Renowned messaging app WhatsApp is planning to stop offering “unlimited storage” for chat backups in future.
The meta-owned app along with Google, will remove the unlimited quota option for WhatsApp backups and will notify its users in advance.
Currently available on the WhatsApp Business beta for Android 2.23.24.21 update, the two companies intend to roll out this change to beta testers soon, followed by everyone else next year, WaBetaInfo reported.
When implemented, this change will bring WhatsApp’s backup feature at par with that of iOS with the users being able to continue backing up their data without any extra cost — on condition that they have storage space available within the 15GB limit of their Google account or any other additional storage subscription such as Google One plan.
The end of limitless capacity for WhatsApp backups on Android will definitely affect users who have benefited from the convenience of automated and unrestricted data backups over the years.
Users who reach the aforementioned storage space limit will have to free up some space to continue backing up their chats.
The end of limitless capacity for WhatsApp backups on Android will definitely affect users who have benefited from the convenience of automated and unrestricted data backups over the years.
The shift is expected to be noticed most strongly by individuals who rely extensively on multimedia messaging, resulting in greater backup file sizes.
It is to be noted that the meta-owned app has made several changes to the backup option — including reducing backup sizes — which will act as a mitigating factor allowing users to backup more data while conforming to the 15GB Google account limit.
What can you do to mitigate changes in the unlimited storage option?
Cleanup
Examine your future Google Drive backups by identifying any redundant or obsolete data in your current chat history.
Clean up unnecessary files and ensure that only essential data is backed up.
Alter media auto-download settings
Make necessary changes to auto-download media settings to exert more control over what is stored in the backup as files which are auto-downloaded are backed up by default.
Let go of old chats
Delete old and unimportant conversations to reduce the space of the data that you want to store in the backup.
By allowing only essential chats to be backed up, users can significantly optimise their limited storage space.
Utlise disappearing messages option
You can enable disappearing messages in conversations where losing messages and media isn’t a concern to automatically delete messages after a specified period.
By choosing to not save pointless conversations, this feature can minimise the size of backups and minimise the effects of modifications made to WhatsApp backup storage.
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