With iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe, Apple finally brings Journal app to iPad and Mac
After being exclusive to iPhones for nearly two years, Apple's Journal app is finally branching out. The tech giant announced at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 that the Journal app will be available on both Mac and iPad devices later this year as part of the upcoming macOS 26 and iPadOS 26 updates. Originally introduced as a digital tool to help iPhone users document daily thoughts, experiences, and milestones through text, photos, videos, and audio, Journal is now evolving into a multi-device experience. The move comes as Apple continues to strengthen its ecosystem by ensuring tighter integration and consistency across all its hardware platforms.advertisement'Journal comes to Mac, making it easy to capture and write about everyday moments and special events when inspiration strikes,' Apple said in a press statement released alongside the macOS 26 announcement. 'On Mac, it's easy to type long, thoughtful entries and view them on a map. Users can keep multiple journals for various aspects of life, which are all synced across Apple devices.'The Mac version of Journal is expected to be particularly appealing to those who prefer traditional writing formats and value the ability to compose lengthier reflections using a physical keyboard. It also leverages the Mac's larger display to better organise journal entries, tag them with location data, and allow users to navigate their memories visually. Meanwhile, on iPad, the Journal app takes full advantage of touch inputs and Apple Pencil compatibility, offering users a more tactile and expressive way to document their experiences.advertisement
'On iPad, users can incorporate drawings and handwriting alongside their journal entries,' Apple stated, highlighting a key benefit for creative users who favour freeform note-taking or artistic journaling styles.The expansion to iPad feels like a natural fit, particularly for those who already use their tablet as a sketchbook or planning tool. The combination of digital flexibility with the familiar act of drawing or scribbling may offer a more immersive alternative to traditional pen-and-paper journaling.However, while developer betas for macOS 26 and iPadOS 26 are already available, general users will have to exercise patience. Apple confirmed that the public beta versions for both platforms will arrive sometime next month, with a full public release planned for autumn.This update marks a significant moment for Apple's software evolution, particularly in how it leverages cross-platform functionality to create cohesive, daily-use experiences. By making the Journal app accessible on Mac and iPad, Apple appears to be targeting a wider audience—writers, creatives, students, and professionals—who seek a meaningful, well-designed space for self-expression.It is noteworthy that Journal is not the only app that will now be shared on iPadOS. Third-party apps, like Instagram and WhatsApp, are also working their way up. While the WhatsApp app is already available for iPad, Instagram is still in the pipeline. iPads are presently able to run the iPhone version of Instagram, but the user experience leaves much to be desired, largely due to the app not being optimised for the tablet's larger display. Information about a dedicated iPad version remains limited, and as of now, there is no official word on when it might be released.
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India Today
15 minutes ago
- India Today
Samsung drops big Exynos 2500 news ahead of Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 launch
The Galaxy Unpacked event is fast approaching, and unless you've been living under a rock, you probably already have an idea of what Samsung is planning to launch at its big mid-year event. The spotlight is, of course, on the Galaxy Z series foldables, and if the leaks are anything to go by, they're set to get one of the biggest design upgrades we've seen so far. But there's something else that's got people talking — and it's to do with the Galaxy Z Flip 7. If recent reports are accurate, the phone could be powered by Samsung's own Exynos 2500 chip. And if that's true, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 might just come with a pretty big feature — emergency satellite per a press release by Skylo, the Exynos 2500 chip — which is expected to power the Galaxy Z Flip 7 — will support emergency satellite connectivity when you're out of mobile network range. The feature works through the Exynos 5400 5G modem inside the chipset, which supports NB-IoT NTN connectivity using low-earth orbit satellites. A few other phones already offer this feature, including Apple's iPhone 14, 15 and 16 series, and the Google Pixel 9 phones. Interestingly, the Pixel 9 series (excluding the Pixel 9a) also uses Skylo's satellite tech and the same Exynos 5400 5G modem, but built into Google's Tensor G4 back to the Unpacked event, Samsung is expected to launch a range of foldable phones and wearables. Alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, we could also see the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE — the first Fan Edition foldable — and maybe even a new device called the Galaxy G Fold. If the leaks are accurate, this might be Samsung's most ambitious foldable yet, with a triple-fold design that could open up into a larger display. We haven't seen much confirmed information about this phone just yet, but its appearance at Unpacked would definitely be a big As for what to expect from the main foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rumoured to get a much slimmer and lighter design, while the Galaxy Z Flip 7 might come with a bigger screen and the new Exynos 2500 chip. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE could be Samsung's way of making foldables a bit more affordable, without removing too many key is also expected to launch the Galaxy Watch 8 series, which includes the standard Watch 8, the Watch 8 Classic, and the Watch Ultra 2. One of the biggest design changes here could be the new squircle shape — a square chassis and a round dial — which is expected across the entire range. The watches will likely run One UI 8 Watch, based on Wear OS 6.
