WhatsApp continuously works on its communication app to improve its functionality. If you want to check out the latest features of WhatsApp, you can do so through the Google Play beta program on Android and the Apple App Store on iOS devices. Join the waitlist for testing these new features.
Many features are only accessible with the WhatsApp Beta and will soon be released in the stable version of WhatsApp in the coming months once developers polish the bugs or issues.
WhatsApp Username
Now you have the option to configure a username. This allows users to not share their phone numbers but instead share their usernames to connect with new people. Users can find the username option in their profile settings. Users can write their username using alphanumeric characters and some special characters, but discriminators are not supported.
This remains optional, and the phone number associated with an account that is initiated through a username will remain concealed. Furthermore, this option enhances privacy as users don’t need to share their phone numbers.
Text Formatting Tools
WhatsApp is testing new text formatting tools for messaging. With these formatting options, users can simply highlight their expressions. This includes the code block, quote block, and lists.
- Code Block: This makes it easier to share and read lines of code within WhatsApp.
- Quote Block: You can reply to a specific portion of a message by using the “>” character and applying this formatting.
- Lists: This makes it easier to organise information in a structured and ordered manner. To use this, simply start with an asterisk or a hyphen, and numbered lists are also supported.
This will enhance the user experience, and the company is actively exploring new text formatting tools. It is designed to provide users with a better and easier way to format their messages in different situations, making communication more efficient, whether it’s casual chats or professional discussions.
Search the Update Tab
This new update has already started rolling out in the Search Updates tab. It appears on the top app bar, helping users search for status updates, followed channels, and even other verified channels. This feature was released alongside the update to the Updates tab, featuring Search Features because it was creating a lot of confusion for users and making it a bit complicated to search for status updates.
Channel Update Link
Another new update is the channel update link. Simply long-press on the post, and you will have a quick link copy on the top bar of the app. It also enables users to immediately open the channel by presenting the message the link was associated with, making it easier to not lose the context of the update. To check the link, users don’t need to be channel creators; they can also share the link without joining the channel.
class="wp-block-heading">Pinned Message
In the latest chat share sheet, there is the ability to pin messages and a redesigned chat attachments menu. This allows users to pin important or frequently referenced messages on top of the chat conversation, making it easier for other people to access. It is also available in individual conversations, which makes it quite easy to highlight specific content.
With the ability to pin messages to get back to them more easily, users need to choose from three different durations for how long they want that message to remain: 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days. If users no longer need that pinned message, they can unpin or dismiss it anytime they want.
Additionally, some WhatsApp users have also received the redesigned Chat attachments menu that matches the modern style. However, the update didn’t clarify the process of sharing various types of content, but it is now definitely clearer and more intuitive with the latest week.
Group Chat Notifications
This new feature offers three shortcuts to quickly open our privacy settings, contacts list, and profile for easier notification access. It has been introduced within the app settings, as has the new notification to create a group chat within the app settings.
AI-Powered WhatsApp Chat
Meta has recently announced AI-powered integration into WhatsApp, and this could potentially revolutionise user interaction and serve as an intelligent assistants. This is said to expand its functionality, like introducing AI-powered stickers, and will offer a new chat experience.
Personal messages will remain end-to-end encrypted. This new feature will prioritise the company’s open-source technology for AI-based functionality.
Secret Code for Chats
There is a new secret code that will lock specific chats, and it also comes with linked device support. It will allow users to choose a custom password to protect the chat folder, which brings another layer of security. It will improve the privacy of conversations regarding the ability to lock chats in a protected folder.
It will have a new page to set up the secret code to find locked chats in the search bar of the app. It even works on companion devices. WhatsApp recommends using simple emojis or words. It will better protect the chat folder, but this may also create some confusion among users as locked chat and the secret code are separate things.
This feature also surfaced a while back with a custom password feature for locked chats to enhance the privacy option for this feature by developing a secret code for access.
WhatsApp Business Communities
WhatsApp Business users can’t create communities but also can’t view and manage communities. It is only available in the customer app. But now, WhatsApp has added full support for communities, which brings a new point to opening the communities screen within the main overflow menu. Now users can view the list of communities they have previously joined and manage them.
This is said to be a major upgrade, as business users could already join communities using a community invite link but were not able to view a complete list of groups belonging to a community.
Protect IP address in Call
The company recently introduced Unknown Call Silence, and now there is another privacy feature that helps protect the IP address in calls. It adds a layer of security when placing voice and video calls, as WhatsApp will make it harder for other people to get your IP address.
You can enable this from your device’s settings screen to allow users to have a more secure experience during voice and video calls. It makes it harder for other people on the call to enter your location and IP address, as the call on your device is securely relayed through their servers.
Calls are still going to be E2EE-protected. This feature will ensure additional layers of security and is entirely optional, based on personal preferences and security concerns.
