WhatsApp has introduced a bunch of features on its platform recently,check out here:
Private Reply for Android beta users
WhatsApp recently introduced a new feature called Private Reply with its beta version 2.18.355, and it essentially allows users to privately send messages to a participant in a group without letting others in the same group know. To use the WhatsApp Private Reply feature, hold the message of the sender to which you have to reply to privately. Further tap on the three-dotted menu on the top right corner of the app. Here, you will get the Private Reply option. Once you choose the option, the selected message will open privately in the chat window of the sender in the form of a reply thread. To use this feature, download the latest version of the Android beta app, after becoming a part of the official Google Play beta programme.
WhatsApp Stickers
Late last month, the instant messaging platform started rolling out stickers support for all Android and iPhone users. Apart from using the default stickers that WhatsApp offers, users can also download distinguished sticker packs directly from Google Play. Stickers are segregated into three categories – Clock, Star, and Heart. The clock section in the stickers tab takes you to your most recent stickers, the star icon takes you to your favourite stickers, and the heart icon will take you to categories like love, happy, sad, and dramatic.
Playing of consecutive voice messages on iOS, iPhone XS Max support
With version 2.18.100 for iOS users, WhatsApp brought the ability to automatically play consecutive voice messages in a sequence, so users don’t have to press play for each instance. The update, released in October, also brought support for the larger 6.5-inch display of the iPhone XS Max. This enabled WhatsApp to take advantage of the large display and take up the entire screen space allowing users to read more messages and view more media.
Silent Mode for Android users
WhatsApp for Android recently also introduced a new “Silent Mode” that hides the notification dots for muted chats. This means if you mute a chat on WhatsApp, you won’t see how many new messages you’ve received in that chat directly from the WhatsApp icon on your Android smartphone. Previously, notifications from muted chats also counted towards the count of unread messages. It is said that the new feature is already enabled by default. However, it isn’t available in the form of an option in the Settings menu so there’s no way to disable the feature manually if you want to go back to the old behaviour.
Vacation Mode spotted in testing
WhatsApp is also reportedly working on “Vacation Mode” that makes archived chats that have been muted, to remain archived when a new message arrives in those chats. At present, WhatsApp automatically unarchives an archived chat once a new message is received in that chat. This behaviour will apparently be controllable via the Notifications settings on WhatsApp for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone. This feature was spotted by beta tracker WABetaInfo.
Linked Accounts spotted in testing
WhatsApp is also reportedly working on a Linked Accounts feature that will let users link their account with external services. While the option appears to be mainly focused for WhatsApp Business users, it could also reach the standard WhatsApp version. It is said that the Linked Accounts option will be available under the Profile settings on WhatsApp and will initially support Instagram as an external service. You will need to insert your credentials once by tapping the Instagram listing from the Linked Accounts option. This will link your WhatsApp account to your Instagram profile. This feature was also spotted by tipster WABetaInfo.
Delete for Everyone tweaks
WhatsApp has recently also updated the rules for its ‘Delete for Everyone’ feature to make the experience better than before. WhatsApp has updated the “Recipient limit” to restrict deletion of a message if the recipient didn’t receive its revoke request within 13 hours, eight minutes, and 16 seconds due to any reason, even if the phone was inactive. This means if you try to delete a message that you sent to your contact by using the Delete for Everyone feature on WhatsApp, it will only be deleted if the recipient receives the revoke request within 13 hours, eight minutes, and 16 seconds. Notably, you can delete a WhatsApp message for everyone within the previous limit of over one hour, though the recipient needs to receive the revoke request by opening the chat containing the message within the newly designed limit. This new change was reportedly a server-side update.
Picture-in-Picture video feature for Android users
After introducing it to iOS users earlier this year, WhatsApp finally rolled out picture-in-picture video feature for Android users in October. It arrived for Android users with beta version 2.18.301, allowing them to watch Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube videos in a small window within the messaging app itself. It essentially means users will not need to go to Instagram or YouTube or Facebook apps to view a video sent by a contact. With PiP support, Android users will be able to tap on a YouTube link and open up the YouTube video in the app itself. It will allow the user to view the video and continue to navigate around WhatsApp, in different chats, simultaneously.
Swipe to Reply feature for Android users
Just like the PiP mode, the ‘Swipe to Reply’ feature also arrived for iPhone users much earlier than it did for Android users. WhatsApp for Android users got the feature last month, and it is designed to let you quickly reply to your messages on the instant messaging app. WhatsApp users can now use the simple swipe gesture to quickly respond to a message. All you need to do is to swipe any individual message to the right to reply to that message on WhatsApp. The message will be quoted just above the text box to help you easily referred to it alongside your reply. Previously, you need to tap and hold on the particular message and then press the reply option from the top bar to respond to a message. The new gesture support makes the experience faster as it helps you quickly respond to a message from an available thread. Also, it is useful especially if you are replying to a message in a WhatsApp group.
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