Messaging

BlackBerry rolling out Find Friends feature to BBM for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 5, 2014

Troubled handset vendor BlackBerry today issued an update for its cross-platform messaging software, BBM, bringing out a new Find Friends feature.

Whereas previously you had to punch in a person's BlackBerry ID or email address to add him or her to your list of BBM contacts, today's update simplifies the process by detecting which contacts in your iPhone's Contacts are already using BBM, so you can quickly send them an invite to join your BBM contact list.

The free update is going live in the App Store later today so make sure to grab it (if you're still using BBM, that is)...

Confide brings off-the-record messaging to iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 9, 2014

With the recent Snapchat data breach (and the company's subsequently poor handling of the situation) and given the ongoing NSA snooping scare, little wonder some folks would think twice before downloading a messaging app to their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

Storing your chat transcripts in the cloud introduces an attack vector so that's a big no-no, right?

And you definitely at all cost want to avoid the contents of your communication kept on the device itself, no? So how about a 100 percent off-the-record messaging software, one that would bypass the cloud while allowing for Snapchat-like disappearing text messages?

That's Confide for you...

Snapchat updated with photo filters, message replays and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

In an odd late-Friday release, Snapchat has posted a new version of its popular iOS messaging client this evening. The update, which brings the app to version 6.1, is fairly significant as it adds camera filters, message replays and other new features.

For the new filters, you can pick between black and white, sepia and vintage, and you can also add data points like time, weather, and how fast you were going when you took the photo. And as for the new Replay feature, it lets you take a second look...

WSJ: Snapchat turned down $3 billion buyout offer from Facebook

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 23, 2017

It was the summer of 2006. Facebook was just two years old, and strictly a college site, with some 8 or 9 million users. And the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, met with board members Jim Breyer and Peter Thiel to discuss Yahoo's $1 billion buyout offer.

As we all know, Zuckerberg ended up turning down the money, in what has become one of the most infamous moves in the last 10 years of tech. But the wunderkind recently found himself on the other side of the negotiating table, with even more money at stake...

Facebook launches redesigned Messenger app

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

In line with reports from early October, Facebook has launched a redesigned Messenger app for iPhone users this afternoon. The new design matches the aesthetics of iOS 7, and looks very similar to the updated Messenger app launched for Android a few weeks ago.

In addition to the makeover, today's update also brings about some new features. In the new app, users will be able to see which friends are using Messenger, as well as have the ability to message non-Facebook friends from within the app as long as they have their number...

Facebook previews new-look Messenger with phone number integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 23, 2017

We were told last month Facebook had been working on a new version of its iPhone client with Graph Search and testing a major rethinking to the standalone instant messaging software, Facebook Messenger (a free download from the App Store).

Today, the social networking behemoth announced a new Messenger experience is now available for limited testing on Android and coming soon to iOS. Representing a major refresh, Messenger has undergone a substantial facelift and now lets folks instant-message each other using only their phone numbers, putting Messenger on a collision course with WhatsApp...

BBM sees 5 million downloads in first 8 hours of availability

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Less than eight hours after officially hitting Apple's App Store and Google's Play store, the BlackBerry Messenger app (free download) has seen more than five million active downloads on iOS and Android combined, BlackBerry announced in a tweet.

The messaging application is a staggered rollout which employs a reservation system to prevent the kind of a server strain seen after the Android build had leaked out prematurely. According to some repots, there's a workaround that could let you use the app without waiting...

BlackBerry Messenger for iPhone is here, get downloading

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 21, 2013

After months-long back and forth, the horribly embattled Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry, formerly Research In Motion, has announced that its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) software has finally rolled out to iOS and Android devices today.

Announced as a staggered roll-out for Apple's App Store and Google's Play store, the secure instant messaging software employs a reservation system.

That's bad news for those who haven't signed up early at BBM.com as they will be forced to wait in line before they can use the app. On September 22, BlackBerry was forced to halt the planned roll-out of BBM for iOS after a leaked Android build had caused its servers to fold...

SnapHack for iPhone lets anyone save your incriminating Snapchats permanently

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Your online privacy is an elastic concept. No, I'm not referring to the NSA eavesdropping on your online communications or breaking into your iPhone or harvesting your online address books. Let's talk about Snapchat for a minute.

A quick backgrounder for the uninitiated: developed by Stanford University students, Snapchat is a handy photo messaging application that exploded in popularity soon after people realized they can send their photos to a controlled list of recipients and set a time limit for how long they can view them.

After the cut-off time, the snaps are automatically deleted from both the recipient's device and Snapchat's servers. As a bonus, Snapchat features a built-in mechanism that informs the other side when you screenshot their snaps. Now, you can imagine why Snapchat blew up in no time as some folks predominantly use the application to expose their body parts and share their candid shots.

A new iPhone app called SnapHack changes all that by bypassing Snapchat's screenshot notifications and pulling unopened content from Snapchat's servers. Plus, the company behind Snapchat yesterday detailed law enforcement requests. Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Twitter rolling out new option to receive direct messages from any follower

Cody Lee ∙ October 15, 2013

Twitter is rolling out a new option to ease the use of direct messages. Traditionally, the social network has only allowed users who follow each other to send direct messages back and forth to one another.

But with this new setting, which apparently began rolling out last week, Twitter users can elect to receive direct messages from any follower, regardless of whether or not they're following the person back...

Facebook testing iPhone client with Graph Search, revamps Messenger for iOS 7 style

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 9, 2013

The social networking giant Facebook used to irk fans with its sluggish mobile clients that used to be second-class citizens on smartphones and tablets. Blame it on Zuck & Co. for taking the easy route by wrapping the mobile-optimized HTML code into "native" apps. That changed last year after Facebook hired a few former Apple engineers like Greg Novick and tasked them with rewriting these apps from the ground up to be snappier and more responsive than the web app disguised as a native one.

Although Novick has now reportedly departed Facebook and will return to Apple, the company has been busy developing major new updates to mobile Facebook and Messenger clients on iOS and Android. Both applications are now apparently dogfooded to company employees for testing purposes. Here's what's in store for the revamped Facebook and Messenger...