India Today
17 minutes ago
- India Today
Vivo T4 Ultra review: A flagship phone in disguise?
Sleek design Vibrant display Reliable cameras Solid performance Average haptics IP64 only Vivo T4 Ultra price in India starts at Rs 37,999 The phone comes with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage It has a triple-rear camera system including a 50-megapixel periscope lens It's one thing for a phone to make a strong first impression â€' most mid-range devices manage that nowadays. But the real test begins once the honeymoon phase ends. That's exactly what I was looking for with the Vivo T4 Ultra. After spending about three weeks using it as my primary device â€' testing the cameras, playing COD: Mobile, chatting on WhatsApp, and watching plenty of Netflix and late-night scrolling â€' I can say this: the T4 Ultra isn't just trying to look like a flagship, it's genuinely trying to perform like one too. And that's saying something in a price segment already filled with good â€' if not great â€' options. At a starting price of Rs 37,999, Vivo's latest T-series phone enters a space where expectations are naturally high. We've got phones with powerful processors. AMOLED displays are no longer rare, and cameras are only getting more versatile. So, does the Vivo T4 Ultra punch above its weight, or is it just a spec-heavy offering that loses steam once you start using it daily? After thoroughly putting it through its paces, I've got a fair bit to say. Here's the full review of the Vivo T4 Ultra 5G. Familiar design, finer details Vivo's design language has matured to a point where even its mid-range phones feel like they've been filtered through a premium lens. Of course, a phone priced around Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 isn't exactly mid-range, but you get the idea. The T4 Ultra continues that design evolution. At just 7.43mm and weighing 192 grams (I used the Meteor Grey colour), it strikes a fine balance between being slim and comfortable, without feeling too heavy or too light. The satin matte finish on the back is one of the best textures I've come across in this segment. It is soft to the touch, barely picks up any smudges, and adds just enough grip. Since I've been using the T4 Ultra, I've tossed it into my backpack, used it without a case, and it still looks pristine. The camera module doesn't stick out too much, although the phone does wobble slightly on flat surfaces. Buttons are tactile and offer a satisfying click. There's an IP64 rating for dust and water resistance, which is fine, although technically it is a step-down compared to the T3 Ultra's IP68 rating. Overall, the design isn't a dramatic departure from its predecessor, but the refinement is noticeable once you start using it more. It's one of those phones that looks good from a distance â€' but feels even better up close, which is where many mid-range phones fall short. A crisp and colourful AMOLED display If there's one area where the Vivo T4 Ultra really shines, it's the display. This 6.67-inch quad-curved AMOLED panel, protected by Schott Xensation glass, doesn't just look good on paper â€' it's a joy to use. With a 1.5K resolution (2800x1260) and support for 10-bit colours, content on this screen really pops. But what impressed me the most was the outdoor visibility. With temperatures crossing 40 degrees these days, I was happy to see the screen remain easily usable in direct sunlight. For those who like numbers, there's 800 nits of typical brightness, 1,600 nits in High Brightness Mode, and a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. Lately, I've been watching Daredevil: Born Again on JioHotstar and Ginny & Georgia on Netflix, and while I do juggle between the T4 Ultra and a larger screen â€' I am reviewing a tablet side by side â€' the experience on the phone has been excellent. HDR10+ support works well on both platforms, and Vivo's Visual Enhancement mode (only supported on YouTube, Netflix and Prime Video) really does help darker scenes look punchier without going overboard. The quad-curved edges give it that high-end appeal, but more importantly, they're not a nuisance. Accidental touches are a thing of the past, and the viewing experience feels quite immersive. Gaming on this display is equally enjoyable. One of my favourite cricket games, Hitwicket, looks sharp, fluid, and surprisingly vibrant. Apart from this, the 120Hz refresh rate ensures a smooth experience throughout. To save battery, you can dial it down to 60Hz manually or let Smart Switch handle it. As for the speakers, they're loud and balanced. In landscape mode especially, there's good stereo separation. They're not the best I've heard in this range, but for binge-watching or podcast sessions, they get the job done with little to complain about. The Ultra handles pressure like a pro The Vivo T4 Ultra doesn't just look sleek and polished â€' it's a powerhouse on the inside. Interestingly, it's the first phone in India with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 Plus chip, and that's not just a footnote. For those who don't know, it's a last-gen flagship processor with a top clock speed of 3.4GHz, and you feel that power in real-world use. App switching, running heavy apps, scrolling â€' it all happens without fuss. Paired with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, there's enough