November, 2018 - Softonic English

Top 4 funniest apps that we promise will make you laugh

Download. Laugh. Thank us later.

Sometimes, it seems like from the moment you wake up, everything goes wrong. Maybe you slept through your alarm, shrank your favorite shirt in the dryer, or forgot that a work deadline was today. The good news is, we’ve got a list of the funniest apps to download so if your car broke down this morning, we can help to turn that frown upside down – at least until the towing service arrives.

Top 4 funniest apps that we promise will make you laugh

theCHIVE Download Free ►

theCHIVE started out as just funny pictures, but then had a major expansion. Now the app is home to videos, news and humor articles, and photos of people just generally being cool. Have you ever seen someone make an origami gnome? We hadn't either. theCHIVE calls itself probably the best app in the world, and it's definitely a hit with us. Some people love it so much that they rep theCHIVE by purchasing merchandise like T-shirts in their online store. Available on iOS and Android.

iFunny 🙂 Download Free ►

iFunny has been around since 2013 and has stayed relevant for a reason. It compiles the top featured photos on Twitter and Instagram for your viewing pleasure. After photos, videos were added and it's probably one of the top apps that we use if we're in the mood for some hilarious memes because there's an entire category dedicated to them. Subscribe to the users that you like the most, upvote and downvote posts and comments, and chat with other users. A useful feature of this app is the content warning, so if you're sitting next to Grandma you won't run the risk of something showing up that's not suitable for the fam to see.

Pics HD for Reddit Download Free ►

Just like the title says, this app is dedicated only to the pictures of Reddit. The reads are fun and informational and everything, but sometimes we just wanna jump straight into the funny cat pictures. The app has a very simple layout with a few categories like those for gaming, reaction gifs, and cute animals. If you find other categories that you like, you can upgrade to Pro for $4.99 a month. With Pro you can also remove ads, submit your own funny pictures, and access the comments, so we think it's pretty worth it.

9GAG - Funny pics and videos Download Free ►

Last but definitely not least is one of the original funniest places around on the internet. With some of the smoothest app functionality, it's got a ton of different categories packed with funny pictures, videos, and gifs. A mix of old and new, 9GAG knows how to stay on top of the meme game while catering to meme fans that have been around since memes became a thing. I can say that I saw someone get bodyslammed, WWE style, by a horse on this app. What have you done today?

Whether your day didn’t turn out as you planned or you’re just looking for some entertainment to pass the time, we can promise that you’ll get lost in one or a few of these hilarious apps for hours.

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LinkedIn report shows worker skills gap is largest on the two coasts

Discover how to stand out in your next job search.

The latest LinkedIn Workforce report found that the skills gaps on both coasts are the largest in the United States.

While the same report mentions that hiring is up since last year, there’s something of a mismatch between the skills job hunters actually have and what employers are looking for.

This comes as good news for those workers with in-demand skills, but poses a challenge for those trying to stake a claim in a crowded landscape.

Many employers are finding it difficult to hire people with the skills they need, even at the entry level.

What’s more, it seems that our big metropolises — Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City — all have a similar surplus and shortage breakdown when it comes to workforce skills.

Here’s a little more about what this all means.

LinkedIn Workforce Report shows skills gap is largest on the two coasts

Big cities have a big soft skills shortage

As we mentioned above, the LinkedIn November report found that NYC, LA, and SF had similar surpluses. Skills like negotiation, procurement, real estate, and management accounting made the surplus list, as did wellness and personal coaching.

According to LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Weiner, employers are primarily on the hunt for soft skills these days. For example, written and oral communication, leadership, and project management are among the top skills employers want in their staff.

This means desirability isn’t always linked to a STEM background.

Coding, of course, is still in demand, but it’s worth pointing out that it isn’t the only skill that’s valued right now.

The reason for the new emphasis on the soft is, AI is on the verge of replacing a lot of the technical skills we associate with employability. Robots, at least at this point, haven’t nailed things like leadership, projecting warmth or recognizing body language.

The future, it seems, may well be characterized by humans — with their communication and empathy — working side by side with AI — and their quick processing power.

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Measuring soft skills

Soft skills are important in just about every job, but many are role specific. If you look at the break down of Los Angeles skills shortages, you’ll notice that oral communication, business management, and leadership top the list.

