WhatsApp - page 6

WhatsApp wins encryption victory in Brazilian courts

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WhatsApp is getting its own day(s) in court.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
WhatsApp
WhatsApp is getting its own day(s) in court. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Apple’s encryption showdown with the U.S. government may be more or less dormant for now, but Facebook-owned WhatsApp has its own courtroom drama happening in Brazil. It scored a slight win today, however, as a judge overturned a decision yesterday that would have shut the whole thing down across the country for several days.

The controversy surrounds the messaging app’s end-to-end encryption. Specifically, the developer’s inability (and/or unwillingness) to crack it to comply with law enforcement requests.

WhatsApp beta adds support for bold and italic text

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Bold and italics in WhatsApp.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Bold and italics in WhatsApp. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Bold and italics in WhatsApp. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

WhatsApp makes it easy to express yourself with emojis and images and other kinds of modern media — but what if you prefer the good old written word?

Until now, the platform has only supported basic text with zero formatting options. But in the latest WhatsApp beta, users have the option to use bold and italic text in their messages.

How to keep creepers off your WhatsApp profile

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WhatsApp on iPhone
Don’t ignore the latest WhatsApp releases.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp is a messaging app popular with people all over the globe, but you probably don’t want it to turn into a tracking app for your stalker.

Plus, it probably has private information in it that you’d rather not have other people know about, right?

Here’s how to lock it all down so you can keep creepers off your WhatsApp profile.

Companies line up to support Apple’s pro-privacy stance

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Apple is definitely on the side of the angels, according to many.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple might be a rival to other Silicon Valley tech giants, but that’s not stopping the likes of Microsoft, WhatsApp and Google defending Cupertino’s stance against helping the FBI hack an iPhone.

Check out the privacy-minded Apple lovefest from these big companies, as well as groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Amnesty International.

WhatsApp to begin sharing your data with Facebook

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New features found in the latest WhatsApp beta. Screenshots: Javier Santos
New features found in the latest WhatsApp beta. Screenshots: Javier Santos

WhatsApp made millions of smartphone users happy with week when it announced it will be ditching its annual subscription fee, but its next move might not be so popular.

According to a hidden option found in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android, the service is planning to share user data with Facebook “to improve [your] Facebook experiences.”

WhatsApp will take on FaceTime with video calling feature

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You'll now be able to WhatsApp your friends with full motion video.
Photo: Macerkopf.de

Having added voice calling at no extra cost earlier this year, WhatsApp is now reportedly looking to introduce FaceTime-style video calls, according to a new report.

The leaked iOS screenshot shows a full-screen video call, along with a smaller inlaid video preview with the camera view of the call recipient, just like Skype or Apple’s own video calling service.

How to cure WhatsApp’s picture hoarding

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WhatsApp

Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

WhatsApp is a pretty popular messaging app that went from 200 million daily active users in April of 2013 to 800 million of them as of April 2015.

Unlike competitor SnapChat, however, WhatsApp will save every photo and video file sent to you to your Camera Roll. This could make for some embarrassing moments when you’re swiping through your photos to show mom your latest cat pictures.

It could also start to clog up your iPhone, really, with all that racy video your friends keep sending you.

To avoid these situations, you can disable the “feature.” Here’s how.

Monster trucks, Apple Watch email, and other awesome apps of the week

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If you're appy and you know it, check our list!
If you're appy and you know it, check our list!
Photo: Cult of Mac

It’s the weekend, which means (we hope) taking a day off from the usual grind to relax, mow your lawn, have a lie-in, and check out the hottest apps to hit the App Store over the past seven days.

And, man, have we got some good picks this week — from Apple Watch email clients to excellent comedic weather apps!

Check them out below:

Handy new app turns Notification Center into messaging machine

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Select a pre-written message and send it straight from Notification Center.
Photo: George Tinari/Cult of Mac

“I’m leaving” is a message I probably send way too often, but not as often as “I’m here.” It’s just become routine whenever I’m making plans or picking someone up. It’s not necessarily a burden, but it’d be a nice luxury to be able to quickly send friends these repeat messages automatically to save a little bit of time. You’re smart so I bet you know where I’m going with this.

