While this new exciting feature is still under development, and not ready for beta testers, WABetaInfo reports that this new future update will introduce a music button within the drawing editor that appears after selecting a photo or a video for the status update. Just like it’s done on other Meta-owned platforms including Facebook and Instagram, users will then be able to search for songs or specific artists by tapping this button, which will make it easier for them to find and add their favorite music directly to their status updates.

“Once a song is selected, it will be automatically integrated into the status update, allowing users to personalize their photos or videos with music.”  wrote the WhatsApp tracker. “This enhancement will likely make status updates more engaging and expressive, as users can set the mood or add context to their shared content using music.”

Meanwhile, the instant messaging service is also working on several other features including the ability to create and share entire custom sticker packs. This update will enable users to organize their stickers more efficiently by categorizing them into distinct packs directly within the application, without the need to involve third-party apps. You will also be able to personalize your collections, modify packs, and share them easily with your contacts.

WhatsApp is always working on several features to enhance user experience on the app but it should however be noted that not all of them make it to the public release. Some of the features that made it include a ‘Favorites’ Feature to Filter Chats, and a Self-Destruct Audio Message Feature, among others.

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According to the social platform, users will now be able to save contacts to the app itself and manage them via the desktop version of the app, in addition to the mobile interface.

“Until now, the only place you were able to add contacts was from your mobile device, by either typing in a phone number or scanning a QR code. WhatsApp wrote in the blog post. “Soon, you’ll be able to add and manage contacts from the comfort of your keyboard on WhatsApp Web and Windows – and eventually other linked devices.”

WhatsApp has traditionally relied on users’ phone address books to hold and manage contacts, however, this meant that users couldn’t recover their contacts in case they lost their devices. This new development will however address this by making it possible to restore WhatsApp contacts from cloud storage. The company also adds that the feature will additionally be useful “For when you are sharing your phone with others or if you want to separate personal and business contacts when managing more than one WhatsApp account on your phone.”

The social messaging app added that the contact storing feature update will also make it possible for users to finally be able to manage and save contacts by usernames. “Usernames on WhatsApp will add an extra degree of privacy so that you don’t need to share your phone number when messaging someone,” WhatsApp said in the blog post.

This is the first time WhatsApp has publically mentioned the use of usernames, a feature that has been in development since last year according to a May 2023 report by WABetaInfo.

Additionally, Meta has acknowledged the privacy trade-offs that come with storing your information remotely, and to address this, the company has developed a more advanced encryption system to store and share relevant data called Identity Proof Linked Storage (IPLS).

“Contact names are stored encrypted within WhatsApp, and we’ve built this with additional, robust protections by using IPLS to deter access to contacts to anyone except the user.” writes Meta.

Meta further explains that IPLS incorporates new privacy technology that protects users’ contact lists in a privacy-preserving fashion, adding, “To further ensure the safety and security of this system, we’ve partnered with Cloudflare to provide independent third-party auditing of its cryptographic properties.” According to the company, the new technology stack was reviewed by external researchers and NCC Group Cryptography Services, an independent cybersecurity consultancy.

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The feature which started rolling out today was first spotted in February by WABetaInfo as it was being tested on iOS and the web before it appeared on Android in April.

The Meta-owned instant messaging platform has also added a “Favorites” section to the calls tab to let you speed-dial your favorite contacts without the need to go through your recent call logs.

“Whether it’s your family group chat or your best friend, your ‘favorites’ will be the same across your chats and calls, so you can speed dial them from your calls tab too.” WhatsApp wrote in a blog post.

If you wish to add a contact or group to your favorites, from your chats screen, select the “Favorites” filter and choose the contact to add. From the calls tab, you can tap ‘Add favorite’ and then select your contacts or groups. You can also add a chat to your favorites by simply long-tapping it and selecting “Add to favorite.” Additionally, there is an option for you to manage your favorite contacts and groups by going to your WhatsApp Settings > Favorites > Add to Favorite. From here, the instant messaging app will let you reorder them how you wish to.

To enjoy this new feature, you will need to update your WhatsApp application by heading to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and finding the latest version of the app. However, it should be noted that while the update has started rolling out today, it will be made available to everyone in the coming weeks.

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While the social platform’s official changelog on the App Store does not mention the new feature, WABetaInfo, WhatsApp’s tracking site has confirmed the update in its latest online report. According to the report, this new feature will allow users to find and manage their frequently contacted chats and groups quickly.

