Be careful who you message! WhatsApp’s ‘reply privately’ feature will let you have hidden conversations within group chats (but it could go horribly wrong)
- Feature will divert you to separate conversation with individual group member
- According to WABetaInfo, the option is only available in Android version update
- Users will need to hold down the message they want to send their secret reply to
- The option to ‘reply privately’ will come up and will open a new chat window
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Messaging could be about to get a lot more complicated thanks to a new feature that lets you send secret messages in WhatsApp group chats.
A beta version of the facility – dubbed ‘reply privately’ – was spotted in the latest testing edition of the popular app for Android.
It’s designed to let you to start a separate conversation – hidden from the group – with another member.
Users will need to be careful where they direct their responses, however, with the possibility of unkind comments being revealed to everyone.
Although the new facility opens a new window for you to chat privately in, the chances of replying in the wrong window seem high – particularly if you have lots of private windows open.
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The new feature was spotted by WABetaInfo and will allow users to reply to an individual member of the group chat without losing the context of the group’s wider discussion
The new feature is due to be released in WhatsApp according to WABetaInfo, the technology information group that made the discovery.
It was found in the Android beta version of the Facebook owned messaging platform.
WhatsApp already allows users to reply to a member of a group chat individually, but the new feature will divert you to a personal chat without losing the context of the discussion within the group.
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To use the feature, the user presses on the message of the person they want to reply to prompting the ‘reply privately’ option to come up, opening up a private conversation with that user.
In groups were only the administrator can send out messages, non-admins can now reply privately to that person, without the message being seen by the rest of the group.
The new addition is to be introduced as part of the Android 2.18.335 update, but it is not available for web versions or iOS yet, according to WABetaInfo.
The app, which launched in 2009, will allow users to send a private reply user by holding their message down until the ‘privately reply’ option comes up
However, they warn that users should not update to the latest version because they say there is a bug where the app will crash if users delete media in the group.
WABetaInfo is renowned for studying WhatsApp beta code and finding reliable information on forthcoming features.
This includes their recent finding that advertisements would be used in the status section of the app before the company officially confirmed they would be starting to embed paid-for content from 2019.
Launched in 2009, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging service in the world racking up 1.5 billion monthly users, surpassing Facebook Messenger and WeChat.
WHATSAPP: WHICH PHONES WILL LOSE CHAT APP SUPPORT NEXT?
WhatsApp has confirmed plans to drop support for Nokia S40 in December 2018, and iOS 7 and Android Gingerbread in February 2020.
After this deadline, WhatsApp users will no longer be able to send or receive text messages, voice or video calls within the popular chat app.
As a result, WhatsApp users with an iPhone 4 or older will be forced to either upgrade to a new phone, or find an alternative to the world’s most popular chat app.
WhatsApp has set the same deadline for Android smartphone owners running version 2.3.7 and older, known as ‘Gingerbread’.
Following the announcement of the end of support, WhatsApp stopped new users setting up an account with the messaging service on either iOS 7 or Android Gingerbread handsets.
Existing accounts can send and receive messages until the end of support date.
However, WhatsApp has warned that some features could stop working at any time between now and the final deadline in early 2020.
Handsets that will no longer support WhatsApp after February 2020
- iPhone
- iPhone 3G
- iPhone 3GS
- iPhone 4
- Google Nexus One
- Samsung Galaxy S
- HTC Desire HD
- HTC Wildfire
- HTC Wildfire S
- Sony Xperia X10
- Sony Xperia Arc
This list is not exhaustive. Any Android-powered smartphones running version 2.3.7 and older will stop working on 1 February 2020.
WhatsApp users with an iPhone 4S or older will be forced to either upgrade to a new phone, or find an alternative to the world’s most popular chat app
WhatsApp periodically drops support for older operating systems so that it can guarantee its entire user base enjoys the same experience and features.
As the messaging service adds new functionality to its app, it is sometimes unable to replicate these features on smartphone running outdated operating systems.
On January 1 2018, WhatsApp removed support for phones running BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8.0, leaving these users unable to download the app, send or receive texts.
The Menlo Park-based developer has previously dropped support for —
- Android versions older than 2.3.3
- Windows Phone 8.0 and older
- iPhone 3GS/iOS 6
- Nokia Symbian S60
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