How to get rid of the Meta AI button in Whatsapp for Android

Are you also fed up with the Meta AI button in WhatsApp and want to get rid of it? Actually you can't remove it, but it is possible to go back a previous version of the app, as I found out. Below an example of how the AI button looks like.

 

Here are the steps to follow to go back to an older version of WhatsApp that doesn't have the Meta AI icon:

  • Make a backup of your chat
    - Press the 3 buttons in the right top of Whatsapp
    - Click Settings
    - Click Chats
    - Scroll to the bottom and click Chat backup

  • After the backup has finished, close the app and remove it from your phone
  • Download an older version of the WhatsApp apk from WhatsApp Messenger 2.25.4.76 (Android 5.0+) APK Download by WhatsApp LLC - APKMirror
  • Install the downloaded file
  • Login into your existing account
  • Restore the backup
  • Voila, no Meta AI button (for as long as it takes)

Now to make sure that the button is not returning, we need to disable auto-update of WhatsApp messenger.

  • Open Google Play on your phone
  • Click your profile icon
  • Click Manage apps and device
  • Select the Manage tab
  • Scroll down to the WhatsApp Messenger listing and click it
  • Click the three dots in the upper right cornder
  • In the pop-up menu remove the checkmark from the Enable auto-update.

Important: At some point this version will stop being supported and you will have to update to a new version if you want to keep communicating. Let's hope that at this point Meta has made it possible to not show this button. Also realize that newer versions of the tool may include security updates to lock down vulnerabilities.

Meta says that they do not have access to your chats. Let's not give them the benefit of the doubt. Keep an eye on the news about this, this might change in the future. It might be that a setting becomes available that stops your data from being collected.

 

HTTP Error 500.19 and error code: 0x80070021

I ran into this error when I tried to run this blog (BlogEngine.NET | Open Source Blogging Platform) for the first time. I thought I had installed everything on my IIS Server but still the error.

When I searched for the error HTTP Error 500.19 and error code : 0x80070021 I stumbled upon this StackOverflow article. It was then easy to solve by following the steps below.

Valid for Windows Server 2012 with IIS 8.5 but it should work for later versions too.

  • Go to Server Manager, click Add roles and features
  • In the roles section choose: Web Server
  • Under Security sub-section choose everything (I excluded digest, IP restrictions and URL authorization as I don't use them)
  • Under Application Development choose .NET Extensibility 4.5, ASP.NET 4.5 and both ISAPI entries
  • In the features section choose: NET 3.5, .NET 4.5, ASP.NET 4.5
  • In the web server section choose: Web Server (all), Management Tools (IIS Management Console and Management Service), Windows Authentication - if you are using any of it

Recept Spaanse Churros

Ingrediënten (in 3 delen toevoegen, zie video)

  • 150 ml water
  • 25 gram suiker
  • 50 gram ongezouten roomboter
  • Snufje zout
  • 125 gram amandelmeel of bloem

  • 2 eieren
  • Theelepel kaneel

  • Suiker
  • Kaneel

Bereiding
Smelt de ingrediënten langzaam of laag vuur. Voeg dan de bloem erbij en roer tot je een mooie deegbal krijgt en het goed gemengd is. Voeg de helft van de 2 eieren (geklopt) toe en roer er doorheen, dan het overige ei en het kaneel toe en roer verder. Laat afkoelen to je het met de hand kan vasthouden

Neem een spuitzak en vul met het deeg. Doe olie in een pan en verwarm tot 180 graden. Spuit streepjes deeg in de olie en knip af met een schaar en laat 4-5 minuten bakken. Draai om als nodig. Haal ze met een schuimspaan uit de olie en laat ze uitdruppen op een schaal met keukenpapier.

Meng wat kaneel door de suiker en wentel de Churros daar doorheen.

Create a Self-Signed certificate that is valid for 10 years

  • Open a PowerShell command with administrative permissions
  • Type the command, replace <site_name> with the name of your site as shown in Internet Information Services (IIS) and <name> with the name you can recognize it from. This will create a certificate that is valid for 10 years from the day you run the command:
    New-SelfSignedCertificate -Subject <site_name> -CertStoreLocation Cert:\LocalMachine\My -DnsName "<name>" -NotAfter (Get-Date).AddYears(10) -KeyUsage  DigitalSignature 
  • In IIS edit the binding for your site and assign the newly created certificate
  • Verify if you have selected the correct certificate with the View button
  • Restart the site