Through a new “Favorites” section in the app settings, users can add favorites directly within this tab and manage them. The section allows users to easily add, remove, and reorder their favorite contacts and groups. Users can also add favorites directly from the chat info screen, enabling them to easily select their most important conversations without opening the contacts picker.

“With the introduction of the favorites filter at the top of the chats list and a new section to manage them within the app settings, users can efficiently organize and access their preferred contacts and groups,” the tracker reports.

To use the feature, you will have to update the WhatsApp app. However, the filter is available for some users and will be rolled out to more accounts over the coming weeks.

ALSO READ: THE PROS AND CONS OF SENDING VOICE MESSAGES USING WHATSAPP

The post WhatsApp is Gradually Rolling Out a “Favorite” Chats and Groups Feature for iOS appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Pros of sending voice messages using WhatsApp

1. Personal Touch

Voice messages add a personal touch to conversations that text messages often lack. A person’s voice can convey a message more effectively and warmly than written words. This aligns with the broader trend of using voice for email, where voice recordings are integrated into emails to enhance personal communication.

2. Convenience and Speed

Voice messages are easy & fast to record and send making it suitable for people with tight schedules. As you have seen you need not COMPOSE your messages or type them rather you have to speak to your phone and send them immediately. This is akin to the benefits provided by text-to-speech APIs that generate natural and clear speech from written text

3. Clarity and Nuance

Using voice messages also has an advantage compared to text —in that voice can be clearer and convey the different nuances of messages than text. Therefore, relying too much on text messages can cause many misunderstandings since the use of tone is lacking. Each word of the message can be delivered with a certain tone that the sender wants the receiver to get and thus the receiver cannot misinterpret it. This is why mobile text-to-speech API is quickly becoming popular; it simply facilitates the delivery of messages with the appropriate emotional and tonal undertones.

4. Hands-Free Communication

On the one hand, voice messages enable communication with hand and finger free, which can be relevant while driving or cooking and it is impossible to type a message. In the same way, text-to-speech API allows users to listen to emails or messages instead of reading them, which is pretty convenient, especially in transport services, where productivity and safety are key factors.

5. Effective for Long Messages

In many situations, if a long or elaborate text needs to be communicated, it is better to record the message as it takes less time than to type out sets of messages. This makes it easier to provide detailed explanations or instructions. In professional settings, using voice for email can streamline communication, especially for detailed reports or instructions.

6. Language Barriers

For those uncomfortable writing in a specific language due to their fluency, voice messages are also more convenient and less likely to contain mistakes. It is well known that people tend to speak with ease even in a second language than write in the same language. It is also important to know that text-to-speech APIs also support multiple languages which helps those who have a poor command of English or other languages depending on the type of content being given out to be a part and parcel of it.

7. Emotional Connection

Listening to voice messages keeps people emotionally tethered. It helps them get connected by engaging in a conversation. This can be particularly important in keeping the connection with colleagues, friends, and relatives with whom people do not communicate regularly due to the long distance. The same concept can also be extended to voice in e-mail where the sender can make a personal call by lending his/her voice to a particular e-mail.

Also read:

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  • Signal users will start using usernames to keep their phone numbers private
  • 4 key reasons why companies should use Instagram stories

Cons of sending voice messages using WhatsApp

• Privacy Concerns

In this case, the recording also poses limitations in so far as the messages may be intercepted by other people which brings an element of privacy violation, particularly in the public or areas where the messages are listened to by other people. Unlike text messages, it cannot be sneakily glanced over while in the company of others without causing agita.

• Inconvenience for the Receiver

Voice messaging can be annoying since it is not always easy to listen to the message conveyed. However, whereas textual voice messages can be quickly scanned and replied to, scripted ones take more time to be listened to, and if the script is long the implementation takes even much longer. This becomes a task that applies text-to-speech APIs used in day-to-day communication where efficiency is key.

• Storage Space

Text messages occupy less space than voice messages in a device irrespective of the number of voicemail messages sent. The main disadvantage is that applications are too large, and users with limited free space often have to create space to save these voice messages. Storing numerous voices for email recordings can also become an issue over time, necessitating robust storage solutions.

