WhatsApp Is Adding Quick Replies To Its PC App, And Is Testing Out New Time Limits For Deleting Messages Across iOS Platform

WhatsApp is bringing its quick reply feature to the PC and is also testing out a new time limit for deleting content on the platform.

Quick replies are probably one the best features that WhatsApp introduced to its interface in recent times, with Stickers being a stand-out exception. Honestly, the perfect update for me would just be one in which I can send a Sticker to my friends via a quick reply message. This feature harnesses an understanding of how our busy day-to-day lives often clash with the constant requirement of tech usage, and sometimes it’s difficult replying to a message while handling a million other things via smartphone.

Quick replies, which started in WhatsApp around the end of 2021, make it so that a user can reply to a notification. Essentially, anytime your phone sends a notification of someone’s message, you can reply right there and then use the notification box instead of abandoning your current work and opening up the WhatsApp interface. It’s also an easy enough feature to get used to, with the social media platform prompting users to reply to notifications as well.

With WhatsApp has become a commonly used application across PCs as well as smartphones, it only makes sense to have quick replies being featured across all platforms. Finally, that’s exactly what’s happening: WhatsApp’s latest beta, 2.2227.2.0 (what an intuitive and easy-to-grasp name), is now adding quick replies to the downloadable app. The beta can be accessed via the Microsoft app store and functions exactly like the feature’s smartphone iteration. This will make PC-oriented online work much easier, with users responding to important messages without having to abandon their current trajectory.

However, this isn’t the only latest beta hitting the streets, nor is this the only new feature out for testing. WhatsApp beta 22.15.0.73 (I understand nothing except for 22 perhaps representing the current year), currently only available to select iOS users, introduces longer time limits for deleting messages. The current typical time limit is approximately 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds; however, certain iPhone users will instead encounter a new limit that even extends to 2 days. Times are reportedly different from user to user but are universally greater than the current boundaries. It’s more likely than not a way for WhatsApp to assess which time limits evoke the best reactions amongst users, which means we may not see this feature being implemented for a while.

Read next: Whatsapp new update will enable users to send a voice note on their status
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Report Claims That Windows 12 Is Expected To Launch In 2024

A Windows Central report claims that we might be seeing the new Windows OS, Windows 12, by 2024.

Windows 11 is currently hip and trending right now; it took Microsoft some time with the operating software taking off, but that’s sort of the norm for most iterations of the OS. Windows 10 took a long while to get to its current popularity, what with Windows 7 still being installed across the world. It has to do with a general disdain for upgrading: shifting to a new OS requires that your device be rendered out of commission until the update is fully downloaded and installed, and people are already used to the old system and don’t want to leave the familiar ground to figure out the new one’s kinks and additions.

Then again, more often than not these new environments come with their massive advantages, and can be worth the wait. Otherwise, we’d still be running on a Nokia 3310, and cruising the net on a Windows 98 PC with Internet Explorer and America Online. I can almost hear the modem’s ear-piercingly loud tone, what a time to be alive.

At any rate, this headline comes off as surprising since Microsoft doesn’t sound like it’s done with Windows 10 as of yet. On the contrary, Sun Valley 3 was just recently confirmed to be launched as a major update to Windows 11, introducing new features and whatnot. However, the Windows Central report, published by Zac Bowden, states that Microsoft has canceled the upcoming Sun Valley 3 update, and is instead setting its sights much further across the horizon. According to Bowden, the tech giant’s new direction involves developing and publishing Windows 12, effectively attempting to overtake Windows 11.

The Windows Central article states that this new addition to the company’s OS library is expected to launch around 2024. The timeline matches up with old launch schedules as well, with Microsoft releasing a new iteration of the software every three years or so.

Whether or not this claim will come to fruition is still up in the air. Leakers can be wrong, and Windows has yet to officially cancel Sun Valley 3, let alone announce Windows 12. To be completely honest, we have no clue as to whether or not the OS will even be named Windows 12, as Microsoft might want to change the nomenclature. All will be seen in the coming years, by which time perhaps everyone will finally have moved on from Windows 10 to 11, starting the cycle anew.