According to a 2017 study by the HR software provider, iCIMS, 62% of recruiters seek out employees with excellent problem-solving skills, and 39% of recruiters look for highly organized candidates.

The challenge is, these skills don’t come with a certification attached.

While management and leadership may be implied by way of a resume with experience in a management role, things like oral communication or time management aren’t so cut and dry.

Recruiters these days screen candidates for evidence of soft skills, so including them in your application materials is a must. Make sure you highlight your softer strengths by highlighting searchable keywords in your job description and resume.

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During the interview process, you should also be prepared to answer questions that begin with the dreaded, “can you give an example of a time when…”

These questions are called behavioral questions and are used to help interviewers evaluate one, how you respond to being put on the spot, and two, how your communication or time management skills have produced measurable results in the past.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that employers and recruiters may not be clear about what they’re looking for. For example, they might report in a LinkedIn survey that they want better communicators on staff, but fail to communicate that desire during the interview process.

As such, you should always emphasize your soft skills along with your hard ones — that combination of technical know-how and interpersonal savvy is what will ultimately land you the position you want.

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Closing up those gaps

According to another article from the social networking platform, skills gaps can be narrowed in several ways. Businesses may choose to move to cities with a surplus of the skills they need. Or, they may decide to look at working with remote employees by recruiting in those areas.

Job seekers may consider moving to a place that needs more of what they have to offer, and communities may start offering training programs that address the shortages.

The goal of the report was to highlight these areas, as cities with more skills shortages tend to have lower unemployment rates. And, transparency allows people to work on developing in-demand skills as they come up in the workforce.

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While some skills may come with experience and practice, it’s always worth looking for development opportunities. Additionally, working on things like conflict resolution, body language, and listening can help you advance, too.

Leveling up other in-demand skills like social media or digital literacy is something you can do in a relatively short amount of time. Workers can pursue online courses aimed at teaching the latest best practices, without breaking the bank. Coursera, Udemy, and countless others are all great places to boost those in-demand skills from the comfort of your own home.

Zepeto, the avatar creator taking social media by storm

Zepeto is wildly addicting and fun.

So long to The Sims, and goodbye Bitmoji. Now we have Zepeto, and it’s all we really need.

ZEPETO DOWNLOAD FREE ►

Zepeto comes from Camp Mobile, the same South Korean company that created image messaging app SNOW. South Korea is a country that’s insanely good at churning out things that quickly gain die-hard followings (KPOP group BTS, anyone?), and they’re here with the next best thing. Zepeto lets you create a 3D avatar of yourself that you can use pretty much anywhere. In the app, you can send your little character to visit with other characters, stop and chat in the street, and play games.

How to use Zepeto

Start by taking a photo of yourself, and the app will create a character that looks like you. From here, you can edit your features, makeup, clothing, and accessories.

A cute addition are “greetings” that you can choose in the form of three second poses that your Zepeto will do to showcase its personality. Make kissy faces, flex, do the latest dance move that the kids are into these days, or a simple peace sign.

You can also customize your Zepeto’s space by adding furniture, plants, and artwork for when a friend or other player wants to visit. Purchase new hairstyles, clothing, or home decor with coins. You can get more coins by doing simple things like taking a photo of your character, playing “Flying Zepeto” which is pretty much “Flappy Bird” with your Zepeto’s face, and other tasks called “Daily Quests.”

We’re already seeing people replace pictures of themselves on social media with screenshots of the Zepeto, and honestly, we understand the hype. This app is so much fun! Available for both iOS and Android.

Amazon is ditching unauthorized Apple resellers — are knock-offs next?

How can you be sure you’re not getting a fake from Amazon?

It’s no secret that Amazon has a major counterfeit problem.

From hot beauty products that don’t live up to expectations to knock-off electronics, shoes, and more — it’s become a real challenge to know whether you’re getting the real deal or some shoddy imitation.

By sheer volume, Amazon’s marketplace is hard to regulate. The bookseller-turned-platform company is a sprawling digital pool filled with more third-party sellers than they can realistically monitor for quality.

Still, the e-commerce giant has made some inroads toward remedying the problem.

Amazon announced recently would stop selling unauthorized Apple products, two years after a 2016 audit found that 90% of MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads were fake.

