PHOTO/Courtesy
WhatsApp has launched the ability to react to messages on WhatsApp beta for Android users.
Will Cathcart, the Chief Executive Officer of Whatsapp has said in a Twitter message the reactions, which are now six, will be increased, and also come with various skin tones.
The initial version of message reactions includes 6 emojis: Like, Love, Laugh, Suprised, Sad, and Thanks (👍❤️😂😮😢🙏).
“We’ll also support larger file sharing up to 2GB at a time and 32 person group conference calls you can start with just one tap,” Carthcart added.
This is the first time the company has released the feature after installing the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.8.3 update. The feature has been enabled to more beta testers after releasing the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.9.4 version. This development comes just when WhatsApp has submitted a new update through the TestFlight beta Program.
For a WhatsApp user to know if their Whatsapp has the message reaction ability, they press and hold a chat. If the feature is there, the message reaction tray will pop up next to a chat bubble.
It is worth noting that not all Whatsapp users have this feature yet. The social messaging app is gradually releasing the feature to some beta testers, and the same will happen to everyone else though at a later date.
For now, it is not possible to join the iOS beta program to try to see if message reactions are available for your account, because the beta testing program is closed.
In the same breath, WhatsApp is also working to extend the duration of its ‘Delete for Everyone’ feature to more than two days. This is according to WabetaInfo, an information-gathering platform that keeps track of new updates and features on WhatsApp.
In 2018, the instant messaging platform extended the time limit for deleting messages for everyone from seven minutes to one hour, eight minutes and sixteen seconds. Last year it was reportedly working on further extending the duration to more than a week, though the week-long update was shelved as the period seemed ineffective. With the ’Delete for everyone’ feature, one is able to delete a sent message. The recipient gets a message stating: ‘This message was deleted by the admin.’
However, the effectiveness of this feature is in question, particularly with the users of some WhatsApp versions, especially WhatsApp GB. This version allows one to set Whatsapp settings in a way that even if a sender deletes a message, the recipient can still see it.
More recently WabetaInfo shared a Whatsapp screenshot implying about a feature with which users will be able to upload media to their status updates. While the option of sharing an image as a status already exists on Whatsapp, the new feature, according to WabetaInfo, will also offer the option of selecting a photo directly from a chat.
WhatsApp is also reportedly working on message reactions which would be similar to Apple’s iMessage service. With this new update, users will have to simply tap on the message to choose an emoji and send it.
Interestingly, almost all of these updates are taking after Facebook, the giant social media platform under Meta company, which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram. The boss of Meta is Mark Zuckerberg, 37.