Yes, Written is a new app for iPhone that lets you write out five of your most commonly used phrases and save them for easy access in Notification Center. Then when you pull down the Today view from the top, you see the Written widget with your five messages. Tap one to send it along to your favorite contacts. It works with the Messages app and even WhatsApp.

Microsoft Send is like WhatsApp for work emails

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Send is one part email, one part instant message.
Send is part email, part instant messenger.
Photo: Microsoft

The Microsoft Garage has churned out a new iOS productivity app aimed at streamlining the email experience so users can get in, get in contact, and get on with their work lives as quickly as possible.

The new iOS-only app, Send, aims to make email threads more like short IM messages by stripping out the hassle of finding your contacts, writing subject lines, and keeping tabs on your inbox.

Microsoft leaks its brand new chat app for iPhone

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Flow will work alongside Microsoft Outlook.
Flow will work alongside Microsoft Outlook.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Microsoft has inadvertently leaked plans to release a new chat app for iPhone called Flow, which will allow users to have “rapid email conversations.” The service will be a part of Outlook, but it will focus on quick communication with “no subject lines, salutations, or signatures.”

WhatsApp voice calling comes to iPhone along with iOS 8 share extension

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WhatsApp

Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

WhatsApp is no longer just an instant messaging service. In a new update now rolling out to users on iOS, the company is introducing new voice calling capabilities that allow you to phone family and friends anywhere and at no extra cost.

The update also brings an iOS 8 share extension and other new features and improvements.

Get your lost iOS files back fast with FonePaw iPhone Data Recovery

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Sponsor Reviews for FonePaw iPhone Data Recovery
iPhone Data Recovery makes it simple to restore lost iOS files. Photo: FonePaw

This post is brought to you by FonePaw, creator of iPhone Data Recovery.

Accidentally delete important iPhone files? Encounter a fatal failure while jailbreaking your iOS device? Experience a hardware or system malfunction? iPhone Data Recovery can snap you out of this all-to-common data nightmare quickly.

The easy-to-use Mac software is designed to help you recover deleted photos, videos, messages, contacts, call history, notes, etc., either directly from your phone or by extracting and restoring files from iTunes or iCloud. All you need to do is plug your mobile device into your Mac and click “Start Scan.”

You can now use WhatsApp on your Mac, but there’s a catch

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You can now use WhatsApp on your Mac, but there's a catch. Photo: Cult of Mac
You can now use WhatsApp on your Mac, but there's a catch. Photo: Cult of Mac

WhatsApp is a great alternative to iMessage, except in one regard: iMessage lets you send messages from your Mac. That means if you hate tapping in text messages on a touchscreen, you can use your keyboard instead.

But that’s changed. The long-awaited ability to use WhatsApp on your Mac has finally arrived. But there’s a caveat: It only works if you don’t have an iPhone.

WhatsApp now has 700 million active users

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By our calculations, Facebook's $19 billion investment in WhatsApp works out at $27.14 per user. Photo: WhatsApp
Photo: WhatsApp

WhatsApp has come a long way from its early days, when creators Jan Koum and Brian Acton were inspired to create a cross-platform messenger app by Apple’s addition of push notifications to iOS 3.0.

Having been snapped up by Facebook for a cer-azy $19 billion almost a year ago, the popular app has now announced a personal record-breaking 700 million monthly active users — a whole 100 million more than were using the service back in August.

WhatsApp won’t get voice calling until next year

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WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging services on mobile, has long had plans to step up its assault against the likes of Skype and Viber with a free voice calling feature that was initially promised for the second quarter of 2014. Now the company’s CEO has confirmed that the launch is planned for early 2015 instead.

These are the best messaging apps on iOS

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Cult of Mac runs on Slack. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
It's an iOS messaging shootout! Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

I recently watched The Lady try to convince a friend of ours to download WhatsApp. The friend is moving to the United Kingdom, and we want to stay in touch. Our friend tried to say that email would do the job, but we all know that will never work.

Our friend doesn’t want WhatsApp (maybe because it’s owned by Facebook), and she doesn’t own an iPhone, so iMessage is out. Thankfully, there are plenty of free and good alternatives. Some are more secure, some have more features, and none of them is owned by Facebook.

Let’s take a look at what’s available and how these very different messaging apps compare on a number of key features.