Bringing the WhatsApp Business App To iPhone
One
of the most frequent requests we've heard from small business owners is
they want to use the WhatsApp Business app on the device of their
choice.
Now they can.
Today we're introducing the WhatsApp Business app for iOS. Like the Android version — which over the last year has been adopted by millions of businesses around the world — the WhatsApp Business app for iOS will be free to download from the Apple App Store and will include features to help small businesses and customers communicate. These include:
The WhatsApp Business app is available today and free to download from the App Store in Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, India, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S. The app will be rolling out around the world in the coming weeks.
Whether it's an online sweet shop in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil that closes 60 percent of its sales via WhatsApp Business or a cinnamon roll company in Tijuana, Mexico that credits WhatsApp Business for allowing it to open a second location, small business owners all over the world are using the app to grow. We're excited to bring the WhatsApp Business app to even more small businesses and hear new stories about how it's helping them succeed.
Now they can.
Today we're introducing the WhatsApp Business app for iOS. Like the Android version — which over the last year has been adopted by millions of businesses around the world — the WhatsApp Business app for iOS will be free to download from the Apple App Store and will include features to help small businesses and customers communicate. These include:
- Business Profile: Share useful information about your business such as a business description, email or store addresses, and website.
- Messaging Tools: Respond to customers easily with efficient messaging tools — quick replies to provide fast answers to frequently asked questions, greeting messages to introduce customers to your business and away messages to let them know when to expect a reply.
- WhatsApp Web: Chat from your desktop to manage conversations and send files to customers.
The WhatsApp Business app is available today and free to download from the App Store in Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, India, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S. The app will be rolling out around the world in the coming weeks.
Whether it's an online sweet shop in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil that closes 60 percent of its sales via WhatsApp Business or a cinnamon roll company in Tijuana, Mexico that credits WhatsApp Business for allowing it to open a second location, small business owners all over the world are using the app to grow. We're excited to bring the WhatsApp Business app to even more small businesses and hear new stories about how it's helping them succeed.
New Privacy Settings for Groups
WhatsApp
groups continue to connect family, friends, coworkers, classmates and
more. As people turn to groups for important conversations, users have
asked for more control over their experience. Today, we're introducing a
new privacy setting and invite system to help you decide who can add
you to groups.
To enable it, go to Settings in your app, then tap Account > Privacy > Groups and select one of three options: "Nobody", "My Contacts", or "Everyone". "Nobody" means you'll have to approve joining every group to which you're invited, and "My Contacts" means only users you have in your address book can add you to groups.
In those cases, the person adding you to a group will be prompted to send a private invite through an individual chat, giving you the choice of joining the group. You'll have three days to accept the invite before it expires.
With these new features, users will have more control over the group messages they receive. These new privacy settings will begin rolling out to some users starting today and will be available worldwide in the coming weeks to those using the latest version of WhatsApp.
To enable it, go to Settings in your app, then tap Account > Privacy > Groups and select one of three options: "Nobody", "My Contacts", or "Everyone". "Nobody" means you'll have to approve joining every group to which you're invited, and "My Contacts" means only users you have in your address book can add you to groups.
In those cases, the person adding you to a group will be prompted to send a private invite through an individual chat, giving you the choice of joining the group. You'll have three days to accept the invite before it expires.
With these new features, users will have more control over the group messages they receive. These new privacy settings will begin rolling out to some users starting today and will be available worldwide in the coming weeks to those using the latest version of WhatsApp.
Thank You for 10 Years
It’s
been 10 years since we started WhatsApp! Over the past decade, we’ve
heard from people across the globe who are using WhatsApp to stay in
touch with their loved ones, connect with their communities, and build
businesses. These stories continue to inspire us, and to celebrate this
milestone, we’re looking back at some of our biggest moments over the
years.
We’re excited to continue building features that make WhatsApp even more simple and reliable for everyone. Thank you to all of our users around the world for coming with us on this journey!
