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Telegram's move to Swift on iOS promises a more battery-friendly app
Since January, Telegram has operated two versions of its messaging app on Android and iOS: the original and an experimental one called Telegram X. The app was rewritten from scratch for X; it's built on Apple's Swift programming language on iOS and the Telegram Database Library development tool on Android. Telegram is now set to replace its original iOS app with the Swift version within the next couple of weeks.
You've got an hour to unsend messages on WhatsApp
Sometimes you need more than seven minutes to unsend a message on WhatsApp. Thankfully, with the most recent update, now we do. The most recent patch (2.18.31) extends the "delete for everyone" period to one hour, eight minutes and 16 seconds according to a tweet from the messaging service. Is that oddly specific amount of time a reference to anything? It seems like it is, but as far as we know, it isn't. We do know one thing for sure: Telegram users have 48 hours to delete a message and save face before anyone else sees it, so WhatsApp still has some catching up to do. Both are still more generous than GMail's 30-second unsend feature though.
Signal test uses DRM to keep your contacts private
Signal is generally viewed as the most secure encrypted communications app. So secure, that even the US Senate has approved it for staff use. And, to keep privacy experts on its side, Open Whisper Systems (the non-profit behind the app) has kept Signal open source and peer-reviewed. But, the developer is having to juggle robust privacy with all the popular features a chat app is expected to provide in this day and age. It's proven a tricky balancing act -- particularly in regards to access to user contacts. Just like its (now encrypted) rivals, Signal asks to import your phone contacts in order to tell you who's using the app. For the stricter privacy advocates, that's always been a niggling issue. But, Signal claims it has a fix. With its latest test, the app is trialling a completely private contact discovery service.
Facebook starts testing ads in Messenger
It was only a matter of time before Facebook Messenger would start testing ads, after rumors of its plans to do so leaked nearly a year ago. Earlier today, it announced that users in Australia and Thailand will begin seeing sponsored content in the coming weeks, with the experiment being labeled as a way "for people and brands to engage on Messenger." What this means, really, is that you and your friends should expect to see targeted ads in the app soon -- which won't be hard to miss, judging by the image above.
Egypt has blocked encrypted messaging app Signal
Egypt has blocked its residents from accessing encrypted messaging app Signal, according to the application's developer. Mada Masr, an Egypt-based media organization, reported yesterday that several users took to Twitter over the weekend to report that they could no longer send or receive messages while on Egyptian IP addresses. Open Whisper Systems, the team behind the app, told a user asking about a situation that everything was working just as intended on their end. Now that the company has confirmed that the country is blocking access to Edward Snowden's preferred messaging app, it has begun working on a way to circumvent the ban. They intend to deploy their solution over the next few weeks.
China's WeChat messenger tests its own version of instant apps
WeChat might not mean much here in the US, but in Asia, the messaging app boasts some 800 million users. Its next step toward dominance is "small programs" that act like apps within the chat service, according The Information. These perform singular tasks, but won't require a download. "People would be able to scan a QR code via the WeChat app on their phone to use loyalty points at a favorite coffeeshop or transfer money without leaving WeChat or downloading a separate piece of software," the report says.
Talkshow is a messaging app that wants you to text in public
There's a new messaging app in town and it's called Talkshow. But unlike most other messaging apps, the conversations you have on it aren't private. Co-founded by former Twitter exec Michael Sippey, Talkshow's big idea is that your banter is public for all the world to see. Calling Talkshow a "messaging" app is therefore a bit of a misnomer. It's really more like a public-facing chatroom, or a liveblog but for everyday people (which, yes, sounds a lot like Twitter). As Sippey said in an introductory blog post, it's essentially you and your friends texting in public.
Nicki Minaj and Will.i.am backed the 'perfect' bullying app
Hip-hop artists Nicki Minaj and Will.i.am are under fire for investing in an app, called Blindspot, that's said to encourage bullying. Launched last month for Android and iOS, the application lets users send anonymous messages to anyone from their contacts list. While it's being compared to the now-defunct Secret social network, Blindspot only focuses on private chats between two people -- similar to services such as WhatsApp and Viber. Here, however, the receiver never knows who a message is from, and that could easily become the perfect tool for bullies, trolls and other people with hateful intentions.
