WhatsApp is rolling out new Group features starting today to Android users.

Today WhatsApp announced in a blog post a bunch of new features for Groups. Some of the features were already there since last March and I blogged about them here, but for some reason, WhatsApp is referring to these features as new. Maybe they were not available to anyone, but this announcement makes all these Group features available to all Android and iPhone users today.

Here's what's new:

• Group description: A short blurb found under group info that allows you to set the purpose, guidelines, or topics for the group. When a new person joins a group, the description will show up at the top of the chat.
• Admin controls: In group settings, there's now a control that allows admins to restrict who can change the group's subject, icon, and description.
• Group catch up: When you've been away from a group chat, quickly catch up on messages that mention or reply to you by tapping on a new @ button that appears at the bottom right corner of the chat.
• Participant search: Find anyone in a group by searching for participants on the group info page.
• Admins can now remove admin permissions of other group participants, and group creators can no longer be removed from the group they started.

WhatsApp is also introducing a feature that prevents users from being repeatedly added back to groups they left. As I said above, these features are rolling out today, but may not be readily available in all regions. Check it out in Google Play Store.

Source: WhatsApp

Google Duo now lets you leave 30 seconds video messages when families & friends miss your calls.

I really would like to use Google Duo, really. What's preventing me from doing so is that nobody around me uses it, absolutely nobody. I live in an environment dominated by WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and to a lesser extent, Skype. To make things worse, I've asked ten 'normal users' about Google Duo and they had no idea what it was. And I think Google knows about this and the company keeps trying by adding new features to Google Duo in the hope of getting users to jump ship.

In an update that is currently rolling out, Google Duo users will be able to leave 30-seconds video messages in case the person they're calling does not pick up. "If the person you’re calling declines or misses your call, you can record up to 30 seconds of a video (or voice) message. Once you’re happy with your message, you can send it to your friend or family member, who will receive it in the Duo app." À la Snapchat, the videos will disappear "within a day after you first watch them." However, Google will let you save your preferred videos to your device if you choose to. These video messages are secure and end-to-end encrypted. No worry here if you care about your privacy.

So that's it for this Google Duo update. Check it out in Google Play store.

Source: Google