One of WhatsApp's most fun features is getting a smart upgrade

(Image credit: Tada Images / Shutterstock)

WhatsApp is giving stickers a big update, offering context-sensitive suggestions to help you find the perfect picture for your conversation.

The arrival of stickers in chat apps such as WhatsApp opened up a whole new lexicon with which to communicate. There are now so many sticker packs available that the choice is almost overwhelming. The chances are that if you are a WhatsApp user, you have numerous sticker packs installed, and this means you'll be only too aware of the problem of finding the perfect one to add to a message.

But thanks to a future update to WhatsApp, things are going to get a great deal simpler and faster. Sticker searching is in line for a major overhaul and upgrade that will make it easier than ever to find the perfect sticker for your chats.

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With the upgrade, WhatsApp will analyze what you type in the chat box and use this as the basis of a search through the stickers you have installed. You'll be able to tell when the feature kicks in as the sticker icon will change, and tapping this will show the suggestions.

Initially, it will only be possible to see suggestions for first-party sticker packs that come direct from WhatsApp, but there are plans to expand it further to encompass third-party apps too,

The feature isn't currently available for testing, but you can see how it will work in this video:

Search out stickers

News of the upcoming feature comes courtesy of the ever-reliable WABetaInfo. Although the new sticker search and suggestions option is yet to be fully implemented in the app, the site was able ot get it up and running to give us a glimpse into what's to come in a future release.

At this stage we don't know just how long it will be before the sticker search improvements will land in WhatsApp, but we do know that they will be making their way to both the Android and iOS version of the app. There are some cosmetic different in the implementation on the two platforms but they will be functionally identical.

Via WABetaInfo

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Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

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