On Tuesday, WhatsApp announced a handful of new features and changes for its app. But unlike the usual feature updates, these changes are specifically for group chats. In total, WhatsApp has five new updates for your groups, one of which will make it much easier to get the entire chat's attention. Here's what's new:

WhatsApp finally gets an "@all" function

Credit: WhatsApp

If you've ever used Slack, Google Chat, or any messaging platform with an "@all" function, you know how useful (and potentially disruptive) it can be. By typing "@all" as part of your message, you can force everyone in the group chat to receive a notification for your text. It's especially useful for time-sensitive messages, since it lets you skip tagging all group members one by one.

Of course, "@all" can be overused and abused. No one wants unnecessary alerts, but this feature increases the risk that you'll be bothered by someone who didn't think through their "@all" use all that carefully—particularly since the feature breaks through muted group chats. Luckily, there is a notification setting that will let you choose to mute even @all alerts—though keep in mind you'll miss out on these all of those alerts going forward. While @all is available to all group chat members, WhatsApp notes the feature is limited to admins in groups of more than 32 people.

WhatsApp's group polls now have three new features

Polls are something I don't use enough in my chat apps. They're a great way to gauge your groups' opinions on any number of topics, from where to go for dinner to which movie you should all see. Now, WhatsApp says it is making polls "even more useful" by adding three new changes to the mix:

• You can now set an end time for polls to close, so users have a deadline to respond by.

• If the poll is particularly sensitive, you can hide responders' names, so people can vote more freely.

• Finally, you can edit poll questions within 15 minutes of posting, in case you made a mistake or need to make a question clearer.

You can create new WhatsApp group chats from existing groups

Credit: WhatsApp

The next time you need to create a smaller group chat featuring members of an existing group, you no longer need to build it from scratch. Instead, you can make new group chats from your current groups, which should make splitting off much easier. WhatsApp sees this as a great way to "plan a surprise party" or "coordinate event logistics," but we all know this is going to be used in, let's say, less kind ways. Yes, the ability to create a side chat from a main chat will be used to talk smack inconspicuously. (I imagine the first text in these breakout group chats will be "Oh my god, can you believe they just said that?")

If you're on Facebook, you may soon see a new type of verification badge on user profiles meant to indicate that there is a real, live person behind them. The platform is adding a free verification feature that allows users to upload a selfie video and earn a white check mark, which will appear on their profile and across Marketplace, Dating, and Groups. (At launch, badges won't appear in Feed posts, but Facebook says that feature will be added in the future.)

Note that this is different from Meta Verified, a paid subscription that provides the blue check mark to accounts on Facebook and Instagram. This verification indicates that Meta has confirmed the user's identity based on a review of their government-issued ID and, in some cases, a selfie video.

How Facebook Verified works

Facebook Verified is available to users age 18 and older whose accounts are in good standing with the platform's community standards, though the feature is launching in select markets initially before being rolled out globally. Once you have access, you'll need to record a short video selfie, which Facebook will compare to existing profile photos on your account using facial recognition. If your verification is approved, the white check mark will be added to your profile. Verification is not available for Pages or ProMode accounts.

Consider your privacy first

Facebook says it will store your selfie video for "up to 30 days" after verification, which is a one-time process. It's not entirely clear what happens with that video in the meantime, and it's worth noting that Meta has relied on user data to train its AI. Meta AI (and Meta more broadly) is a terrible offender when it comes to privacy and security, so you should consider whether the tradeoff of a verification mark is worth handing over more of your data and read the privacy policy before you agree.

Google also launched a video selfie verification feature this week, though its purpose is to prove your identity should you get locked out of your account. Unlike Facebook Verified, which is meant to be a trust signal to other users, Google's selfie verification allows access to your entire Google account, bringing with it some additional security considerations.

Samsung might have just announced a bunch of new products during its July Unpacked event, but that's not stopping WhatsApp from trying to steal headlines. As Samsung was unveiling the latest Galaxy Z devices, WhatsApp announced four new features that users on both Android and iOS can take advantage of right now. Here's what's new:

WhatsApp finally works as it should in CarPlay and Android Auto

The goal of CarPlay and Android Auto is to make smartphone apps safe to use while on the road. You shouldn't text and drive, but if you can hear messages and respond to them with your voice while keeping your attention where it should be, that's a win-win. Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case with WhatsApp's previous experience in the car: You could send new messages and place WhatsApp calls, but that's it, and that made WhatsApp a much more limiting experience than other car chat apps.

According to WhatsApp, that's no longer the case. The latest update overhauls the experience, finally letting you listen to and respond to your messages. In addition to placing calls, you can see your call history, so you can check whether you missed a call from somebody. You can also access your list of favorite contacts, which should make it easier to start quick calls and messages to the friends and family you talk with most often.

