WhatsApp could soon be a platform for sending money as well as messages.
On Monday, WhatsApp began rolling out payments in Brazil, the first country in what is expected to be a wider roll-out of the feature.
WhatsApp payments work using Facebook Pay, the company’s existing platform for sending money online. Facebook Pay allows users of the social media apps to save their credit or debit card information, encrypting the information to use for in-app transactions, such as sending money to a friend or donating to a non-profit.
Facebook Pay is already live on Facebook and Messenger in the U.S., but the rollout in Brazil is the first time the feature has spread to the encrypted messaging platform WhatsApp. Users can send payments, as well as request a payment. Along with sending money to friends inside WhatsApp, the feature also allows small businesses to conduct sales within the app.
“Today, we’re starting to launch payments for people using WhatsApp in Brazil,” Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post on Monday morning. “We’re making sending and receiving money as easy as sharing photos.”
Zuckerberg says that Brazil is the first to receive the feature, but that there’s “more to come soon.” The company worked with banks in Brazil to get the feature up and running.
Facebook Pay debuted last year amid controversy over Libra, the social network’s proposed cryptocurrency, and already allows users in the U.S. to send money in Messenger and Facebook. At the time, Facebook said the feature would eventually also roll out to both WhatsApp and Instagram.
With Facebook’s ongoing scrutiny over privacy, users may be hesitant to trust the network with banking information. The company says that Facebook Pay encrypts account numbers and regularly performs anti-fraud monitoring. Users can also set a PIN or, on compatible devices, use touch or face ID, which is not stored on Facebook itself. Facebook Pay also sends users notifications for account activity.
Users can set up Facebook Pay in the settings on both Facebook and Messenger. The company hasn’t yet said when WhatsApp payments will roll out beyond the initial launch in Brazil.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
I have lost count of how many times I have gone to bed thinking I will finally sleep on time, only to somehow end up scrolling Instagram or X again. A few minutes turn into an hour, then another, and before I notice, it is 2 or 3 a.m. The next morning, I am usually annoyed with myself because I could have just slept and felt considerably better for the day ahead.
It is also a surprisingly hard habit to beat. Knowing you should put the phone down does not always help once it is already in your hand. Brick Night is a new gadget built around that exact problem. Instead of relying on you to remember to turn on an app blocker, it automatically restricts selected apps and websites when your phone enters your chosen sleep space during the hours you set.
WhatsApp’s scheduled messages are finally making their way onto the iPhone. We first saw the feature pop up way back in February 2026. Then, just last week, the feature became usable for select Android beta testers.
Now, it's arriving to the iPhone, with WhatsApp rolling out scheduled messages to some iOS beta testers running version 26.42.10.19 through TestFlight. The WABetaInfo report says that access will expand to additional testers over the coming weeks, although WhatsApp still hasn’t announced when everyone will get it.