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Author: Jim Hendler

Jim Hendler is a ReturnByte journalist who closely follows the advancement of Internet technologies and social media. Follow him on Twitter at @jahendler
WhatsApp 'private mention' feature for status updates will enable only tagged contacts to receive dedicated notifications, (unsplash) News 

Upcoming WhatsApp update to introduce new ‘private mention’ feature for status updates – Learn more

Jim Hendler

WhatsApp is said to be testing a new feature that will enable users to privately mention contacts in their status updates, with the goal of improving user experience and promoting more personalized interactions on the platform. Feature under development According to a report by WABetaInfo, the new feature will allow users to tag certain contacts directly in their status updates. When tagged contacts are mentioned, they will receive special notifications ensuring quick awareness of the update. Importantly, this feature preserves users’ privacy as mentions are only visible to the mentioned…

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Apple expands app distribution options with web sideloading in iOS 17.5 (Apple) News 

iOS 17.5 beta 2 introduces Web Distribution for EU developers on the new iPhone update – Implications explained

Jim Hendler,

Apple has released the second beta of iOS 17.5, introducing a new Web Distribution sideloading feature for developers in the European Union. This update comes after Apple’s recent unveiling of the feature, which is designed to offer developers an alternative distribution method in compliance with the Digital Markets Act. Online distribution: A new path for EU developers Online distribution allows developers in the EU to offer their applications for download directly from their own websites. This new feature is a third distribution option for developers in the region alongside the…

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WhatsApp's new feature highlights recently active contacts, simplifying the chat initiation process. (Bloomberg) News 

New feature on WhatsApp allows users to see their recent online contacts

Jim Hendler

WhatsApp is preparing to roll out a new feature that will show users their most recent online contacts, making it easier for them to start conversations with people they have recently interacted with. This feature, which has been seen in beta testing, is designed to improve user communication by highlighting contacts who are currently active or have been online recently. Improved user experience The popular messaging platform owned by Meta has been constantly updating its features to improve user experience and security. The latest addition is expected to provide users…

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Meta AI is the AI-powered assistant that is now available in Meta’s suite of apps, but is it really different from OpenAI’s ChatGPT? (HT Tech) AI 

Are ChatGPT and Meta AI the same? WhatsApp’s response may shock you

Jim Hendler,

Meta Platforms has recently integrated additional artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into its various apps like Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This move may be aimed at staying competitive in the AI market. The company’s most recent development is Meta AI, an AI-driven chatbot that allows users to engage in conversations and complete tasks like creating AI images. Based on Meta’s generative text model Llama 2, Meta AI promises human-like interaction. The tech giant has partnered with Microsoft’s Bing to bring real-time information retrieval to text-based conversations. However, is Meta AI really…

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Know about Gmail subscription management feature. (Unsplash) News 

New subscription management feature coming to Gmail

Jim Hendler,

Having trouble sorting through your emails to determine what’s important and what’s not? Google is in the process of creating a new feature for Gmail that will help declutter your inbox. Typically, our emails are inundated with spam and newsletters, making it difficult to manage. Deleting or unsubscribing from each email individually can be time-consuming and tedious. With the upcoming “Manage Subscriptions” feature, Gmail users will have more control over what appears in their inbox, allowing for better organization of emails. Stay tuned for more information on this new feature…

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WhatsApp's latest feature update aims to simplify status sharing across Instagram for enhanced user convenience. (unsplash) News 

WhatsApp update introduces new feature allowing seamless sharing of status updates on Instagram- Learn more about it

Jim Hendler,

WhatsApp is said to be working on a new feature that will allow users to easily share their status updates on Instagram. According to a report from WABetaInfo, which is owned by Meta, the feature is currently being developed with the goal of simplifying media sharing. Users will have the option to cross-post their WhatsApp status updates directly to their Instagram Stories. What is the new WhatsApp feature? The feature, which is still under development, is expected to improve WhatsApp’s sharing functionality by integrating it with Instagram. Users may choose…

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Know about Instagram’s new nudity protection feature. (Instagram) News 

Instagram implements new measures to protect users from adult content scams.