Read next: Netflix Names Microsoft As Its New Advertising Technology And Sales Partner
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

DeepMind Collaborates With YouTube On AI Research Models To Produce Auto-Generated Chapters For Videos

The partnership between YouTube and DeepMind goes as far back as 2018. And the duo has been busy making some great progress. Now, we’re hearing about a new partnership that is related to AI research models.

Yes, both tech giants have united to produce auto-generated chapters that are being seen across countless YouTube videos. But they’re not stopping yet.

As of now, 8 million videos have auto chapters but they hope the figure will increase to nearly 80 million in the next year.

For the past 3 years, YouTube and DeepMind have been busy on label quality models. These are better seen as an amalgamation of what happens when a video mixes within advertising guidelines so that ads can be displayed.

The company says they’ve been responsible for launching a huge portion of the app’s life traffic. And during that time, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they’re an integral partner that can use AI technology to compress videos using opening codecs.

DeepMind says it can carry out a range of functions without compromising on quality like bitrate reduction at the expense of absolutely nothing and that includes no quality reduction.

But the recent initiative of the two partners linking together for AutoChapters shows that they’re not just done yet and this partnership has miles to go before we can think of bidding farewell.

The company also outlined how they were able to go about their business and do just that. For starters, they made use of transformer models that produced huge chapter segments. Shortly after that, we saw the arrival of timestamps on the video through a typical two-step system.

After that, AI technology introduced a multi-model system that could carry out a variety of functions at once. This includes the processing of words, images, audio, and more, not to mention the production of different chapter titles.

We’ve seen Deepmind also hand a number of other big YouTube projects like recommendations on its app store, Google Maps’ predictions, and also the cooling system embedded in data centers.

Read next: Google Is Not Happy With The Practice Of Paying Publishers For Content Appearing In Search As It Undermines Trust
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Lawmakers Urge FTC To Stop VPN Providers From Misleading Consumers Using Its Deceptive Practices

Lawmakers hailing from the Democratic Party of the US are not coming slowly in terms of accusations being hurled at VPN providers.

According to them, so many customers are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and misled, thanks to the great deception provided by such groups. And now, the issue is being highlighted and presented to the FTC for urgent intervention.

The news comes forward as two leading Democratic lawmakers are calling upon the FTC to act quickly before it’s too late. And that has to do with how so many customers are misled on a daily basis and made to think that they’re using secure connections.

The lawmakers confirmed how the current VPN industry isn’t very transparent and that just makes it so much easier for people to exploit others.

Rep Anna Eshoo from California and Oregon’s Senator Ron Wyden revealed their complaints on the matter via a letter sent out to the FTC on Thursday. Here is also where they began urging the regulatory body to start a crack-down operation across the entire VPN sector which has been making use of the shadiest practices.

A lot of concern has also come at this time, thanks to the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court. And that is when many lawmakers feel that VPN providers could be resorting to unfair means and hence could be giving authorities details about those interested in abortions after they were banned in the country.

It’s quite obvious that those in search of abortion would want their data protected and their identity held anonymously. Therefore you’d see them moving forward and making use of more VPNs, thinking they’ll be given that added level of security. But the reality, the matter is far from that, the lawmakers confirmed.

A lot of the issue stems from the fact that users literally have no proof regarding whether or not their log-ins are secret or their browsing history will be deleted or their processing data would be out of reach.

Today, we’ve been given access to thousands of VPNs and that is what makes matter worse. There are no tools or regulatory bodies present that are keeping a check and balance as to what is really going on. We’ve got no one to audit the security claims.

The only thing that customers are forced to rely upon are review sites or perhaps pages that detail others’ experiences regarding a particular VPN but even those aren’t as reliable as we hope.

Remember, blogs and websites could well benefit from making collabs with VPN service providers and that just adds more doubts on who you can really trust, at the end of the day.

The Democratic lawmakers were also seen putting forward a particular study from 2021 that highlighted how VPNs spread false information via websites.

The study quoted how 12 out of 16 VPN providers had presented false products while making fake promises and huge claims about the types of protection on offer. But in reality, they fell short big time.

These promises included users being untraceable to others where tactical marketing language was used to confuse users into thinking that they’d remain anonymous at all times. But the reality of the matter was that they could be well traced by government bodies and advertisers after carrying out a successful browser experience.

