WhatsApp

Who’s who in the group? WhatsApp allows adding personal tags next to names

The new feature, now available to iPhone users and on its way to all users, allows adding a text label next to names in groups.

The new feature allows each group participant to add a short “tag”.
 Cyber attacks spiked in 2021

Key barrier to online fraud can be bypassed for pennies, say researchers

 Many people have joined WhatsApp groups that have members of not-for-profits, mothers seeking supplies for their children’s platoons, vendors who can supply goods, and apparently one or more Iranian spies.

IDF security crackdown can’t fix Israel’s WhatsApp addiction

 A police officer waits outside the courtroom at the courthouse in Paris, March 31, 2025.

Authorities charge two French teens for planning ISIS-linked antisemitic terror attack - report


Russia threatens full ban on WhatsApp

In August, Russia began limiting some calls on WhatsApp, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of refusing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via a video link in Moscow, Russia November 14, 2025

Qatargate: Feldstein’s WhatsApp messages expose chain of command in PM’s office

New WhatsApp evidence suggests Yonatan Urich directed Eli Feldstein, complicating the "Bild" case.

Yonatan Urich who was arrested in the so-called Qatargate investigation arrives for a court hearing the court in Lod, August 19, 2025.

Read and respond even from your wrist: WhatsApp officially arrives on Apple Watch

After years of requests, Meta is launching a dedicated WhatsApp app for Apple Watch – with support for messages, stickers, and reactions, without giving up end-to-end encryption.

WhatsApp officially arrives on Apple Watch

Privacy takes a leap: The end of the phone number on WhatsApp?

Meta plans a major WhatsApp update letting users sign in with a username instead of a phone number for the first time, similar to Telegram’s long-standing model.

WhatsApp.

iPhone stays in your pocket: WhatsApp arrives on Apple smartwatches

After years of waiting, the popular messaging app WhatsApp has finally launched on Apple smartwatches – with the ability to read, reply, and send voice messages directly from your wrist.

Apple Smartwatches.

WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook: What are the most popular apps used in Israel in 2025?

In 2025, the Index also measured the public's use of artificial intelligence services, particularly large language models (AI chatbots), which have become widely accessible.

 Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram apps are seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021

Grapevine, October 19, 2025: Remembering at the National Library

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu lights a candle alongside the memorial wall at the National Library.

Messaging service WhatsApp discovers advanced cyberespionage campaign

In a statement, WhatsApp said that fewer than 200 users worldwide had potentially been impacted.

 WhatsApp

Russia orders state-backed app, WhatsApp rival, to be pre-installed on all phones and tablets

Russia's government is seeking greater control over the internet space.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Acting Governor of the Jewish Autonomous Region Maria Kostyuk in Moscow, Russia, August 20, 2025.

Russia starts restricting some calls on Telegram and WhatsApp, Interfax says

Russia has long sought to establish what it calls digital sovereignty by promoting home-grown services.

 An illustrative image of Telegram.

'Entire attack livestreamed on Facebook': Oct 7. victim relatives file lawsuit against Meta

Relatives of October 7 victims are suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, for livestreams of Hamas's massacre, broadcasting footage of their relatives' murder.

 View of the Re'im music festival massacre, in southern Israel, January 16, 2025.