Jim Hendler

In response to ongoing concerns from parents about child safety on the Meta platform, Instagram is testing a new feature to protect its teenage users. The feature will detect and blur nude images shared in messages, helping to keep users safe from scams and harmful content. This decision follows pressure from US and European governments, and aims to improve safety on the platform. Learn more about how the nudity protection feature on Instagram will function. Instagram nudity protection feature for DMs Meta supports teenagers from sex discipline and misuse of…

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Meta introduces Meta AI, an AI chatbot for WhatsApp to enhance user experiences with conversational assistance. (REUTERS) AI 

Meta AI chatbot from WhatsApp now available to select users in India

Jim Hendler

During Meta Connect 2023, Meta introduced a range of new AI-powered features for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. The event highlighted the company’s venture into artificial intelligence with the launch of ‘Meta AI’, an AI assistant designed for seamless integration across Meta’s various platforms, particularly WhatsApp. Meta AI offers an impressive array of features that allow users to interact with it in the same way that they would interact with another person. Meta AI is developed using a custom model derived from Llama 2, a generative text model, and Meta’s Large…

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Realme is among the top five smartphone brands in terms of volume market share. (Realme) News 

Realme aims to dominate the ₹15-25k segment by introducing P series in 2024.

Jim Hendler,

Realme India business strategy lead, Tarini Prasad Das, revealed to reporters that the company’s goal is to reach a cumulative sales of 50 million smartphones by 2024 through its partnership with Flipkart, while discussing the plans for the P series. “We aim to lead the ₹15,000-25,000 smartphone segment this year as a whole with the launch of the P series. The P series itself is expected to lead the segment,” Das said. Realme is among the top five smartphone brands in terms of volume market share. The company’s market share…

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NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and crew safely return to Earth after six-month mission on space station. (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Space 

NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara and team return safely to Earth following 6-month mission on space station

Jim Hendler

After a successful six-month research mission aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya have safely landed back on Earth. Their return journey began when they left the space station aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft at 11:54 p.m. EDT on April 5. After a steady descent, they made a parachute-assisted landing on April 6 at 3:17 a.m. (12:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time), touching down southeast of the remote Kazakh city of Dzhezkazgan. Successful completion of the mission O’Hara started his…

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Elon Musk has promised to make the Grok AI chatbot politically neutral. Know details. (Bloomberg) News 

Grok chatbot now accessible for Premium subscribers

Jim Hendler

Social network X has announced that its xAI’s Grok chatbot is now accessible to Premium tier subscribers. The chatbot will only be available to Premium and Premium+ users in certain regions, as stated on the company’s support page. This expansion comes after an announcement made by Elon Musk last month. Access for Premium level subscribers Previously, Grok was exclusively available to Premium+ users, who paid either $16 per month or a $168 annual fee. With this update, users on the $8/month plan can now interact with the chatbot. Grok offers…

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WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature for status notifications that will improve user experience and connectivity on the platform. (WhatsApp) News 

WhatsApp will soon be rolling out a new status notifications feature

Jim Hendler

WhatsApp continues to impress in the world of messaging apps with its cutting-edge features. Following recent developments in AI technology, the company is now poised to enhance the way users view statuses. The latest buzz surrounds WhatsApp’s upcoming Android feature, which aims to provide users with status update notifications. WABetaInfo reports that this feature is currently under development and is slated to be included in an upcoming version of WhatsApp. The feature in Android beta “2.24.8.13” is not yet available for extensive testing. Improving user engagement Apart from this, WhatsApp…

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WhatsApp to bring new features. Know what’s coming. (unsplash) News 

Upcoming WhatsApp update to introduce locked chats feature for all linked devices, enhancing privacy.

Jim Hendler

WhatsApp introduced a secret code for the chat lock feature in November, but it only worked on primary devices, leaving sensitive conversations exposed on linked devices. To enhance privacy, WhatsApp is reportedly working on an update to keep conversations locked across all linked devices. The company may also add a feature to status updates that allows users to mention specific contacts. Stay tuned for these upcoming changes on WhatsApp. Privacy feature for locked chats in WhatsApp To improve users’ privacy settings, WhatsApp introduced a locked chat feature that kept a…

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A tipster has leaked an ‘Announcements’ feature in Google Chats. Check details. (Google) News 

Google Chat could potentially introduce a feature similar to WhatsApp Channels; Learn more about the new ‘Announcements’ feature.