Amazon faces its counterfeit problem

Counterfeits disproportionately affect small sellers

Amazon has made it relatively easy for smaller brands to expand their reach to a broader audience, but it’s also made it easy for counterfeit sellers to infringe on those smaller businesses.

Back in July, the Wall Street Journal reported that counterfeiters have been creating fake versions of smaller manufacturers’ products and undercutting sellers’ profits.

In short, the digital seller has become an online hub for the kind of goods you’ll find on New York’s Canal Street or Los Angeles’ Santee Alley.

According to the Los Angeles Times, it’s become increasingly difficult for Amazon shoppers to identify counterfeits based on photos.

Seller John Fawcett found that months after receiving rave reviews from customers for his durable phone chargers, reviews began dipping into the one-star territory.

Initially, he was confused by the dramatic turn, but Fawcett told the Times that he found a clue in an image of his brand logo that just didn’t look right. He then placed a few orders and confirmed his suspicions: consumers were getting low-end counterfeits instead of the real product.

The Global Brand Counterfeiting Report 2018-2020 from ResearchAndMarkets.com found losses from e-commerce scams totaled $323 billion last year alone.

And, another report from Gartner found that one in three third-party products sold on Amazon has at least one customer review stating that they received a fake product.

So, while it seems like Amazon is in over its head, there is a hint of evidence the company is taking steps toward improving their efforts, or risk brands ditching the platform in higher numbers.

Swatch and Birkenstock are out. Likewise, many smaller brands don’t want to risk their reputation or their bottom line by selling their wares with the platform.

Is the Apple move a step in the right direction?

Earlier this month, Apple and Amazon announced that they struck a deal marking the return of the Apple TV to the platform, as well as the launch of an Apple Authorized Reseller page. The new page gives shoppers access to iPhones and such with Prime shipping — and it protects against the rampant problem with fake electronics.

The Apple announcement is undeniably a big deal, but it’s unclear if similar deals are in the works. The brand registry tool has been around for a while now, and the problem persists.

Amazon’s Brand Registry 2.0, which rolled out last year, gives brands access to tools that allow them to manage their presence on the platform. Sellers can accurately represent their products, report violations, and share information about suspicious actors on the platform.

Brand Registry can help you prevent counterfeiters. However, it does not prevent nonauthorized resellers from selling your products on the platform below the minimum advertised price.

Additionally, brands need to police their channels on a regular basis, meaning smaller sellers may not have the resources to fight against bad actors.

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Do counterfeits affect the brand?

Amazon stresses that they strictly prohibit the sales of counterfeit products and have invested tremendous resources in combatting sales of illicit goods.

But counterfeits might offer some benefits for Amazon. Stacy Mitchell of the nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance says fakes “enhance its market power over suppliers.” While sellers suffer, Amazon still takes a cut from all sales that pass through the platform.

On the downside, consumers may well lose trust in Amazon if they can’t count on receiving an authentic product from the e-tailer. Where things like household goods, books, or media will likely remain big sellers, other products like makeup brands, skincare, fashion, and consumer electronics may fall.

Brands won’t want to sell on the platform and consumers won’t want to risk receiving an item that doesn’t match their expectations.

While Amazon is currently working on new AI technology aimed at reducing the number of counterfeits in their warehouse, we wonder if it will be enough to protect consumers and sellers alike.

Brands like Apple can throw their weight around and come out with a deal. But small sellers face a tough decision. They can pull their wares and see a drop in traffic or stick with the platform and risk bad reviews.

Here’s what’s new in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm

Gathering Storm looks incredible.

Last week, Firaxis announced the second expansion for Civilization VI, called Gathering Storm. The cinematic trailer can be viewed below:

Coming February 14, Firaxis has called Gathering Storm “the largest expansion ever developed for the series”. Here are some features being added in the expansion.

What to expect for Civilization VI: Gathering Storm

Mother Nature strikes back!

Gathering Storm’s primary gameplay addition is the fleshed out environmental system. Natural disasters are now a possible threat to your civilization, as your cities will now be plagued by floods, volcanos, earthquakes, and more.

