The popular messaging app that has been making headlines since the beginning of January is working tirelessly to roll out new features for its users. Some of these features like the WhatsApp mention badge feature that is available on the updated beta version could introduce a whole new user experience for users.
Also read: WhatsApp posts status to reassure users about new privacy update.
Now that the heat has died down from recent weeks, WhatsApp will be showing off its latest features to its users in a new update that’s expected soon. Some of the features could be a mention badge for group chats, making video calls on the desktop version and biometric authentication.
WhatsApp mention badge feature for group chats.
This feature that will soon be available to WhatsApp users will be useful during group chats. Once it’s finally ready for all users, people can use it to mention people in group chats including your friends, families, or others. WhatsApp is going to add the updated mention badge together with the pin option of the message.
The mention badge feature is made in a way that’s simple for users. Once someone mentions you in a group, the badge will automatically be added to the group cell. This way, as you use the app, you’ll be notified that your name has been mentioned or you’ve been tagged. This feature will only be available for group chat and is currently still under development which is why the general public can’t access it yet.
Sticker pack.
The Facebook-owned app is also working on a new sticker pack called Taters n tots which is currently available for Android users.
Face and fingerprint unlock for WhatsApp web.
Another cool feature that the app has been working on is the biometric authentication required when linking WhatsApp web to the account. Users will be required to use face and fingerprint unlock in the process of logging in to the web version of WhatsApp before scanning a QR code from the smartphone. The feature will be available for phones with biometric features and they’ll be able to scan using face ID, fingerprints or iris scan.
This feature will ensure that there are no illegal logins into someone’s WhatsApp account on the web. With this new security feature, no outsider will be allowed to link their WhatsApp devices to the web account. If anyone attempts to log in to the web version of the messaging app, a notification will be sent to the owner’s smartphone.
Mute audio before you send a video.
One more great feature to look out for is the one that lets users mute audio before they share their videos via the popular messaging app. Before you share a video from your gallery, a volume icon will be visible that you can simply tap to mute the audio in a video. And then simply tap it again to restore the audio. This feature lets you clip out audio from the entire video and not particular segments of the audio.
These features including the highly anticipated WhatsApp mention badge feature are currently available for a few Beta testers on the latest Beta update, the 2.21.3.13 version and will be available on the Stable version in the coming weeks for all the app’s users.