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WhatsApp rolls out new chat filters to help you locate unread and group conversations
WhatsApp is always evolving to improve the way we connect with others, and its latest update is focused on enhancing organization and search within your chats. Following the recent update that gave us the ability to pin messages, Mark Zuckerberg has announced another exciting feature – dedicated chat filters

These filters are designed to make it faster and easier to locate specific conversations within your chat history, especially when you have many of them going on. Currently, the below two filters are available:
- Unread: Perfect for catching up on messages you might have missed. It displays all your individual chats that contain unread messages, helping you prioritize your responses and clear those notification badges.
- Groups: Perfect for finding that important group conversation. With a single tap, you can see all your group chats in one place, allowing you to quickly access discussions with family, friends, colleagues, or any other group you’re a part of. This includes subgroups within Communities, ensuring you have a central location for all your group conversations.
Previously, searching for unread chats involved using the search bar and filtering by message status. This process, while functional, required additional steps. The new dedicated “Unread” filter eliminates these extra steps, placing readily accessible filter options at the forefront of the chat list. This is a significant improvement for users who frequently juggle numerous individual chats and want a quicker way to identify conversations that require their attention.

The “Groups” filter addresses another long-standing pain point for WhatsApp users. For those who participate in a significant number of group chats, navigating through the chat list to find specific groups could be time-consuming and cumbersome. The ability to filter group chats has been a particularly popular request from users, according to WaBetaInfo who first reported on this announcement.

If you are ready to try out this feature, make sure you have the most up-to-date version of WhatsApp installed on your Android or iOS device, which you can grab directly from the App Store or Google Play Store. These filters mark a positive step in response to longstanding user feedback, so seeing them finally implemented is a welcomed treat.
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April 17, 2024
WhatsApp to roll out new photo library shortcut for faster sharing
WhatsApp keeps rolling out new features regularly, and now it seems it is working on making it easier for everyone to open and share photos. According to WABetaInfo, a reliable source for WhatsApp updates, the Meta-owned messaging app is widely releasing a feature to quickly open the photo library.

While the official changelog doesn’t offer much insight, the latest version of the iOS app, 24.7.75, has unveiled that this feature is now rolling out to all. Essentially, it’s a handy shortcut for swiftly accessing the photo library. Users can simply long-press the attach button within the chat bar, saving time by directly navigating to their photo library without any extra steps.

If you haven’t got this feature yet, keep in mind that it may be gradually rolled out to some accounts over the next few weeks, even though it’s not mentioned in the official changelog. As mentioned, the Meta-owned app frequently introduces new features, so installing all the latest updates will ensure you have access to the latest features and enhance your overall user experience.

On a different note, WhatsApp is gearing up to introduce a picture-in-picture option for videos. This means you will be able to watch videos while browsing through multiple chats or other parts of the app. Additionally, the app is set to receive a series of little tweaks, all aimed at enhancing the user experience.

As an example, WhatsApp is currently testing a redesign for its calling screen to make it easier for users to know where to tap to hang up. Moreover, a new simplified “Like” button for reacting to status updates could be introduced in a future app update.
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April 9, 2024
Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp users are reporting a “Major Disruption” worldwide
Meta is having big-time problems today. As of 3:40 pm EDT, Downdetector lists Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook, and Facebook Messenger as the top four apps/websites that are having issues based on the number of complaints received from users. For example, the number of Instagram users telling Downdetector about a problem with the app and website soared from 31 to over 5,700 in about 30 minutes. Meta is reporting this outage as a “Major Disruption” on its Business API Status page.

Most of the complaints on Downdetector from Instagram users were from subscribers unable to see Stories that they had just posted. One user said that she had been trying to post a Reel on Instagram for over an hour. 67% of the complaints focused on the app, 28% had a problem with their feed, and 5% could not log in.