Another issue is related to how VPN providers could team up with law enforcement agencies and even advertisers. They would provide them with details about abortion seekers, and these people would be more vulnerable to being prosecuted than others.

It’s clear that a major problem with VPN companies lies here and a necessary crackdown is of the utmost essence in the US, especially during a time when people are being denied their basic rights.

Read next: FTC Vows To Act Against Companies Making False Claims About Data Anonymization
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Idomoo Conducts A Study on Gen Z and Its Attitude Towards Video-Based Brand Content

A new study by Idomoo reveals that gen Z prefers videos as a medium of communication above all else, and feels unsatisfied with the current level of media utilizing them.

It’s been accepted for a few years now that video is currently the superior form of social media marketing. Countless research by both third-party sources as well as the platforms themselves has consistently shown results favoring videos in terms of both engagements as well as views. If that isn’t evidenced enough, TikTok should more than cover one’s bases on that argument. Often hailed as the gen Z flagship (even if I feel that it’s a bit reductive and condescending to confine an entire generation to a single social media site), TikTok is a platform that provides content with a purely video-centric focus. Guess what; it’s doing amazingly because of this as well. YouTube and Meta have even attempted to imitate Bytedance’s formula for success, forming alternatives such as YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.

Idomoo itself is a platform geared around the concept of providing clients with “personalized videos” for marketing and such. The firm conducted a study into the matter, labeled the 2022 Digital Communications Market Study, and published its findings online. The paper attempted to gauge the reception of different age groups to video-oriented content and compared it with their stance towards relatively “older” forms of online communication such as email. Specifically, in the case of email, gen Z was found to be the least receptive to the medium at a 29% preference rate. Compare that to the likes of boomers at 64%, Gen X at 58%, and millennials at 40%. While it’s true that gen Z is the least interested in email as a form of communication, public reception has been slowly waning over the years.

Interestingly, personalized video content not only performed well with gen Z, at a 40% preference rate, the same also applied to high-earners within the different age groups at 61%. Presumably, high earners weren’t majorly comprised of gen Z, considering the average age of that group is between 9 to 24 years. Video content in general is enjoying a 59% appreciation rate, and 69% of gen Z wishes for the option to have customizable videos at their service as a medium for conversation.

Finally, the study also attempts to gauge the general public’s response toward brands. 30% of UK consumers don’t feel valued by brands, while in the USA that number hangs around 20% instead. However, 71% of the sample population noticed a spike in online brand communication ever since the pandemic began in 2020.

Read next: Insider Intelligence Reveals Data Regarding Millennials and Gen Z Individuals Leaving Facebook
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

How to Make the Most of Your Marketing Budget in a Recession Economy

A bear market is officially upon us, and whispers of a looming recession have businesses on edge. Wary managers often axe marketing budgets first, forcing marketing teams to get creative to make their message heard.

Illustration: Vector4stock/Freepik

While it’s a rule of thumb that cutting your marketing budget in a recession is not a good idea, the reality of your budget may make cuts inevitable.

You don’t have to sacrifice ROI during a recession if you learn a few recession-proof marketing tips. Below, you’ll learn how to market smarter—not harder—during a recession.

Know your Recession Target

People change their spending habits during a recession, which means your target may become unfamiliar in this economic landscape.

For example, a premium ice cream company may successfully target women with children in a normal economy. But in a recession, families strapped for cash may opt for a cheaper brand or no ice cream at all.

Put your existing target research on the back burner and get to know these recession market segments, as defined in Harvard Business Review:

• Slam-on-the-breaks: This is the hardest hit consumer, who reduces all spending to focus on basic necessities.
• Pained-but-patient: This represents most middle-class consumers. They reduce spending in all areas but still remain brand loyal and treat themselves from time to time. Important: Pained-but-patient consumers will become slam-on-the-breaks consumers over time!
• Comfortably Well-off: These wealthy consumers don’t change their spending habits much during a recession.
• Living-for-today: These consumers are typically younger and have fewer expenses. They live paycheck-to-paycheck and don’t think about savings. They continue to buy brands they like but take fewer risks.

How will a recession affect your target’s spending habits? Do the research to find out now and make a plan before it’s too late.

