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WhatsApp introduces ‘channels’ to receive updates from people, organisations

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Meta-owned WhatsApp on Thursday announced that a new feature was under development for Android, iOS, and Desktop users, providing them with the ability to follow accounts outside their personal contacts.

According to WaBetaInfo, the instant messaging app said that the new update would allow users to receive important updates from people and organisations privately and reliably after following them. 

The new feature, called Channels, is available for some users in Singapore and Colombia. It will be released to more users in future. 

“With Channels, WhatsApp is developing a reliable and private way to receive important updates from individuals and organisations you matter,” the app-tracking website said. 

Mark Zuckerberg also made the announcement of the new feature Channels — which can be accessed through Updates. This is separate from regular chats as users can follow their preferred Channels. 

The admins looking over the Channels are able to share different content like text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls with their followers. Through this feature, users will be able to share different updates — from hobbies and sports teams to receiving news from local officials and much more. 

Meanwhile, the privacy of the admins will also remain intact as WhatsApp keeps their phone numbers and profile photos hidden from followers. 

Just like that, the phone numbers of followers will not be shown to the admins as well as who they choose to follow. This is why Channels are private tools for broadcasting information.

“WhatsApp believes channel updates should not have to stick around forever. For this reason, they plan to store channel history on their servers for up to 30 days, and they are developing new tools to make updates disappear even faster from devices,” the WhatsApp watcher added. 

Admins will also be able to block screenshots, and forwards from their Channels, make their Channels discoverable or keep them hidden. 

However, these Channels are not end-to-end encrypted by default but there is a possibility that limited audience end-to-end encrypted Channels might be introduced in future for non-profits or health institutions.

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Cybersecurity firm reports exposure of sensitive DeepSeek data on the internet.

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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.

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WhatsApp launches bulk channel management functionality

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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.

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Pakistani internet slowdown: ongoing submarine cable issue

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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

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