Meta Adds a Bunch of New Features to WhatsApp and Resolves a Critical Security Vulnerability
WhatsApp unveils in an announcement a series of new features that, according to Meta, improve both group conversations and individual chats, calls, and channels. At the same time, the company warns of a recently discovered security flaw in the Windows version of the app.
What’s new?
A notable addition is an ‘online’ indicator at the top of group chats. It shows how many members are currently active. Notifications can now be limited to important messages only, thanks to the new ‘Notify for Highlights’ option. This way, you will only receive notifications for mentions, replies, or messages from contacts.
iPhone users can now scan and send documents from within the app. They can also set WhatsApp as the default app for messages and calls, and zoom in and out during video calls using a pinch gesture. Video quality is said to have improved with more stable connections and sharper images, even on less reliable networks.
Creating events was already possible in group chats, but now it can also be done in private chats. You can also indicate if you’re ‘maybe’ attending, add a guest, set end times, and pin events to the top of the conversation. Channel administrators can now record and share short videos with followers, generate unique QR codes for access, and offer automatically generated text summaries of voice messages.
Critical Security Update for Windows
In addition to the new features, Meta has also patched a serious security vulnerability in the Windows version of WhatsApp (for versions before 2.2450.6). The Register reports that it concerned vulnerability CVE-2025-30401. The app incorrectly determined how an attachment should be opened based on file extensions. This caused attachments that could spread malicious code to open on the PC. According to a security advisory, there is no evidence that the flaw has been exploited. As usual, it is recommended to update WhatsApp to the latest version.