Telegram blocked 78 ISIS messaging channels this week
As details emerged after ISIS' coordinated, deadly attacks on Paris and Beirut last week, one name stood out in conversations about communications channels: Telegram. ISIS operatives use Telegram and other encrypted messaging services to communicate -- a fact that was apparently news to Telegram. In response, this week the company blocked 78 ISIS-related channels in 12 languages. "We were disturbed to learn that Telegram's public channels were being used by ISIS to spread their propaganda," the company writes. Telegram found and blocked the channels based on user-submitted reports.
Beyond Facebook: What you need to know about texting apps
If you live in the United States, you might've been surprised when Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $19 billion -- or, in other words, thing-you'd-think-you'd-have-heard-of money. Facebook identified what those of us in the US with texting plans and Apple Messages haven't noticed: There are whole ecosystems of social networking and instant messaging separate from those we customarily use. There are a number of advantages services like Line and WhatsApp have over basic texting: They're cross-platform and international, allowing people to talk to other users in other countries, on other devices and other networks, with no extra cost. Of course, for individual users, there's only one thing that distinguishes one service from others: the presence of their friends.
Viber grows its ecosystem with a new section for games
If you're going to try rivaling Skype, you may as well go big or go home. For Viber, over the past few months, this has meant taking its messaging and VoIP calling services to a different level, one that feels more like a mini social network with each passing update. And, without doubt, it helps to have resources at hand from Rakuten, its parent company. Accordingly, Viber has now announced that it is adding games to its platform, in a push to continue growing its ecosystem and give users features beyond calling and messaging.
Shuv messaging app lets you set your friends' ring tones
A new messaging and VoIP app called Shuv boasts a special feature not found in its competitors: ring forward tones. Remember how ringback tones take the place of the typical ringing you hear when you call someone? Well, ring forward does the opposite, as it lets you set the audio your friends will hear when you call them up or send them picture messages via the app. You can choose from among the free tunes or from the 15,000 songs in Shuv's library filled with Sony Music-licensed tracks by Beyoncé, Adele, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Pharrel and Miley Cyrus, among many others. It'll cost you $1.99 per month to access the Sony library, though, so we wouldn't be surprised if you choose to record your own rendition of JT's SexyBack instead. If you're not married to any messaging app yet and want to try Shuv, you can download it right now for both iOS and Android devices.
Rediscover treasure hunting with Figibox
Figibox is a location based messaging app. A user goes to a location of their choosing and can drop a Figibox message that can include text and photos for another user to access. You can also locate other Figiboxes left by other users and open them on location like you would with a classic treasure hunt. There is an option to send both public and private messages. Public messages (green Figiboxes) can be used to inspire and communicate with other users in your neighborhood. Private messages (red Figiboxes) can be used as a sentimental and fun way to message your nearby friends and family. This app requires iOS7 or later is compatible with the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. It is optimized for iPhone 5. Upon downloading the app, a user can find messages close to them that have been created by the app developers. This is a tutorial of sorts. I went and found some of the boxes. which included messages about how to use the app and leave messages at locations. This app is a fun way to cleverly communicate something I noticed at a given location (graffiti, a local art piece, etc.), or if I simply want a friend to go out of their way to locate something cute I want to say to them. The location service is very easy to use. I had no problem at all finding Figiboxes and opening them. The interface is designed with a basic white background, indicating that the creativity and artistic expression is left up to the user within their own Figibox messages. There is a lot of freedom to create something very original and interesting. I could see people getting hooked on creating experimental public messages with political and artistic themes. I like the idea of giving a physical location to a message for the public, but this seems like an inefficient way to send messages to one specific person or even a group of close friends. If I were to send a visual inside joke I would just text the person. Additionally, there are apps that exist already (like instagram) that allow a user to post video and photo messages with a geographic location tagged. The treasure hunting aspect of it could be fun publicly. I can see myself experimenting and seeing what myself and others are capable of creating and sharing. Someone with a bit of design sense and a strong voice could possibly become a Figibox celebrity user known for special artistic messages they leave in a community. Figibox is new and I am really excited to see the app grow in popularity. Currently very few seem to be using the app regularly. I think once it takes off, it could be a really unique way of expressing yourself in your community through messages created on location.
Google allegedly working on its own WhatsApp competitor
Google introduced its Android One program earlier this year, which focuses on building budget-friendly, solid quality smartphones for the developing world. Back then, the search giant made it pretty clear that, with help from manufacturers, it wanted to create a big splash in emerging markets -- such as India, where the first Android One devices were revealed last month. But a rumor suggests Google's next step is to build what it couldn't buy when it lost out on messaging king WhatsApp to Facebook. The Economic Times, a trusted Indian news outlet, is now claiming the company from Mountain View has started working on a messaging app of its own that will head to emerging markets first, before potentially launching elsewhere.
