user enters a non-native language chat, an option at the top will appear so they can translate it. Otherwise, users can find additional languages to translate chats to in the three-dot menu on the top right side of any given chat.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp faced severe disruption worldwide, causing connectivity issues.
• Users across regions took to Downdetector to report the problem.
• Around 177,000 in the U.K. and more than 37,000 users in the U.S. were affected.

Meta's prominent messaging platform WhatsApp has reportedly faced connectivity issues as several users reported related problems on Downdetector (via Reuters).

The Downdetector, which tracks outages amongst several apps, including Instagram and Twitter, has shared the outage numbers in the past 24 hours where users have reported connectivity problems during the early hours of Indian Standard Time.

According to Reuters, more than 37,000 incidents were reported in the U.S., over 177,000 users in the U.K., and around 15,000 people in India have faced connectivity issues, per Downdetector stats.

Meta's "WhatsApp Business API Status" status board acknowledged the issue, stating, "We are currently experiencing major disruption impacting receiving incoming messages and message delivery on Whatsapp. We will provide another update within 1 hour or sooner if additional information is available."

However, the issue was quickly resolved, and users were able to receive incoming messages. "The fix for receiving incoming messages and message delivery on WhatsApp has been deployed and this issue is now mitigated. Thank you for your patience," the status board further added.

Similarly, WhatsApp on Twitter stated that it was aware of the connectivity issues. The resolution was swiftly made, and the messaging platform tweeted, "and we're back, happy chatting!"

It is encouraging to see that the WhatsApp issue is being promptly addressed by Meta, letting users continue with the app in the interim rather than seeking other best alternatives.

In other news, WhatsApp debuted for a new range of devices, such as smartwatches powered by WearOS. Mark Zuckerberg has announced the WhatsApp app for WearOS, including devices like Pixel Watch; Samsung smartwatches are also getting the new messaging platform on devices like Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 series.

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What you need to know

• WhatsApp has announced a new feature that makes transferring chats between devices easier.
• The new feature allows users to scan QR codes from older devices to quickly transfer chats and media.
• The process is more straightforward and fully encrypted.
• The feature should be rolling out now to Android and iOS devices.

WhatsApp has announced that it is making it easier for users who wish to transfer chats between devices, including videos and photos, by simply scanning a QR code.

The announcement came from Meta's founder Mark Zuckerberg who shared a video showcasing the process of transferring chats between devices. According to Zuckerberg, the new transfer method is more straightforward and secure, and the transfer happens only between the devices and is promised to be end-to-end encrypted as well.

The video demonstrates the nifty process where a new handset with WhatsApp scans a QR code displayed on the old handset. When allowed, the data transfer takes place without the need to access cloud backups and is fully encrypted.

Currently, WhatsApp users only have the option to back up their chats and attachments to their cloud storage, which is Google Drive for Android devices and iCloud storage for iOS. Both of these also have limited storage unless you pay for the extra storage, which often tends to get full when you have higher WhatsApp data backup (as well as anything else you might have in the cloud).

Additionally, backing up and restoring the data on your devices can be tedious sometimes, and the new process aims to solve them with a simpler process.

The new method is applicable for users transferring between Android handsets or iOS devices, but the method can't be used for cross-device transfers. However, there are ways to transfer WhatsApp chats from iOS to Android (which also involved a QR code) and vice versa.

According to WhatsApp's Tweet, the feature should be available for users now. If available, you can access the feature by navigating to WhatsApp's Settings > Chats > Transfer Chats on the old device and scanning the QR code on the new handset.

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What you need to know

• Telegram officially teases its upcoming Stories feature.
• The feature has new options like setting expiration times ranging from six to 48 hours.
• The feature is currently in the testing phase and intends to launch in early July.

Telegram is one of the leading messaging apps, and while it has a ton of features, it's a little late to the party when it comes to one highly requested feature. However, the app is finally giving in and will soon allow users to share Instagram-like Stories.

The announcement came from CEO Pavel Durov himself through his official Telegram channel. Durov says the "Stories" have been the most requested features from the messaging platform users for many years. They were against adding Stories since the feature was everywhere, but Telegram decided to oblige since it made up more than half of its feature requests.

