This Thursday (14), WhatsApp announced the official launch of four new functions coming to the messenger “in the coming weeks”. Now users React to messages using six emojis (initially), have group conversations with more participants and share files up to 2GB in size.
Innovations are part of the app’s launch strategy. communities, also introduced today. The functionality, like the others, has been tested internally and should be rolled out in the future. Here are the main news announced:
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Reactions with emojis: using six emoji, users can react to messages just like on Instagram or Messenger;
to WhatsApp ???????????? We’re excited to announce that the response has started with . and with all the emojis and skin tones to come. pic.twitter.com/086JnVS5Ey
— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) 14 April 2022
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larger files: file sharing now allows you to transfer items up to 2 GB in size;
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Calls with more people: groups of up to 32 people can now join a WhatsApp conversation;
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Controls for groups: Admins will now be able to “remove false or problematic messages” for all participants.
It is worth noting that the news is not yet open to the public. The company’s CEO, Will Cathcart, said the features will help WhatsApp Communities “offer much better privacy and security than other players.” [concorrentes]”.
WhatsApp Communities
hour WhatsApp communities will be available in a new app tab. The idea is that the new functionality will be useful for schools, clubs, nonprofits and other small groups. In them it will be possible to gather in one area, but separate groups that deal with the same related topic.
“While other apps create conversations for hundreds of thousands of people, we chose to focus on supporting groups that are a part of our daily lives,” the company said in a statement. However, the company states that it is still too early to launch Communities, which must rely on the development of new resources. This “will be one of our main focuses for next year,” stresses WhatsApp.
Admins will also be able to send messages to all groups at once, facilitating communication between them. It will also be possible to choose which groups will be part of a Community and exclude any if necessary. In addition to “inappropriate or abusive” messages, files and media can also be deleted for all members by an administrator.
The company also underlined that it sets “reasonable limits” to the dissemination of information. For example, it will not be possible to discover or search for a community on the service as in Telegram. Forwarding messages that have already been transmitted can also occur only once and for a single group. The company believes this will “significantly reduce the spread of inaccurate and potentially harmful information.”
For Brazil, the company stresses that it will “not implement any major product changes” before the October presidential election.
Source: Tec Mundo