• Background Noise

Background noises are likely to distort the voices heard in the voice messages. This is basically because, if the sender is in a noisy place, in the sense that the place may be crowded, the receiver is likely to be confused, given that, the message s/he is receiving cannot be easily deciphered. More complex in its nature is the noise-cancellation feature, although the latest text-to-speech APIs have developed ways of averting this problem, it still presents a complication when it comes to live voice messaging.

• Accessibility Issues

Many users do not find voice messages accessible. Some cannot listen for instance those with hearing impairments or those who happen to be in situations where listening to a message is inconvenient will find the voice messages less useful. Although some text-to-speech APIs are available to provide solutions for converting text into spoken words, there is a need to have a design made keeping in mind all the users.

• Noisy Environments

Leveling the volume while recording voice messages is quite difficult if the recording is done in a noisy area. Noise in an organization interferes with the quality of the message being passed to the receivers. This is also a concern for using voice for email in other settings that may not afford the luxury of silencing the device at regular intervals.

• Transcription Challenges

WhatsApp does not offer the auto transcription feature a characteristic of ordinary text messages. This may occasionally become cumbersome when trying to locate a specific piece of information or even when one needs to go back to the details of a story in the future. However, advancements in text-to-speech APIs are starting to offer solutions that include transcription services, bridging this gap.

In conclusion, WhatsApp voice messaging presents an option that delivers none of the features that hinder normal text messages. Although it is also advantageous, there are some shortcomings like privacy and security problems, inconvenience to the receiver, and space issues. By identifying these avenues of usage and disadvantages one can be in a position to make informed decisions in case he or she plans to use voice messages as a means of communicating with others.

Technologies such as text-to-speech APIs and the ‘voice for the email” are on the horizon of proactivity and extending the prospects of technological possibilities, which can enrich the depth of communicating experience in terms of understanding, embodying emotion, and removing barriers for users with physical disabilities. Integrating voice and text messages with these new technologies, cannot go amiss in achievement of the best results in conveying messages in the most appropriate manner.

The post The Pros and Cons of Sending Voice Messages Using WhatsApp appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

While the update is now coming on WhatsApp beta for IOS, the same feature was submitted last year through the Google Play Beta Program, bringing the WhatsApp beta for Android version up to 2.23.25.20. A similar optional feature of sharing WhatsApp status updates on other Meta-owned platforms is currently available for iOS and Android users who wish to cross-post their WhatsApp statuses to Facebook stories.

According to WABetaInfo, once the feature is officially rolled out, users will be able to disable “the new cross-posting experience with Instagram at any time after their manual activation,” The WhatsApp Tracker site further reported that users will also be able to control who can see the content they share to Instagram directly within their Instagram story audience settings.

The website suggested that this integration will enhance user convenience, enabling users to quickly share their moments with their contacts list on WhatsApp and followers on Instagram, without the need for reposting manually.

“By facilitating direct sharing of WhatsApp status updates to Instagram, this feature will enhance the process of updating status across multiple platforms. Rather than crafting and posting separate updates on WhatsApp and Instagram, users will be able to accomplish this task in a single step,” WABetaInfo said.

It is important to emphasize that this new feature will let you post your WhatsApp Status to Instagram without the need to move away from the app. Similar to how you currently have the option to also post on Facebook when uploading a Story on Instagram, with this new update currently under development, you will still be able to simultaneously update your WhatsApp Status and Instagram Story in a single tap.

The post WhatsApp Will Soon Let You Share Your Status Updates on Instagram appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

According to the blog post, in case you prefer to chat without sharing your phone number, you will now be able to create a unique username that you can use instead. The company however notes that you will still need a phone number to sign up for Signal.

“Note that a username is not the profile name that’s displayed in chats, it’s not a permanent handle, and not visible to the people you are chatting with in Signal. A username is simply a way to initiate contact on Signal without sharing your phone number.” wrote Randall Sarafa, the chief product officer at Signal.

Once the feature rolls out, by default, your phone number will no longer be visible to everyone you chat with. However, users who already had your number saved in their contacts will still be able to see it. Signal further says that users will also be able to control who can find them on the app by phone number by enabling a new, optional privacy setting.

“This means that unless people have your exact unique username, they won’t be able to start a conversation, or even know that you have a Signal account — even if they have your phone number.”

The encrypted messaging app emphasizes that “Signal usernames are not logins or handles that you’ll be known by on the app – they’re simply a quick way to connect without sharing a phone number.” Your profile name will still be whatever you set it to and your username will not be displayed on your Profile details page or chats if you don’t personally share it.