Meta’s core four apps are down and dominate on the Downdetector website – Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp users are reporting a “Major Disruption” worldwide

A huge number of Whatsapp users, nearly 25,000, reported that they were having an issue with the app and website at around 2:22 pm. 68% of the complaints were about issues with the app, 26% were not able to receive messages, and 6% were having problems with the website. Users in countries are far apart as New York and Romania were complaining about the messaging platform being down.

Meta is calling this a major disruption – Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp users are reporting a “Major Disruption” worldwide (UPDATE)
Meta is calling this a major disruption

A far fewer number of Facebook users, 1,689, submitted a complaint to Downdetector by 2:27 pm EDT. 59% of those included a complaint about the app, 29% cited issues with the website, and 12% had problems signing in. As for Facebook Messenger, the number of complaints soared from 7 to 891 during a 45-minute period that ended at 2:19 pm EDT. Most of the platform’s users said that their messages were not going through.

The outage is taking place worldwide with Meta saying that the issues began at 2:11 pm EDT. The company adds, “Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 4 hours or sooner if additional information is available.”

When we learn more about the outage, we will update this story.
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April 4, 2024
WhatsApp will soon give you the option to send your media in HD quality by default

WhatsApp is introducing a feature that finally gives its users the ability to choose the default media upload quality. This feature, now available to some beta testers on version 2.24.7.17, puts the power back on the user on how detailed they want their pictures and videos to look when they arrive at the other end.

If you have used WhatsApp for any amount of time, or any messaging app for that matter, you surely have gone through the woes of sending an image or video that looks like a blurred mess. This can be quite frustrating, particularly when sharing what could very well be priceless family photos or pivotal moments you’ve captured on video. Thankfully, there will now be a solution to this problem.

Although the quality of images sent via WhatsApp is currently not too terrible when compared to SMS, it is also not in high definition. This new setting option allows you to select between Standard Quality, which is optimized for a smaller file size and quicker sharing, or High Quality, which prioritizes image and video quality to be clearer, but uses twice as much storage. Once selected, this will be the default setting for sending media within the app, unless you use the “document” sharing option that keeps the content in its original quality without any compression.

Accessible within the app’s settings, this option was originally spotted to be in the works in a previous version of the WhatsApp Beta app on the Google Play Store (v2.23.14.10). However, it is now finally available to more users in the latest beta. Unfortunately, gaining access to the WhatsApp beta program at this moment is close to impossible, as the program is always full to capacity.

This is a major step forward in making your WhatsApp experience more personalized and smooth. As a long-time app user, I welcome the option to choose the quality I want my images to be sent in.

March 28, 2024
WhatsApp will reportedly let you use Meta AI straight from its search bar

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days, and we’d be pretty naive not to admit that it is transforming how we use our devices on a daily basis. Meta is one company that has been at the forefront of integrating AI into its platforms, and WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram users in the US already have a taste of what it can do. But soon, interacting with Meta AI might become even more seamless.

According to WABetaInfo, Meta is working on a new feature for WhatsApp that allows you to ask Meta AI questions directly from the app’s search bar. This means that it will no longer be necessary to manually start separate AI chats.

We can see a new prompt that reads “Ask Meta AI” beneath the search bar in the screenshot above from WABetaInfo. This prompt would reportedly eliminate extra steps, make interacting with the AI incredibly more convenient, and wouldn’t require that unsightly Meta AI shortcut that got in the way of accessing your messages.

In fact, if you’ve ever used ChatGPT, Meta AI will feel familiar, as it is designed as an all-around assistant. However, one advantage that this chatbot will have is that instead of having to hunt it down, you’ll simply type your question into the search bar. WhatsApp is even planning suggested prompts to get your creative AI juices flowing.

This feature is still under development and will likely appear in a future version of the app. In the meantime, WhatsApp is showing us that it is clearly all in on AI, as it is reportedly also working on implementing AI-powered image editing tools into its platform.

WhatsApp’s new features are a glimpse into a future where AI is woven deeply into our everyday apps. It’s likely just the beginning, and I’m excited to see what other innovations Meta and other tech giants have in store.
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March 25, 2024

WhatsApp could double the length of status videos

WhatsApp seems to have rolled out a bunch of updates in the last couple of weeks for those enrolled in the beta program. While many of these updates address various bugs, some of them introduce new features that users can test and provide feedback.

