WhatsApp

WhatsApp now lets you share media from other apps like Dropbox and Google Drive

The popular mobile messaging service WhatsApp today received a pretty cool update in the App Store which adds the ability to share photos or videos from other apps installed on your iPhone via a new option exposed after tapping the Photo/Video Library button.

In addition, WhatsApp has gained a pair of new shortcuts in the 3D Touch menu on the Home screen and now supports solid colors as chat backgrounds.

Oh, and you can now zoom in on videos while they're playing.

WhatsApp testing ZIP chat export feature, Facebook to gain ‘post via WhatsApp’ button

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is about to integrate more tightly with the social networking firm's mobile client, as discovered Monday by German blog Macerkopf.de.

Facebook is testing the forthcoming version 2.12.17.689 update to WhatsApp for iOS which will permit users to export their chat archive as a ZIP file.

Currently, WhatsApp lets you back up and restore chat history via iCloud, so the addition of ZIP chat exporting will make it easier for users to download their instant messages to a computer.

In addition, Facebook is also testing a new WhatsApp integration in its mobile application for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

WhatsApp to stop charging annual subscription fee in coming weeks

WhatsApp, a Facebook-owned mobile messaging service, announced on Monday that it's going to stop charging customers a subscription fee of 99 cents per year. The service is currently provided at no cost during its free year, after which customers are being charged 99 cents per year to continue using the service.

Over the course of coming weeks, everyone will be able to download and use WhatsApp on their device totally free of charge and without a subscription fee.

WhatsApp video calling shown on leaked images, tabbed chats in the works

Facebook has been promising to add video calling to WhatsApp for over a year now and it looks like they could be on the cusp of releasing the feature in the coming days and weeks, as evidenced by a pair of leaked screenshots obtained by German Apple blog Macerkopf.de.

Moreover, the app will gain tabs for moving between multiple conversations with ease. Like Apple's FaceTime, Skype, Messenger, Viber and many other messaging platforms, WhatsApp should permit users to send and receive video calls via Wi-Fi or cellular.

WhatsApp rolls out responding to messages and calls directly from notifications to everyone

After testing out with a subset of its user base a new ability to quickly respond to incoming messages directly from the notification banner, Facebook-owned WhatsApp today began rolling out this feature to its massive 900+ million monthly active users. In addition, this edition of WhatsApp for iPhone also makes it easy to reply to incoming WhatsApp VoIP calls with a message, right from the call notification. Both features require Apple's latest mobile operating system.

iOS 9.1 enables quick-replying from notifications in WhatsApp for iPhone

At long last, iOS is allowing app makers to implement text replies in notifications, a feature Apple used to reserve exclusively for its Messages app.

Twitter was the first App Store app to gain this great time-saver of a feature. On iOS 9.1, WhatsApp for iPhone now supports a handy text field for quickly replying to incoming messages without leaving the app you're currently using.

This feature requires an iPhone with iOS 9.1 or later.

WhatsApp gains 3D Touch ‘Peek’ and ‘Pop’ gestures on iPhone 6s

Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging platform has received an update today, bringing support for 3D Touch gestures on new iPhones to the popular software.

The new WhatsApp 2.2.18 allows you to press in-app content harder to Peek and Pop pictures, videos, links, contacts cards and locations in chats. Home screen shortcuts via 3D Touch are not available yet in this release.

In addition, the app's interface is now mirrored and optimized for right-to-left languages on iPhones running iOS 9.0 or later.

New ‘Typecast’ tweak brings “now typing” and read receipt indicators to the fore

Typecast is a new jailbreak tweak that makes the "now typing" indicator and read receipt indicators associated with message conversations more prominent. Typecast is especially good when juggling multiple conversations at the same time, because it places the now typing indicators right on the conversation inside of the message list view.

If you've ever used TypeStatus, a similar tweak from which Typecast draws inspiration from, then you pretty much know what to expect here from a technical standpoint. But it's the way that Typecast presents itself, and the fact that it works with additional apps, that makes it warrant a look— even if you already use TypeStatus.

WhatsApp for iPhone receives a dozen new features in latest update

Not to be outdone by rival Viber which rolled out animated stickers, location sharing, a brand new keypad and other enhancements in yesterday's refresh, Facebook-owned WhatsApp today pushed a substantial update to its App Store application.

WhatsApp for iPhone now features richer notifications settings with per-chat rules and mute options, a new swipe gesture to mark chats as read or unread, the ability to directly share contacts from the Contacts app and locations from Apple Maps, backups for your videos and much more.

WAQuickReply brings quick reply to WhatsApp Messenger

If you're looking to have true native quick reply for WhatsApp on iOS, you may want to consider jailbreaking your iPhone. A new tweak from WhatsApp-centric developer iMokhles allows for quick reply from both the Lock screen and traditional banner notifications.

The cool thing about this tweak is that WhatsApp doesn't even have to be launched for quick reply to function. I force-closed the WhatsApp app, sent myself a test message, and still received the message with quick reply in tact. If you're a heavy WhatsApp user, then WAQuickReply ($2.99) is a compelling new package that you may want to consider.