For designing a social media platform that can dominate the world, you do not need innovation. You just need to pick some of the models that are already working, merge it all up but make sure that the user interphase is user-friendly and scale it all up. In no time you will become an undefeatable tycoon in the industry. That is the magical recipe for success for most of the platforms we know including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and more. Influenced and impressed by some of the most amazing features introduced by the other social media apps, the pioneers used their favorite features to make a cocktail that is too addictive to ignore.
As time is passing, social media platforms are no longer working independently instead, they are making cartels and setting up monopolies to stay on top. They are recruiting other apps, acquiring them, and merging their features as well. One of the most successful mergers that will go down in history will be Instagram and WhatsApp being bought by Facebook. However, it feels like things are changing now. Social media shutdowns are becoming frequent, intense, and longer than ever. Privacy breaches are now becoming frequent and for the very first time, government, users, and data companies are coming together to address these issues.
WhatsApp Introduced End to End Encryption Backup
Around five years ago, WhatsApp introduced end-to-end encryption for the data. This encryption was designed to minimize the interruption and breach to a minimum. With the help of end-to-end encryption, the social media app was trying to keep the information between the two users only. With the help of this update, WhatsApp was able to protect up to 100 billion conversations every day. Everything that was sent or received by using the app was stored on the device. However, there was no way to have a backup of these chats especially if the user lost the device. To help the user retrieve their data even after getting the new device, WhatsApp is now offering a backup plan for the conversation.
Now with the help of a new backup service, users can have everything in the device and still have a backup on the cloud and drive. Until today, no other online or otherwise messaging service has this level of security. After getting the new device you will be able to retrieve the voice messages along with messages, media, documents, and other things easily.
To add another layer of privacy, WhatsApp is allowing the user to protect the data via a password. You can easily set a password or just use the 64-digit encryption key that only you will have access to. This key will only be provided to you. The WhatsApp management or any third-party service provider will not have a backup for that. With multiple data breaches left and right, people are now thinking, WhatsApp is offering something too good to be true.
New Updates on The Go
WhatsApp has a signature style of adding successful features from other social media apps to WhatsApp as well. This helps them to minimize the chance of failure by letting others experiment before them. Once they figure out that people are liking the update, only then do they add it to WhatsApp. This helps them to bring new features to their users every other month without experimenting too much with the app. Most critics say that there is no innovation, but we can all agree that innovation was never their style.
In just a few months WhatsApp introduced vanish message feature. With the help of these new features, you can send a picture that will vanish after the user has opened it once. This exact feature was available in Snapchat and recently Instagram also introduced vanish chat option that will automatically unsend or delete the message once the reader has seen it once.
According to sources, WhatsApp is soon going to introduce the message reaction option for all users. Currently, the reaction option is available for a few users. This release of feature is quite random because WhatsApp is testing this feature right now. After the testing phase, this feature will be released for everyone. Currently, this feature is not available for everyone. Reaction to message feature was previously available on skype, Facebook, and Instagram as well.
Another recent story published by independent reports that with recent updates and features, WhatsApp will stop working on at least 53 different smartphones. This is mainly because the new version of WhatsApp will not work on older phones. This is not the first time WhatsApp’s new version has eliminated the use of some old model smartphones, previously this has happened every time a new version of WhatsApp comes out.
Is It Going to Save WhatsApp – The Future Trends and More
One of the biggest issues that most users have been facing is related to WhatsApp is the frequent shut down that the app goes through. After Facebook acquired WhatsApp, we have seen that the shutdown has become more frequent. Most users get frustrated because WhatsApp is directly linked with Facebook and Instagram as well. As a result, all three shut down at the same time causing havoc and outrage globally. More people are now looking for backups once these apps shut down. Users have claimed that they are now downloading Signal and telegram as well just in case the shutdown happens again. Rumors have been circulating about a cyber-attack by Russian spies as well. However, officially, Facebook has neither denied nor admitted these claims.
Most experts have claimed that the future of social media especially Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp is bleak. However, only time will tell if the critics are right. In case these social media companies catch up with the trends and keep addressing the privacy concerns of their users, they might succeed. However, considering the fall in popularity and concerns about the algorithm, the chances of these social media platforms regaining their good name back are slim.
