Whatsapp

New WhatsApp beta feature lets users instantly review the audience and reshare rules of any active status By The News Digital January 16, 2026 WhatsApp adds in-status privacy check to show who can see your updates WhatsApp is reportedly testing a new feature to upgrade its status privacy. The feature spotted in the WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.2.9 will be located in WhatsApp status privacy, clearer and easier to use, and will allow people to check who their status update was shared with, what privacy option was used, and whether the post can be reshared. The feature makes it easier for the users who frequently adjust their WhatsApp status privacy settings before posting. Until now, WhatsApp did not offer a direct way to confirm the audience of a status after it went live. Users often had to rely on memory or delete the update if they were unsure. How does the WhatsApp status privacy check work? According to WABetaInfo, the new feature can be seen in the viewer's menu of a status that is active within the 24-hour window. When users open the menu, they may see a new section called "Audience". Tapping it opens a summary page showing the

Skip to content 16 Jan 2026 Meta has paused enforcement of its WhatsApp chatbot ban in Brazil, while regulators assess whether the policy unfairly favours Meta AI over competing services. WhatsApp has excluded Brazil from its new restriction on third-party general-purpose chatbots, allowing AI providers to continue operating on the platform despite a broader policy shift affecting other markets. The decision follows action by the competition authority of Brazil, which ordered Meta to suspend elements of the policy while assessing whether the rules unfairly disadvantage rival chatbot providers in favour of Meta AI. Developers have been informed that services linked to Brazilian phone numbers do not need to stop responding to users or issue service warnings. Elsewhere, WhatsApp has introduced a 90-day grace period starting in mid-January, requiring chatbot developers to halt responses and notify users that services will no longer function on the app. The policy applies to tools such as ChatGPT and Grok, while customer service bots used by businesses remain unaffected. Italy has already secured a similar exemption after regulatory scrutiny, while the EU has opened an antitrust investigation into the new rules. Meta continues to argue that general-purpose AI chatbots place technical strain on systems designed

WhatsApp is allowing AI providers to continue offering their chatbots to users with Brazilian phone numbers, days after the country’s competition regulator ordered the company to suspend its new policy that bars third-party, general-purpose chatbots from being offered on the app via its business API. Under the new policy, the company is providing a 90-day grace period starting January 15 to developers and AI providers, mandating them to cease responding to user queries on the chat app, and notify users that their chatbots won’t work on WhatsApp. Now, Meta told developers that they don’t have to notify users with Brazilian phone numbers (with code +55) of any changes or cease offering their services, per a notice to AI providers seen by TechCrunch. “The requirement to cease responding to user queries and implement pre-approved auto-reply language (mentioned below) before January 15, 2026, no longer applies when messaging people with a Brazil country code (+55),” the notice reads. WhatsApp did not immediately respond to a query seeking to confirm the decision. The policy, which goes into effect from today, impacts general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT and Grok on the platform. Notably, the policy does not stop businesses from providing customer service via bots

The police have withdrawn their request for a warrant to access WhatsApp groups in which former Chief Military Prosecutor Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi was a member along with her attorneys. The police announced they intend to drop the request and shelve the material. The initial request sparked public criticism against the police, claiming it violated attorney-client privilege. The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.

Usage of voice AI in sales, marketing, customer support, and consumer applications has shot up in the last few years. As a result, model providers have seen increased business, along with investor interest. On the back of this demand, today, Deepgram said that it has raised $130 million in a Series C round led by AVP at a $1.3 billion valuation. The round also saw existing investors such as Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger, Wing, and Y Combinator put in more money. Plus, new investors like Alumni Ventures, Columbia University, Princeville Capital, Twilio, and SAP joined the round. The company has raised over $215 million in funding to date. The startup’s raise continues the trend of sizable funding rounds in voice AI last year, including Sesame’s $250 million Series B, ElevenLab’s $180 million Series C, and Gradium’s $70 million seed round. Elizabeth de Saint-Aignan, a partner at AVP, told TechCrunch that when the fund was talking to enterprises about how they were using AI, voice came up frequently, and it started looking into companies working in this area. “In 2024, when we were talking to enterprises about how they were thinking about using AI inside their business, we started to hear about

The server returned a "404 Not Found". Something is broken. Please let us know what you were doing when this error occurred. We will fix it as soon as possible. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Meta Platforms and WhatsApp have moved the Supreme Court (SC) challenging a Rs 213.14 crore fine imposed by the Competition Commission of India ...

Transport in France largely unaffected by blockades © C. Vreugdenhil Transport The French are well known for their strikes, and this time the Mercosur agreement was used as a reason to block motorways. Yet according to Marc Vreugdenhil of C. Vreugdenhil Internationaal Transport, whose main destination is the wholesale market of Rungis near Paris, the impact has been limited. "I hear from colleagues that there have been some delays, but nothing significant. We have many alert drivers who keep each other informed via WhatsApp groups." "The snow affected us more last week," Marc continues. "We mainly experienced delays around Paris and in the Loire region around Angers. In particular, the police pre-emptively halted freight traffic. So it was not so much that driving itself was difficult, but rather that everything simply came to a standstill for freight traffic." For more information:Marc Vreugdenhil C. Vreugdenhil Int. Transport B.V. Transportweg 23 2676 LM Maasdijk T +31 (0) 174 525870 www.cvreugdenhil.nl

ISTANBUL WhatsApp appears to be developing new features aimed at giving parents greater oversight and control over their children’s accounts, WABetaInfo reported Sunday. The outlet, widely regarded as a key source of news on WhatsApp updates, said the messaging platform is exploring tools that would allow parents to manage linked secondary accounts. Under the proposed system, younger users would be able to create accounts with limited functionality, allowing parents to control who can message or call their child, the report said. By default, secondary accounts would restrict interactions to contacts only. “This default configuration helps reduce the risk of unsolicited contact and potentially harmful communication, as it prevents unknown users from reaching the child directly,” WABetaInfo said. Parents would also be able to review and adjust key privacy settings and receive updates about account or chat activity, without being able to read message content or listen to calls. “This will establish the relationship between the two profiles while preserving the privacy of messages and calls,” the outlet added. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is currently testing the new tools, which are expected to be rolled out in a future update. Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories

You don't have permission to access "http://www.gadgets360.com/apps/news/whatsapp-parental-controls-interaction-limits-secondary-account-under-development-leak-10731394" on this server. Reference #18.ee18d017.1768225036.c3f99a0d https://errors.edgesuite.net/18.ee18d017.1768225036.c3f99a0d