headroom here for even power users. Day-to-day tasks are quick and fluid. The fingerprint sensor is superfast, face unlock works fine, and general animations â€' from pulling down notifications to jumping between apps â€' feel smooth. Vivo could've used a sharper vibration motor to complete the premium feel though. Gaming is where the T4 Ultra flexes confidently. COD: Mobile supports 90fps, and it plays phenomenally well â€' I never experienced lag or stutter. Hitwicket, being a lighter title, ran just as expected â€' with smooth visuals. I even took the phone on a road trip to Alwar over the weekend and used it with Android Auto throughout. With charging on and outside temperatures hitting 43 degrees, the device got warm, yes â€' but not alarmingly hot, and never throttled or froze up. Benchmarks tell a similar story. In the 3D Mark Wildlife Stress Test, the phone scored decently and stayed stable for the most part â€' although yes, there was some throttling under sustained load. Vivo's internal cooling, which includes a large vapour chamber, seems to be doing its job reasonably well. Funtouch OS 15, atop Android 15, runs the show here. It still has a somewhat busy aesthetic, but it's smoother than earlier versions and comes with genuinely useful features like AI Note Assist, Live Text, Call Translation, and even Circle to Search. There are a few pre-installed apps (like Snapchat, PhonePe and Amazon), which can be removed â€' though some of them return if you do a factory reset. The battery life is decent, but there's room for improvement. Don't get me wrong â€' the 5,500mAh cell easily lasts a full day with mixed use, but I was hoping Vivo would use a newer silicon-carbon battery to push things further. That said, I regularly got 6 to 7 hours of screen-on time on Wi-Fi and 5G. And thanks to the 90W fast charger in the box, getting back to 100 per cent takes under an hour, or roughly 53 minutes, which is always handy when you're in a rush. Quite a capable camera system Vivo phones have always had a good reputation when it comes to design and cameras â€' even their mid-range models have solid camera systems for their respective prices. And while the T-series has been more about performance than imaging, the T4 Ultra tries to balance both. Thankfully, the camera setup here isn't just for show. You get a 50-megapixel Sony IMX921 primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and â€' this is new â€' a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens. That last one is the standout for this model, giving you 3x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom. But honestly, the sweet spot is around 10x â€' anything beyond that is more for fun than function. In daylight, the main camera does a solid job. Shots come out sharp, with natural-looking colours and decent dynamic range. Indoors or in slightly tricky lighting, it still holds up well â€' details are fine and colours don't go overboard, which I appreciate. Even low-light performance is respectable. Vivo's processing keeps the scene well-lit, and while you may not get pixel-perfect details in every shadow, the results are good enough for most situations. What's also nice is that colour consistency is well maintained between the main and ultra-wide lenses. There's minimal distortion around the edges too, which is often a weak spot for wide-angle shots. Portrait mode is surprisingly good, with sharp edge detection and a bunch of creative blur effects and focal lengths to choose from. Occasionally, highlights can blow out a bit, and the processing can feel a bit aggressive in some shots â€' but that's rare. The telephoto lens also does a decent job in macro mode, though I mostly used it for zoomed-in photos. And it adds a good amount of versatility overall. On the front, the 32-megapixel selfie camera takes crisp photos in daylight. Low-light selfies are usable too â€' they're just a bit softer and less detailed. Vivo T4 Ultra review: Final verdict The Vivo T4 Ultra is a great example of a phone that isn't just about looks â€' it backs it up with substance. Honestly, I was a bit sceptical about this device â€' how it would turn out, how the performance would be, the camera and all that. But thankfully, this phone has been a pleasant surprise. Whether it's the AMOLED display, the impressive periscope telephoto camera, or the reliable performance of the Dimensity 9300 Plus chip, the T4 Ultra delivers a well-rounded experience. Add to that the satin finish back, good battery life, and Vivo's optimised software, and you've got a device that genuinely feels close to flagship territory, without fully crossing that Rs 40,000 line. That said, it's not without its minor quirks. The haptics could be tighter, and the speaker tuning still has room to improve. But that doesn't take away from the fact that this is a capable, polished phone that does most things right. If you're someone who values camera flexibility, display quality, and smooth daily performance in a stylish package, the T4 Ultra is definitely worth considering. It might not be the most hyped phone in its segment, but it's certainly one of the most well-balanced ones. It's one thing for a phone to make a strong first impression â€' most mid-range devices manage that nowadays. But the real test begins once the honeymoon phase ends. That's exactly what I was looking for