WhatsApp has introduced one of its first major changes in the new year. The company is currently testing beta notifications for message reactions, in accordance with WABetaInfo, an independent online portal that shares information about WhatsApp updates.
The latest update appears in the latest beta (version 22.2.72) on iOS. A new “reactions notifications” option has appeared in WhatsApp’s notification settings. Users can enable or disable these reactions in their notifications. As visible to iOS beta users, it may soon come to the mainstream version if it receives positive feedback. However, users will not yet be able to react to messages, although this change may be made available in the near future.
This is a follow-up to WhatsApp’s “react to messages” feature, which was apparently in development in November 2021. This feature will allow users to react to a message using a certain set of emojis, rather than a text message. This is likely an attempt to catch up with Apple’s iMessage reactions, which launched in late 2016.
At this time, it is not known when these changes will appear in the Android beta version. Meanwhile, the latest Android beta update introduced a voice note player feature that allows users to view the note in a UI with a progress bar, as well as pause, resume or to dismiss the note at their convenience. Since these changes were introduced in the iOS beta three months ago, it’s possible that the message notifications update will reach Android beta users by April 2022.
WhatsApp has brought a series of major updates to its messaging service in 2021, including cross-device adaptability and end-to-end encryption for online backups. The Meta-owned messenger also started beta testing a new interface for voice calls and testing a new shortcut for quick replies on its Business version towards the end of December 2021.