Firaxis has acknowledged that random events that punish the player can be frustrating, so natural disasters in Civ 6 are only somewhat random. Disasters occur within a timer, and as that timer approaches its end, the disaster is more and more likely to occur, giving the player time to prepare with special buildings such as dams. In addition to dams, players gain other new ways to shape their environment, including bridges, tunnels, railways, and after years of fan requests, canals.

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Once the world reaches the Industrial Era and coal factories choke the skies with smog, the player will have to start worrying about climate change. Climate change has a variety of negative effects on the world, including a rising sea level that swallows up land, desertification, and increased chances of natural disasters. Coal is an early and powerful source of power (a new mechanic that provides powerful industrial benefits to cities), but produces a lot of pollution that leads to climate change. Players can choose to revamp their cities with cleaner, renewable sources of energy such as solar power in order to save the environment.

Devious players can even purposefully cause the world to heat up in order to cause rival civilizations’ coastal cities to sink into the sea. Such catastrophic natural disasters quickly become emergencies, forcing players to work together and make compromises. Speaking of which…

Politicians rejoice: the World Congress is back

For those who like to destroy their oppenents through cunning alliances and petty politics rather than war, the World Congress and diplomatic victory is finally back.

Many of the same features from Civ V return, like banning luxuries and hosting the International Games, but the politics themselves play out quite differently. Instead of bribing city states and building special wonders to win over the World Congress, players must now obtain a new resource called favor. Players can gain favor by adhering to promises they made to others, giving it in trades, or by staying the suzerain of a city-state.

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Players will be forced to acknowledge other civilizations, either by going to war with them or allying themselves with them, as emergencies pop up. Emergencies, retained from the previous expansion Rise and Fall, are now tied into the World Congress, triggering when a variety of manmade or natural disasters happen.

Instead of having one massive vote for world leader every so often, the game now has more frequent smaller “favor checks”. If a player passes a certain threshold of favor, they are crowned world leader.

Sid Meier's Civilization VI Download and Conquer

The Future is Now

To highlight the expansion’s theme of climate change, Firaxis is adding the new Future era to the late-game. The Future era reaches past the game’s current limit and reaches to at least 2050, bringing with it additional tech. New techs seen include carbon dioxide recapture, which can be used to try and salvage the environment, and sea cities, which can be used to relocate a scattered population.

An interesting part of the Future tech tree is that it is randomized, giving a different experience for every playthrough. This was done because of current uncertainty as to what path technology will follow. Science and culture victories have also been rebalanced around the expanded timeline, and new experimental and hypothetical government types (which Firaxis have not revealed) are being added, too.

Are you hyped for this expansion? What’s your favorite feature? Let us know!

Watch Nintendo of Russia’s CEO attack his employees

The family-friendly company has a major problem in Russia.

You’re about to see a Nintendo villain far worse than Bowser or Ganon.

A video recently surfaced in which Nintendo of Russia CEO Yasha Haddaji losing his temper and launching into an explicit rant live and on camera during an official Mario Kart 8 live stream. The vulgar video can be seen below:

Yikes. Vulgar rants are a bad look for any company, much less a famously family-friendly one like Nintendo. The video has since gone viral, gaining around 250,000 views on YouTube alone. Nintendo has since issued a statement in response:

“We are aware of a video uploaded to YouTube recently in which Nintendo Russia’s General Manager, Yasha Haddaji, is seen losing his temper during an altercation with an external vendor in charge of a Mario Kart live stream. Mr. Haddaji’s conduct and choice of words are most certainly not in line with our company values.

We are also aware of further allegations that have appeared in the wake of this video and are now running a thorough investigation. We take these matters extremely seriously and will not comment further while we are running our investigation.”

The “further allegations” that Nintendo is referring to is a culture of abuse, blame, and incompetence due to Haddaji’s actions as NoR’s CEO.

According to sources who spoke to Nintendo Life, Haddaji propagated a culture of fear in the workplace. Haddaji allegedly would become extremely angry over minor mistakes, flying into outbursts and smashing keyboards and computer monitors. The report says Haddaji also used more psychological forms of intimidation. He would allegedly send embarrassing mass emails from the addresses of people who left their computers open as “punishment.” Also, Haddaji was a fan of foul language and ethnic slurs, his favorite being calling people he disliked “gypsies.”