with the Vivo T4 Ultra. After spending about three weeks using it as my primary device â€' testing the cameras, playing COD: Mobile, chatting on WhatsApp, and watching plenty of Netflix and late-night scrolling â€' I can say this: the T4 Ultra isn't just trying to look like a flagship, it's genuinely trying to perform like one too. And that's saying something in a price segment already filled with good â€' if not great â€' options. At a starting price of Rs 37,999, Vivo's latest T-series phone enters a space where expectations are naturally high. We've got phones with powerful processors. AMOLED displays are no longer rare, and cameras are only getting more versatile. So, does the Vivo T4 Ultra punch above its weight, or is it just a spec-heavy offering that loses steam once you start using it daily? After thoroughly putting it through its paces, I've got a fair bit to say. Here's the full review of the Vivo T4 Ultra 5G. Familiar design, finer details Vivo's design language has matured to a point where even its mid-range phones feel like they've been filtered through a premium lens. Of course, a phone priced around Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 isn't exactly mid-range, but you get the idea. The T4 Ultra continues that design evolution. At just 7.43mm and weighing 192 grams (I used the Meteor Grey colour), it strikes a fine balance between being slim and comfortable, without feeling too heavy or too light. The satin matte finish on the back is one of the best textures I've come across in this segment. It is soft to the touch, barely picks up any smudges, and adds just enough grip. Since I've been using the T4 Ultra, I've tossed it into my backpack, used it without a case, and it still looks pristine. The camera module doesn't stick out too much, although the phone does wobble slightly on flat surfaces. Buttons are tactile and offer a satisfying click. There's an IP64 rating for dust and water resistance, which is fine, although technically it is a step-down compared to the T3 Ultra's IP68 rating. Overall, the design isn't a dramatic departure from its predecessor, but the refinement is noticeable once you start using it more. It's one of those phones that looks good from a distance â€' but feels even better up close, which is where many mid-range phones fall short. A crisp and colourful AMOLED display If there's one area where the Vivo T4 Ultra really shines, it's the display. This 6.67-inch quad-curved AMOLED panel, protected by Schott Xensation glass, doesn't just look good on paper â€' it's a joy to use. With a 1.5K resolution (2800x1260) and support for 10-bit colours, content on this screen really pops. But what impressed me the most was the outdoor visibility. With temperatures crossing 40 degrees these days, I was happy to see the screen remain easily usable in direct sunlight. For those who like numbers, there's 800 nits of typical brightness, 1,600 nits in High Brightness Mode, and a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. Lately, I've been watching Daredevil: Born Again on JioHotstar and Ginny & Georgia on Netflix, and while I do juggle between the T4 Ultra and a larger screen â€' I am reviewing a tablet side by side â€' the experience on the phone has been excellent. HDR10+ support works well on both platforms, and Vivo's Visual Enhancement mode (only supported on YouTube, Netflix and Prime Video) really does help darker scenes look punchier without going overboard. The quad-curved edges give it that high-end appeal, but more importantly, they're not a nuisance. Accidental touches are a thing of the past, and the viewing experience feels quite immersive. Gaming on this display is equally enjoyable. One of my favourite cricket games, Hitwicket, looks sharp, fluid, and surprisingly vibrant. Apart from this, the 120Hz refresh rate ensures a smooth experience throughout. To save battery, you can dial it down to 60Hz manually or let Smart Switch handle it. As for the speakers, they're loud and balanced. In landscape mode especially, there's good stereo separation. They're not the best I've heard in this range, but for binge-watching or podcast sessions, they get the job done with little to complain about. The Ultra handles pressure like a pro The Vivo T4 Ultra doesn't just look sleek and polished â€' it's a powerhouse on the inside. Interestingly, it's the first phone in India with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 Plus chip, and that's not just a footnote. For those who don't know, it's a last-gen flagship processor with a top clock speed of 3.4GHz, and you feel that power in real-world use. App switching, running heavy apps, scrolling â€' it all happens without fuss. Paired with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, there's enough headroom here for even power users. Day-to-day tasks are quick and fluid. The fingerprint sensor is superfast, face unlock works fine, and general animations â€' from pulling down notifications to jumping between apps â€' feel smooth. Vivo could've used a sharper vibration motor to complete the premium feel though. Gaming is where the T4 Ultra flexes confidently. COD: Mobile supports 90fps, and it plays phenomenally well â€' I never experienced lag or stutter. Hitwicket, being a lighter title, ran just as expected â€' with smooth visuals. I even took the phone on a road trip to Alwar over