Developers can now verify mobile app users over WhatsApp instead of SMS

Facebook today released a new SDK that allows mobile app developers to integrate WhatsApp verification into Account Kit for iOS and Android. This will allow developers to build apps where users can opt to receive their verification codes through the WhatsApp app installed on their phone instead of through SMS.

Today, many apps give users the ability to sign up using only a phone number — a now popular alternative to Facebook Login, thanks to the social network’s numerous privacy scandals that led to fewer people choosing to use Facebook with third-party apps.

Plus, using phone numbers to sign up is common with a younger generation of users who don’t have Facebook accounts — and sometimes barely use email, except for joining apps and services.

When using a phone number to sign in, it’s common for the app to confirm the user by sending a verification code over SMS to the number provided. The user then enters that code to create their account. This process can also be used when logging in, as part of a multi-factor verification system where a user’s account information is combined with this extra step for added security.

While this process is straightforward and easy enough to follow, SMS is not everyone’s preferred messaging platform. That’s particularly true in emerging markets like India, where 200 million people are on WhatsApp, for example. In addition, those without an unlimited messaging plan are careful not to overuse texting when it can be avoided.

That’s where the WhatsApp SDK comes in. Once integrated into an iOS or Android app, developers can offer to send users their verification code over WhatsApp instead of text messaging. They can even choose to disable SMS verification, notes Facebook.

This is all a part of WhatsApp’s Account Kit, which is a larger set of developer tools designed to allow people to quickly register and log in to apps or websites using only a phone number and email, no password required.

This WhatsApp verification codes option has been available on WhatsApp’s web SDK since late 2018, but hadn’t been available with mobile apps until today.

Comments

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S9 next month

Samsung will unveil its next flagship handset, the Galaxy S9, next month at Mobile World Congress (MWC). The company’s smartphone chief, DJ Koh, confirmed the launch to ZDNet at CES yesterday. Koh didn’t offer a specific date, but MWC will run from February 26th to March 1st this year, so expect the unveiling to fall somewhere in that time frame. The S9 (and, presumably, an S9 Plus) will be the successors to the S8 and S8 Plus, which launched at a Samsung event in New York last March before going on sale in April. The S8 and its bigger brother were a hit with critics, who praised the phones’ gorgeous design and brilliant cameras. The phones were even good enough to make consumers forget about the disaster of the Galaxy Note 7 and its exploding batteries. Not much is known about the Galaxy S9 at this point, though we’re not expecting any radical departures from the S8. A handful of leaked renders suggest it will look near-identical to its predeces...

No more 'No questions asked': Amazon will ban you permanently if you return too many items

Till now, Amazon's policy spared the customer disputes with couriers, sellers and manufacturers over defective or unsuitable goods. But not anymore. One reason online retailers such as Amazon have been able to pull customers from brick-and-mortar stores is the 'no questions asked' return policy. Anyone can return an item within 30 days without having to give an explanation. This policy spared the customer disputes with couriers, sellers and manufacturers over defective or unsuitable goods. But not anymore. Amazon USA has started quizzing customers over returned items and has even banned accounts from which even 10% of ordered items were returned, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. A number of customers have shared their experience on Twitter. A customer tweeted a letter she got from Amazon, asking her to explain why she had returned so many items in the past 12 months. She said she purchased 50 things and returned only six which coul...

Renders of the Lenovo Z5 show the front-facing camera

Surprisingly, this time around the latest Lenovo Z5 info comes from a leak and not from the company's VP. All the information we have on the device so far was officially teased from the Lenovo's official, but now something extra has slipped through the cracks. The renders show the promised nearly bezel-less display with a small chin on the bottom. This is in line with the previous teasers showing nothing but screen and thankfully no notch. They also reveal how Lenovo has tackled the front-facing camera and the accompanying sensors problem. Lenovo Z5 press renders Just like the Xiaomi Mi Mix , the upcoming Lenovo Z5 will incorporate the front-facing camera, the ambient sensor, and probably the proximity sensor, on the chin. The earpiece is missing, obviously, so we suspect some kind of tech similar to the one driving the Mi Mix with the vibrating screen replacing the speaker.

Vc Tech

Search This Blog