WhatsApp gets an improved PDF experience on web and desktop

With this update, you can now open PDFs directly in WhatsApp on the web or in the desktop app without downloading them first. What's more, you can edit those PDFs after opening them, including highlighting and annotating, while remaining in the app. WhatsApp says you can view and edit these PDFs via Adobe Acrobat, putting WhatsApp in the running against other lightweight and free PDF apps on the market.

Share Apple Music and Spotify tracks directly to WhatsApp

If you're listening to a song you really like on Apple Music or Spotify, you can share it across many different social media apps, and that now includes WhatsApp, too. The company says you can share tracks from these music apps to your WhatsApp Status, which, presumably, will let your friends and family check out the song themselves in Apple Music or Spotify.

Sign up for a WhatsApp account from your iPad

It took a while, but WhatsApp finally got an iPad app in May of 2025. Now, over a year later, WhatsApp is letting users create an account directly from WhatsApp on iPad, without needing to tie the account to a phone number. If you or someone you know uses an iPad as their main device, this should be some welcome news.

There are a dizzying number of ways you can keep up with what's new on the web and try to find articles and posts of interest: Your options include the chaotic algorithms of social media, classic news portals, old-school RSS, traditional web search, AI-powered search, and whatever it is Google is trying to do with Discover these days.

It's a lot, and the latest app I've spotted to try and cut through the noise (via TechCrunch) is HyperTexting (just for iOS for now). It's a sort-of RSS reader, though it isn't marketed that way, and the core idea is that you get updates from the sites and people you want, in chronological order—with no ads, AI, or algorithm-powered interface.

As the HyperTexting app landing page puts it: "HyperTexting is your timeline minus the ads, algorithms, and AI slop. It's like the 'for you' feed, but it actually works... for YOU (not the platforms)." You can even create a HyperTexting profile of your own and contribute posts yourself, which others can then follow in turn. Here's how the app works, and why you might want to switch to its simplified way of keeping up with the web.

What the HyperTexting feed looks like

HyperTexting presents stories in a straightforward way. Credit: Lifehacker

When you launch the HyperTexting app for the first time, you don't need to sign up for anything or open an account right away: There's already a selection of news sources included for you to get started with, which you can add to or edit as needed.

The Timeline tab is where news and updates appear, presented in chronological order. You pull down from the top to refresh the feed, just like the old days, and you're able to tap on individual articles to read them. As with any RSS reader, whether or not you get the full article text or just a snippet directing you to the website depends on the publication. Tap the toggle switch button (top right) to change the colors and other settings.

In 2026, it's actually quite strange going back to a feed like this. I felt a twinge of nostalgia slowly browsing through the headlines, without any AI-generated animal videos, adverts for mobile games that don't exist, clippings from podcast interviews, and snippets of stories I've seen a dozen times already but have just gone viral again. You get your choice of story sources, in order, whenever you're ready to browse through them. Each post comes with buttons for sharing with others or viewing it on the web, and I also like the way each source has its own profile with more ways to explore: Posts to see all the stories, for example, and Attachments to see all the visuals.

Profile pages work a lot like profiles on social media accounts, and you can follow and unfollow publications from these pages. Many sites also offer multiple feeds—including ESPN, which has different feeds for different shows and sports—so if this is available you can customize your story list further.

Discovering and customizing the HyperTexting feed

Discovering new stories and sources only takes a few taps. Credit: Lifehacker

The Explore tab is where you need to head to find and follow new websites, and there's also a Trending tab here that shows you the 100 most-linked pages from the feeds you're currently following. If you just want the most widely appealing stories from your selected sources, this is a great place to keep returning to.

Head to Discover and you can pick out new sites you want to follow: You can either enter a few keywords to search for something, or type out a full URL, then tap Follow when the right publication appears. This seems to be the part of HyperTexting that's most obviously a 'work in progress,' as I couldn't add all the sources I wanted—including the esteemed outlet you're currently reading.

It's possible that the app is having some early growing pains, or that being able to follow a page depends on how it's hosted (the HyperTexting website says that support for WordPress sites is "coming soon"). In any case, I did find plenty of feeds I was interested in following, even if I couldn't access everything.

You can switch to the Activity tab to get back to articles you've previously looked at, like a rudimentary browsing history, while the Post tab is where you can contribute to the HyperTexting community—this feature isn't widely available yet, but eventually the goal is to have mini-blogs available for users that work a little bit like social media feeds.

There's still work to do here, but I like what HyperTexting is doing already, and it's a reminder of how discovery on the web used to be—I'll be keeping an eye on it as another way of staying updated. It's definitely worth installing if you like your new content presented in a clean, accessible way.