To create one, you can head to your profile settings. But keep in mind that your username is supposed to be unique with two or more numbers at the end. The company says this is intended “to help keep usernames egalitarian and minimize spoofing.” Signal usernames can be changed or deleted if the user decides they no longer want to have one.

The post Signal Users Will Start Using Usernames to Keep Their Phone Numbers Private appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The update will place favorite contacts at the top of the calls tab so a phone call is always just one tap away. A similar feature is also under development and will appear in a future update of WhatsApp Web. This update will enable users to filter chat lists by also displaying their favorite contacts. According to the report, WhatsApp users will be able to manually select their favorite contacts and reach them easily through this dedicated filter.

“By allowing users to mark specific contacts as favorites, WhatsApp enables them to prioritize key conversations, ensuring quick and easy access to those they frequently interact with,” the report said.

“The introduction of favorite contacts not only simplifies the process of reaching out to frequently contacted users but also adds a layer of customization, allowing them to improve their messaging experience to suit their preferences,” it added.

Meanwhile, WABetaInfo also reports that the messaging platform is continuing its work on implementing username support by refining the validation process. The feature which is still under development will make it easier for users to chat with other people without sharing their phone numbers. Once officially rolled out, Users will be able to choose a username right within profile settings. However, WhatsApp usernames will only accept alphanumeric characters and some special characters, with no discriminators making usernames on WhatsApp unique.

WABetaInfo mentions that using a username on WhatsApp will be optional, “and the phone number associated with an account that initiated a chat through a username will always remain concealed, as long as the people in the conversation do not already know each other’s phone numbers.”

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This new functionality can be viewed in the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS 24.1.10.70 update, available on the TestFlight app. Once it is officially rolled out, WhatsApp users will be able to choose a color from a range of five colors, allowing them to experiment with them until they eventually find the perfect color of their preference.

According to WABeta, the meta-owned app might also have plans to expand this customization feature by introducing the ability to change the bubble color in the distant future.

Meanwhile, among the many other features under development is the optional feature for businesses to add a verified badge to their channels. This functionality is being rolled out in a new update through the Google Play Beta Program, bringing the version up to 2.24.1.18. Once officially rolled out, businesses can get a verified badge for their channels by subscribing to Meta Verified. Additionally, WhatsApp is also working on replacing the green verification badge with a blue checkmark for both verified channels and businesses.

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The latest from the Meta-owned is its [WhatsApp] newly introduced feature that allows users to log in to two different accounts on the same device. This groundbreaking change is set to alleviate the hassles many face, particularly when it comes to toggling between personal and professional accounts.

No longer does one need to log out and log back in or carry two devices; WhatsApp has simplified the process.

To set up a second account, users will require a second phone number and SIM card. Devices that support multi-SIM or eSIM can easily adapt to this feature.

Once the prerequisites are met, users can head to their WhatsApp settings, click on the arrow next to their name, and click “Add account.” Each account will have its privacy and notification settings, ensuring a tailored experience for the user.

The feature is currently undergoing testing in the WhatsApp beta for Android, with the firmware version 2.23.17.8, and is expected to roll out on the stable version soon​​.

The process of setting up a second account is fairly straightforward; however, it requires a phone with dual-SIM support, either through dual physical SIMs, eSIMs, or a combination of the two​.

For the initial setup, users will need the second phone or its SIM card to receive a one-time passcode via SMS for verification. Post verification, the app will continue to function for both accounts without needing a second device or SIM​​.

Why WhatsApp is introducing this

The rationale behind this feature rollout is rooted in the modern-day necessity of managing multiple facets of one’s life seamlessly.

In a professional landscape that’s ever-evolving, the ability to switch between work and personal accounts with a tap is a significant time-saver and stress-reducer. This feature also comes as a part of WhatsApp’s broader vision of enhancing user experience and staying ahead in the competitive messaging app market.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder, and CEO of Meta Platforms, heralded this new feature, emphasizing the ease it brings to users in managing their WhatsApp accounts.

The announcement elucidates Meta’s ongoing efforts to refine and expand WhatsApp’s capabilities, aligning with the digital communication demands of today’s users​​.

WhatsApp’s move to enable dual account functionality is a timely response to the evolving needs of its vast user base. As the lines between personal and professional communication continue to blur, features like these are not just conveniences but necessities. 

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