iMessage rival WhatsApp has officially announced new features that are coming to the app including emoji reactions and communities as well as numerous other features to improve the user experience.
The first big feature here is Communities, which will enable users to organize groups such as schools, local clubs, and non-profit organizations under one umbrella with a structure that works for them:
“Communities on WhatsApp will enable people to bring together separate groups under one umbrella with a structure that works for them. That way people can receive updates sent to the entire Community and easily organize smaller discussion groups on what matters to them. Communities will also contain powerful new tools for admins, including announcement messages that are sent to everyone and control over which groups can be included.”
The second big feature is emoji reactions that can already be found on many competitive chatting platforms such as iMessage and Telegram. The feature enables users to quickly share their reactions on one chat bubble using emojis.
WhatsApp has also given group calls a big update with 32 people can now join the same voice call, enlarging the number of people in the same conversation. Additionally, users can now share files up to 2GB. This will be helpful for project collaborations.
In December 2021, the platform launched Cryptocurrency Transfers in the US through a partnership with Novi Digital Wallet, a subsidiary of Meta.
Here is WhatsApp’s list of mentioned and unmentioned features:
- Reactions – Emoji reactions are coming to WhatsApp so people can quickly share their opinion without flooding chats with new messages.
- Admin Delete – Group admins will be able to remove errant or problematic messages from everyone’s chats.
- File Sharing ”“ We’re increasing file sharing to support files up to 2 gigabytes so people can easily collaborate on projects.
- Larger Voice Calls ”“ We’ll introduce one-tap voice calling for up to 32 people with all new design for those times when talking live is better than chatting.
