The username feature is the latest in a series of privacy-focused additions WhatsApp has introduced to enhance user privacy. Meta-owned WhatsApp has announced plans to introduce usernames, a new feature aimed at allowing its users to connect with others without sharing their phone numbers. The messaging platform disclosed the feature on its website on Monday,…
Kunal Shah, an Indian fintech founder with no engineering degree or Silicon Valley pedigree, has spent two decades building businesses around digital payments and consumer behaviour in India. He now takes charge of Meta’s WhatsApp as the company looks to leverage the reach of the world’s largest messaging platform and build a “superapp” to capture…
WhatsApp Plus, Meta Platforms’ optional paid subscription for its messaging app, is now available to South African users at R28.99/month, with the first month free. The tier is part of a broader push by Meta to build subscription revenue beyond its core advertising business. The company announced the global roll-out of consumer “Plus” subscriptions across…
Following a brief phase of unannounced public testing, Meta has officially launched a premium, subscription-based ecosystem across its core social platforms: Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Operating under the newly established Meta One brand, a unified division built to manage the company’s experimental monthly payment structures, these “Plus” tiers introduce exclusive analytics, advanced messaging capabilities, and…
Meta Platforms is rolling out a new “Incognito Chat” feature for its AI assistant on WhatsApp as it looks to address data privacy concerns. Meta said incognito chats will be powered by its private processing technology, ensuring conversations remain invisible to anyone, including the company itself. “Your conversations are not saved and by default, your…
Meta Platforms is testing a paid consumer subscription tier for WhatsApp, a significant pivot for a messaging service that has defined its global dominance through a strictly free-to-use model. Read: Bandwidth Blog & Smile 90.4FM Tech Tuesday: Apple smart glasses! The new offering, titled WhatsApp Plus, was first spotted in recent Android beta builds and…
South Africa’s mobile operators carried 21.5% more voice traffic in 2025 than the year before but earned R10.4-billion less from mobile services, according to Icasa’s latest State of the ICT Sector report — the starkest illustration yet of the revenue squeeze being inflicted by so-called over-the-top (OTT) platforms and intensifying price competition. Total mobile services…
Telkom has spent years operating in the shadow of Vodacom and MTN. That is changing. South Africa’s third-largest mobile network operator by subscribers has built a prepaid offering that is pulling customers away from its bigger rivals at a rate that is now showing up in their financial results — and forcing them to respond….
From left: Lucas Johnson-Barker and Jurgen Stroebel (representatives from 3CV), Timothy Treagus, CEO and co-founder of Yazi, and Mzwandile Sotsaka, CTO and co-founder of Yazi. AI-native research platform Yazi has raised its first institutional funding round from early-stage venture firm 3 Capital Ventures (3CV) at a pre-money valuation of R30 million. Founded in Cape Town…
First National Bank (FNB) has announced a significant expansion of its eWallet platform, integrating WhatsApp as a primary service channel to deepen its reach among South Africa’s unbanked and underbanked populations. The update aims to transform the platform from a simple remittance tool into a functional entry-level “digital account” for those who struggle to meet…
