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History sharing could make WhatsApp group chats less confusing for new members
The feature is currently in development in the latest beta build on Google Play
WhatsApp has been on a roll lately — from debuting WhatsApp Channels in more countries to finally adding support for multi-account switching, it’s been a nice couple of months for anyone lucky enough to have been accepted into the beta program that’s at capacity. Users that have connected to a Channel may have noticed that, when joining, tons of messages are already visible due to a history sharing feature that’s been introduced to Channels. The latest beta version of WhatsApp now shows that a similar feature for group chat admins is in development.
Snapchat is one of the most popular and innovative social media apps. Many of the features you see in popular social media apps, such as AR selfie filters, stories, and geo-filters, were introduced by Snapchat. The multimedia messaging app was also quick to offer group chat services to its users.
Being a WhatsApp admin is more than about sporting a cool badge beside your name and flexing on your rank and file. The title also comes with a set of privileges to help exercise control over a group such as the ability to add/remove members at will, restrict messages, pass administratorship to someone else, and more. Now as the latest update shows, WhatsApp will be endowing them with even more power.
Facebook's slow roll on encryption has made it to video and voice calls on Messenger
But not by default
Facebook has been slow to implement end-to-end encryption for its messaging apps, but the baby steps continue to happen nevertheless. Today, it announced the introduction of opt-in E2EE for voice and video calls in Messenger.
Telegram Beta gets widgets and QR codes for joining groups
Joining groups is about to get easier than ever
Telegram only recently gained huge momentum thanks to people switching from WhatsApp due to the upcoming new terms of service, but the company isn't resting on its laurels. TestingCatalog took an extensive look at the latest Telegram Beta, version 7.5, and found quite a few forthcoming changes: The update introduces widgets, QR codes for joining groups, and options for reporting content.
Here's why you should use Google Duo for your video calls instead of Zoom
At least Google's got one messaging app figured out
While Zoom may be the defacto video calling and conferencing app of 2020, many of us are probably using it more out of convenience than anything else. And while video calling and conferencing are two distinctly different things—a set time and place call-in meeting versus a often on-the-fly call-out chat—the lines between the two are increasingly blurred with so many of us working from home.
Viber adds GIF creation features to help make chats more fun
Boomerang, slow-mo, and super speedy modes included
Viber has been releasing a bunch of new features and upgrades lately, from increasing its group call limits to letting users save notes and to-dos. Now the messaging service has launched a GIF creation tool on iOS... with Android to follow in the coming weeks 😒.
Facebook Messenger Rooms brings its group-call experience to users around the world
Create rooms of up to 50 people in which to virtually party
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Video calls have become an important way to stay in touch with friends and family during this time of isolation. There's already plenty to choose from, but now Facebook is giving us something new to consider as Messenger Rooms rolls out across the globe.
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Consent. We've heard everyone talk a lot more about it these days, but it doesn't just apply to people, it should also be required in the tech world. Specifically, from our apps and the services we use. If I like a certain service but don't want to give it all the freedom to do everything it wants, I should be able to limit it. Take for example WhatsApp's groups. For years, anyone could add you to a group, without asking you or even knowing you, and WhatsApp let them do it. You just get a notification that you've been added to a group; you can leave it, sure, but you were already added. Not cool. But WhatsApp is finally remedying the situation.
Google's Messages app came out with a brand new update this week, and while it's sporting a major new version number, the changes are fairly moderate. It's now possible to give custom names to your group chats, and there's a tweak to the UI that makes Messages look a lot more like Google's Contacts and Phone apps. There are also several things to discuss in a teardown, particularly with regards to RCS.
If there's one thing we don't have enough of in this world, it's messaging apps. Thankfully, Yahoo's latest creation is exactly that, and it's designed to simplify group communication between friends, family, and colleagues. You may have read about the invite-only Yahoo Squirrel app a few months back — well now it's out of testing and open to everyone.
Chat apps are all the rage these days. Just ask Google, it can't seem to get enough. And it looks like Yahoo is the latest to jump on the bandwagon with its new organized group chat app named "Squirrel," which mysteriously appeared on the Play Store just earlier today.
A new version of Allo hit this morning, but that's not nearly as important as the features that were remotely activated by Google in the last day or two. Two features we've been expecting have gone live: Web Stickers and @mentions in group chats. But just as those teardown topics make the transition into live features, the latest update does bring some new things to look out for in the future, including group management and permanent bans, plus a new way to record selfies.
Facebook's been making some big improvements to Messenger recently, and the latest is no different: group calling is coming, with the global rollout having started yesterday on both iOS and Android. As is now usual with Messenger, the web app (on both facebook.com and messenger.com) will probably get the update at some point in the future.
My largest WhatsApp group has 6 members (as seen in the image above) and we can barely manage it when we're all being active at the same time. So forgive me for not being overwhelmingly excited by this new update to WhatsApp's beta channel that enables groups up to 256 members. The previous limit was 100, so if you ever wished you could grow your 100-member group larger, there are now a lot more people you can invite in on the conversation.
We don't mention Viber quite as often as WhatsApp around these corners, but the app sure has its own legions of fans and dedicated users thanks to continuous updates and interesting features being sprinkled in all the time. Take this last version 5.6 for example. It may not seem like a huge leap on paper, but it does bring feature parity between phones and tablets, and between individual conversations and group messages.