Intel launches messaging app that lets you speak through video avatars
We typically think of Intel as a hardware company, a chip-making giant that helps build wearables, cable-free laptops, smart baby onesies. Today, though, the company is showing off software for a change. The chip maker just unveiled Pocket Avatars, a mobile messaging app that lets you send video messages to friends. Actually, "video messages" doesn't really describe it. These aren't so much videos as 3D avatars that happen to speak in your voice. In particular, the app makes use of facial recognition -- a pet project of Intel's -- to mimic gestures like nodding, blinking, sticking out your tongue, and raising your eyebrows. A future version, said to be coming soon, will support more nuanced facial expressions, along with neck and shoulder movements. All told, this is a lot of real-time processing, which means the messages are going to be brief: You've got 15 seconds to say what you want to say.
Line messaging app doubles size in seven months, has 300 million users
The public's adoration of stickers and kawaii mascots continues unabated. There are now 300 million Line users out there, possibly making it the biggest messaging app you've never used. While it still has a challenge on its hands to claw away users from Western favorites like Whatsapp and Facebook, the conventional wisdom is that messaging is very much big business. Line continues to grow its following in Asia and while Japan forms the base of operations for the app, overseas messaging accounts for roughly 80 percent of its business. We're off to score some new Dragon Quest stickers. Or maybe some Finding Nemo ones. So many 'stamps', so little time.
WhatsApp voice messaging updated with one-press record-and-send feature
These days, you don't even have to ring someone, listen to their spiel and wait for a beep when you can just use apps to send voice snippets. WhatsApp, which recently reached 300 million users, has made its existing experience even easier with a new feature that lets you record and send voice memos with one press of the mic icon. A WhatsApp spokesperson told Engadget that the company has "spent a lot of time refining [voice messaging] and made it really simple to use." As a testament to this, WhatsApp has now removed length limits for recorded messages and plays audio within the app instead of opening a media player. Playback will automatically switch from a handset's speakers to its earpiece when the device is held to your ear, and the mic icon will turn blue when recipients have listened to spoken missives. With the new perks available on the mess of platforms WhatsApp calls home (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BB10 and Nokia Symbian / S40), we bet everyone with that chatty friend are shaking in their boots.
WhatsApp expands its business model to iOS, will cost users 99 cents per year
Even though the WhatsApp iPhone application received an update yesterday, the popular messaging service made it official in a blog post today, detailing notes from the latest release. What's especially interesting here, however, is that WhatsApp is bringing a familiar cost scheme over to Apple's platform. Essentially, iOS users can download the app free of charge, but they will now have to pay a 99-cent yearly fee after the first twelve months of using it -- a business model similar to the one WhatsApp already implements on Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. Hey, it's still but a small price to pay to somewhat fashionably keep tabs on all your amigos 24/7, eh?
Just.me launches on iOS, aims to become your favorite messaging app
Apple's App Store certainly doesn't suffer from any shortages in the social apps department, but that's not stopping the newly launched Just.me from attempting to work itself into the daily lives of iOS users. After about two years of being in the development stage, Just.me has finally matured and is now readily available on Cupertino's platform, giving the iDevice crowd a messaging service that's reminiscent of Facebook's own chatty offering. What makes Just.me slightly different, however, are many of the other built-in tidbits, such as a cloud storage feature that lets folks save conversations they'd rather keep private, as well as the ability to message just about anyone in your contacts list from within the application -- even if they aren't account holders. So, if you think you have the time to keep track of one more thing, Just.me is just a free download away.
Samsung ChatON for Android gets Olympic Buddy feature, also sports a new logo
Ever since its debut late last year, Samsung's ChatON application has been a moderate hit amongst folks using iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Android devices. Now, along with outing a slightly redesigned logo (pictured above), the Korean outfit's also updated its app in Google's sweet OS to version 1.9.5 on handsets, or 1.7.3 if you're handling one of those larger slabs. Most notably, the ChatON refresh brings the London 2012 spirit with a timely "Olympic Buddy" feature, which keeps you in the loop by pushing out breaking news, daily schedules and, of course, medal tables. Additionally, there's now a walkie-talkie service within the phone application, while the tablet variant gained the ability to send documents to your friends -- not to mention it finally lets you use fancy emoticons. Feeling pretty antsy to give it a try? That Google Play link below will take you there.
