News

WhatsApp Upgrades Video Calls With New Features: A Guide

The platform’s latest update adds filters, backgrounds, and a Low Light feature, improving both usability and privacy.

Published

2 years ago

October 2, 2024

whatsapp upgrades video calls with new features a guide

WhatsApp has rolled out a series of exciting updates for its video calling feature, aimed at making conversations more dynamic and enjoyable. The new features allow users to customize their video calls with filters and backgrounds, giving each call a personal touch.

One of the most highly-anticipated additions is the introduction of filters: Users can now apply creative visual effects to their videos, ranging from vibrant color schemes to artistic styles.

now you can add backgrounds and filters on video calls 🤳 set the vibe and show up in new ways, it’s your call pic.twitter.com/LNVWfaKCBy

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) October 1, 2024

There are ten filters to choose from, including options like Warm, Cool, Black & White, and Dreamy. Each one sets a different tone, allowing users to pick a filter that suits the mood of their conversation. This feature helps make video calls more engaging and visually appealing.

Another useful upgrade is the ability to change backgrounds during video calls. Users can now replace their actual surroundings with various preset scenes, helping maintain privacy or simply creating a more visually interesting call.

For example, users can appear to be sitting in a cozy living room, a bustling café, or on a serene beach. There’s also a blur option to subtly obscure the background, keeping the focus on you. With ten backgrounds to choose from, this feature ensures flexibility and privacy during calls.

Also Read: How To Find & Cancel Pending Instagram Requests

Additionally, WhatsApp now includes a Low Light mode, which enhances brightness in poorly lit environments, ensuring that your video remains clear regardless of your surroundings. This feature is especially helpful when making calls in dimly lit areas.

To access these new features, simply tap the effects icon in the top right corner of your screen during a video call. Whether you’re on a one-on-one or group call, these updates are easy to use and available in an instant.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.