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WhatsApp in 2022: Top features rolled out this year
WhatsApp, the instant-messaging platform brought many new features in this year. Here is the recap of all the features added in 2022.
Meta-owned WhatsApp saw several changes this year. Over 20 new features were reported to be added, including improvements to groups, better calling, voice notes and privacy layers.
Here is the recap of all the new features added in 2022.
Added layers of privacy
WhatsApp introduced new layers of protection enabling users to:
i. Hide online status: Users have been given the control over who sees their last seen and whether they’re online.
ii. Leave groups silently: Instead of notifying the full group when users leave, now only admins are notified.
iii. Accidental delete: Shared something to the wrong group, and in trying to delete quickly, and have hit “delete for me” by mistake? The accidental delete features allows you to undo that.
Communities feature
i. With ‘Communities’ feature, schools, local clubs and workplaces can manage their conversations by bringing multiple groups under one umbrella. It also gives admins tools, including an announcement group, and the ability to make sub-groups on any topic.
ii. New group features
Alongside Communities, WhatsApp introduced new group messaging features, including the ability to create in-chat polls, the option to add up to 1,024 members, up from 256. It also introduced admin delete, giving admins the ability to delete problematic messages.
ALSO READ: WhatsApp banned over 37 lakh Indian accounts in November. Here's why
Voice and video calling
This year, WhatsApp launched add-ons to this feature.
i. 32-person calls: Users can now do video calls on their mobile with up to 32 people, four times the earlier number.
ii. Message or mute call participants: Long pressing on a participant's name or number enlarges the video or audio feed and allows the user to either mute or message them separately.
iii. Call links: One can invite people to a group call by sharing a call link.
iv. In-call banner notifications: Users now get notified when someone new joins a group call.
Voice messages
In March, WhatsApp introduced several improvements to this feature.
i. Out of chat playback: For multitasking or reading and responding to other messages.
ii. Pause/resume recording: When recording a voice message, users can swipe up to lock the recording button. They can hit pause and resume as many times as needed.
iii. Draft preview: The platform added a facility to listen to voice messages before sending.
iv. Remember playback: If the user pauses a voice message, he can pick up from where it was left off.
v. Fast playback: Enabling to play voice messages at 1.5x or 2x speed.
New expression features
In 2022, WhatsApp added features that let you express yourself even better.
i. Emoji reactions: Enabling to react to a message with any emoji.
ii. Avatars: One can create their personalised avatar and use it as the profile photo or as one of 36 custom stickers.
iii. Status updates: When someone adds a status, WhatsApp users see a ring around their profile. One can also react to someone’s status with an emoji reaction.
Utility feature
i. Message yourself: A user can send messages to herself/ himself.
ii. 2GB file sharing: The platform can be used for sharing files, photos and videos up to 2GB, it was previously limited to 100MB.
iii. Migrate chats from Android to iOS and vice versa: Users can transfer account information, settings, profile photo, and chat history when moving between operating systems.
