Instagram has hit 3 billion monthly users, parent Meta Platforms announced this week, an increase of one billion since the company last disclosed figures in October 2022. Meta’s other social platforms, Facebook and WhatsApp, both crossed the 3 billion mark earlier this year. The milestone coincides with a redesign of the Instagram app’s homepage putting more emphasis on Reels short-form videos and private messaging that have largely driven the platform’s growth. Meta has begun testing a version of the app in India that opens directly into Reels instead of a traditional feed. Continue reading Instagram Touts 3 Billion Global Users, Redesigns Homepage

Meta Platforms has launched a war against scammers who have infiltrated its popular messaging service WhatsApp, reportedly taking down more than 6.8 million accounts on the platform and adding features to help people identify fraudulent schemes in group and individual chats. Meta claims the scams go far beyond WhatsApp, involving crime syndicates linked to known fraud communities around the world. These criminal scam centers commonly use forced labor to target people across multiple apps, commonly disrupting WhatsApp, the mobile SMS tree that underpins private text messaging, as well as users of ChatGPT, TikTok, Telegram and blockchain. Continue reading WhatsApp Deletes Scam Accounts and Adds Safety Features

Meta Platforms is expanding AI support for WhatsApp, adding voice calling to customers for enterprise accounts, a feature that’s been available to small businesses for years. “In the coming weeks, larger businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform will be able to receive a call from a customer when they want to talk to someone live or call a customer directly” on request. Meta announced in Miami at its fourth annual Conversations business messaging conference, saying the move “paves the way for AI-enabled voice support in the future.” The company also added WhatsApp to centralized marketing across Facebook and Instagram. Continue reading Meta Is Increasing WhatsApp Ad Capabilities and AI Support

Meta Platforms is opening its WhatsApp messaging service to advertising. The company revealed that three ad modules will roll out gradually. The ads will be positioned under WhatsApp’s Updates tab, a section discreet from WhatsApp’s users’ message inboxes and private chats. The Updates tab is also the entry point to WhatsApp’s Status feature, which lets users share photos, videos and text that disappear after 24 hours, similar to Instagram Stories. Meta says the Updates tab gets 1.5 billion visitors per day. The company is also seeking to monetize WhatsApp’s Channels feature by offering paid subscriptions and promoted Channels. Continue reading Meta Platforms Is Gradually Bringing Advertising to WhatsApp

A new Discord Social SDK allows developers to integrate the platform in-app for games. Discord is massively popular with gamers; the company estimates PC players alone spend more than 1.5 billion hours each month on the platform. This free SDK can extend the user experience beyond the third-party content in which it becomes embedded to reach the platform’s community of over 200 million monthly active users. “Developers can power friends lists, cross-platform messaging, voice and more for all players — with or without a Discord account,” the company announced. Continue reading New Discord Social SDK Integrates Platform In-App for Games

Apple’s iOS 18 update added Rich Communication Services (RCS), which meant better integration with Android users, including media sharing and chat. Now the GSMA has added end-to-end encryption (E2EE), which Apple will implement to allow iPhone users to share E2EE files and messages with Android users. The new specs make RCS the first mainstream messaging service to support interoperable E2EE between different providers, according to the GSMA. Coupled with SIM-based authentication, “E2EE will provide RCS users with the highest level of privacy and security for protection” from fraud and threats, GSMA adds. Continue reading End-to-End Encryption Bridges Gap Between iOS and Android

Rivalry between World Network, also known as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s “other company,” and Elon Musk’s X is heating up in an escalating race to be first out with an “everything app.” World Network is trying to accelerate adoption of a log-in system that relies on “ocular verification” — mapping the unique pattern of the iris — for “anonymous proof-of-human” validation. World already has a free app for iOS and Android, and recently launched a “mini app store” within it, including functions such as chat, transferring cryptocurrency and shopping for microloans. Continue reading Altman’s World Takes on Musk’s X in Race to Everything App

