TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Fixing SA’s power crisis is not complex: it simply takes the will to do better

      12 August 2022

      Consortium makes unsolicited bid for state’s 40% stake in Telkom

      12 August 2022

      Actually, solar users should pay more to access the grid – here’s why

      12 August 2022

      Telkom says MTN talks remain on track

      12 August 2022

      Analysis | Rain muddies the waters with approach to Telkom

      11 August 2022
    • World

      Tencent woes mount, even after $560-billion selloff

      12 August 2022

      Huawei just booked its first sales rise since US blacklisting

      12 August 2022

      Apple remains upbeat about iPhone sales even as Android world suffers

      12 August 2022

      Ether at two-month high as upgrade to blockchain passes major test

      12 August 2022

      Gaming industry’s fortunes fade as pandemic ends

      11 August 2022
    • In-depth

      African unicorn Flutterwave battles fires on multiple fronts

      11 August 2022

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      Qush on infosec: why prevention is always better than cure

      11 August 2022

      e4’s Adri Führi on encouraging more women into tech careers

      10 August 2022

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022
    • Opinion

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Now WhatsApp gets Snapchat-like features

    Now WhatsApp gets Snapchat-like features

    News By Agency Staff21 February 2017
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Now there’s another Facebook app making features that mimic Snapchat.

    WhatsApp, the chat application owned by Facebook and used monthly by 1,2bn people, is adding a built-in camera to let people take photos or videos, and send them directly to their contacts or add them to a “status” update — similar to Snapchat’s “stories” feature.

    It’s the latest example of a Facebook app building the tools popularised by its younger rival, owned by Snap.

    Facebook’s Instagram, for example, now has 150m people using its version of stories, launched in August.

    WhatsApp’s version is being released the same week that Snap begins its road show to tout its stock ahead of a March initial public offering. Still, WhatsApp doesn’t see its move as threatening any other social networks.

    Snapchat’s way of sending photo and video messages “is a format that is being established and being changed and being improved upon by a lot of people in the space”, said Randall Sarafa, a product manager for WhatsApp, in an interview.

    “We’re bringing this format into WhatsApp and giving it a bit of the WhatsApp flavour that we know, which touches on reliability, security and personal sharing.”

    In the early days of messaging apps, developers would try different tactics for their designs until the industry settled on what a group message should look like, or what it should look like when a message is received, Sarafa said. Snapchat has just pioneered a format that works well as people receive and send more photo and video.

    In WhatsApp, the number of photos sent daily has doubled year over year to 3,3bn, the company said. People send 760m videos and 80m GIFs daily. It was time to update the product to reflect the way people were using it, Sarafa said. WhatsApp actually started as an app for sharing statuses, before evolving into a messaging platform.

    WhatsApp’s audience is far larger than Snapchat’s, which reported 158m daily users in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in advance of the listing. Facebook’s moves to copy Snapchat’s features have already raised concerns after Snapchat reported that user growth slowed in the most recent quarter.

    WhatsApp said its new features will be tested in the Netherlands, France and other countries before rolling out globally.  — (c) 2017 Bloomberg LP

    Facebook Snap Snapchat WhatsApp
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleI’m not indispensable, says Gordhan
    Next Article Money transfer comes to Facebook IM

    Related Posts

    Fixing SA’s power crisis is not complex: it simply takes the will to do better

    12 August 2022

    Consortium makes unsolicited bid for state’s 40% stake in Telkom

    12 August 2022

    Actually, solar users should pay more to access the grid – here’s why

    12 August 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Get your brand in front of TechCentral’s amazing audience

    12 August 2022

    Pricing Beyond CMYK: printers answer the FAQs

    11 August 2022

    How secure is your cloud?

    10 August 2022
    Opinion

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

    4 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.