WhatsApp, you might have heard of it. The Meta-owned chat app is the dominate communication tool for much of the world and new features are being added all the time.
Thanks to the folks over at WABetaInfo (opens in new tab), who regularly break down beta WhatsApp releases to discover upcoming features, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect over the coming months from one of the best chat apps.
Today, we're breaking down five upcoming features that caught our eye and will make WhatsApp even better as a tool. While Meta might be in a spot of bother, WhatsApp is only going from strength to strength.
1. Message reactions
Being able to quickly react to a message without actually having to send a message is one of the best features in iMessage, Messenger, Discord, Slack, and a pretty much every other messaging app out there.
For some reason (and we're sure it's a good one), WhatsApp doesn't have the ability to react to messages but that looks set to change in the future.
Back in September 2021, reactions were spotted (opens in new tab) in a WhatsApp beta and got us all excited. We can't wait to quickly drop an emoji reaction in the group chat.
2. Better two-step verification
According to WABetaInfo (opens in new tab), WhatsApp is testing improvements to managing two-step verification for the service, which can't come soon enough.
A beta from January shows that WhatsApp will let users set and change pins to add an extra layer of security to the app.
Sadly, the feature isn't quite available yet so keep your eyes peeled.
3. Communities
WhatsApp is testing a pretty tantalising new feature: Communities.
First spotted (opens in new tab) in WhatsApp code, Communities seems to be (opens in new tab) an expanded group chat feature, possibly with people outside of a contact list. Admins will be able to set specific topics, for example.
We're excited for Communities because it offers a secure avenue for mass communication outside of Facebook Groups or other tools. Think Discord, but on WhatsApp.
4. Voice call wallpapers
According to a beta from January (opens in new tab), WhatsApp is working to add wallpapers for voice calls, a nice touch that will make the app more vibrant.
There are also some other small tweaks to improve the UI of the voice calling page, which we appreciate.
It's unclear when WhatsApp plans to roll out this feature, however.
5. Animated heart emoji
Finally, we have a pretty neat feature from WhatsApp beta 2.22.72 (opens in new tab): animated heart emoji.
The feature has been in development for a while, but seems to be getting closer to being released. It's a bit crazy that WhatsApp doesn't have this already, but better later than never is our view.
Hopefully one day WhatsApp will have a whole host of animated emoji to use.