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There have also been numerous accusations of sexual harassment leveled at Haddaji by women who have worked under him. He reportedly asked women to meet him outside of work and threatened to fire them if they didn’t show. He would also criticize female employees over their choice of clothing or the pictures they posted on their personal social media accounts. Russian gaming website GameGuru even reported that Haddaji forced a woman to call him “daddy Haddaji”, which only scratched the surface of the lewd jokes female employees had to endure.

Even if Haddaji had a squeaky-clean record, which is far from the case, he is largely reviled by Russian Nintendo fans for his perceived incompetence. Nintendo games rarely received Russian translations, and the amount of Nintendo games offered on the eShop was much more limited than other regions. He was particularly infamous among Pokémon fans. He made the decision to outright cancel the Pokémon Trading Card game in Russia, despite its enduring popularity. He was also responsible for ordering way more copies of Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu than Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee, making the Eevee edition incredibly difficult to find in Russia.

Do you think Nintendo will do something about Haddaji? Let us know!

China unveils virtual AI news anchor

Will Anderson Cooper be replaced with a computer program?

Don’t let the man’s sharp suit fool you into thinking he’s a human being. He’s actually a virtual news anchor who’s the product of a partnership between Xinhua News and Chinese search engine Sogou. The VR anchor has its appearance, mannerisms, and voice based on real-life anchor Zhang Zhao. Watch him/it in action:

This anchor currently exists as more of a proof-of-concept instead of a concrete plan to replace real human news anchors. Xinhua is testing the applications and benefits of a virtual anchor.

For one, being a computing program, the virtual anchor can be copied and used in multiple locations at the same time, providing info on multiple stories simultaneously.

Second, the virtual anchor utilizes artificial intelligence to sort through tons of data and relevant information, providing coherent stories quickly and efficiently as data is fed into it nonstop.

Lastly, a virtual anchor costs a news organization significantly less money over time than a human one, due to paying out wages, insurance, etc. Need to go on the air at 3 a.m. because of breaking news? You don’t have to wake up ol’ Johnny Hairdo and get him into makeup. Just press a button.

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People definitely prefer a human element in their news, especially when the news is tragic. At our current level of technology, it’s highly unlikely that a virtual news anchor could accurately replicate the emotional gravitas that a human anchor would show while covering a tragic event. However, it is important to note that this virtual anchor is operating from China, which features one of the world’s most tightly controlled media censorship regimes. The media there generally lacks a human element anyway. Perhaps a virtual anchor developed in a country that places more emphasis on humanity and free information in the media would turn out differently.

The emergence of virtual anchors who report based on being force-fed massive amounts of information could have drastic implications in the modern era of fake news. In countries with state-controlled news sources like China, it would be incredibly easy to feed information to an AI news anchor, regardless of the information’s factuality. Even in countries without state-controlled media, the massive amount of misinformation and fake news that is spread through the internet, especially through social media, could potentially confuse a virtual anchor into reporting misleading, sensationalist, or downright wrong information.

What do you think about the idea of virtual news anchors? Let us know!

NASA’s new InSight lander explores Mars

Take a closer look at Mars’ newest resident.

On Monday, NASA reported that its InSight lander safely survived entry to Mars’ surface, already taking two pictures. The pictures show the surface of Mars before and after InSight removes the dirty dust shield from its camera.

The InSight lander is different from a rover, as NASA already has a few different rovers combing Mars. InSight is stationary, self-sufficient, and packed to the brim with seismological tools. It uses solar panels to power itself. Because Mars receives far less sunlight than Earth, InSight was designed to consume very little power. On what is considered a sunny day on Mars, InSight’s solar panels receive only about 600-700 watts, enough to power a small device like a toaster.

Over the next few months, InSight will use its robotic arm to install a variety of seismological instruments. These instruments will allow NASA geologists to create detailed 3D models of the surface of Mars, in addition to properties like heat flow, seismic activity, and the tug of the planet’s moons. The primary instrument used to gather this data is called the Mars Mole HP3, and InSight is powerful enough to embed the device deep into the planet’s surface. NASA scientists are also hoping to use the Mars Mole HP3 to study Mars’ geological interior, comparing its core and crust to Earth’s in addition to newly discovered planets.

