Latest features added to the new WhatsApp application for the new year
WhatsApp, which was introduced in 2009 by Brian Acton and Jan Koom, who worked at the famous Yahoo company, has now become a communication application used by the most people in the world.
Surveys conducted in June 2022 revealed that there are 2.26 billion WhatsApp users worldwide.
In 2014, Facebook bought the WhatsApp app and it is currently controlled by Mark Zuckerberg. New features are constantly being introduced to suit current conditions and user needs. In this article, let’s examine some of the features introduced for WhatsApp in 2022.
Whatsapp Avatars
Among the latest features introduced by the WhatsApp company for users around the world, WhatsApp Avatars (pictures that resemble the appearance of a certain person) take a major place. The facility allows users to express their feelings using a digital version of themselves that they have created. In addition to sharing such versions with your friends through WhatsApp messages, they can also be used as the profile photo of the WhatsApp account.
The WhatsApp Avatars feature, which was introduced on December 7, is available to WhatsApp users worldwide. Zuckerberg’s social media platforms Facebook, Messenger and Instagram also allow users to create and share avatars. It is possible to create a number of avatars with different looks, and many say that the use of avatars will increase instead of WhatsApp stickers.
Messaging with Yourself
WhatsApp users who used to exchange messages with their friends and other users have now been provided with the facility to exchange messages with themselves. Introduced on November 29, this facility allows users to forward messages to their own WhatsApp number. Using this facility, one can also get reminders about tasks to be done and information about other special occasions.
If you are using WhatsApp through a mobile phone, you can use this facility by clicking on the “Chat” icon which can be seen at the bottom right corner. Users have the option to direct any message to themselves, from simple text messages to audio messages (voice) and photos. Many users will appreciate the introduction of this feature as it makes it easier to keep track of certain things.
WhatsApp Communities
WhatsApp Communities is another new feature introduced by the WhatsApp company in 2022. WhatsApp users around the world now have the opportunity to experience this feature which was introduced on November 3rd. Under this facility, several WhatsApp groups created for similar purposes can be added and a WhatsApp community can be created.
Polls and raised group memberships
Using this facility, it is possible to access the messages exchanged in several groups easily and in a more organized manner. This facility can be used in relation to various structures such as family, schools, universities and workplaces. 50 organizations from 15 countries have thanked WhatsApp for introducing this facility.
Users now have the opportunity to poll their friends or members of WhatsApp groups on certain topics while exchanging WhatsApp messages. That facility was established long ago in the Facebook social platform.
Another notable feature is the increase in the number of people that can be connected to a video call. According to the latest facilities, 32 people can join a video call on WhatsApp at the same time. The number of members that can be connected to a WhatsApp group has also been increased to 1,024.
Privacy and security features
WhatsApp has also introduced several features that further ensure the privacy and security of users. Among them, it is important that users are facilitated to leave a WhatsApp group so that no member other than the admins can see it. With the introduction of this feature, when a member leaves or is removed from a group, it will not be visible to other members.
Now WhatsApp users are also facilitated to decide who should and should not know that they are online with WhatsApp. This feature enables users to enable certain people in their WhatsApp contact list to show that they are online and prevent others from showing it.
WhatsApp has also introduced a new feature related to messages that can be viewed only once (View Once). Until now, the recipient of the message was able to take “screenshots” of such messages. However, the company recently decided to discontinue the feature as it could be harmful to the privacy and security of WhatsApp users.
Audio messages
In 2013, with the introduction of the audio messaging facility through WhatsApp, many people who did not like to record messages started to exchange messages through voice tapes. On March 30, 2022, the WhatsApp company announced that users exchange about seven billion such messages per day. Considering those facts, a number of features related to audio messaging have been introduced to WhatsApp.
Under that, WhatsApp users can also listen to an audio clip sent by another person while exchanging messages with their friend. It is also possible to temporarily stop listening to audio tracks. Another unique feature is that if you are sharing an audio track, you can listen to it before sending it to the concerned user. Users are also allowed to increase the speed of selected voice messages up to 1.5x or 2x.
Emojis that can add emotion to messages
Another unique feature that WhatsApp introduced last May is emojis that can express feelings about received messages. Love, smile, sadness, surprise and thanks emojis were initially introduced. The use of this emoji quickly became popular among users. Emojis appear when you select a message and hold it for a few seconds. In addition to the emojis introduced in the beginning, it is now possible to add other emojis.
Under the latest features, the size of a file that can be shared through WhatsApp has also been increased to two gigabytes. The size was previously 100 megabytes. This facility has been introduced keeping in mind the opinions expressed by the users that the amount is not sufficient at all. It is said that the use of Wi-Fi facility is preferable when transferring large files.
Exclusive introductions
The facility that has been introduced to make profile photos, statuses and messages read so that selected contacts do not show that they are online with WhatsApp is unique. Under that, in addition to the selections of “Everyone”, “My Contacts” and “Nobody”, the selection of “My Contacts Except…” has also been introduced. Users have the option to hide their profile photos, statuses and messages from certain people using the “My Contacts Except” option.
