4 new features coming to WhatsApp – including locked chats and disappearing message changes

The popular communication app WhatsApp is changing things up for both android and IOS users.

Data service WABetaInfo, said that some of the new features that are rolling out or in the beta stage of development include locked chats, changes to disappearing messages and polls.

In South Africa, WhatsApp continues to be a highly favoured messaging platform for family groups, community groups, hobby groups and other conversations.

As a result of WhatsApp being so popular, it is renowned for its continuous updates and beta testing.

The fact that the app is free and available for download on both the IOS App Store and the Google Play Store makes it even more appealing.

WABetaInfo, which tracks the goings on of developers behind the scenes of WhatsApp, has pointed to the following alterations:

Locked chat

WhatsApp is currently developing a new feature called ‘lock chat’ for mobile users.

The feature will allows users to lock chats and keep them hidden. It would allow users to lock specific chats and unlock them with either a passcode or fingerprint.

WABetaInfo said that this would provide a greater level of security for users who wish to keep their conversation safe from prying eyes.

Disappearing messages

WhatsApp is busy developing an update for disappearing messages that would bring 15 new durations for disappearing messages.

As a result, people would be able to send a message and have it only disappear after even longer periods, such as 24 hours, 7 days and 90 days.

“This feature will surely offer users greater control over their messages, especially for sensitive or confidential information that needs to be kept secure. The 1-hour duration, in particular, may be useful for these messages as it ensures that the message is not stored on the recipient’s device for too long,” said WABetaInfo.

Keep message

The communication app is reportedly rolling out a new feature called ‘keep message’, which is set to be available for both IOS and Android users.

This feature works in tandem with disappearing messages and allows a person to prevent specific messages from disappearing.

“The ability to keep messages from disappearing can be useful in situations where chat participants may need to refer back to a message later,” WABetaInfo added.

Notably, if you still wish a disappearing message not to be permanent, you can choose to “unkeep” the message, and it will vanish for both participants of the chat.

Poll changes

WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp update for Windows is currently rolling out a new feature that allows respondents to a poll to have more than one response to a question.

This aims to provide more accurate polls as it forces people to choose the option they feel most strongly about. The feature can be toggled on and off for instances where a person may want to limit the number of responses.

Polls were originally introduced to WhatsApp in November 2022 and are still being tweaked constantly.

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