WhatsApp said most of the features that we have been seeing in the testing phase till now, are rolling out widely to users in the stable channel.
These include emojis’ reactions to messages, increased file sharing limit, and increased group chat participants. WhatsApp users running on a beta version of the all are already using them, with the general users now getting this experience.
Rolling Out New WhatsApp Features to All
Over the last couple of months, we’re seeing WhatsApp testing a number of new features in its beta clients of Android, iOS, and desktop. Some of them are now rolling to general users starting today, to help “make it easier” for conversations, said WhatsApp. Further,
“Building private, safe, and secure communities takes work and we think this series of improvements will help people and groups stay close to one another.”
In this pursuit, WhatsApp is rolling out the emojis reactions to messages, where users can long-press on a message to open the emojis menu and select one to respond attractively. This should help reduce unnecessary messages in group chats.
Further, WhatsApp is increasing the file sharing limit from 100MB to 2GB, sent in an end-to-end encrypted format. This was initially tested with a few users in Argentina, and now rolling out to more people around the world. WhatsApp recommends users send such large files over Wi-Fi so that you won’t drain their mobile data.
Also, sending files will now have an ETA bar to let users know the estimated time and progress of the sharing. At last, WhatsApp is doubling the participants limit in a group chat, from the current 256 members to 512 members now.
While these will be available to all WhatsApp users gradually, an important and much-hyped feature called Communities is yet to be rolled out. WhatsApp may soon bring this to everyone, to form sub-groups in a group chat.
