A new feature has been found in the latest WhatsApp beta version (2.25.7.3 for Android) that gives users the option to turn off their video before accepting a video call.
Right now, when you receive a video call on WhatsApp, your only options are to reject it or accept it and then quickly turn off your video. This is an obvious and pretty annoying infringement on users’ privacy, forcing them to either show their faces or go to the trouble of covering their cameras until they hit the “off” button.
Discovered by Android Authority, the new feature will add a button to the incoming call screen, allowing users to toggle their video on or off before accepting the call. When video is turned off, the app also confirms that your call will start without video by changing the “Swipe up to accept” prompt to “Accept without video.”
This feature won’t just help you hide your bedhead, it will also help protect you from certain kinds of scams. There have been cases where users accept a video call from an unknown caller just to see something illegal or otherwise incriminating on the caller’s video feed.
People will usually hang up at this point but the damage is already done — the scammer took a screenshot that shows the user’s face and the problematic content together. This screenshot is then used to frighten and blackmail the user into paying a ransom against their will.
There’s no information yet on exactly when this feature will roll out to the public but Android Authority guesses that it won’t take too long.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.