WhatsApp’s latest update to have new community tab, changes in voice recordings

Android users who signed for the beta version of the messaging app can update to version 2.22.6.0 to try the new feature, WABetaInfo informed. This latest version will enable users to have a new feature to show voice waveforms when a user records a voice note. The ability to pause and resume voice recordings should eventually roll out to all users on the stable update channel once beta testing is complete, it said.

The community tab update feature will allow group admins to add specific groups to a ‘Community’ where they will be listed together. WhatsApp has also begun testing the ability to pause and resume voice recordings for beta testers on Android.

Meanwhile, according to a monthly report published earlier this week, WhatsApp banned 18.58 lakh Indian accounts in January on the basis of complaints received from users through its grievances division and the company’s own mechanism to prevent and detect law violators. WhatsApp received grievances against 495 Indian accounts which appealed to ban 285 accounts, out of which 24 were banned. The majority of the 18.58 lakh accounts were banned based on harmful behaviour detected through tools and resources deployed by the company in its app.

“The data shared (banning of 18.58 lakh accounts)…highlights the number of Indian accounts banned by WhatsApp between 1 January, 2022 – 31 January, 2022 using the aforementioned abuse detection approach, which also includes action taken in furtherance to negative feedback received from users via our ‘Report’ feature,” said WhatsApp’s India Monthly Report under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2022. The company identifies Indian accounts via ISD code of 91 prefixed before the 10-digit mobile number.

(With inputs from agencies)