T‑Mobile is acting to eliminate mobile dead zones by launching T-Mobile Starlink, which it says is “the first and only space‑based mobile network in the U.S. that automatically connects to your phone in areas no cellular network reaches.” For now, the service offers SMS text messaging, with “data and voice calls coming later,” according to T-Mobile. The beta is open to everyone, “even Verizon and AT&T customers,” with registration required for free access through July, at which point added fees will kick in for all but those on the T-Mobile Go5G Next plan, on sale now for $150 per month. Continue reading T-Mobile Launches Starlink-Based Mobile Service for Everyone

Signal, the encrypted messaging app, has added video call features that could position the company as a rival to communication platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. Signal has also added a “Calls” tab that lets users initiate new calls, review call history and create call links, which can conveniently be shared with colleagues via normal messaging instead of having to create specific call groups. The reusable links also make it easy to share invites for recurring calls. Signal Calls is available for iOS, Android and desktop. The desktop app lets users choose between grid, sidebar and speaker views. Continue reading Signal’s New Video Call Feature Takes on Zoom, Meet, Teams

Nine months after lawmakers grilled social networks for exposing children to harm, Meta Platforms has announced that Instagram’s teen accounts will be set to “private” by default. Instagram Teen Accounts have built-in protections, limiting who can contact the underage account holders as well as the content they see. “We’ll automatically place teens into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict,” Meta revealed in a blog post. To avoid leaving teens feeling their wings were clipped, Meta says there will also be new features designed expressly for them. Continue reading Instagram Sets Its New ‘Teen Accounts’ to Private by Default

TikTok is entering the messaging services space with a new group chat feature that supports up to 32 participants, conversing and sharing content. TikTok users have taken to sharing the platform’s short-form videos on third-party apps such as Meta’s WhatsApp and Apple’s Messages, and this move aims to keep them doing so in-app, where people can also now view and comment together. The result takes TikTok into the realm of connecting with friends and community-building, as opposed to just passively viewing content. The group chats are only available for those over 15 years of age, as is the policy with DMs. Continue reading TikTok Introduces Group Messaging to Share Content In-App

With 950 million active users, messaging app Telegram is planning to launch an in-app browser that supports Web3 along with an app store, according to founder Pavel Durov. Telegram, which launched in 2013, is expected to surpass 1 billion users this year and may hit profitability in 2025, Durov has said. Though the global platform is known for encrypted private communications, it has recently seen a surge of growth among mini-apps and games and has a thriving community built around crypto rewards. Now, Binance Labs has led an investment in Pluto Studio, developer of the Telegram-based game “Catizen.” Continue reading Messaging App Telegram Planning App Store, Pushes Web3

Federal regulators have taken the unprecedented step of banning the NGL messaging platform from providing service to users under 18. The action is part of a legal settlement between NGL Labs, the Federal Trade Commission and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. NGL, whose niche is “anonymous” communication and features the tagline “Ask me anything,” has also agreed to pay $5 million in fines. An FTC investigation found that in addition to fraudulent business claims about divulging the identities of message senders for a fee, NGL also falsely claimed it used artificial intelligence to filter out cyberbullying and harmful messages. Continue reading Popular Messaging App Banned from Servicing Young Users

Meta’s popular instant messaging service WhatsApp is reportedly beta testing a feature that would allow the already integrated Meta AI chatbot to edit and reply to images. The capability was spotted in the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.14.20, with AI powered by Llama 3, the company’s newest large language model released in April. The beta version works via a camera button added to the text box for Meta AI chat in WhatsApp. When pressed, the button triggers a pop-up that indicates Meta AI can analyze and edit photos, though it’s currently unclear to what extent. Continue reading Meta AI Image Analysis and Editing Beta Tested for WhatsApp

Meta is testing a new large language chatbot, Meta AI, on social platforms in parts of India and Africa. The chatbot was introduced in late 2023, and began testing on U.S. WhatApp users in March. The test is expanding to include more territories and the addition of Instagram and Facebook Messenger. India is reported to be Meta’s largest social market, with more than 500 million Facebook and WhatsApp users, and has big implications as the company scales up its AI plans to compete against OpenAI and others. The Meta AI chatbot answers questions and generates photorealistic images. Continue reading Meta Tests Image-Generating Social Chatbot on Its Platforms