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WhatsApp - page 5

WhatsApp makes big improvements to group messaging

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WhatsApp
You’ll need a new iPhone if you can’t update to iOS 8 or later.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp is rolling out big improvements to group messaging that make it easier to manage your conversations, catch up on what you’ve missed, and more. It has also added enhanced controls for group admins.

Here’s what you have to look forward to on iPhone today.

Facebook spies on your messages to make sure you’re being good

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And you thought all those Facebook messages were secret. Sucker!
And you thought all those messages were private. Sucker!
Photo: kropekk_pl/Pixabay CC

Just when you thought Facebook couldn’t be more intrusive, the company has confirmed that it keeps an eye on our Messenger conversations to make sure we’re being good.

Messages you send are scanned to ensure they abide by Facebook’s rules — and if they don’t, they won’t be delivered.

WhatsApp co-founder: Delete Facebook, regain your privacy

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Facebook
Should you delete Facebook? WhatsApp co-creator Brian Acton says yes.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Facebook is having a bad time right now. Despite being the world’s most popular social media network, a growing number of people are calling on users to delete their Facebook profiles. This follows the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, involving the acquisition of data associated with 50 million Facebook profiles.

The latest person who thinks you should cut the Zuckerberg cord? Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp, which was bought by Facebook for a massive $16 billion back in 2014.

This great iOS Spotlight trick lets you know everything about a person

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spotlight contact search
Several spotlights.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Somewhere after the launch of iOS 11, Apple tweaked Spotlight search to be way more useful. Now, when you search for a person, you can trigger a sub-search that lets you find everything you have on them, from emails, to iMessages, to their contact details, through WhatsApp messages, to calendar events. Anywhere that your selected contact exists on your iPhone or iPad will show up in the list.

And then, you can narrow the results with a sub search.

How to mute iMessage threads, and spot those you accidentally silenced

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shhh mute iMessage
Shut those annoying conversations up right now.
Photo: Shawn Rossi/Flickr CC

Have you ever had your regular (important) iMessages swamped by a flurry of notifications for that inane group conversations about matcha-flavored KitKats? Or maybe you want to keep your iPad’s notifications switched on, but you want to mute iMessages from your boss until Monday, because she has no concept of boundaries?

If so, you need iMessage’s handy conversation-muting feature. It’s so easy to use that you may have turned it on by mistake. If you’re no longer getting alerts for certain messages, you may want to check this, too.

WhatsApp now supports picture-in-picture, plays YouTube

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WhatsApp
You’ll need a new iPhone if you can’t update to iOS 8 or later.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp for iPhone just got a big update that makes it easier than ever to keep your conversations flowing.

The world’s most popular messaging app now supports picture-in-picture video playback, and plays YouTube videos without sending you to another app.

How to delete WhatsApp messages you already sent

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WhatsApp unsend delete
WhatsApp now lets you unsend messages.
Photo: Cult of Mac

WhatsApp, one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, now lets you unsend messages — albeit with a time limit. And not just on your phone, either. If you delete a message, it will be removed from the conversation for anyone who is participating.

That’s great news for folks who are prone to sending messages to groups instead of individuals, or who decide that a late-night photo drunk-texted to the boss was less of a bonding moment and more of a potential-firing moment. Here’s how to undelete your messages in WhatsApp.

WhatsApp’s new emojis look a whole lot like Apple’s

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emojis
Spot the difference.
Photo: Emojipedia

WhatsApp is introducing its own emoji — and, boy, do they look a whole lot like the Apple ones that it previously relied on!

The designs are not out-and-out copies, but they look very similar when the two are not placed side by side. Subtle differences include the fact that WhatsApp’s versions of the images look slightly more cartoonish in design, while incidental changes have been made — such as the switch of the water pistol from being green in color to orange.

WhatsApp just crossed a staggering milestone

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WhatsApp
You’ll need a new iPhone if you can’t update to iOS 8 or later.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Over 1 billion people around the world are using WhatsApp every single day.

The insanely popular messaging service, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014, is now processing over 55 billion messages, 4.5 billion photos, and 1 billion videos per day.

Layton’s Mystery Journey, Clips, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A brilliant, sumptuously animated point-and-click mystery game is just one of the great App Store picks we’ve highlighted for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also selected two major updates to big messaging apps, and a new “must have” app for Nintendo Switch owners. Check out our choices below.

WhatsApp will let you watch YouTube videos within chats

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Facebook messaging apps
Coming soon to an iPhone near you?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp is working to add inline YouTube support to its app, allowing users to enjoy videos within their conversations. The feature will take advantage of the Picture in Picture feature in recent versions of iOS to prevent pulling you away from your conversation.

WhatsApp brings expanded file sharing, chat pinning to iPhone

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WhatsApp
You’ll need a new iPhone if you can’t update to iOS 8 or later.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp just rolled out a big update on iPhone that makes the world’s most popular messaging service even more useful.

Users can now pin chats to the top of their conversation list to make them easier to find, and share files of any kind with their friends and colleagues.

SEGA Forever, Twist, and awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

SEGA unleashed some of its classic games for free on iOS this week, bringing a plethora of games from the Genesis era to the iPhone and iPad as part of its SEGA Forever series.

That’s just one of the picks we’ve highlighted for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup. We’ve also got a great Slack alternative, a nifty WhatsApp upgrade, and a puzzle game that’s sure to appeal to anyone who loves Tetris. Check out our choices below.

WhatsApp adds capability to share any file type

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WhatsApp
You’ll need a new iPhone if you can’t update to iOS 8 or later.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Everyone’s using WhatsApp these days, which makes it an ideal platform for quickly sharing files with friends and colleagues. And it just got even better at doing that, because you can now use WhatsApp to share any file type.

Siri can now read out your WhatsApp messages

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WhatsApp
You’ll need a new iPhone if you can’t update to iOS 8 or later.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The latest WhatsApp update adds the ability to have Siri read aloud your WhatsApp messages.

You can also use the virtual assistant to compose and send replies, so urgent conversations can continue while you’re busy or driving, and you don’t even need to touch your iPhone.

WhatsApp faces new encryption challenge after London attack

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WhatsApp on iOS
WhatsApp users have been waiting for better notifications.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp is under new pressure to provide a government backdoor following the recent terror attack in London.

U.K. home secretary Amber Rudd said it is “completely unacceptable” that law enforcement agencies are unable to read messages and conversations that are secured by end-to-end encryption.

Famous jailbreaker says WikiLeaks CIA dump is overhyped

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The CIA has been hoarding zero day exploits.
The CIA has been hoarding zero day exploits.
Photo: US Gov.

WikiLeak’s trove of CIA cyber documents is being hyped as one of the biggest leaks since Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA. But according to one of the world’s top jailbreakers, you shouldn’t believe the hype.

Cyber security expert Will Strafach, who gained notoriety under the name Chronic for finding zero-day exploits used for jailbreaking, says iOS users don’t need to be worried.

Everything you need to know about WikiLeaks’ CIA document dump

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The CIA has a team of more than 5,000 hackers.
The CIA has a team of more than 5,000 hackers.
Photo: Brian Klug/Flickr CC

The entire hacking arsenal of the CIA has been dumped online and the entire internet is freaking out.

WikiLeaks dropped a data bomb Tuesday with its massive document dump, which it claims is one of the biggest in history. Secrets on how the CIA hacked devices made by Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft are now available for all to see. But should you start freaking out just yet?

Cult of Mac talked to a number of iOS security experts to make sense of all the new info. While it’s tempting to panic, there’s a lot more you need to know first.