WhatsApp has posted its latest monthly overview of recent app updates, some of which we’ve reported on already, while others are smaller changes that have been rolled out with little fanfare.
WhatsApp’s been publishing its monthly feature round-ups since April, in order to ensure that all users are aware of the latest tweaks and changes to your chats.
This month’s version covers animated emojis, avatar stickers, photo polls in channels, a new Status sharing option, and more.
First off, WhatsApp says that animated emojis are now available in all chats, adding another attention-grabbing element in-stream.
These have been available in limited form for some time, but now, more of the emojis you append to your chats will wriggle and move on screen.
WhatsApp’s also added an animated sticker maker tool, which can transform your videos into moving stickers.
So it’s like a GIF maker within WhatsApp, based on whatever video source you have on your device.
WhatsApp also now enables you to share avatar social stickers with friends in one-on-one chats, providing another custom engagement option.
To be clear, this is an addition to the avatar stickers that WhatsApp added a couple of years back, with social stickers being combined depictions of you and a friend’s avatar in a single image.
WhatsApp’s also looking to make it easier to create a group chat, with users now able to create and customize their groups before others have joined.
You can also now add shared captions when sending multiple photos and videos at once, while there are also some new filters and effects options for your video chats and still image updates.
WhatsApp’s also got some new channel options, including photos in polls and the ability to tag your favorite updates to come back to later.
Finally, you can now also tag groups in your Status updates.
As per WhatsApp:
“Last year we made it possible to mention friends and family in your status. Now, you can also mention your groups. All members of the group will be notified in the group chat, and will be able to reshare the status to their own.”
These are smaller changes, which largely build on existing functionality, but they could be handy updates for your WhatsApp interactions.
