--- title: What You Need to Know About the New WhatsApp Features description: WhatsApp has rolled out new features, including a "more secure way to log in." canonical: https://time.com/6971333/new-whatsapp-features-2024-iphone-android/ author: Mallory Moench article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-04-26T12:40:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:53:20.220Z article:section: Business og:title: What You Need to Know About the New WhatsApp Features og:description: WhatsApp has rolled out new features, including a "more secure way to log in." og:url: https://time.com/6971333/new-whatsapp-features-2024-iphone-android/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6790254a6e93a0de/698a5616d07533b8d4e70b55/GettyImages-2131310424.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: In this photo illustration a WhatsApp logo is displayed on a og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What You Need to Know About the New WhatsApp Features twitter:description: WhatsApp has rolled out new features, including a "more secure way to log in." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6790254a6e93a0de/698a5616d07533b8d4e70b55/GettyImages-2131310424.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What You Need to Know About the New WhatsApp Features by [Mallory Moench](/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Apr 26, 2024 12:40 PM CUT  WhatsApp has rolled out new features for its users. Here, a WhatsApp logo is displayed on a smartphone. WhatsApp has rolled out new features for its users. Here, a WhatsApp logo is displayed on a smartphone.Omar Marques/SOPA Images—Getty Images by [Mallory Moench](/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Apr 26, 2024 12:40 PM CUT WhatsApp, the popular global messaging platform owned by Meta, has rolled out new features including a different way to log in and an artificial intelligence assistant in the app. iPhone users can now use passkeys to login—which means they can access the app using Face ID, Touch ID, or their iPhone passcode—instead of receiving an SMS to log in. Whatsapp said on X, formerly Twitter, [on April 24](https://x.com/WhatsApp/status/1783169135221846430 "undefined") that this feature was “a more secure way to login.” It also avoids any potential challenges in receiving an SMS to log in, with the company adding: “traveling? no network? no problem.” The messaging app already launched passkeys for Android users in October, as demonstrated by [a post shared on Threads](https://www.threads.net/@wcathcart/post/Cyd27d7pex8 "undefined"), another Meta social media platform. People with Pixel 8 and 8 Pro Google phones can now also use Face Unlock, instead of their fingerprint or PIN, to unlock and view messages on WhatsApp, as reported by [9to5Google](https://9to5google.com/2024/04/24/whatsapp-pixel-8-face-unlock/ "undefined"). Another change also arrived recently to the messaging app. On April 18, Meta [expanded a new AI ](https://about.fb.com/news/2024/04/meta-ai-assistant-built-with-llama-3/ "undefined")assistant across its social platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Users can employ the assistant, called Meta Llama 3, in feeds, chats, and search across the apps to get information and generate images “without having to leave the app you’re using,” the company said. Meta AI in English is now available in more than a dozen countries outside of the U.S.—Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6971333/new-whatsapp-features-2024-iphone-android/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6971333/new-whatsapp-features-2024-iphone-android/"},"headline":"What You Need to Know About the New WhatsApp Features","datePublished":"2024-04-26T12:40:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:53:20.220Z","description":"WhatsApp has rolled out new features, including a \"more secure way to log in.\"","url":"https://time.com/6971333/new-whatsapp-features-2024-iphone-android/","keywords":["Tech","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6790254a6e93a0de/698a5616d07533b8d4e70b55/GettyImages-2131310424.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mallory Moench","jobTitle":"Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau.","url":"https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6790254a6e93a0de/698a5616d07533b8d4e70b55/GettyImages-2131310424.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"In this photo illustration a WhatsApp logo is displayed on a","caption":"In this photo illustration a WhatsApp logo is displayed on a","creditText":"Omar Marques/SOPA Images—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6971333/new-whatsapp-features-2024-iphone-android/","name":"What You Need to Know About the New WhatsApp Features"}}]}] ```