chat
Latest
Skype launches end-to-end encryption for calls and texts
After months of work, Skype's Private Conversations are now a practical reality. Users on Android, iOS and desktop platforms can now switch on end-to-end encryption for both calls and text chats. If your intended recipient accepts your invitation, the technology will better shield your conversations from eavesdroppers hoping to intercept chat traffic or snoop on your device. It'll even hide content in notifications and the chat list to prevent someone from casually glancing at your sensitive discussions.
Facebook's Messenger Kids app lets children start friend requests
Facebook's Messenger Kids app has so far been strict about adding friends. Early on, it even required that children count their parents as friends. The social network is ready to loosen things up, however... if only a bit. It's giving its Android and iOS apps an optional feature that lets kids start friend requests. When you turn it on, Facebook creates a random four-word passphrase for your child -- they just have to provide that phrase to their potential Messenger Kids friend. Parents still have to approve requests, but this saves them from having to handle the entire process, and simplifies matters if they aren't friends with their young ones.
Discord will start selling games in a 'curated' store
Discord isn't just for chatting (and watching the occasional video) any more. The community-driven service is launching a beta that will offer games, including a full-fledged game store. The new portal will offer a "curated" store that focuses on titles both Discord and the community feel you might like. That currently includes a mix of familiar, well-received indie games like Dead Cells and Into the Breach. However, that's really just the start.
Facebook adds augmented reality games to Messenger video chats
Hours-long video chats can be great for staying connected to distant friends, but there's bound to be a lull in the conversation at some point. Facebook thinks it can liven up those quiet moments -- it's introducing augmented reality games to Messenger video chats in its mobile apps. As many as six people can play simple competitive titles that make use of your face. You just have to tap the star button and pick a game to let others know you'd like to play.
Subpoenaing Discord may reveal identities of Charlottesville neo-Nazis
The white supremacist Charlottesville marchers who used Discord to prepare for violence might not remain anonymous for much longer. A chief magistrate judge has shot down an attempt by one of the neo-Nazis to dismiss a subpoena for Discord that would identify her and roughly 30 other users who reportedly relied on the chat app ahead of the event last year. She maintained that exposing her identity would violate her First Amendment rights to "anonymous speech" and put her in danger, but the judge disagreed. The plaintiffs' interest in identifying her as a possible perpetrator or witness outweighed her anonymity, according to the magistrate.
WhatsApp will charge businesses that respond to you too slowly
WhatsApp is acting on promises to turn its chat into a valuable shopping tool -- and it's using money as an incentive to make it a good shopping tool. The Facebook-owned firm is launching a programming kit that makes it easy for businesses to use WhatsApp messaging for info and support. You can give your phone number to a company to receive information like boarding passes and shipping confirmations, or use a click-to-chat button on a website or ad to start asking questions or get live support. The concept of using a messaging app for customer service certainly isn't new, but WhatsApp has over 1.5 billion active users. This makes business chat more accessible to a large chunk of the human population.
WhatsApp launches four-person group video calling
WhatsApp teased that its messaging app would add a long-awaited group video calling feature several weeks ago, and it's finally here. Both Android and iOS users can now hold audio and video conversations with up to four people. You'll have to start a one-on-one call before you can add the other two people, but it's otherwise straightforward. WhatsApp reiterated that calls are "end-to-end encrypted" like its other chats, and promised that they should work in less-than-stellar network conditions.
WhatsApp clamps down on forwarding to reduce hoaxes and spam
While parent company Facebook shifts policies on how to handle content that it said can lead to violence, WhatsApp is also in a state of change. A blog post describes how it's limiting the ability to forward messages to multiple chats at once, apparently in hopes that it will slow the spread of hoaxes and misinformation that have incited recent lynchings in India. Previously users could forward to over 250 people at once, and now the limit globally has been reduced to 20. In India, it will be restricted to five, and a "quick forward" button next to media messages will be removed. The company called these changes a "test," while a spokesperson said to Recode that "We're horrified by the violence in India, and we've announced number of different product changes to help address these issues." WhatsApp already shifted to labeling forwarded messages, it recently started funding research into the problem and now it's making another attempt to put the brakes on. TechCrunch points out a report from The Economic Times that WhatsApp execs have met with India's election commission and plan to bring over the news verification model recently used in Mexico.
Reddit steps back in time with live chat rooms
It's not just work and gaming apps revitalizing real-time chat like it's 1998 all over again -- Reddit wants in on the action as well. After months of work, the site has launched live chatrooms in beta for a handful of subreddits. The feature lets moderators create channels for discussing topics that are as broad or specific as they like. As a user, you'll see an interface that will seem familiar if you've used a modern chat app like Discord or Slack -- you'll see chat channels organized under their individual subreddits, sticker-like graphics and notifications when there are new messages (user-specific mentions are on the way).
