WhatsApp has officially announced the latest features coming to the platform today including animated stickers, dark mode for Mac and the web, QR codes to quickly share contact info, video improvements, and more.
Some of the new features like animated stickers appeared previously in a WhatsApp beta before being pulled. Now they’ve been officially announced. The Facebook-owned WhatsApp shared all the details in a blog post today including that it has more than 2 billion users:
While our focus remains on providing a simple, reliable and private way for people to chat with friends and family – we also continue to push forward our product design to make sure WhatsApp remains the most useful way for anyone, anywhere to connect.
There are five major new features/improvements will arrive soon:
Today, we are excited to confirm some new features that are rolling out over the next few weeks:
- Animated Stickers: Stickers are one of the fastest growing ways people communicate on WhatsApp, with billions sent every day. We are rolling out new animated sticker packs that are even more fun and expressive.
- QR codes: We are making it easier than ever to add a new contact. Soon when you meet someone new, you will be able to scan their QR code to add them to your contacts. No more tapping in their digits one at a time.
- Dark mode for WhatsApp web and desktop: The incredibly popular Dark Mode theme now extends to your computer.
- Improvements to group video calls: With now up to 8 people on a video call, we’ve made it easier to focus on whoever you want by letting you press and hold to maximize a participant’s video to full screen. We also added a video icon in group chats of 8 or less, so you can easily start a group video call with 1-tap.
- Status comes to KaiOS: KaiOS users can now enjoy the popular feature that lets you share updates that disappear after 24 hours.
Look out for the new changes on iPhone, Mac, Android, the web, and more over the coming weeks.
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