WhatsApp, one of the most popular instant messaging platforms in the world often rolls out new features. While some of these bring much-needed quality-of-life changes, many of them add new functionalities to the app. From sending photos in HD to Discord-like voice chats in groups, here are some of the latest WhatsApp features that can enhance your productivity and overall user experience.
Screen sharing on video calls
Earlier this month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the ability to share screen during a video call. Using the new feature, users can easily share their screen with others no matter what platform they are on. It is really handy if you want to show something on your screen but don’t want to resort to apps like GoogleMeet, Zoom, Discord or Skype.
To share your screen on WhatsApp, start a video call with a person or a group of people and tap on the ‘Share’ icon that appears at the bottom of the screen. Once you give the app permission to record your screen, it will be visible to all participants in the call.
Send high-quality photos
While WhatsApp may be the preferred platform for billions when it comes to texting, until recently, it did not let users share images in HD. This was really frustrating since users had to rely on third-party solutions to send photos.
But in a recent update, the instant messaging platform added the option to send images in HD and said it would soon introduce the option to send videos in HD as well.
To send images in HD, open a chat and choose the photo you want to share. On the photo-sharing screen, tap on the ‘HD’ button that appears on the top bar and you are good to go. One thing to note here is by default, WhatsApp sends compressed images, so you will have to tap on the button every time you want to send photos in HD.
Voice chats in groups
Similar to Discord’s voice chat and Twitter Spaces, WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature called ‘Voice chats’ for those who want to talk to others in a group.
While WhatsApp’s group call feature ringed everyone in the group, the new ‘Voice chats’ feature sends a silent notification. Unlike ‘group calls’, which require you to manually add members, the new feature lets you join or leave the call whenever you want.
It is useful if you don’t want to disturb others and want to have a conversation with group participants. Whenever someone initiates a ‘voice chat’, the group icon will automatically change to a waveform icon and show a ‘Connect’ button.
Edit sent media captions
Ever sent a media file on WhatsApp just to realise the caption was wrong or had typos? Instead of sending media captions separately or having to resend the media file, WhatsApp now lets you edit media captions. The functionality works just like the messaging app’s ‘Edit message’ feature which lets you edit messages up to 15 minutes after they are sent.
To edit media captions after they are sent, tap on the media message with caption and you will see an ‘Edit’ button similar to how it looks when editing text messages.
Create groups without names
Yesterday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new quality of life for WhatsApp that lets users quickly create groups without having to name them. Instead of users having to manually name a group, WhatsApp will automatically name groups with up to 6 participants based on the people in the group.
The company also explained that in case someone who is not on your contact list joins the group, they will only be able to see your phone number. Also, names in the group will be extracted from your contact list.
Note: WhatsApp is still rolling out some of the aforementioned features, so it might take some time before they are available on your device.
