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Court exhibits from lawsuits against Meta reveal that in 2021, while publicly defending Facebook against whistleblower claims of harming children, Mark Zuckerberg privately told a contact on WhatsApp that child safety was not his 'personal main focus.' He said he was more focused on building the metaverse, and weeks later announced Facebook's rebrand to Meta.
WhatsApp is rolling out an update that lets Apple Watch users react to messages with any emoji from watchOS's full library, organized into eight categories including Smileys, Nature, and Objects. Previously, reactions on the Apple Watch app were limited to six default emojis, requiring an iPhone for anything else. Tapping and holding a message still shows the six defaults, but a new picker offers recent emojis and the complete system set.
ChatGPT's mobile app now includes a dedicated feature under its Images tab that lets users generate custom stickers by picking a style, reference photos, and emoji prompts. The tool produces a set of nine stickers that can be exported directly into iMessage or WhatsApp, with options to edit or regenerate results if they don't match expectations.
A WIRED reviewer tested Meta's newly launched Muse app, an AI agent that connects to email, bank accounts and other personal data to handle tasks like bookings and errands. Though Muse downloaded over 900,000 times in its first week and browses the web more smoothly than earlier agents, the reviewer found it seemed more focused on gathering personal information than completing requested tasks.
WhatsApp is officially rolling out a new search button within individual chats, groups, and channels on iOS after weeks of beta testing. The button appears at the top of the screen when users scroll up through a conversation and disappears when they return to the bottom, letting them search messages without leaving the chat.
WhatsApp is developing a feature that would let iPhone users manage up to three separate accounts within one app, according to WABetaInfo. This builds on the second-account support the app introduced last June after months of beta testing. Each account would retain its own chat history, notifications, privacy settings, backups, and media.
A developer named Fabian released Chat-Man, a tool that connects WhatsApp to AI agents through an MCP server, allowing programmatic reading, searching, and sending of messages. It also includes a web interface for non-technical users to manage groups, contacts, and bulk messaging, plus webhook support for starred conversations. Fabian built it after needing WhatsApp integration across multiple personal projects and wanting to avoid paying for separate integrations each time.
Meta is introducing a paid subscription that gives users expanded access to AI features across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. The move signals Meta's push to monetize its AI tools directly rather than offering them entirely free to its massive user base.
Meta introduced a new MCP (Model Context Protocol) server called WhatsApp Business Tools MCP, letting AI coding agents like Claude, Cursor, Codex, or ChatGPT directly configure WhatsApp Business accounts. Instead of manually navigating the Developer Console, Business Manager, and API references, businesses can now simply describe what they need to an AI agent, which handles account creation, phone verification, Cloud API registration, and template management.
Meta introduced Meta One, a new subscription service spanning Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp that bundles AI tools for image and video creation alongside existing premium features. The offering includes a $7.99/month Core tier and a $19.99/month Premium tier, both incorporating the previously launched Facebook Plus, Instagram Plus and WhatsApp Plus perks, with Premium offering greater AI usage allowances. Meta declined to specify exact usage caps, saying they vary by country and system conditions.
Meta has rolled out its Meta One subscription tiers worldwide, bundling paid versions of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook with extra AI capabilities powered by its new assistant Muse. Individual plans start at $7.99 monthly for Core and $19.99 for Premium, while creator and business tiers range from $14.99 up to $499 per month with perks like verified badges and impersonation protection. Meta says free access to its apps and AI assistant will remain, and plans to eventually add AI glasses and Edits to the bundles.
WhatsApp is rolling out a new iPad interface that replaces the bottom tab bar with a Mac-like sidebar for navigating Chats, Updates, Communities, Calls and Meta AI. Users can hide the sidebar to expand the chat list and conversation view for a less cramped layout. The feature is currently reaching some TestFlight beta testers as well as a portion of regular App Store users.