Picking a messaging app can be challenging, and unless you patronize one app, you’ll find yourself hopping between the popular ones to stay connected. WhatsApp is in the thick of it, thanks to its massive user base, and developers are hard at work to ensure the app isn’t left in the dust by the likes of Telegram and Signal. That’s perhaps why March was all about beta testing everything from UI changes to security enhancements, so here’s a quick look at what changed this month.
10 years of WhatsApp under Meta ownership: Feels like one long day
We’ve seen loads of copy-pasting over the years
WhatsApp goes pin-crazy, but in a good way
Pinning stuff to refer to later is really convenient, and WhatsApp gave us related features a few years ago with support for pinning conversations to the chat list introduced in 2017. You can also pin individual messages in every chat, but at the moment are limited to one message per chat, and the pin only lasts for up to 30 days.
WhatsApp could soon let you pin more chats
The app will finally let you pin up to five chats
This month, WhatsApp started testing more liberal limits for both, allowing beta users to pin as many as three messages to a conversation. Testers could also pin a maximum of five conversations on the Chats tab, up from the original limit of three. Support for more pinned chats means it will be easier to have ready access to important messages and people as soon as you open the app. However, the beta test doesn’t say if multi-message pinning will be ephemeral too. Until the feature makes it to the stable channel, we suggest you stick to starring important messages, because that isn’t limited by number of messages or time.
WhatsApp pins its hopes on pinning support, now for up to three messages
Pin this, pin that, pin everything
More Meta rubs off on WhatsApp
This month, the messaging app also put some effort into beta testing another similar feature — tagging contacts in status updates. Right off the bat, this sounds like something Meta would do, and we aren’t even surprised because, in the last few years, WhatsApp has borrowed several functional cues from Meta apps like Instagram and Facebook. Now, the status updates feature in the chat app looks just like Instagram stories, and WhatsApp is testing a feature to tag people in them, just like you would in a Facebook post or story.
Since WhatsApp is fundamentally private, tagging may not work the same way it does on other Meta apps, though. Your tags should only notify the people you mention of your latest story, and remain invisible to other contacts who see the same updates. This method should help you notify the tagged people about your latest updates.
WhatsApp status continues its quest to basically just become Instagram stories
Just in case you forgot Meta is in the business of social apps
Speaking of status updates, we also saw WhatsApp beta test a new feature allowing for posting one-minute long video clips as status updates, up from the current 30-second limit. While reducing some clips to a single update, this change should greatly simplify uploading long videos as consecutive status updates, because unlike Instagram, WhatsApp doesn’t automatically split long clips into consecutive updates. You have to do it manually. Unfortunately, the option to share the video in HD quality isn’t shared in the screenshots of the feature, so we aren’t sure if that option will be available in the final version.
WhatsApp is adding voice transcripts and longer videos for status updates
Voice transcripts arrive on Android nearly a year after iOS
In the same week, we reported evidence in app code suggesting WhatsApp is working on support for voice message transcription as well. The feature has been available to iOS beta testers for close to a year now, but this is the first time we’ve seen signs on Android. The code suggests voice notes will be transcribed on-device after a one-time download of 150MB of additional resources. However, we may have to wait until the beta rolls out to see if you’re allowed to transcribe recordings longer than two minutes.
WhatsApp is also becoming more private
In March, there was no dearth of privacy-focused feature tests. For instance, we saw the app test new user authentication methods for the app lock feature. Until now, you could only set up fingerprint unlock, but the updated beta menu includes options for PIN and face unlock too.
WhatsApp is bolstering app lock with new authentication methods
The beta test is already underway
WhatsApp quietly rolled out profile picture screenshot blocking too. The blocking works like it would in bank apps, giving you a black image, or just blocking the screenshot attempt citing “app restrictions” in a toast message. However, blocking is only enforced for full-screen previews of the profile picture, and it doesn’t apply to group display pictures. Combined with smaller privacy updates in the beta like access controls for your animated avatars and a new encryption label for good measure, WhatsApp doesn’t seem to forget its ethos.
WhatsApp now blocks you from taking screenshots of profile pictures
The feature appears to be rolling out widely
Interface updates galore
While the app sometimes trails behind Telegram in the features department, we give it credit for maintaining a unique UI despite all of Google’s Material Design changes. In March, the developers beta tested a bunch of changes, such as icons in the three-dot overflow menu in the upper right corner, a new design for the in-app search bar, and a bottom-aligned navigation bar with sideways swipe gesture support to switch between tabs like Chats, Updates, and Calls.
WhatsApp brings back the long-lost swipeable navigation bar
Hopefully, it sticks around for longer this time
The new swipeable navigation bar design isn’t a new one, and we have seen it in prior beta releases. However, this time the rollout seems more permanent, because unlike previous tests, we see it on our linked phones too.
WhatsApp is gearing up to resurrect chat filters this year
The feature was first spotted in development last summer
Lastly, WhatsApp spent a while working on message management using chat filters — options to filter through unread messages, or just watch group chats, or just all your chats as usual. It’s a useful tool for business accounts which handle a large volume of messages every day, and we could see more of it later this year. We just hope the steady stream of updates stays perennial, and more beta tests make the cut for a stable launch.
