WhatsApp brings picture-in-picture support for iOS video calls

Screenshot: 9to5Mac

Meta has finally brought a useful feature to its latest WhatsApp iOS update. Version 23.3.77 introduces picture-in-picture support for video calls, which Meta started testing at the end of last year. Similar to other PiP modes, WhatsApp will allow you to open different apps with your call window minimized. If it isn't available to you yet, the company said these updates will roll out "over the coming weeks." 

Some of the other new features include the option to add captions to documents you send over the app, add longer subjects and descriptions in group chats, and a new option to create an avatar for your profile photo and stickers.

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Meta is launching a paid verification service for Facebook, Instagram

Graphic: Dima Solomin/Unsplash

The rumours were true. Meta is planning to launch a Twitter Blue-like subscription service called Meta Verified. It'll be coming to both Facebook and Instagram. And it will give users features like a blue badge, additional impersonation protection, and direct access to customer support. Mark Zuckerberg said the feature is "about increasing authenticity and security across our services." Now, whether people will be willing to pay for that is a different question. Meta plans to introduce the feature in Australia and New Zealand first.

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Meta is reportedly planning to offer paid blue checkmarks for Facebook, Instagram

Photo: Gabrielle Henderson/Unsplash

Code within the Instagram app suggests Meta is planning to take cues from Elon Musk's Twitter by adding blue checkmarks in its app, which is verification on the social platform that Twitter now charges for. Reverse engineering professional Alessandro Paluzzi spotted a new mention in the codebase of both Facebook and Instagram suggesting it wants to add a "paid blue badge."

Meta has yet to confirm or deny the feature, but if true, it looks like the company is looking for a new way to monetize. It's a baffling source of revenue from a creator's perspective, given verification is crucial for ensuring prominent people or profiles are distinguished from copycats, scammers, and the like. What value would these blue checkmarks bring if people can just pay for them? Since this is hidden within the code, it may not even be released. But it gives us an idea of what Meta might be considering.

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Facebook to expand its live chat feature for locked-out users

Facebook has been testing a live chat feature that helps users locked out of their accounts communicate with the company. Guy Rosen, Meta's chief information security officer. said during a recent press call that it has seen "positive results" from the experiment. Canada was part of the initial rollout of the experience in December 2021. Now, Meta is looking to bring this feature to more than 30 countries as part of the expanded experiment.

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