We’re excited to continue building features that make WhatsApp even more simple and reliable for everyone. Thank you to all of our users around the world for coming with us on this journey!
Introducing Touch ID & Face ID
At
WhatsApp, we care deeply about private messaging, and today we're
excited to introduce Touch ID and Face ID on iPhone to help prevent
someone from taking your phone and reading your messages.
To enable the iPhone feature in WhatsApp, tap Settings > Account > Privacy > Screen Lock and turn on Touch ID or Face ID. You have the option to select the amount of time before Touch ID or Face ID is prompted after WhatsApp is closed.
This feature is available on iPhone 5s or later and on iOS 9 and above starting today.
To enable the iPhone feature in WhatsApp, tap Settings > Account > Privacy > Screen Lock and turn on Touch ID or Face ID. You have the option to select the amount of time before Touch ID or Face ID is prompted after WhatsApp is closed.
This feature is available on iPhone 5s or later and on iOS 9 and above starting today.
Celebrating One Year of WhatsApp Business with New Web and Desktop Features
In
January of last year we launched the WhatsApp Business app, and now
there are more than five million businesses using it to support
customers, grow their businesses and serve their communities all over
the world. We're excited that we've helped millions of businesses grow.
For example, in India, Bengaluru-based eyewear brand Glassic has told us
that 30 percent of its new sales are generated through WhatsApp
Business.
To help celebrate the first year of WhatsApp Business, we're announcing that some of our most popular features can now be used on WhatsApp web and desktop. These features include:
To help celebrate the first year of WhatsApp Business, we're announcing that some of our most popular features can now be used on WhatsApp web and desktop. These features include:
- Quick Replies: These are frequent messages to answer common questions. Simply press the “/” on your keyboard to select a quick reply and send.
- Labels: Organize your contacts or chats with labels, so you can easily find them again.
- Chat List Filtering: Easily manage your chats with filters to sort by unread messages, groups or broadcast lists.
Introducing Stickers
From
emoji and camera features to Status and animated GIFs, we’re always
looking to add new features that make communicating with friends and
family on WhatsApp easy and fun. Today, we’re excited to introduce a new
way for people to express themselves with stickers.
Whether with a smiling teacup or a crying broken heart, stickers help you share your feelings in a way that you can't always express with words. To start, we're launching sticker packs created by our designers at WhatsApp and a selection of stickers from other artists.
We've also added support for third-party sticker packs to allow designers and developers around the world to create stickers for WhatsApp. To do this, we've included a set of APIs and interfaces that allow you to build sticker apps that add stickers to WhatsApp on Android or iOS. You can publish your sticker app like any other app to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, and users who download and install your app will be able to start sending those stickers right from within WhatsApp. To use stickers in a chat, simply tap the new sticker button and select the sticker you want to share. You can add new sticker packs by tapping the plus icon.
Stickers will be available for Android and iPhone over the coming weeks. We hope you enjoy them!
Whether with a smiling teacup or a crying broken heart, stickers help you share your feelings in a way that you can't always express with words. To start, we're launching sticker packs created by our designers at WhatsApp and a selection of stickers from other artists.
We've also added support for third-party sticker packs to allow designers and developers around the world to create stickers for WhatsApp. To do this, we've included a set of APIs and interfaces that allow you to build sticker apps that add stickers to WhatsApp on Android or iOS. You can publish your sticker app like any other app to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, and users who download and install your app will be able to start sending those stickers right from within WhatsApp. To use stickers in a chat, simply tap the new sticker button and select the sticker you want to share. You can add new sticker packs by tapping the plus icon.
Stickers will be available for Android and iPhone over the coming weeks. We hope you enjoy them!
WhatsApp for JioPhone on KaiOS
For
the first time, WhatsApp will be available for JioPhone across India.
WhatsApp built a new version of its private messaging app for JioPhone,
running the KaiOS operating system, to give people a simple, reliable,
and secure way to communicate with friends and family.