the weekend and used it with Android Auto throughout. With charging on and outside temperatures hitting 43 degrees, the device got warm, yes â€' but not alarmingly hot, and never throttled or froze up. Benchmarks tell a similar story. In the 3D Mark Wildlife Stress Test, the phone scored decently and stayed stable for the most part â€' although yes, there was some throttling under sustained load. Vivo's internal cooling, which includes a large vapour chamber, seems to be doing its job reasonably well. Funtouch OS 15, atop Android 15, runs the show here. It still has a somewhat busy aesthetic, but it's smoother than earlier versions and comes with genuinely useful features like AI Note Assist, Live Text, Call Translation, and even Circle to Search. There are a few pre-installed apps (like Snapchat, PhonePe and Amazon), which can be removed â€' though some of them return if you do a factory reset. The battery life is decent, but there's room for improvement. Don't get me wrong â€' the 5,500mAh cell easily lasts a full day with mixed use, but I was hoping Vivo would use a newer silicon-carbon battery to push things further. That said, I regularly got 6 to 7 hours of screen-on time on Wi-Fi and 5G. And thanks to the 90W fast charger in the box, getting back to 100 per cent takes under an hour, or roughly 53 minutes, which is always handy when you're in a rush. Quite a capable camera system Vivo phones have always had a good reputation when it comes to design and cameras â€' even their mid-range models have solid camera systems for their respective prices. And while the T-series has been more about performance than imaging, the T4 Ultra tries to balance both. Thankfully, the camera setup here isn't just for show. You get a 50-megapixel Sony IMX921 primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and â€' this is new â€' a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens. That last one is the standout for this model, giving you 3x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom. But honestly, the sweet spot is around 10x â€' anything beyond that is more for fun than function. In daylight, the main camera does a solid job. Shots come out sharp, with natural-looking colours and decent dynamic range. Indoors or in slightly tricky lighting, it still holds up well â€' details are fine and colours don't go overboard, which I appreciate. Even low-light performance is respectable. Vivo's processing keeps the scene well-lit, and while you may not get pixel-perfect details in every shadow, the results are good enough for most situations. What's also nice is that colour consistency is well maintained between the main and ultra-wide lenses. There's minimal distortion around the edges too, which is often a weak spot for wide-angle shots. Portrait mode is surprisingly good, with sharp edge detection and a bunch of creative blur effects and focal lengths to choose from. Occasionally, highlights can blow out a bit, and the processing can feel a bit aggressive in some shots â€' but that's rare. The telephoto lens also does a decent job in macro mode, though I mostly used it for zoomed-in photos. And it adds a good amount of versatility overall. On the front, the 32-megapixel selfie camera takes crisp photos in daylight. Low-light selfies are usable too â€' they're just a bit softer and less detailed. Vivo T4 Ultra review: Final verdict The Vivo T4 Ultra is a great example of a phone that isn't just about looks â€' it backs it up with substance. Honestly, I was a bit sceptical about this device â€' how it would turn out, how the performance would be, the camera and all that. But thankfully, this phone has been a pleasant surprise. Whether it's the AMOLED display, the impressive periscope telephoto camera, or the reliable performance of the Dimensity 9300 Plus chip, the T4 Ultra delivers a well-rounded experience. Add to that the satin finish back, good battery life, and Vivo's optimised software, and you've got a device that genuinely feels close to flagship territory, without fully crossing that Rs 40,000 line. That said, it's not without its minor quirks. The haptics could be tighter, and the speaker tuning still has room to improve. But that doesn't take away from the fact that this is a capable, polished phone that does most things right. If you're someone who values camera flexibility, display quality, and smooth daily performance in a stylish package, the T4 Ultra is definitely worth considering. It might not be the most hyped phone in its segment, but it's certainly one of the most well-balanced ones. Join our WhatsApp Channel
Indian Express
21 minutes ago
- Indian Express
WhatsApp to introduce ads: All you need to know