InSight didn’t make its dangerous journey alone. It was accompanied by two small cube satellites called MarCOs. Named Wall-E and Eve by the Disney fans among the staff, MarCO satellites played support roles on this mission, monitoring and reporting essential data regarding InSight such as fuel use. After InSight landed, both MarCO satellites left the red giant and flew back into space. Before leaving completely, Wall-E managed to snap this photo:

The MarCO satellites were mostly the product of new hires at NASA, with most of the team consisting of recent college graduates. With their successful assistance in the InSight mission, it’s likely these small satellites will see plenty of future use.

Instagram cracks down on fake followers

Instagram fights back against fake accounts.

Fake followers seem more like a myth than reality, since most celebrities and high profile people don’t need fake followers since they have so many real ones. In most cases, however, these aren’t the people who are paying for fake followers. The people who do try to get fake followers are typically easy to spot, since they’ll have thousands of followers and very little likes or views on their actual content. There are tons of apps and sites specifically dedicated to giving you followers (for a price). It may not seem like a big issue, but Instagram has decided to crack down on these apps, and the fake accounts that they use.

These “inauthentic” accounts, as Instagram calls them, are being targeted by a new software that Instagram has created specifically to hunt out inauthenticity. Accounts who are suspected to be using third party apps to increase their follower count are being contacted by Instagram with a request to change their password.

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According to Instagram’s blog post on the subject, they believe that inauthentic accounts are bad for their community, and have upgraded their auto-detection and removal software to crack down.

If you don’t know anything about fake followers and inauthentic social media activity, there have been a few YouTubers who have covered this topic. They also explain why these inauthentic activities aren’t as helpful to the user as third party apps try to make you think they are. It is not very difficult to spot inauthetic behavior, and it doesn’t help your statistics on most social media sites.

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One can assume this crack down on fake accounts was spurred in early November, when Facebook announced they had removed 30 fake Facebook accounts and 85 fake Instagram accounts to curb digital interference in the midterm elections. Clearly, Instagram had a much larger portion of inauthenticity, which may have led to Instagram’s improvement of their auto-detection system.

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WhatsApp’s latest update could get you in trouble

WhatsApp will soon enable video previews in push notifications

Back in July, we told you that WhatsApp was going to completely overhaul its notification system. WhatsApp notifications will begin to include the media from the messages they are notifying you about. If a message contains an image, then you’ll be able to view and download the image right there in the notification tray. We’re still waiting for a wider roll-out of the new notification system, but we’ve since learned that when it comes, it may contain a little added spice on top of what we first thought we were going to get.

WhatsApp Messenger Download WhatsApp ►

WhatsApp will soon enable video previews in push notifications

This news comes courtesy of the guys over at WABetaInfo. They reported via Tweet that some users have started to notice videos, from the messages they’re receiving, playing in their notification tray. What is interesting about the users talking about this is that they are not users of the WhatsApp beta, they are regular users. It looks like WhatsApp has begun rolling out this new feature to regular users. With no official word from WhatsApp, however, we’ll just have to wait and see how this unfolds over the next few days.

✅ WhatsApp is rolling out the possibility to view videos directly in the push notification for any iOS beta user having the 2.18.102.5 version installed!

It will be available soon for App Store users.

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) November 20, 2018

Once this update hits your device, it means that images and even videos will be visible on your lock screen!

Playing videos automatically on the lock screen and in the devices notification tray definitely opens up a number of privacy issues. If a device is left unattended or if the person using it is in a crowded environment, then there won’t be much stopping other people from seeing the videos playing in the user’s notifications. According to the reports, the previews don’t play the whole video, but there could still be enough on display to cause embarrassment or, even worse, some sort of security issue.

For people worried about scenarios like the ones we’ve described above, you’ll be glad to know that you’ll have the option to turn off the feature. Once we’ve received the update, we’ll make sure we post a tutorial on how to prevent images and videos showing up on your lock screen and in your notification tray. To make sure you don’t miss out on that, pop your email address in the box at the bottom of the page to receive our regular email updates.

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This is just the latest of a number of new WhatsApp features on the horizon. Soon, we can also expect to see a new search function for WhatsApp Stickers, an updated contact sharing feature, and WhatsApp has even extended its iOS beta testing program.

Make sure you stick with us for all the latest WhatsApp related breaking news.