The exact number of employees being let go has not been specified. The tech giant has stated that this new round of layoffs was due to the company’s change in ‘long-term strategic goals’ as well as ‘location strategy’. The company further stated that it will also be moving some divisions and employees to other locations and roles. The employees affected by this company strategy include WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs.

Those affected by the layoffs have taken to social media websites like X to disclose that they had been let go. According to reports, employees belonging to Facebook’s legal operations, recruiting division and design division have been laid off. On the other hand, some reports have stated that Threads’ legal operations and recruiting division have not been affected. A former employee at Meta stated that severance packages were offered to the employees if they chose not to take on the new positions as appointed by Meta.

Meta Layoffs: More on this new wave of layoffs

Some rumours have begun spreading about the reasons for the new wave of layoffs. According to a report, some of the workers had been fired as they used the $25 meal credits to purchase household items instead of food.

The tech industry is no stranger to job layoffs. There seem to be major tech layoffs happening every month or so. Meta has infamously laid off 11,000 employees in 2022 alone. Later in 2023, the leading tech company announced a layoff affecting more than 10,000 jobs as part of Mark Zuckerberg’s new strategy.

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The Meta-owned app is adding more features to add another layer of privacy for its user base. Interested users can test out the new features in the Android Version 2.24.18.2. The privacy update is aimed at reducing the rate of cyber fraud within the app.

Username and PIN: What users can expect from this feature

WhatsApp will give the users three privacy choices namely, “Username with PIN’, ‘Username’ and ‘Phone number’. If users select the Username option, then they are allowed to hide their phone numbers and show just the username. Existing contacts with the user’s phone numbers can still view the numbers. So this feature is only limited to new contacts.

Through the Username and PIN feature, people wanting to contact someone for the first time on WhatsApp will be required to know the user’s PIN as well as the username. The user’s phone number can now be substituted with a username instead. Users are given the choice of not sharing their phone numbers with anyone and everyone. Discord has a similar feature which enables its users to conceal the users’ real names and adopt a display name of their choosing.

These features are currently undergoing beta testing but according to reports, these features have been under development for quite a while. Another feature available in the beta version is the ‘like’ reaction which lets users ‘like’ a user’s status. This feature is expected to work very similarly to Instagram’s story-liking feature.

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GIPHY stickers have now been integrated into the mega messaging app, WhatsApp. This integration officially marks WhatsApp’s partnership with GIPHY, one of the biggest databases for animated GIFs, stickers and more.

Stickers were first implemented in WhatsApp in October 2018 and since then, the Meta-owned platform has increased its ever-expanding database of stickers. The most notable update to the Stickers feature is the custom sticker creation option which was rolled out earlier this year in January. The update lets users make their stickers by simply selecting an image from their gallery that they want as a sticker.

GIPHY Stickers Integration and Partnership with WhatsApp

Through the recent update, WhatsApp has announced that it is partnering up with GIPHY to bring even more sticker options for its users. The new update will also give users access to GIPHY’s vast sticker collection all inside WhatsApp. Users will be able to look at and share the chosen stickers within the messaging app.

GIPHY is an online database and search engine for stickers, GIFS, clips and other related media. Users can look for and choose the relevant media and share it on various integrated platforms. Some of these platforms include Facebook Messenger, Titok, Instagram, Snapchat and most recently, WhatsApp.

The GIPHY integration’s main goal is to provide WhatsApp users with the most ‘relevant and engaging’ stickers all without the need to exit the app. Besides this new update, WhatsApp is also bringing in a feature which lets users arrange or organise their stickers.

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Smartphones with at least an Android 5.0 or iOS 12 system are required to run the Meta-owned messaging app. However, users may have to upgrade to newer models if they intend to keep using WhatsApp. Users with the affected devices have also been advised to back up their chat history beforehand to avoid the risk of losing their data.

Users can back up their chat history on their Google Drives. To back up their chats, users should go to the Chat Backup option, accessible through Chats. After linking their Google accounts, users choose to back up their chats and media in different time intervals.

WhatsApp is Ending Support for the Following Devices

The lists of affected Android and Apple devices are as follows:

Samsung: Galaxy Core, Galaxy Grand, Galaxy Ace Plus, Galaxy Express 2, Galaxy S3 Mini, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 3 Galaxy S4 Zoom, and Galaxy S4 Mini.

Apple: iPhone 5, iPhone 6 Series, iPhone SE (Gen 1)

Sony: Xperia E3 and Xperia Z1

Lenovo: Lenovo 46600, Lenovo S890, Lenovo P70, Lenovo A858T

Motorola: Moto X and Moto G

Huawei: Huawei Y625, Huawei C199, Huawei GX1s, Ascend G525 and Ascend P6 S

LG: Optimus Series

Thus, these smartphones will not receive any updates or support from WhatsApp towards the end of 2014.

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100M WhatsApp users have been recorded as announced by Mark Zuckerberg. This milestone is especially impressive as the United States is a country that primarily uses SMS as the main communication method.

The messaging company has recorded over two billion users globally, which makes it the most popular messaging app in the world. India is currently the country with the most amount of WhatsApp users comprising around 535 million active users. Brazil comes second with around 139 million active users.

100M WhatsApp Users and Its Distribution

WhatsApp has also reported around 50% of active US users have an iPhone, which does not come as a surprise as more than 40% of the country’s population use iOS devices.

Among the US sites, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Miami have seen the most amount of growth as reported by the amount itself. Additionally, WhatsApp has also reported growth in the Southern states such as Texas which has more than 10 million active users.

