Chat pinning
This is one of the most recent additions to WhatsApp, allowing users to pin up to three conversations (individual or group chats) on top of their WhatsApp home screen. While this was already possible to some extent with the archiving feature, proper chat pinning wasn’t available on the app. This is a beta feature for the time being and might take some time to reach all devices right away.
Voice calls
WhatsApp took the world by storm when it announced voice calls on its platform. While the feature was quite wonky initially, the company has made massive improvements in this area. The service is heavily dependent on the kind of internet connection you have, so not all can get the same kind of connectivity.
End-to-end encryption
While apps like Telegram offered end-to-end encryption by default, WhatsApp was a bit late to the party. However, it’s better late than never, as they say, and WhatsApp joined the fray not too long ago. Thanks to end-to-end encryption, users are assured that their chats are secure from prying eyes or even the government.
GIF support
WhatsApp is one of the largest platforms to share images and videos, although GIF support was somewhat lacking. The company officially added support for GIFs some time ago, and users couldn’t be happier.
Video calls
Shortly after WhatsApp introduced voice calls, the company brought video calls to the app as well. Again, this is a feature that was available on rival apps for quite some time, but WhatsApp was rigorously testing its feasibility for quite some time given the botched up rollout of the voice calls feature.
WhatsApp has seen a major overhaul in the past few years. While the app was pretty good to begin with, it was found to be lacking compared to a few other instant messaging applications. While this didn’t necessarily come in the way of usage, WhatsApp was quick to realize that the only way to further user experience is by adding new features. Over the past one year or so, we’ve seen the inclusion of a bunch of new features on the app. These features have no doubt become a huge part of our lives.
So what are some of the recently added features on WhatsApp?