WhatsApp has had a pretty busy year, and we are not just talking about the fake news menace. Apart from taking several measures to curb the spread of fake news on its platform, WhatsApp has introduced a bunch of features on its platform recently — group video and voice calling, stickers support, and even payments option this year. We take a spin down memory lane to recap on all the new features WhatsApp has introduced in the past three months. This includes the new stickers rollout, Picture-in-Picture mode and Swipe to Reply for Android users, new notification extensions and the new Silent Mode as well.

Private Reply for Android beta users
WhatsApp recently introduced a new feature called Private Reply with its beta version 2.18.355, and it essentially allows users to privately send messages to a participant in a group without letting others in the same group know. To use the WhatsApp Private Reply feature, hold the message of the sender to which you have to reply to privately. Further tap on the three-dotted menu on the top right corner of the app. Here, you will get the Private Reply option. Once you choose the option, the selected message will open privately in the chat window of the sender in the form of a reply thread. To use this feature, download the latest version of the Android beta app, after becoming a part of the official Google Play beta programme.

WhatsApp Stickers

Late last month, the instant messaging platform started rolling out stickers support for all Android and iPhone users. Apart from using the default stickers that WhatsApp offers, users can also download distinguished sticker packs directly from Google Play. Stickers are segregated into three categories - Clock, Star, and Heart. The clock section in the stickers tab takes you to your most recent stickers, the star icon takes you to your favourite stickers, and the heart icon will take you to categories like love, happy, sad, and dramatic. To learn more about the stickers feature, how it works, and how to send a sticker, read our detailed explanation here.


WhatsApp has had a pretty busy year, and we are not just talking about the fake news menace. Apart from taking several measures to curb the spread of fake news on its platform, WhatsApp has introduced a bunch of features on its platform recently — group video and voice calling, stickers support, and even payments option this year. We take a spin down memory lane to recap on all the new features WhatsApp has introduced in the past three months. This includes the new stickers rollout, Picture-in-Picture mode and Swipe to Reply for Android users, new notification extensions and the new Silent Mode as well.
Private Reply for Android beta users
WhatsApp recently introduced a new feature called Private Reply with its beta version 2.18.355, and it essentially allows users to privately send messages to a participant in a group without letting others in the same group know. To use the WhatsApp Private Reply feature, hold the message of the sender to which you have to reply to privately. Further tap on the three-dotted menu on the top right corner of the app. Here, you will get the Private Reply option. Once you choose the option, the selected message will open privately in the chat window of the sender in the form of a reply thread. To use this feature, download the latest version of the Android beta app, after becoming a part of the official Google Play beta programme.

WhatsApp Stickers

Late last month, the instant messaging platform started rolling out stickers support for all Android and iPhone users. Apart from using the default stickers that WhatsApp offers, users can also download distinguished sticker packs directly from Google Play. Stickers are segregated into three categories - Clock, Star, and Heart. The clock section in the stickers tab takes you to your most recent stickers, the star icon takes you to your favourite stickers, and the heart icon will take you to categories like love, happy, sad, and dramatic. To learn more about the stickers feature, how it works, and how to send a sticker, read our detailed explanation here.

