Here's how the app has changed in a year

WhatsApp is one of the applications that has continued to evolve and this year it has received numerous updates so that users in Europe can enjoy an ever better experience; and those that have not yet arrived, such as email. Among all these updates, it’s easy to miss one, so you’ll find them below the best news of the application quintessential cat.

While waiting for the new update which will improve the visual appearance of the interface, new features are released almost every week which arrive in the beta version of the application.

This review of the best features arrived They are now available in the app in Europeso some of them will surely be a surprise, because it is often difficult to know that when you record an audio note you can send it so that it can only be played once, or that conversations can be blocked and hidden so that no curious person can see them.

Photos and videos in HD

WhatsApp, in addition to being used to stay in touch with friends or family, is the application in which the most images and videos are sent daily. This year, in summer, it was updated in Europe to be able to send images or videos in HD quality. A big change, since chat app compressed media content so that it doesn’t gain so much weight, you can now send better quality photos and videos:

Select the image or video, click send, and on the previous screen you can click on the HD icon if it appears highlighted (otherwise it does not allow sending HD).

WhatsApp Channels

Another of the pleasant surprises of this year is the appearance of WhatsApp channels. They arrived in September and allow a user to create a broadcast channel so others can participate inside and thus receive news, curiosities or photographs. They are private (you cannot see who other people are followed) and are displayed in the “news” section, located at the top of the chat overview. To search for or create channels:

From News, click on the + icon located under WhatsApp statuses.
You can create one or search.
You can find celebrities or football teams with the highest number of followers.

Voice chats

This new feature for the month of September allows voice chat for groups of more than 33 people. Voice chats, when active, appear at the top of the group so you can join in with just one click. Here are its main characteristics:

Ability to mute the microphone, hang up or send a message without leaving voice chat.
Voice chat is end-to-end encrypted to protect user privacy.
An active voice channel that you can enter or exit whenever you want.

fast groups

Most temporary groups created on WhatsApp end up being forgotten in the chat list. In August, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, announced the arrival of fast groups which are deleted automatically within the time limit defined by the group creator. Its main characteristics:

Only six users total can be added.
The group name is based on the participants’ names.

Video notes

Just in summer, in the month of July, the chat app came at the best possible time with video notes. Similar to audio, lets you record a quick video to display in an individual or group chat. They have these characteristics:

Limited to 60 seconds.
They play silently until pressed.
They start with a quick press of the audio notes button. By switching to camera mode, recording can be started.

Self-destructing voice memos

Like images that can be destroyed When viewing them to protect the user’s privacy or sensitive information, audio notes were updated in Europe in October. It works very similar to voice audio creation, but with this important point:

Click the microphone button to create a voice note.
Before creating the audio, in the next window you need to press the button with the ‘1’ icon.
When you send the audio note, it will appear as self-destructing images.

voice states

Voice statuses are an extension of WhatsApp statuses so you can record an audio to send so that it can be played by all contacts in the chat app. They last for 24 hours and work the same as WhatsApp statuses. The only difference is the format in which they are sent. They work like this:

They have a 30 second limit.
They are created as an audio note in a group or individual chat.
From statuses, when you click on My Status, when the keyboard interface appears, a microphone button is also displayed to create voice status.

WhatsApp on Wear OS

Another of the most important new features, especially for those who use a smart watch, is the availability of WhatsApp on Wear OS. Its most important features are the possibility of start a conversation from the watch or answer calls

audio. It is installed on a watch with Wear OS in this way:

Search for WhatsApp in the Google Play Store from your PC or mobile.
Click the icon next to install to choose the watch from all devices associated with the Google account.

Two WhatsApp accounts on one mobile

It is no longer necessary to have two cell phones to be able to use two accounts of the application belonging to Meta. Another of its best new features announced by Mark Zuckerberg himself two months ago. This way you can better differentiate professional life from personal life with the use of two accounts. You can add a new account like this:

You have to go to the WhatsApp settings.
The option: Add account should appear next to the username.
Click to configure it and you have the second account.
You can easily switch between one and the other.

WhatsApp on two phones

You can now have the same WhatsApp account on two different phones. The limit that the chat application now imposes is the possibility of linking the account on four different devices. In this way, If you use one cell phone for work and another for your personal life, you can use the same account on both. This is done like this:

From the chat window, click on linked devices.
Click on Associate a device from the primary mobile as well as the secondary mobile.

Chat blocking

Another important new feature for the confidentiality of discussions on the mobile phone is the possibility of locking them with a secret code and even hide them so that curious people cannot see them. This new feature expands the experience, since previously the fingerprint could be used to unlock a chat. In fact, you can even use an emoji to unlock chat. A cat is blocked like this:

Long-press a chat or conversation in the list.
In the upper right corner, click the three-dot icon.

Block chat is selected.
The same will be done when you want to unblock the chat so that it appears in the list with the rest of the conversations.

Pinned Posts

One of its latest innovations is the possibility of pin messages in group chats. This is an important feature, since it allows the message to always appear at the top of the chat. That is, you can send a message with the location of the restaurant and by pinning it, everyone can see it quickly. This is done like this:

A long press is performed on a sent message.
Once marked, click on the three-dot icon located at the top right and now click Set.

Edit posts

A feature that may seem very simple, but it is very useful for editing a message after being sent. This new feature arrived in May and allows you to correct the message as you wish shortly after it is sent (after a few minutes it will no longer be possible to modify it). This is how it works:

Tap and hold on the sent message.
Now click on the three-dot button located at the top right.
Select Edit and proceed to edit the message.

Share screen on WhatsApp

A function that comes from fear of helping friends or family in order to explain how a feature works, it’s screen sharing. This feature, during a video call, allows the user shares what he sees on his mobile screen. That is, when sharing the screen, if you open another application, a photo or the home application, the interlocutor will see it. It is activated in this way:

A video call starts.
At the bottom is the bar with the microphone, hang up and a new icon in the shape of a cell phone with an arrow inside.
Tap it and what you see on the screen will be shared.

Create your avatar with AI

And finally, one of the latest innovations arrived this December and which allows you to personalize the profile photo so that the application’s artificial intelligence is capable of create a character that perfectly illustrates the user’s face. They are created like this from the new avatars section:

In the Avatar section settings, click Create your avatar.
A photo must be taken before WhatsApp can create the avatar. Once this is done, you can delete it to choose another photo (with a different expression for example) and thus finally select the ideal profile photo for WhatsApp.