With WhatsApp beta version 2.24.7.6, the developer is increasing the length of videos users can add to their status. Currently, WhatsApp users can add videos of up to 30 seconds to their status, but the latest beta version of the up extends the length to 1 minute.

Discovered by the folks at WABetaInfo, the new feature that allows users to share videos of up to 1 minute in length via status updates seems to be only available to select WhatsApp beta testers on Android.

While this certainly isn’t a core WhatsApp feature, it’s nice to know that developers are listening to feedback and try to accommodate many of the requests that make sense.

As with all the beta features, it’s hard to say whether or not this will make it to the stable version of WhatsApp. Still, since it doesn’t seem to be that hard to implement, chances are that all WhatsApp users on Android will eventually be able to share longer videos via status updates.

March 21, 2024

WhatsApp on Android may soon be getting voice message transcription like on iOS

For nearly a year, iOS users have enjoyed the convenience of transcribing WhatsApp voice messages. Now, it’s looking like WhatsApp is working to bring the same functionality to Android, and its users may soon get the same time-saving feature.

TheSpAndroid‘s @AssembleDebug completed an APK breakdown that reveals there is code in WhatsApp Beta for Android (version 2.24.7.7) that indicates this feature is in development. Furthermore, the code also reveals that enabling transcription will require a 150MB download, suggesting that the feature relies on your device’s speech recognition software.

The feature is expected to be located within the Settings > Chats menu, mirroring the feature’s location on iOS devices. End-to-end encryption will also apply to voice transcripts, meaning that your privacy will remain intact even when your voice messages are turned into text.

The feature could not be activated yet, leaving only the strings in the code to go off of. This means that screenshots could not be gathered, which strongly suggests that this feature is still in its very early stages. However, WhatsApp’s timeline for new features can often be unpredictable, so while there is no specific date for when this feature will become widely available, it could appear in future WhatsApp beta releases at any time.

Once released, this move will put WhatsApp on a more even footing with rivals like Telegram and Google Messages, which already offer transcription tools on Android. However, it is unclear if there will be limitations on the use of this feature. While Google Messages has a free transcription service, Telegram limits non-premium users to a few transcripts per week.

It will be interesting to see how WhatsApp decides to implement this feature and if they will follow a similar model or offer it without restrictions. This could potentially impact the user experience and determine how successful the feature will be in attracting new users to the platform.

March 20, 2024

WhatsApp calls log could soon be integrated into Google’s Phone app

Staying connected with friends and family on WhatsApp is about to get even easier as the popular messaging app looks to integrate call logs with Google’s native Phone app on Android. This change would put WhatsApp’s voice and video calls on equal footing with regular phone calls, allowing you to see all your call history in one place.

Currently, WhatsApp calls only show up within the app itself. This upcoming integration would streamline the process, especially if you primarily use WhatsApp for calls. The fact that @Kishore9196 on X noticed this suggests that the feature might already be rolling out in a limited beta test.

In the screenshot provided, you can see WhatsApp calls appearing within the Google Phone app’s call log, conveniently marked with a “WhatsApp” tag to differentiate them from standard cell carrier calls. Once the feature is fully rolled out, it would make sense if tapping on one of these entries would give you the option to quickly initiate another WhatsApp call with that contact. It’s also likely that this integration won’t be limited to just WhatsApp, as other VoIP apps such as Telegram could follow suit as well, giving you a unified call log experience on your Android phone.

However, this feature isn’t entirely new. As the source pointed out, iOS already has this feature, which displays third-party VoIP calls in the iPhone’s native call history. Android users have been missing out on this convenience, although hopefully not for much longer.

