WhatsApp's latest update brings the application up to version 2.21.210.5, with a new feature in tow as well.
WhatsApp is adding message reactions to its list of pending features and interface updates, and even allowed certain users to test the feature out with a few beta releases here and there. Reactions are sort of becoming the Facebook brand, considering just how much the social network and its sister site Instagram rely on them. It's not that reactions to comments and messages is a feature unique to these three platforms, but they do sort of flit into mind when one thinks of reaction emojis as a whole. I mean, there is a reason as to why Facebook's entire public image used to rely on the like button for nearly a decade. Reactions, being simplistic as they are, allow for better online social interactions, which is also the MO of an organization literally called the social network.
WhatsApp already had emojis, so this isn't anything particularly new or impressive. Whatever an emoji can't express enough, the platform's exhaustive GIF library and stickers would help supplement. Regardless, message reactions will be making their way to the app, and apparently so will something else in the same vein. This latest version of WhatsApp will allow users to get notifications if anyone reacts to their messages. Reaction notifications for messages, a feature that's already available in Instagram, will simply send an alert to your phone similar to when a user replies to your message. The difference here is that the alert will specify that it is a reaction that has been sent, instead of a coherent reply. This means that users don't have to actively check their phone and go through the messages.
Screenshots from WABetaInfo, a site dedicated to breaking down and documenting updates and interface changes to WhatsApp with each beta and full version release, reveal that users will be able to turn reaction notifications on and off. If you think a response to reactions isn't necessary, then go ahead and turn the alert off as a whole. Other than that, users will also have the ability to set a sound for the reactions that they receive, which is always nice when it comes to distinguishing the different alerts. Overall, still not the most exciting update with a new version, but oh well. Worth looking into anyways.
Read next: WhatsApp tests a new feature called ‘Community’ and users are intrigued it will replace the current Groups
WhatsApp is adding message reactions to its list of pending features and interface updates, and even allowed certain users to test the feature out with a few beta releases here and there. Reactions are sort of becoming the Facebook brand, considering just how much the social network and its sister site Instagram rely on them. It's not that reactions to comments and messages is a feature unique to these three platforms, but they do sort of flit into mind when one thinks of reaction emojis as a whole. I mean, there is a reason as to why Facebook's entire public image used to rely on the like button for nearly a decade. Reactions, being simplistic as they are, allow for better online social interactions, which is also the MO of an organization literally called the social network.
WhatsApp already had emojis, so this isn't anything particularly new or impressive. Whatever an emoji can't express enough, the platform's exhaustive GIF library and stickers would help supplement. Regardless, message reactions will be making their way to the app, and apparently so will something else in the same vein. This latest version of WhatsApp will allow users to get notifications if anyone reacts to their messages. Reaction notifications for messages, a feature that's already available in Instagram, will simply send an alert to your phone similar to when a user replies to your message. The difference here is that the alert will specify that it is a reaction that has been sent, instead of a coherent reply. This means that users don't have to actively check their phone and go through the messages.
Screenshots from WABetaInfo, a site dedicated to breaking down and documenting updates and interface changes to WhatsApp with each beta and full version release, reveal that users will be able to turn reaction notifications on and off. If you think a response to reactions isn't necessary, then go ahead and turn the alert off as a whole. Other than that, users will also have the ability to set a sound for the reactions that they receive, which is always nice when it comes to distinguishing the different alerts. Overall, still not the most exciting update with a new version, but oh well. Worth looking into anyways.
Read next: WhatsApp tests a new feature called ‘Community’ and users are intrigued it will replace the current Groups