The Meta-owned company has been attempting to push the messaging app in the United States over the last few years. The most recent campaign by WhatsApp involves bringing the cast of Modern Family together for a heartfelt ad.

But despite its efforts, Apple iMessage continues to be the dominant messaging app in the United States. Additionally, with the coming of RCS (Rich Communication Services) in iOS 18, iMessage might hold on to the crown for much longer. Communication between Android and Apple devices will improve as Android users will be able to read receipts and exchange high-quality files with each other.

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This AirDrop-like feature does not require a user’s device to be connected to the internet. Instead, the feature works akin to Apple’s AirDrop feature which lets users transfer files between Apple devices without the need for an internet connection.

AirDrop-like feature and what it does

It has been reported that this feature will allow users to share media files and documents with other users who are nearby through WhatsApp. Just like Apple’s AirDrop, no internet connection is required for this feature.

This file-sharing feature is dubbed as ‘Nearby Share’. Users will also be able to share files across both Android and Apple devices. However, the upcoming feature may differ between Android and Apple devices in some aspects. To elaborate, in the iOS version, a QR code will be generated which users can scan to send files. Meanwhile, the Android version will utilise a different device detection.

An advantage of this feature is the convenience that it provides as users do not need to rely on an internet or Wi-Fi connection to send files. Users can share high-resolution videos and photos regardless of an internet connection.

WhatsApp’s AirDrop-like feature is currently in the early stages of development so there is no specified date for its release. With further improvements to the feature, both iOS and Android devices may be able to function the same.

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The voice-to-text transcription feature is available in select countries that are subscribed to WhatsApp’s Beta. This feature currently supports several languages such as Hindi, Portuguese, English, Russian, and Spanish. The messaging app will also likely expand the number of languages later in the future. 

Voice Note Transcribe: More on this feature

The voice note transcribe feature will be available for outgoing and incoming voice notes. However, users may need to download a separate pack to access this feature. As the transcription is carried out in the user’s device of choice, no other person except the users can access the transcription. 

This new feature is convenient for users who do not want to listen to long voice notes or users who are stuck in places with distracting noise. In addition, users may also be able to search the message contents since it has been transcribed to text.

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This also marks Meta’s third platform to introduce the blue checkmark verification. Meta platforms; Instagram and Facebook have already adopted the blue checkmark verification.

It has been reported that the current green checkmark will be replaced by a blue checkmark instead. The WhatsApp blue checkmark update will be available for verified businesses and channels.

The blue checkmark acts as an authenticity identifier. It decreases any chances of impersonation and identity theft. 

WhatsApp Blue Checkmark and reasons for its change

Since its inception, WhatsApp has always been associated with the colour green, so the decision to change the verification colour from green to blue may surprise some. However, Meta has its reason for the change.

With this new update, Meta aims to maintain a consistent system for badge verifications for all its platforms. Making the verification blue for all Meta platforms creates a stronger brand identity for the tech giant. 

Besides the checkmarks, other rumours surround the features in WhatsApp future updates. The messaging app is also planning on releasing its ‘Imagine Me’ feature which lets users make customised stickers from their selfies. This new feature will be available through the recently released MetaAI chatbot. 

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Imagine Me is alleged to be released in an updated version of Whatsapp for Android, v2.24.14.13. The new feature can be accessed in WhatsApp’s Meta AI chatbot, which was recently released. 

The upcoming feature has been expected to enable users to make custom stickers using their selfies. In addition, Imagine Me is powered by the Emu image synthesis model allowing users to create graphics simply using words. 

Users can also customise their pictures through image and animation effects. Thus, this upcoming feature makes WhatsApp more personalised for users.

WhatsApp’s Imagine Me in MetaAI

The Meta-owned messaging app recently introduced the Meta AI chatbot globally for users. Meta AI is an AI chatbot that generates appropriate answers and responses to users. It is powered by Llama 3 and its recent release on WhatsApp shows Meta’s clear plans to integrate AI into all of its apps and platforms. 

WhatsApp has recently been going towards an AI route as evident with the introduction of Meta AI. The AI chatbot uses Bing and Google searches to provide responses and answers to users. The AI chatbot can be accessed by tapping on the blue-pink ring after which, users will then be taken to a separate chat with Meta.

Imagine Me may be accessed through the MetaAI chatbot on WhatsApp by entering: @Meta AI imagine me. 

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This AI assistant utilises Bing and Google searches to fetch results. Meta AI is powered by Llama 3 large language models (LLM) which recently saw its release in April this year. Countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Canada saw the release of Meta AI a short while after the new AI mode’s launch.

Meta AI launch in India and possible reason for its delay

It has been speculated that the Lok Sabha elections 2024 held back the release of the AI chatbot, but there is no concrete reason why Meta AI’s release was delayed in India.

To access Meta AI, users have to click on the bluish-pinkish ring in the search bar of an app owned by Meta. On tapping the ring, users will be transported to a different chat where they can converse with the AI. Meta AI works similarly with other AI chatbots like Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot.

Facebook posts will also contain the Ask Meta AI icon. Users can also use this AI assistant to get more information about the post’s content. Instagram users can be suggested Reels and posts based on the user’s viewing activity. Additionally, messaging groups in WhatsApp can utilise Meta AI when they type in @MetaAI.

AI Assistants have been all the craze as of late. It creates convenience and accessibility to information. Users can use the AI chatbox to converse, ask questions of any nature and even generate images and GIFs. 

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