WeChat New Feature for iOS – Voiceprint
WeChat Feature is a mobile text messaging service that has been developed by Tencent in China. It was first released in January 2011 and supports the platforms of Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows, and Symbian operating systems. A user can register for WeChat services through their Facebook account or their phone numbers. WeChat is one of the fastest-growing application supporting Text messaging, voice messaging, broadcasting of messages to multiple recipients; group chats, etc. and allows sharing of Images, Videos, and contacts. As of quarter 4 of 2014, WeChat had 500 million monthly active users with over 100 million users outside of China.
Feature of Wechat
The application has now taken the business to the next level by launching new features in WeChat for iOS- Voiceprint. This Voiceprint is a biometric login feature that requires a voice-based authentication to log on to the application. This works in a similar fashion as a fingerprint reader. As of now, is a new feature in the WeChat application is only for iOS-based smartphones and not on Android. The user requires enabling this feature and registering this security feature by recording a passphrase consisting of a shortlist of numbers. Now rather than typing a password, the user must speak the password. Voiceprint uses only the voice as an input key and shall deny login if someone else tries to enumerate it.
The application then has a mechanism of verification of such passphrase using the voice of the user, but other administrative functions like verification and resetting of the voiceprints. Not just this new feature in the WeChat New Feature of iOS, application added feature of syncing of the customized stickers automatically in the event of migrating to a new device.
WeChat currently is focused on the Asian market with the largest customer base from China. It has identified Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam as other probable markets. The company also aims to expand its footprint in the Middle East the United States. Tencent has proposed to keep the application as an open platform so it can easily connect with other social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram etc. One of the recent updates in the application is photo integration for Facebook or Twitter. The company focuses on increasing its user base and penetrates deep within its existing markets. The major competition of the application comes from WhatsApp which boasts over 800 million active users monthly.
IOS Application Development
The addition of this new feature on the iOS application did not come with any official event announcing the same. The latest iOS version of the application supports the Voiceprint security feature. As of now, Android users are devoid of this feature but the company will slowly roll this feature to all the supported operating systems in the future. Identity verification and identity authorization will play a role of severe importance in the times to come. With the looming threat of hacking and privacy-related concerns, voice biometrics has a big role to play in the future of cyber security.