Allocate Spending to Top Brands

If your company sells a number of products or services, it’s time to line them all up and assess which are the strongest and weakest.

Your top, best-known brands should receive the most marketing cash during a recession.

Consumers find comfort in recognizable, trustworthy brands in hard times. Stabilizing these brands with a healthy marketing spend will maintain their relevance to your core market.

Your top brands have the largest and most loyal customer base. These brand-loyal customers are the most valuable during a recession. Cutting marketing for top brands alienates loyal consumers and risks a downward-spiral situation for your highest-performing products.

What about the products that don’t perform as well or aren’t as well-known? It might be time to put them on the chopping block, especially if they are non-necessities or non-budget-friendly products.

Cut Communications Costs

There are more opportunities than ever to optimize advertising and PR expenses. Cheaper production tech and innovative social media outreach allow you to create and diffuse content more efficiently.

However, established firms are slow to innovate.

During a recession, it’s time to reassess how you advertise and trim the fat. For example, internet advertising and social media marketing typically increase during a recession because they are more affordable and measurable. Broadcast media ads decline.

Savvy advertisers can also cut marketing costs by:

• Outsourcing video production
• Using stock footage for ads
• Using a green screen video instead of shooting on location
• Incorporating customer-generated content
• Partnering with influencers
• Advertising on YouTube channels and Podcasts

Send a Reassuring Message

What tone should your ads take during a recession? Most of your customers are looking for reassurance during tough times. Your brand can offer some stability in their lives—and even some hope.

Sending a reassuring message, or just recognizing that times are tough, is a way to empathize with your customers and build trust.

At this point, consumers are likely tired of hearing the “we’re going to get through this together” trope. But clever marketers can still harness this sentiment in their campaigns.

For example, Dell released a series of print ads during the 2008 recession with messages like “Depend on Dell for simple solutions in tough times” and “Weak economy, powerful you.”

These simple messages reminded consumers that Dell was still relevant and offered solutions for recession-stricken consumers.

Stabilize and Survive

Surviving a recession comes down to prioritizing your marketing expenses in a volatile marketplace. It can feel disorienting to throw money at brands even as sales decline, but one fact rings true in any recession: spending on core brands and catering to loyal customers is the key to survival. Remember this, and your company will come out the other side stronger than ever.

by Web Desk via Digital Information World

Vishing Scam Rates Are Getting Triple of Phishing Scams And Scammers are on the loose freely

Research conducted by IBM suggests that scams carried out by vishing are most likely to succeed and scammers use phone calls to deceive people. Vishing or commonly known as voice phishing is getting more common as time is passing, as it has been reported that the percentage has increased from 17.8% to 53.2%. The report was published by IBM's X-Force Threat Intelligence report and the results are quite concerning.

Phishing attacks sum up a large proportion of cyberattacks. This scamming method makes 41% of the frauds done this year, as compared to 33% in 2021. This tells that the scammers are getting powerful and making their game strong. Due to the popularity and easy access of Google, Microsoft, and Apple, scammers like to use these platforms for phishing attacks and the victims usually fall for it easily.

Cyber attackers have excelled in phishing attacks and social engineering with great success and now they are moving towards vishing. X-Force reported that in 2021 many attackers were using phishing to gain access to victim networks for ransomware attacks. Usually, the attackers gain information through your emails and then steal your data based on random invoices, reported IBM. IBM also studied how these attackers scam users' data and found out that it gets stolen by email addresses and passwords. 61% of the data was also stolen by credit cards. The other forms of data targeted were through the postal mail address. The percentage for this type of information collection is 40%. Through phone numbers, it was 22%. The date of birth and identity card number, it is 17% and 15% respectively. Other forms were through security questions and atm pins. Their percentage is 14% and 3% respectively.

However, phishing and vishing kits do not last for a long time. Mostly they are just made to be used for a few hours and after that, they expire. It can only gain mostly 75 victims per deployment and then again they have to start from scratch. It is safe to say that cybercrime is getting more and more common and many people are finding solace in it. However, we can't promise that it pays much because it is a stressful job that makes your sleep go away. Cybercrime just goes and go, with no chance of stopping anytime soon.

Read next: A New Malware Is Making Its Rounds Across Android Via Google Play, Infecting Millions Of Individual Users
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World