WhatsApp launches three huge changes on Android – but iPhone users will have to wait to access them
- Tools include longer descriptions for group chats and captions for documents
- They’re yet to come to iPhones which may be linked to the urgent iOS update
- Android and iOS users are already able to create avatars just like on Facebook
WhatsApp has launched some exciting new features for Android – but iPhone users will have to wait to access them.
The first feature lets WhatsApp users send up to 100 photos or videos at once in any given chat, compared with only 30 before.
It means WhatsApp users won’t have to spend ages when sending big batches of media to friends and family through the app.
Android users can also now include longer names and descriptions for group chats and even include captions when sending documents.
It comes two months after WhatsApp rolled out the ability for people to create personalised avatars and use them as stickers and profile photos – just like on Facebook, which is also owned by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.
Updates: WhatsApp has launched some exciting new features for Android – but iPhone users will have to wait to access them. A description of the new features can be seen when users tap on WhatsApp on the Google Play Store followed by ‘What’s new’ (pictured)
WhatsApp’s handy new tools include longer descriptions for group chats and captions for documents (file photo)
A description of the new features can be seen when users tap on WhatsApp on the Google Play Store followed by ‘What’s new’.
New WhatsApp features
– You can now add captions when sending documents
– Added support for longer group subjects and descriptions to better describe your group
– You can now send up to 100 photos/videos at once (vs. 30 previously)
– You can now create personalised avatars and use them as stickers and profile photos
Android users may have to do a software update before the new features are available in the app.
Meanwhile, iPhone users are already able to create avatars on WhatsApp but the other three new features are still to arrive.
When heading to Apple’s App Store, the three new features have not yet been listed under the ‘What’s new’ tab.
MailOnline has contacted WhatsApp for more information about the release for iOS.
It is possible the delay is due to Apple rolling out an updated operating system to fix two security flaws earlier this week, including one that may have been actively exploited.
The update, called iOS 16.3.1, had to be rolled out just months after Apple released iOS 16.
The newest WhatsApp feature listed in App Store is personalised avatars, which was launched for both operating systems at the end of last year.
The virtual customisable characters are already available on Facebook and Instagram and show how Zuckerberg’s influence is increasingly changing the WhatsApp experience.
Avatars, the virtual customisable characters already available on Facebook and Instagram, officially launched on WhatsApp in December last year
WhatsApp was bought by Zuckerberg’s firm in 2014 – back when Meta was known as Facebook – for about $19 billion.
How do you add avatars on WhatsApp?
How to create your avatar
1. Tap ‘settings’
2. Tap avatar > Create your avatar
3. Follow the steps to create your avatar
4. Tap ‘done’
How to make your avatar your profile photo on WhatsApp
1. Tap ‘settings’
2. Tap your profile photo > Edit > Edit
3. Tap ‘use avatar’
It is his ambition to transform Facebook and other Meta platforms into a ‘metaverse’ – a collective virtual shared space featuring avatars of real people.
To add an avatar, WhatsApp users just have to click ‘Settings’ (indicated by the three vertical lines) followed by ‘Avatar’.
They then have to follow a series of steps for designing their avatar, by choosing hairstyle, skin tones, outfits, facial features and more.
The avatars can be used as a profile picture or sent in the form of one of 36 custom stickers that reflect different emotions and actions.
These show your cartoony face representing your mood with clapping, winking, thinking and flooding the chat with tears.
According to Meta, the presence of avatars on WhatsApp is aimed to boost both privacy and personalisation on the platform.
‘Sending an avatar is a fast and fun way to share feelings with friends and family,’ the company wrote in a blog post.
‘It can also be a great way to represent yourself without using your real photo so it feels more private.’
WhatsApp also recently started giving users the option to connect to the app using ‘proxy servers’ – intermediary gateways between users and web servers that let them go online.
WhatsApp is letting users connect to the messaging app via proxy servers for the first time to allow users to stay online even when an internet shutdown or block is in place
Proxy servers work as alternative gateways between a user and the internet when traditional connection methods and servers have been shut down or cut off.
Allowing WhatsApp users to connect to proxy servers will help users connect in case of internet shutdowns, as recently seen in Iran.
Users need to head to Settings and tap ‘Storage and data’ followed by ‘Proxy settings’ to toggle the option on and enter a proxy server address.
In December, it started letting users to preview their voice messages before sending them, helping avoid awkward mistakes or re-recording notes all over again.
The 20 WhatsApp tricks that will make your life easier: From taking back control of group chats to ‘super stealth mode’ to stop friends knowing you’ve seen their message
For more than a billion people globally, WhatsApp is one of the most valuable apps on the market.
It has made communicating with loved ones around the globe easier, is an instant service that requires only an internet connection, and there’s no sign up fee or ongoing associated cost.
On the surface, the basic functions are incredibly easy to use. It is so widely used precisely for this reason.
But there are so many more uses than initially meets the eye.
Here, MailOnline details some of the best hacks to maximise your WhatsApp experience.
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