Pinterest makes it easier to collaborate on group boards
Pinterest is adding some new features to group boards that will make it easier to message the group members as well as keep track of what's being changed and who's joining. The new activity feed will show you when a member has saved a new Pin or when a new section has been added to the board. It will also show you when a new member joins. Additionally, when someone saves a new Pin, you'll now be able to respond with a like or a reply, which will start a new thread, and you use an @-mention in order to say something to a specific member.
Slack search filters help you sort through work chat clutter
Searching in Slack can be... difficult. If you're looking for a specific conversation or file, you may end up wading through pages of fluff to find that one chat you're looking for. Mercifully, it's about to become much easier. Slack is rolling out search filters that provide a much, much overdue ability to whittle searches down to narrower criteria. You can limit them by specific people, channels, file types and date ranges. Looking for what a coworker said about a project last week? You can probably track it down quickly.
Steam finally adds voice chat and flexible friend lists in new beta
Steam's chat hasn't been updated in ages, leaving its embedded communication functionality to lag behind competitors. Today, the platform introduced new features that users can access today in a beta program, which adds sorely-needed options like voice and group chat.
macOS update delivers Messages in iCloud
Don't panic, Mac users -- just because Apple only released iOS 11.4 at first doesn't mean it has forgotten about you. The company has posted a macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 update that supports Messages in iCloud, providing both more consistent chat syncing across your Apple-made devices as well as a way to free up space. You can delete a message on your iMac and expect it to vanish on your iPhone, or set up a new MacBook and access your entire conversation history.
Discord nearly tripled its user base in one year
If it wasn't already evident that Discord is becoming a staple of playing (and watching) games, it is now. The chat platform is marking its third birthday this week with word that its user base has nearly tripled in the space of a year, jumping from 45 million in May 2017 to 135 million today. About 19 million people use it every day, and as many as 8.2 million people have used it at the same time. That kind of growth rate would be impressive for most any messaging service, although it's not entirely surprising -- it happens to be in the middle of a perfect storm of circumstances.
WhatsApp helps you keep up with group chats
Group chats are virtually essential to WhatsApp -- it's not uncommon for families or even community organizations to use it for staying in touch. To that end, WhatsApp is adding a string of features that help you keep abreast of group chats, whether you're running the show or one chatter among many. Administrators can set descriptions, rules and topics for groups, and determine who's allowed to change those settings (including the option to remove permissions from regular users). And no matter how much power you have, you can use a catch-up feature to check your mentions or search for participants from the group info page.
Amazon pushes Signal creators to change their anti-censorship tool
For years, Open Whisper Systems has used clever tricks to circumvent censorship of its Signal messaging app on the part of countries trying to silence political dissent. Those methods are getting it into hot water, however. Amazon has warned OWS that Signal's anti-censorship system violates AWS terms of service not only hiding the true origins of its traffic, but by using a domain it doesn't have the rights to use -- namely, Amazon's own Souq.com. The chat service doesn't have permission to use Souq's internet domain "for any purpose," Amazon said.
Discord comes to Xbox for integrated chats
Discord added an SDK to make it easier for friends to jump into each other's games and even added Spotify integration, but the service has stood on its own as a scrappy alternative to much bigger fish like Xbox Live. Which is what makes the company's new collaboration with Microsoft so interesting: Now you can link your Discord profile to your Xbox account, allowing players on Xbox One and PC to share their activity with friends and join games.
Google will plug 'Chat' into Android to compete with iMessage
Stop us if you've heard this one before: Google is planning to make another mobile messaging push. A report by The Verge shows off its next effort, simply called Chat. What Chat isn't is yet another app; instead, it's a brand name for Universal Profile features in RCS, a standard meant to replace old-school SMS texting with iMessage-like features (minus end-to-end encryption, unfortunately) for everyone. Earlier this year Google said it had 43 carriers and device makes signed on to support RCS, while an updated list shows 55 carriers, 11 OEMS and two operating system distributors: Google and Microsoft (but not Apple, yet).
France creates secure chat app to keep its president off Telegram
Telegram is about to lose some more customers following the Russia ban, albeit for very different reasons. The French government is testing an encrypted messaging app that would keep officials' data on servers inside the country. It's worried about the "potential breaches" that could happen if data was encrypted in the US or Russia, and it's easy to see why. Between Russia's demand for Telegram encryption keys and Facebook's data sharing scandal, France is concerned that sensitive chats could end up in the wrong hands.
Microsoft AI knows when to (politely) interrupt conversations
Most AI assistants can't really hold a conversation. They're fine with I-go-you-go dialogue, but most humans aren't quite so timid -- they know when to interrupt, and when to restart chat when there's an awkward pause. Microsoft wants to fix that. It just upgraded its Xiaolce chatbot AI with "full duplex" conversation that lets it start speaking when it's listening to what you're saying. As it can predict what you're likely to say next, it knows when to interrupt you with important info or say something more when both sides suddenly go quiet. Think of it as that friend who knows when to speak up without being overly rude.