Jim Hendler,

Google is enhancing its messaging service, Chat, to strengthen its position in the social media market. The platform, which replaced Hangouts, enables users to communicate and collaborate on projects. While it currently lacks broadcast communication like WhatsApp Channels, leaks indicate that a new ‘Announcements’ feature may be introduced to Google Chat in the near future. Google Chat’s Notifications feature According to an Android Police report, tipster AssembleDebug shared information about the upcoming Notifications feature. In an X message, the tipster said: “Google Chat is working on a new ‘Notifications’ feature…

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The new experimental feature on YouTube is only accessible to people who are on YouTube Premium since it is an experimental feature. News 

YouTube Introduces Experimental ‘Jump Ahead’ Feature for Select Users

Jim Hendler

YouTube is constantly striving to improve the user experience and often releases new features to improve the viewing experience. And again, it has released a new feature to a small set of users. This latest experiment is called “skip ahead,” which makes it easier for users to jump to specific parts of a YouTube video. YouTube users using the Android or iOS app are familiar with the double-tap skip feature, where tapping twice in a row skips forward 10 seconds in a video. YouTube’s new experimental skip ahead feature is…

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Leaked details hint at AMD's Zen 5 CPUs delivering a substantial 40% performance jump, setting the stage for a major shift in desktop computing. (Unsplash) News 

AMD Zen 5 set to deliver significant performance upgrade for Ryzen 9000 CPUs

Jim Hendler

Recent leaks indicate that AMD’s Zen 5 Ryzen 9000 CPUs may deliver a remarkable 40% boost in performance compared to the current Ryzen 7000 processors. This news has generated significant excitement as the release of the next generation of desktop processors is expected in late 2024. Leaked information Well-known leaker Kepler_L2, known for accurate predictions, shared insights on the Anandtech forums that Zen 5 cores can offer up to 40% better performance than their Zen 4 counterparts. These claims, posted by Twitter user @3DCenter_org via Videocardz, point to a significant…

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Stay alert! Public USB chargers pose risks. Know how to protect yourself from cyber scams. (Pexels) News 

Government advises against using public USB ports for charging smartphones

Jim Hendler

In response to the increasing threat of the “USB charger scam,” the government is advising citizens to exercise caution when using public phone charging stations in locations such as airports, cafes, hotels, and bus stands. The warning aims to protect individuals from falling victim to cybercriminals who exploit unsuspecting users of these facilities. The USB charger scam poses a significant risk as it exploits the trust of people who trust public charging ports. Cybercriminals use a tactic called “juice-jacking” to compromise these ports and launch attacks against connected devices. What…

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OpenAI unveils 'Voice Engine': A remarkable tool cloning voices with just a 15-second audio snippet. (AP) News 

OpenAI introduces ‘Voice Engine’ that replicates human speech using only 15-second audio clips

Jim Hendler

OpenAI, known for its groundbreaking advancements in AI technology such as Sora, a video generator, has unveiled a cutting-edge tool called ‘Voice Engine’ for voice cloning. This impressive audio model can mimic human speech intricacies like intonation and speech patterns using only a short 15-second sample of the original voice. Despite high excitement, OpenAI has chosen to keep this new feature confidential due to worries about potential misuse and the spread of fake content on the internet. Remarkable efficiency and accuracy “Incredibly, our Voice Engine can create emotive and lifelike…

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WhatsApp has supported UPI payments in India but for a while but most people have used Paytm, PhonePe and Google Pay for making payments. News 

Making UPI Payments on WhatsApp: A Step-by-Step Guide

Jim Hendler

There is no doubt that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has made digital payments very convenient. Now many Indians are preferring big and small transactions through UPI. It is no rush to say that UPI has revolutionized the world of digital payments. In 2020, WhatsApp introduced UPI-based payment functionality as a pilot project. After its success, it introduced UPI payments for its Indian users. WhatsApp app’s key advantage of its UPI service is its huge subscriber base in India, which is believed to reach 535.8 million by 2024. However, WhatsApp still…

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