WhatsApp, one of the most popular chat apps with billions of users worldwide, recently introduced a new feature called Privacy Checkup which offers step-by-step instructions to its users for setting up their privacy preferences.
The feature allows users to control who can contact them, choose with whom they want to share their personal information, regulate message access and apply additional security measures.
To enhance its security protocols, the Meta-owned messaging app launched the Privacy Checkup feature for both iOS and Android smartphones, Mint reported.
This feature empowers users to take control of their privacy and offers a sense of security while using the app.
Practice privacy self-care 🧘 With our new Privacy Checkup, you can easily customize privacy settings to fit your lifestyle and security preferences.
In a blog post, while announcing the new feature, Meta said: “This step-by-step feature guides you through important privacy settings to help you choose the right level of protection, all in one place.
“Selecting ‘Start checkup’ in your Privacy settings will navigate you through multiple privacy layers that strengthen the security of your messages, calls, and personal information.”
A page detailing the new feature reads, Privacy Checkup “allows you to access step-by-step guidance to help strengthen the security of your account and customise your privacy settings all in one place”.
The chatting app’s recent privacy feature is simple to use.
Just open WhatsApp and navigate to the settings menu on your iOS or Android device. At this point, you will find the banner to start the privacy checkup located at the top of the screen.
Then, click on the specific option to adjust the privacy settings.
This image shows WhatsApp’s Privacy Checkup page. — Meta/File
Here’s what WhatsApp’s Privacy Checkup can help you adjust according to your preference:
Choose who can contact you
With WhatsApp’s Privacy Checkup feature, users can control who can contact them and stop unwanted calls and messages.
It also allows them to change who can add them to groups, silence unknown callers and manage blocked contacts.
Control personal information
This feature also enables users to choose the audience with whom they want to share personal information such as online status and activity.
Additionally, users can decide who can view their profile photo, control who can see their last seen and online status, and manage read receipts.
Default message timer
By controlling their end-to-end encrypted backups and default message timer, users can limit access to their files and messages.
Fingerprint protection
With the help of the messaging app’s two-step verification and a fingerprint lock, WhatsApp users can further secure their accounts.
The New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz has discovered a cache of sensitive data from the Chinese artificial intelligence business DeepSeek that was mistakenly exposed to the public internet.
In a blog post released on Wednesday, Wiz reported that examinations of DeepSeek’s infrastructure revealed that the company had inadvertently exposed over a million lines of unencrypted data. The materials were digital software keys and chat logs that seemingly documented prompts transmitted from consumers to the company’s complimentary AI assistant.
The chief technical officer of Wiz stated that DeepSeek promptly safeguarded the data following the notice from his organisation.
“It was removed in under an hour,” stated Ami Luttwak. “However, this was exceedingly easy to locate, leading us to believe we are not the sole discoverers.”
DeepSeek did not promptly respond to a request for comment.
DeepSeek’s rapid success after the introduction of its AI helper has exhilarated China and incited concern in America. The Chinese company’s evident capacity to rival OpenAI’s skills at a significantly reduced cost has raised concerns regarding the viability of the business models and profit margins of U.S. AI behemoths like Nvidia and Microsoft.
By Monday, it surpassed the U.S. competitor ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s App Store, prompting a worldwide decline in technology stocks.
WhatsApp has initiated testing of a bulk channel administration feature on iOS for select beta users, enabling the simultaneous selection of many channels, hence enhancing the efficiency of managing following channels.
This essential update enables users to perform bulk activities, including muting many channels simultaneously, designating them as read, and altering notifications. If the chosen channels are muted, users will now have the option to activate notifications. Users can swiftly silence unmuted channels in one action.
Additionally, this feature enables users to unfollow many channels simultaneously, thereby optimizing the process of decluttering their channel list. This change is particularly beneficial for users that oversee numerous subscriptions, as reported by WABetaInfo.
Previously, users were required to manage each channel individually, rendering tasks such as muting or designating channels as read laborious and time-consuming.
The functionality provides enhanced flexibility and control over channel subscriptions, enabling users to efficiently manage notifications. The solution streamlines laborious operations for consumers who subscribe to numerous channels, hence enhancing their entire experience.
Accessibility The bulk management feature is presently accessible exclusively to a limited number of beta testers who installed the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS using the TestFlight application. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, plans to expand the feature’s availability to a larger user base in the next weeks.
This update demonstrates WhatsApp’s dedication to enhancing user experience by offering a clear and efficient method for managing channels and notifications.
Even after two weeks, the global submarine cable AAA-1 problem that was discovered on January 2 near Qatar has not been fixed, causing sluggish internet connection in several Pakistani towns.
According to a representative for Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the issue has affected customers’ capacity to effectively access social media applications and browse the online. Even with initiatives to fix the problem, social networking sites still lag during busy times.
Internet traffic has been redirected via alternate channels to lessen the impact, and more capacity has been set up to stabilize the service.
The PTCL representative promised that “Internet service across the country is operating normally, and there will be no issues with web browsing,” noting that social media applications’ lag is common during