The new app offers the best of WhatsApp including fast and reliable messaging and the ability to send photos and videos — all end-to-end encrypted. It's also easy to record and send voice messages with just couple taps on the keypad. To get started, JioPhone users only need to verify their phone number and then they can begin chatting with other WhatsApp users one-on-one or in groups.
WhatsApp is available in the JioPhone AppStore starting today. You can download WhatsApp on both the JioPhone and the JioPhone 2 by visiting the AppStore and clicking Download.
The new app offers the best of WhatsApp including fast and reliable messaging and the ability to send photos and videos — all end-to-end encrypted. It's also easy to record and send voice messages with just couple taps on the keypad. To get started, JioPhone users only need to verify their phone number and then they can begin chatting with other WhatsApp users one-on-one or in groups.
WhatsApp is available in the JioPhone AppStore starting today. You can download WhatsApp on both the JioPhone and the JioPhone 2 by visiting the AppStore and clicking Download.
Growing our Tools for Business
As we announced last year,
WhatsApp is building new tools to help people and businesses
communicate with each other. Since we launched the WhatsApp Business app
people have told us that it's quicker and easier to chat with a
business than making a call or sending an e-mail. Today we are expanding
our support for businesses that need more powerful tools to communicate
with their customers.
Here's how people can connect with a business:
We will bring more businesses onto WhatsApp over a period of time. To do so, we will work directly with a few hundred businesses and a select number of companies that specialize in managing customer communications.
Here's how people can connect with a business:
- Request helpful information: When you need a shipping confirmation or boarding pass, you can give your mobile number to a business on their website, on their app, or in their store to send you information on WhatsApp.
- Start a conversation: You may see a click-to-chat button on a website or Facebook ad to quickly message a business.
- Get support: Some businesses may provide real-time support on WhatsApp to answer questions about their products or help you resolve an issue.
We will bring more businesses onto WhatsApp over a period of time. To do so, we will work directly with a few hundred businesses and a select number of companies that specialize in managing customer communications.
Group Calling for Voice and Video Is Here
Over
the last couple years, people have enjoyed making voice and video calls
on WhatsApp. In fact, our users spend over 2 billion minutes on calls
per day. We're excited to announce that group calls for voice and video
are coming to WhatsApp starting today.
You can make a group call with up to four people total - anytime and anywhere. Just start a one-on-one voice or video call and tap the new "add participant" button in the top right corner to add more contacts to the call.
Group calls are always end-to-end encrypted, and we've designed calling to work reliably around the world in different network conditions. The feature is currently rolling out on the iPhone and Android versions of our app.
You can make a group call with up to four people total - anytime and anywhere. Just start a one-on-one voice or video call and tap the new "add participant" button in the top right corner to add more contacts to the call.
Group calls are always end-to-end encrypted, and we've designed calling to work reliably around the world in different network conditions. The feature is currently rolling out on the iPhone and Android versions of our app.
More changes to forwarding
We
built WhatsApp as a private messaging app - a simple, secure, and
reliable way to communicate with friends and family. And as we've added
new features, we've been careful to try and keep that feeling of
intimacy, which people say they love.A few years back we added a feature to WhatsApp that lets you forward a message to multiple chats at once.
Today, we're launching a test to limit forwarding that will apply to everyone using WhatsApp. In India - where people forward more messages, photos, and videos than any other country in the world - we'll also test a lower limit of 5 chats at once and we'll remove the quick forward button next to media messages.
We believe that these changes - which we'll continue to evaluate - will help keep WhatsApp the way it was designed to be: a private messaging app.
We are deeply committed to your safety and privacy which is why WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, and we'll continue to improve our app with features like this one. For more information, please visit our WhatsApp Safety Tips page.
UPDATE: WhatsApp carefully evaluated this test and listened to user feedback over a six-month period. The forward limit significantly reduced forwarded messages around the world. Starting today, all users on the latest versions of WhatsApp can now forward to only five chats at once, which will help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts. We'll continue to listen to user feedback about their experience, and over time, look for new ways of addressing viral content.