Playing of consecutive voice messages on iOS, iPhone XS Max support
With version 2.18.100 for iOS users, WhatsApp brought the ability to automatically play consecutive voice messages in a sequence, so users don't have to press play for each instance. The update, released in October, also brought support for the larger 6.5-inch display of the iPhone XS Max. This enabled WhatsApp to take advantage of the large display and take up the entire screen space allowing users to read more messages and view more media.
Silent Mode for Android users
WhatsApp for Android recently also introduced a new "Silent Mode" that hides the notification dots for muted chats. This means if you mute a chat on WhatsApp, you won't see how many new messages you've received in that chat directly from the WhatsApp icon on your Android smartphone. Previously, notifications from muted chats also counted towards the count of unread messages. It is said that the new feature is already enabled by default. However, it isn't available in the form of an option in the Settings menu so there's no way to disable the feature manually if you want to go back to the old behaviour.
Vacation Mode spotted in testing
WhatsApp is also reportedly working on "Vacation Mode" that makes archived chats that have been muted, to remain archived when a new message arrives in those chats. At present, WhatsApp automatically unarchives an archived chat once a new message is received in that chat. This behaviour will apparently be controllable via the Notifications settings on WhatsApp for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone. This feature was spotted by beta tracker WABetaInfo.
Linked Accounts spotted in testing
WhatsApp is also reportedly working on a Linked Accounts feature that will let users link their account with external services. While the option appears to be mainly focused for WhatsApp Business users, it could also reach the standard WhatsApp version. It is said that the Linked Accounts option will be available under the Profile settings on WhatsApp and will initially support Instagram as an external service. You will need to insert your credentials once by tapping the Instagram listing from the Linked Accounts option. This will link your WhatsApp account to your Instagram profile. This feature was also spotted by tipster WABetaInfo.
Delete for Everyone tweaks
WhatsApp has recently also updated the rules for its 'Delete for Everyone' feature to make the experience better than before. WhatsApp has updated the "Recipient limit" to restrict deletion of a message if the recipient didn't receive its revoke request within 13 hours, eight minutes, and 16 seconds due to any reason, even if the phone was inactive. This means if you try to delete a message that you sent to your contact by using the Delete for Everyone feature on WhatsApp, it will only be deleted if the recipient receives the revoke request within 13 hours, eight minutes, and 16 seconds. Notably, you can delete a WhatsApp message for everyone within the previous limit of over one hour, though the recipient needs to receive the revoke request by opening the chat containing the message within the newly designed limit. This new change was reportedly a server-side update.
Picture-in-Picture video feature for Android users
After introducing it to iOS users earlier this year, WhatsApp finally rolled out picture-in-picture video feature for Android users in October. It arrived for Android users with beta version 2.18.301, allowing them to watch Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube videos in a small window within the messaging app itself. It essentially means users will not need to go to Instagram or YouTube or Facebook apps to view a video sent by a contact. With PiP support, Android users will be able to tap on a YouTube link and open up the YouTube video in the app itself. It will allow the user to view the video and continue to navigate around WhatsApp, in different chats, simultaneously.

WhatsApp, the popular mobile messaging service has updated its iPhone app adding support for iCloud chat history backup and restore functionality and sending multiple images at the same time, in addition to bringing URL schema support for third-party apps.

With the update, WhatsApp is also changing its monetization model for the service on iPhone. It will now offer the app as a free download, however, new users will be charged $0.99 every year after getting one year of free access to the service, similar to how the service is offered on other platforms. Existing users of the WhatsApp iPhone app, though, will get the service free for life.

With the iCloud backup functionality, users will now have the option to backup their message history to iCloud, Apple's cloud service. To activate the iCloud backups, users will need to enable 'Chat Backup' through their WhatsApp settings. This would essentially allow users to restore their chat history from iCloud if the delete and reinstall the app on their device or install the app on a device on which they're signed in with the same Apple ID. Users will be prompted to restore from iCloud, while setting up the app.

Support for sending multiple pictures has also been included through a new image interface that comes up after the user selects the first image that is intended to be sent.

The update also includes URL schema support for third-party apps. This means that apps can contain a link or button that directly opens a WhatsApp chat with a contact. If the third-party app wants to add sharing using WhatsApp, the developer can use the Document Interaction API to send media to WhatsApp contacts and groups.

iOS doesn't feature WhatsApp integration in its system wide sharing menu, so individual apps can add the functionality through the API. As WhatsApp gains more popularity, more developers would want close integration with it.

What's New in Version 2.10.1
- multi-send UI: can send multiple photos at the same time
- URL schema support for 3rd party apps
- iCloud chat history backup and restore: WhatsApp > Settings > Chat Settings > Chat Backup