WhatsApp

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For Americans, the News Is on Social Media

A majority no longer turn to traditional media outlets for their news

(Newser) - Americans have officially put news websites and TV channels on the backburner, turning instead to social media and video networks like Facebook, X, and YouTube to get their news. Some 54% of people in the US now get their news from social media and video sites, making this the new...

Iran Urges Public to Delete WhatsApp

Platform denies that it is sending user information to Israel

(Newser) - Iranian state television on Tuesday afternoon urged the country's public to remove the messaging platform WhatsApp from their smartphones, alleging the app—without offering specific evidence—gathered user information to send to Israel. In a statement, WhatsApp said it was "concerned these false reports will be an excuse...

In Break With Tradition, Ads Are Coming to WhatsApp

Meta says ads will appear only in the Updates section, not chats

(Newser) - WhatsApp, long known for its ad-free messaging, is about to break with tradition and introduce advertisements for the first time. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, announced that ads will soon appear in the app's Updates section, which is used by around 1.5 billion people daily, the New York ...

Mel B: Other Spice Girls Booted Me From Group Chat

Singer says she was kicked out of message chain by other members of UK girl group

(Newser) - Unfairly or not, Victoria Beckham (aka "Posh Spice") is often pegged as the aloof, unapproachable member of the Spice Girls—but she's not the one who's been booted from the UK girl band's group chat. The Cut notes that Melanie Brown, whose stage name is...

When Seattle Phones Ping, It's a Sign Whales Are Near

The AP looks at a popular WhatsApp chat group that alerts members to sightings

(Newser) - Peter Bates was dropping his car at the mechanic this month when a notification pinged on his phone: Killer whales were approaching his Seattle neighborhood. He hopped on a bus toward the water, then an electric bike. He was pedaling along a shoreline trail when orcas' black fins and white...

Facebook, Instagram Go Down Worldwide
Facebook, Instagram
Start to Return
updated
Oct 4, 2021 7:25 PM CDT

Facebook, Instagram Start to Return

Company's share price crashed after outages

(Newser) - Update: Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram began slowly returning to the internet Monday evening, about six hours after crashing. A tweet from Facebook around 6:30 ET said they were "coming back online now," CNN reports. "Thank you for bearing with us," the tweet said. The restoration...

46 State Attorneys General Sue to Break Up Facebook

Social media giant accused of using its dominance to crush the competition

(Newser) - When it comes to taking on Facebook, bipartisanship is alive and well. Attorneys general from 46 states, along with Guam and Washington, DC, filed an antitrust against the social media giant Wednesday, accusing it of using its dominance to crush competition, NPR reports. The lawsuit is being led by New...

For Some, a Missed WhatsApp Call Had Scary Consequences

Company uncovered spyware that could hijack a phone via a missed call

(Newser) - Spyware crafted by a sophisticated group of hackers-for-hire took advantage of a WhatsApp flaw to remotely hijack dozens of phones, the company said late Monday. The Financial Times identified the actor as Israel's NSO Group, and WhatsApp all but confirmed the identification, describing hackers as "a private company...

In Sea Change, Zuckerberg Now Says 'the Future Is Private'

He announces major Facebook overhaul

(Newser) - "I know that we don't exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly," Mark Zuckerberg quipped at the annual F8 Facebook developer's conference—but he promised that the company will turn it around. In his keynote address, the CEO announced a...

Key Dem: Lawyer Confirmed Worrying Ivanka, Jared Email Use

Rep. Elijah Cummings says Kushner also used WhatsApp for official business

(Newser) - The president's son-in-law is up to date with technology but possibly not with the Presidential Records Act. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings said Thursday that a lawyer for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner told him that Kushner, a White Houser adviser, used the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp for...

Facebook Exec Fires Back at WhatsApp Founder

David Marcus is not pleased with Brian Action

(Newser) - "A whole new standard of low-class." That's what Facebook exec David Marcus has to say about criticism leveled at the social media platform and Mark Zuckerberg by Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, CNBC reports. In a Forbes interview, Acton says Facebook, which bought WhatsApp for $22 billion...

Report: WhatsApp Founders Walked Away From $1.3B

'WSJ' has lengthy piece on Jan Koum and Brian Acton's exit from the company

(Newser) - Itching to take your job and shove it? What if doing so meant leaving $1.3 billion on the table? That's what the Wall Street Journal reports the founders of WhatsApp did in exiting Facebook prior to November. That's the month when their unvested shares would have fully...

He Took Billions From Facebook, Then Clashed With It

WhatsApp CEO sold company to Facebook in 2014, is now exiting over rumored friction

(Newser) - If you sold the company you co-founded for $19 billion in 2014, it makes sense that four years later you might decide to step down to focus on "collecting rare air-cooled Porsches, working on my cars, and playing ultimate frisbee," as Jan Koum wrote Monday on Facebook . But...

WhatsApp Photo Secures 'Groundbreaking' Conviction

British cops sent it to fingerprint lab

(Newser) - Fingerprinting is an "old-fashioned technique," says Dave Thomas of the South Wales police. Convicting a drug dealer on the basis of a partial fingerprint from a photo in a WhatsApp message, however, is groundbreaking stuff. The image of a hand holding ecstasy pills was the key evidence in...

Facebook Made Him Rich. Now He Says Delete the Site

Brian Acton is co-founder of WhatsApp, which Facebook bought for $19B

(Newser) - WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton made a fortune when the messaging app was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014. Now he says it's time to dump the social media site. "It is time. #deletefacebook ," Acton tweeted Tuesday as the Cambridge Analytica data-mining scandal deepened. Acton remained...

BlackBerry to Facebook: You Stole Our Messaging Tech

Company sues social media giant, including its Instagram and WhatsApp subsidiaries

(Newser) - BlackBerry Limited has long been proud of its messaging app—so much so that it's now suing Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp subdivisions for ripping off key features. The Verge notes a "sprawling" 117-page complaint filed Tuesday for patent infringement, alleging that hallmark innovations of BlackBerry Messenger,...

UK Wants London Attacker's WhatsApp Message

Khalid Masood sent message just before beginning Wednesday attack

(Newser) - Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood sent a WhatsApp message that cannot be accessed because it was encrypted by the popular messaging service, a top British security official said Sunday. British press reports suggest Masood used the messaging service just minutes before a rampage Wednesday that left three pedestrians and...

'Landmark' WhatsApp Move Renders Wiretaps Useless

It adds encryption

(Newser) - One of the world's most popular apps has just added strong end-to-end encryption, making the communications of 1 billion users off-limits to wiretaps and potentially setting up a US legal battle bigger than the Apple-FBI clash. WhatsApp has been steadily increasing encryption over the last 18 months and with...

MIA Mayor Accused of Running Town via WhatsApp

And of stealing $4M from school fund in one of Brazil's poorest states

(Newser) - While people in the Brazilian town of Bom Jardim were facing daily economic struggles and teachers stopped getting their paychecks, prosecutors say Mayor Lidiane Leite was partying it up in the Maranhao state capital—and running the town under her charge from 170 miles away via WhatsApp, the BBC reports....

Terror Suspect Took Selfie With Severed Head: Report

Sources: Yassin Salhi sent gruesome pic via WhatsApp to at least 1 person

(Newser) - A gruesome coda to an already gruesome story : French officials are reporting that Yassin Salhi, the suspect detained yesterday in the beheading of his boss at a gas plant, took a selfie with the victim's head and sent it to at least one recipient, reports the AFP . Two anonymous...

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