After years of remaining ad-free, WhatsApp, one of the world's most used communication apps, will soon be placing advertisements on its platform. The Meta-owned platform on Monday (June 16) announced that it will be introducing ads in its Status feature, where users can share photos, videos, and text messages that disappear after 24 hours. Now, users will see sponsored ads while browsing through Status updates. WhatsApp will also let users pay to promote their Channels, the one-to-many broadcasting feature to share textual or visual content with followers. In addition, followers will also have the option to pay a monthly fee and subscribe to individual Channels for exclusive content. Note that these new features will be sequestered to WhatsApp's 'Updates' tab, which is reportedly being used by 1.5 billion people a day: WhatsApp will not show users ads in personal chats or the calls tab. Nonetheless, the rollout of ads in the Updates tab marks a turning point for a platform deeply woven into the social, economic, and political fabric of countries across the world. It could signal the start of Meta's broader push to monetise WhatsApp's two billion-strong user base, with India as its largest market. How WhatsApp makes money while offering most of its services for free has long been a point of curiosity for users. For starters, WhatsApp is backed by its parent company, Meta, which also owns Facebook and Instagram. The social media giant raked in more than $160 billion in ad revenue from Facebook and Instagram in 2024. Meta does not report platform-specific revenue, but estimates suggest that WhatsApp accounts for less than one per cent ($1.3 billion) of the big tech company's yearly earnings. 'Paid messaging is a bit earlier in the journey, but it's also doing well, and we've passed a $1 billion run rate,' Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp's vice president of product, was quoted as saying by Financial Times last year. While still a small slice of the pie, here is how WhatsApp has been generating revenue so far: Business API: WhatsApp's primary revenue stream, where it essentially makes money from government and enterprise customers looking to communicate with users at scale. This includes e-commerce sites updating users about their purchases, airlines and travel apps using WhatsApp to share boarding passes and travel alerts, etc. The pricing is dependent on the region as well as volume of messages. In cities like Delhi and Bengaluru, tickets for buses, metro, and other public transport booked via WhatsApp's ticketing system include a convenience fee for credit and debit card transactions. Click-to-WhatsApp ads: Businesses can pay to include a link in their ads that opens a WhatsApp chat with users when they click on it, connecting them directly to the business. These click-to-message ads appear on feeds and stories on Instagram and Facebook as well as Facebook Marketplace. In 2023, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that click-to-message ads had reached a $10-billion revenue run-rate globally. WhatsApp Pay: It is a way for users to send money directly through the app. While it is free for individual users, businesses need to pay a fee for payments received through WhatsApp, similar to other digital payment processors. WhatsApp Pay has only been rolled out on a large scale in select markets like India, Brazil, and Singapore. Earlier this year, the NPCI lifted its 100 million-user cap on WhatsApp Pay, allowing access to all 500 million users in India. In addition to these direct revenue streams, WhatsApp also collects metadata on user behaviour which could be of significant value in the digital advertising space. As the familiar adage goes: if you are not paying for the product, you may be the product. Ads will be served to users within WhatsApp using Meta's technology. The company said it will not draw from users' personal messages, calls, and statuses to target ads as that content will remain end-to-end encrypted. Instead, WhatsApp said it will rely on data points such as a user's city, country, and language to determine what ads to show them, along with tracking user behaviour such as the Channels they are following and the way they interact with ads. The company will also engage in cross-platform profiling of users who have chosen to link their WhatsApp accounts to the Accounts Center. 'Adding WhatsApp to Accounts Center is optional, off by default and can be removed at any time,' Meta clarified. 'People can easily see why a specific ad is being shown and hide or report ads directly on WhatsApp. People can also go to Ad preferences to see recent ad activity and manage their ad settings,' it added. However, users do not have the option to completely opt out of seeing ads on WhatsApp. How other messaging apps work In response to WhatsApp's announcement, Meredith Whittaker, the president of Signal, promised that the independent non-profit-owned messaging app will not have any AI clutter or surveillance ads, regardless of what the rest of the industry does. Signal is known for its encrypted messaging protocol. It does not have any investors and runs on donations. In 2018, Brian Acton, one of the co-founders of WhatsApp, donated $50 million to Signal. Meanwhile, Discord has adopted a freemium model which means that it is free to sign-up but additional features such as games come with a price tag. The messaging app popular among gamers also offers a monthly subscription package called Nitro with access to high-quality video streaming and custom emojis. However, advertising continues to be the most popular business model among messaging apps. It is the main source of revenue for Snap, the company behind Snapchat, which reported a nine per cent YoY increase in advertising revenue to $1.21 billion in the previous quarter. Given Meta's track record with monetisation and brand integration, ads on WhatsApp could generate over $10 billion in annual revenue within a few years, according to analyst estimates cited by Market Watch.
