iWorld
Celebrating Women’s Day with WhatsApp’s privacy superpowers
Mumbai: International Women’s Day is around the corner and WhatsApp believes everyone should have a safe space to communicate with their family and friends. Over the years, they have launched numerous innovative features that ensure your privacy is protected at all times and people feel empowered to take control of their online safety.
Here’s a list of five privacy features that help build a private and safe messaging experience for everyone, especially women in today’s digitally connected world.
. Control your online information and presence: On WhatsApp, you can control your personal details such as – Profile Photo, Last Seen, Online status, About, Status, and who sees it by selecting who gets access to their online information – everyone, contacts only, select contacts, or no one – empowering you to control your digital presence.
.You choose who you talk to: WhatsApp is a private and safe space for people to communicate with their loved ones and people who have your phone number. However, at times when you receive problematic messages from unknown numbers, you can ‘block and report’ the account. Blocked contacts or numbers will no longer be able to call you or send you messages.
. Safeguard your account privacy: On WhatsApp, you can add an extra layer of security to your account by enabling Two-Step Verification, which requires a six-digit PIN when resetting and verifying your WhatsApp account.
. Not every message needs to last forever: For added privacy for your conversations, you can turn on disappearing messages that vanish within twenty-four hours, seven days or ninety days after the time they are sent, depending on the duration you select.
. Secure your most private chats: Use Chat Lock to protect your most intimate conversations with a password, securing them in a separate folder. When someone messages you and you have that chat locked, no one can see those messages even if someone has your phone.
e-commerce
American Express to acquire AI startup Hyper to boost automation
Deal targets expense management as AI reshapes corporate spending tools.
MUMBAI: From receipts to robots, the expense sheet is getting a brain upgrade as American Express moves to bring artificial intelligence into the heart of corporate spending. The company has announced plans to acquire Hyper, a relatively young but fast-rising startup founded in 2022 that builds AI-powered agents capable of organising expenses, generating reports, verifying compliance with budgets and policies, and nudging users with timely reminders. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, underscores a growing shift among financial institutions to automate traditionally manual, time-heavy workflows.
Hyper counts Sam Altman among its backers, adding a layer of Silicon Valley credibility to the acquisition. While financial details remain undisclosed, the strategic intent is clear: deepen automation capabilities and sharpen American Express’s position in the competitive corporate spending ecosystem.
The two companies are not strangers. They previously collaborated in 2024 on a co-branded credit card product, suggesting that the acquisition is less a cold buy and more an extension of an existing relationship. With this move, American Express is effectively bringing that capability in-house, aiming to embed AI directly into its commercial services stack.
Chief executive Stephen Squeri had already signalled the direction of travel in a recent shareholder letter, describing AI as a “structural shift” in how businesses operate. The Hyper acquisition appears to be a direct response to that shift, particularly in expense management, where processes such as approvals, compliance checks and reporting remain ripe for automation.
Alongside the acquisition, the company is also expanding its product suite. A recently launched business credit card offers cashback and benefits at an annual fee of $295, with another card expected later this year moves that complement its broader push into commercial services.
Taken together, the strategy points to a future where managing expenses may require fewer spreadsheets and more algorithms. For American Express, the bet is simple, if businesses are rethinking how work gets done, the tools that power that work need to evolve just as quickly.