Having this kind of interconnectivity between apps is a benefit that European users will soon enjoy in more areas, such as messaging, as the DMCA has ordered. Because of this, WhatsApp will also have the added benefit of including other messaging platforms within its own app, bringing about cross-platform usability. This is not to say that the integrated call log on the Phone app is a result of this, but it is a nice touch so that users won’t have to switch back and forth between apps as often.

This change will be a welcomed quality-of-life improvement for those who regularly use WhatsApp for calling. With the seamless integration of your call logs, staying connected within WhatsApp is about to get a whole lot smoother.

March 8, 2024

First signs of WhatsApp third party chat support appear in latest beta

WhatsApp, the popular messaging app, is gearing up to open its doors to other messaging platforms. This has been in the works for some time now, but thanks to some evidence found in the latest beta version of the app, we now have more information on how the feature will work and how far along it is in its progress.

The need for WhatsApp to add this functionality comes in direct response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to break down barriers between tech giants and increase competition in the digital space. WhatsApp’s upcoming “chat interoperability” feature will allow users in the European Union to connect with contacts across different messaging apps, even if those contacts don’t use WhatsApp themselves.

Wabetainfo discovered the feature, which is currently in development and not available to users, in WhatsApp Android beta version 2.24.5.18. As per the screenshot uncovered (shown below), a new section will be introduced to the app. There, users can choose to enable interoperability, granting them the power to exchange messages beyond WhatsApp’s ecosystem seamlessly.

While end-to-end encryption will be maintained, different messaging apps may use varying encryption protocols, leading to a separate inbox for these external chats. Because of this, WhatsApp is advising users to exercise caution when using chat interoperability.

In addition to encryption compatibility concerns, cross-platform communication could potentially increase exposure to spam and scams. Every app has its own privacy policies, potentially handling your data differently than WhatsApp would.

Regardless of these hurdles to overcome, this move by WhatsApp is a major win for consumers in the EU. It promotes greater choice and flexibility in how they connect with others online.

It is unknown whether these app changes will apply globally or only in the EU. However, while the feature is completely optional, it signifies a positive shift towards interconnectedness in the messaging app landscape.

March 1, 2024

WhatsApp rolling out new text formatting features to everyone

WhatsApp has been testing additional text formatting features for quite some time now. The last report involving this set of new features dates from January and included details about what new options WhatsApp users will eventually get if the app decided to give these the green light.

Thankfully, it looks like WhatsApp is done texting these new text formatting features, at least according to The Verge. No less than four new text formatting options are now rolling out to WhatsApp users on Android, iOS, Web, and Mac.

Starting today, WhatsApp users will be able to use block quotes, inline code, as well as bulleted and numbered lists. These new options are self-explanatory, but it’s worth noting that the inline code option allows users to highlight specific information in a wall of text. To actually enable inline code, you’ll have to wrap the text with the “’” symbol.

In addition to these four new options, WhatsApp offers four text formatting features: Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, and Monospace. Also, each of the new text formatting option has a shortcut to make use of it on the fly.

February 22, 2024

WhatsApp continues to test feature to use a username instead of phone numbers

WhatsApp, the Meta-owned global messaging app, has been working on a feature for some time now where you will be able to give out a username instead of your phone number to those you want to message with. This has been a highly requested feature that has seemingly taken very long to implement since it was spotted last year in a beta build. However, it now appears that more work is being done to test this feature, indicating that it is still on the table.

Unlike in the United States, where Apple’s iMessage and old school SMS have a stronghold on messaging, the rest of the world uses other solutions. WhatsApp is one of them in places like India, Latin America, and some parts of Europe, which subsequently translates to users in those living in the United States who have friends and family in those locations.

For users everywhere, the WhatsApp team has been working on introducing the option to generate usernames. News on the progress of this feature was quiet for a while, but based on the newest WhatsApp beta for iOS 24.3.10.72 version, it appears like this feature is about to take off.

In this version, the section within the app where users can choose a username is once again present. This time, though, the app will initiate a validation process to ensure the username chosen is valid. The validation includes ensuring the username is unique and only allows for alphanumeric characters (a-z and 0-9). This provides the option to keep your phone number hidden, providing numerous privacy benefits.

