What You Need to Know About the New WhatsApp Features

WhatsApp, the popular global messaging platform owned by Meta, has rolled out new features including a different way to log in and an artificial intelligence assistant in the app. 

iPhone users can now use passkeys to login—which means they can access the app using Face ID, Touch ID, or their iPhone passcode—instead of receiving an SMS to log in.

Whatsapp said on X, formerly Twitter, on April 24 that this feature was “a more secure way to login.” It also avoids any potential challenges in receiving an SMS to log in, with the company adding: “Traveling? no network? no problem.”

The messaging app already launched passkeys for Android users in October, as demonstrated by a post shared on Threads, another Meta social media platform.

People with Pixel 8 and 8 Pro Google phones can now also use Face Unlock, instead of their fingerprint or PIN, to unlock and view messages on WhatsApp, as reported by 9to5Google.

Another change also arrived recently to the messaging app. On April 18, Meta expanded a new AI assistant across its social platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Users can employ the assistant, called Meta Llama 3, in feeds, chats, and search across the apps to get information and generate images “without having to leave the app you’re using,” the company said. 

Meta AI in English is now available in more than a dozen countries outside of the U.S.—Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.