The video shared by Durov on the same channel shows us what to expect from the Stories feature. It looks like the traditional Stories format we have seen in other social media apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. It includes sharing videos, captions, emojis, photos, and more.

However, the Stories feature placement on Telegram appears somewhat unique from other messaging apps. They're squeezed at the very top, right above conversations in the "Chats" tab. The stories expand when the user pulls down from the chat list.

Stories on Telegram will be privacy-centric, as seen in WhatsApp. Users can share their stories with all their contacts or have exceptions to hide them. The messaging service also allows hiding stories posted by any contact from the main screen with a new "Hidden" list feature.

While users can put Stories by capturing photos from either of the cameras, the platform also gives precise photo and editing tools to enhance them and further add captions and links, or they can even tag other people, as we see in Instagram Stories.

The other highlight feature of Telegram Stories includes the ability to set expiration times between six and 48 hours. Additionally, users can save those stories to their profile pages to make them more interactive.

The feature is currently in the last testing phase in Telegram, and it will be available for the public starting in early July, notes Durov.

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What you need to know

• Android officially acknowledges WhatsApp-related bugs from May.
• It is a bug from Android's end that has been fixed now.
• Users must stay updated with the latest WhatsApp version to address the issue.

Google apologized to some WhatsApp consumers on Android devices who faced a privacy-related bug from last month, which may have caused confusion.

For context, in early May, a Twitter engineer using a Pixel 7 Pro found WhatsApp accessing their microphone all through the night several times while they were asleep. Soon after, several other Pixel and Android device users also noticed the same and took their concerns to social media.

WhatsApp was quick enough to get in touch with the Twitter engineer, Foad Dabiri, and concluded that it was an Android-related bug, which misattributed microphone information in their Privacy Dashboard. The company also noted in a response tweet that is has contacted Google regarding the issue.

Cut to one month later, Android Developers followed up with a new Tweet to clarify that the problem was, in fact, an Android-related bug and not the fault of WhatsApp.

The tweet further explains the concerned bug has "produced erroneous privacy indicators and notifications" in the Privacy Dashboard — a tool found on many Android phones to let users know what kind of data is being used by the apps installed.

To remove the bug, the search giant recommends users remain updated with the latest version of WhatsApp, which could clear the air for users. This process not only helps to fix bugs but also helps in bringing the latest features to the messaging platform.

Speaking of, WhatsApp recently rolled out a new update to help users stay on top of their privacy, including all screening for spam calls and a new Privacy Checkup hub to inform users about the tools available to them. Also, early this month, the Meta-owned messaging service introduced a new "Channels" feature for a better one-way broadcasting service. Users joining the channels will also have their phone numbers hidden in the "Channels, " and for their admins, to maintain privacy standards.

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What you need to know

• The latest Google Messages beta brings new UI changes.
• The update removes the persistent search from the top and ditches the navigation drawer.
• The options under the nav drawer will likely be moved to different sections within the app.

Google Messages has recently been put through a couple of UI changes. As part of its redesign, a new change ditches the navigation bar in favor of a much cleaner look.

Like the Gmail app, Google Messages has a search bar with a hamburger menu for the nav drawer and your Google account on the other side for access to other settings. A new update, noted by 9to5Google, removes the nav drawer and the search bar for an updated look.

Instead, the redesign now has a Google moniker on the left, followed by the magnifying glass icon for search.

The nav bar under the three hamburger lines currently includes Starred, Archived, Spam & blocked, Device pairing, and the option to Choose a theme. With the update showing up for some beta users, these items, apart from the "Choose theme" option, are now being moved to your Google account overflow menu, which already includes "Your data in Messages," "Messages settings," and "Help & Feedback" options.

The "Choose theme" option is seemingly moved deeper to the settings menu, notes 9to5 (as shared in the screenshots below). Categories have also been slightly redesigned from the previous carousel view. You can see some of the before and afters below:

The redesign is part of the 20230608_01_RC00 update of the Google Messages app in the beta channel. The wider availability of the feature is yet to be determined, but so far, we have not noticed the changes on our devices.

It's an interesting move for Google, as the nav drawer was introduced into the app early last year. However, it seems it may not have been a popular change, and users are probably more likely to seek these options from the account menu anyway since that's where most settings live.

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