Currently, exchanging contact information for WhatsApp involves revealing your phone number, which can be concerning for those that prefer certain anonymity, be it for security or personal reasons. While users will probably still need a number to set up an account, having the option of a username allows them to be more selective about who sees it.

Additionally, this feature could be useful to those that want a username that is much easier for friends and family to remember, rather than a series of numbers. Unfortunately, WhatsApp has yet to provide an official timeline for when usernames will be available to all users, but we hope this becomes a focus for the app’s developers this year.

WhatsApp is working on a pinning feature for its Android app

WhatsApp’s next feature will allow users to pin channels. After gaining Channels a while ago, WhatsApp desperately needs a way to declutter the long list some users have joined.

The ability to pin channels in WhatsApp is now in the works, WABetaInfo reports. The new feature popped up in version 2.24.4.3 of WhatsApp for Android, which means it’s actively being tested and should be rolled out to everyone if developers decide to give it the green light.

As noted in the report, the new feature will probably be implemented with a slightly different interface for channels, which will reportedly look like the interface of the chats tab.

Naturally, there’s no guarantee that this feature will make it in the stable version of WhatsApp, although chances are that it will be available in some form in the not-so-distant future. Stay tuned for more info about WhatsApp’s upcoming features.

February 7, 2024

WhatsApp’s poll sharing feature is one step closer to being released to the public. Still in beta, the ability to share polls in channels have been sighted less than a week ago in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android.

Over the weekend, WaBetaInfo reports that WhatsApp beta for iOS 24.1.10.76 update, which is now available on the TestFlight app, offers early adopters the option to share polls in channels.

Obviously, you must be the owner of the channel in order to be able to share polls. The new feature has multiple options, which can be disable in case the creator of the poll believes it only needs one answer.

The votes remain anonymous, so while members of the channel will be able to see the number of votes, they won’t know who voted for a certain option. A limited number of channel owners can now see the poll option in the chat attachment menu within their channel.

Although it’s expected for the feature to expand to more early adopters, it might take some time before WhatsApp decides to make it available to everyone. Still, it’s nice to know that Channels will be getting a very useful feature for those who want to grow their audience based on the feedback received.

WhatsApp rolls out custom sticker maker on iOS

WhatsApp is bringing custom stickers to a whole new level with the latest update. The new changes will make it easier to customize your stickers before you post them in your conversations.

Up until now, you could only create stickers by adding pictures from a gallery into the app, but the latest update adds an extra layer of customization. WhatsApp is now rolling out a new update on iOS, which lets users add text, another sticker, or even draw on top of a sticker.

The procedure remains the same, but you can now add various media content on top of the image you chose from your gallery. In addition to being able to customize your stickers with text and drawings, you can also edit them by long-pressing on the image.

The new feature is only available on devices that run at least iOS 17. If you’re an Android user, this is not yet available for you, but it’s unlikely that it will take WhatsApp too long to bring it to another platform.

January 12, 2024

WhatsApp working to bring audio sharing over video calls feature to Android users too

WhatsApp is always working to add new features to its app, so it’s no surprise that beta users are already seeing some options that are not yet available to anyone else. The new feature that’s available for WhatsApp beta users on Android allows them to share audio content during a video call.

This feature was originally released in a previous beta version of WhatsApp for iOS, so it’s safe to assume that the ability to share audio over video calls will eventually come to both iOS and Android platforms.

With WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.26.18, users can listen to video and music audio together. When the screen is shared, audio played on a device will also be shared with people in the call (via WaBetaInfo).

Just like on iOS, this feature will not work during voice calls or video calls that have video disabled. Obviously, since this is still under development, it’s hard to say when it will be available for everyone, but if we were to guess, WhatsApp will not release it until next year.

For those who want to try it out, enrolling in the beta program is easy and doesn’t require too much of your time. Be prepared to experience some bugs though.

December 21, 2023

Tag: whatsapp