From all over Russia, there are reports that users are unable to download the desktop version of WhatsApp. The problem is relevant for both Windows and computers on macOS.
When trying to download the desktop client from WhatsApp, the browser reportedly shows an error saying that the resource is not available. In this case, it is not possible to download.
At the same time, downloading is easily carried out using VPN services from foreign IPs. Apparently, data transfer is not available only to users with Russian IP addresses. According to the Rozetked portal, the problem is that WhatsApp download resources are included in the Roskomnadzor registry.
Russian users cannot download WhatsApp for PC
As experiments conducted by users, in many regions, downloading the application is still available at the usual speed without restrictions. In addition, the web version of the messenger is still available to users on the WhatsApp website, which remains quite functional. Just like what happened recently with Windows.
Gizchina News of the week
The team behind the popular WhatsApp service has recently begun rolling out a new security feature to all users. They increase user control over who can see the profile photo, profile details, last seen time, and status. These options were first introduced to select beta testers last year; but the company has just rolled them out to all users on stable mobile apps.
In a recent tweet, the developers announced that they are implementing these privacy settings for all users. Until now, users have been able to choose whether WhatsApp statuses, last seen and their details are 1) visible to everyone, 2) only visible to contacts, 3) completely hidden. But now there will be another option “My contacts, except …”.
With this option, the user can select contacts who will not be able to see his profile picture, status, and so on, while keeping this information visible to other contacts. Basically, it’s a black list.