WhatsApp will start featuring ads. Here's what it means for you
'These days companies know literally everything about you, your friends, your interests, and they use it all to sell ads … Remember, when advertising is involved, you, the user, are the product.'
These words were published in 2012, under the headline 'Why we don't sell ads'. The company that put its name to them? WhatsApp, the instant-messaging app that was then run by co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton, and charged users an annual fee of 99 cents.
Two years later, they sold their business to Mark Zuckerberg's ad-funded social media behemoth, Meta, which already owned Facebook and Instagram. And for the past decade, the question has been 'when' not 'if' WhatsApp would reverse its founding principle.
Last week, as leaders from the tech and media world gathered on the south coast of France for the annual Cannes Lions advertising festival, Zuckerberg's team made its move.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Zuckerberg targets UK defence deals
Mark Zuckerberg is targeting British defence deals after investing billions of pounds in an artificial intelligence business that is courting Britain's national security agencies. Meta has taken a $14bn (£10.4bn) stake in Scale AI, a Silicon Valley start-up that counts the Pentagon as a key customer, working with the US Airforce and US Army. Scale AI, which was founded by 28-year-old billionaire Alexandr Wang, is now seeking to build ties with the British Government and is hiring sales staff with 'experience focused on the Ministry of Defence and intelligence community' as it expands in London. In March, Scale AI revealed a deal with the Pentagon to work on a project dubbed 'Thunderforge'. The programme will see Scale AI embed AI bots into the US military's planning and frontline operations. Meta's investment in Scale AI marks Mr Zuckerberg's latest foray into defence. The Facebook owner recently signed an agreement to work with the US military on advanced headsets for frontline soldiers. It has also made its most advanced AI product, known as Llama, available for 'national security uses by the US and its closest allies'. After years of demurring from military work, Silicon Valley is increasingly embracing defence as AI becomes one of the key battlefields between the West and its adversaries, China and Russia. Mr Wang has called for the US to back the AI industry and spoken of the need to 'win the AI war' against Beijing. Last year, ChatGPT developer OpenAI signed a deal with defence manufacturer Anduril to develop counter-drone systems. Daniel Ek, the Spotify billionaire, last week confirmed a major investment in Helsing, a German drone-maker. Launched in 2016 by Mr Wang, Scale AI was last week valued at $29bn after Facebook-owner Meta took a 49pc stake in the business. It opened a UK office last year and has been pursuing public sector contracts. Scale AI is a major supplier to other AI laboratories such as OpenAI. The business is known for providing data labelling and services that help other technology businesses fine-tune their AI technology. In a submission to MPs last year, Scale AI said it planned to 'explore how we can support the UK's defence objectives in order to ensure that the UK defence sector is not just keeping up with technological advances in the field, but rather leading the way forward'. In February, Mr Wang, its chief executive, met Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi. He was also invited to Donald Trump's inauguration in January. The UK's Strategic Defence Review, published this month, set out plans for Britain to ramp up defence spending with a focus on AI. Last year, Scale AI secured its first public contract with the British Government, working with the AI Security Institute on a project exploring whether AI bots can deceive people. Meta's major investment in Scale AI has prompted fears from some of its biggest customers over Mr Zuckerberg's influence over the business. It was reported that Google and OpenAI had paused work with Scale in the wake of the deal. Last week, Jason Droege, Scale AI's interim chief executive, insisted it 'remains, unequivocally, an independent company' and said Meta would have no access to information about rivals. A Scale AI spokesman said: 'Scale remains an independent company. We're actively engaging with the UK government, demonstrating how our AI solutions can enhance operations across various departments, including both civilian and defence.'
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Sneaky WhatsApp tricks cheating partners use – from secret codes to hide ‘invisible messages' to fake app covers
CHEATERS will always look for clever ways to hide their tracks - and WhatsApp has a treasure trove of features that enable them. While tools for greater privacy are a good thing, they're easily open to abuse by love rats. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Anyone can hide chats in WhatsApp so they're completely invisible Credit: Jamie Harris / The Sun 3 The only way to reveal them is with a secret code Credit: Jamie Harris / The Sun Many of these features exist in plain sight, so much so any cheating partner need not worry...
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Sneaky WhatsApp tricks cheating partners use – from secret codes to hide ‘invisible messages' to fake app covers
CHEATERS will always look for clever ways to hide their tracks - and WhatsApp has a treasure trove of features that enable them. While tools for greater privacy are a good thing, they're easily open to abuse by love rats. 3 3 Many of these features exist in plain sight, so much so any cheating partner need not worry at all that you might stumble on flirty conversations if you have access to their phone. As someone who has suffered from cyber cheating - and The Sun's Assistant Technology and Science Editor - I know the ins and outs around apps. In fact, I caught an ex using a dating app that was disguised as a calculator. While you shouldn't go snooping on someone else's phone, it's helpful to know these sorts of tools exist and just how far they can go. Secret code unlocks hidden chats WhatsApp has a way to hide sensitive conversations from the list of chats entirely. And the only way you can unlock them is with a top secret code. You can conceal them in a special folder known as locked chats. From there, you can set a secret code that's different from your phone's passcode. Only by typing the code in the search bar at the top of WhatsApp will the hidden chats magically appear before your eyes. By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor After a number of suspicious incidents I did some digging on my partner's iPhone a few years ago, despite the risk. It's not something I'm proud of but sometimes you have to trust your gut. I had heard that some dating apps allow you to disguise the icon as a calculator. What a genius idea - no one would think to tap on an innocent, boring calculator icon. So, I took the plunge and sure enough there was a fake calculator which opened up a dizzying number of saucy messages and unspeakable pics. Disappearing messages Disappearing messages became a thing thanks to Snapchat but people often forget you can add them on WhatsApp as well. And what's more curious, is you can add them onto individual chats. There can be perfectly legitimate reasons why a person has them on - sometimes you don't want old chats used against you. It also helps save storage having it switched on by not saving all your lengthy chats. But disappearing messages can also serve as a red flag too. The feature is set with a timer of 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days. 3 Muted notifications Notifications are annoying at the worst of times and thankfully there is a way to mute them from certain conversations. I've found this particularly handy for pesky family group chats that seem to buzz all too often. But muted notifications can also be a sign of someone not wanting you to see chat alerts from specific people. You can actually see if a person has notifications muted for them by looking for the little bell icon on the right side of their name. Sometimes, people also go a step further and hide these muted chats in the archive folder too - this means the conversation will be hidden from the main chat list and won't cause any alerts to pop up on the phone too. Advanced chat privacy WhatsApp also has an advanced chat privacy option that goes a step further. Crucially, when switched on it won't save any pictures or videos you receive from that individual to your phone's main gallery. This stops anyone looking through your general photos app from stumbling across anything embarrassing. Hiding the WhatsApp icon It's one thing to hide individual chats but what about keeping the WhatsApp app itself out of sight? On many phones you can remove the app icon and make out you simply don't use WhatsApp. On iPhone, you can tap and hold any app, then select Require Face ID from the menu that appears - it's here when you'll find the Hide and Require Face ID option. However, there are some clues that an app or apps are being concealed. Firstly, to access them you need to go to the bottom of the app library section where there is a hidden folder listed - you can't see the contents but you know something is hiding in there. Apps will also still be listed in places like settings.
