WhatsApp is the most commonly used messenger in the world at the moment. Let it be business, entertainment, gossip, video and voice calling, photo and video sharing WhatsApp tops the global chart in terms of the highest number of users with an estimated 2.44 billion users. WhatsApp spends a lot of money and time to give frequent software upgrades to engage its users so that they don’t switch to any other messengers available in the Play Store. Recently, WhatsApp has introduced a bunch of new features for the convenience of its users across the globe. Surprisingly, some of the features were included in the app so silently that most of the users don’t even know about them. We are going to discuss a few of them today.
New Features in WhatsApp
In a recent feature update, WhatsApp has made possible the use of one account from up to 4 different devices. Devices can be Cell Phones, Tablets, or PCs. This means now users can maintain their WhatsApp account with the same cell number on 4 devices simultaneously. If users make a change in settings or receive or send a message, a call, or an audio/video file on their account, it will be updated on all the connected devices. Different operating systems like iOS or Android will not be a problem. The procedure to use this feature on your phone is Download and install WhatsApp on your second cellular device > Open the app >Go to the 3 dots menu in the top right corner > Select Link an existing account > Scan the QR code. Now on the primary phone, Open the app > select the 3 dots menu in the top right corner, select settings > Select the QR code in front of your account name. A QR code will appear on the primary phone. Scan this QR code with the secondary phone and your account will be logged in simultaneously on both phones.
WhatsApp compresses the size and quality of the images you share with your friends and family. Sometimes it’s very annoying when the images received are of low quality and a little zooming in spoils it all. To remove this inconvenience WhatsApp has now provided a remedy by which it is in the control of the sender to share low or high-quality images. Simply Go to Settings > Select Storage and Data > Select Media Upload Quality or Photo Upload Quality > Select Best Quality from the given options and there you go.
Privacy has already been a problem in messaging apps. There are some secret chats that people do not want others to look into and they have to install third-party apps to secure those secret chats. Such Third Party apps often carry the risk of hidden spam and malware threats. But now, there is no need for such untrustworthy apps because WhatsApp has introduced a very simple and handy chat lock option. Simply go to the chat which you want to lock > Tap the name section of the chat where the contact image and about sections appear on top > Tap Chat Lock in the options > Tap Lock this chat with fingerprint. WhatsApp will demand a fingerprint scan and when you do it, the chat will be locked. Now the locked chat or chats will not appear in the list of open chats but in a different window that can be accessed from the option of locked chats available above the first open chat. Just tap the Locked Chats > Do the fingerprint scan and on a successful attempt, you will be able to access the locked chats.
Most of the time during a chat we
are in a hurry so we type a message and send it in a hurry without proofreading
it and a mistake in the message might bring embarrassment to the sender.
Previously, we had to delete the messages with mistakes but now we have a
savior option to edit the sent messages and save ourselves from embarrassing
moments. You can use this feature this way. Tap and hold the message you want
to edit > When selected, tap on the 3 dots drop-down menu in the top right
corner > Tap edit > Correct the mistake or complete the sentence > Tap
send. There will be no message alert tone on the receiver’s end. However, there
will be written “edited” in front of the edited message. The edition can be
done in both conditions read or unread by the receiver. Try it and share your
thoughts in the comments!
WhatsApp introduced 1-time images and videos option last year in which the sender can choose if he/she wants to send an image or video in a normal way or for only a 1-time viewing. Such files can’t be seen or checked for the second time. However, taking screenshots of 1-time images and screen recordings of 1-time videos with in-built and third-party apps was possible which was considered a breach of privacy by many users. So in a recent update, WhatsApp has upgraded the 1-time viewing option. Now it is not possible to take screenshots of 1-time images and record the screens while playing 1-time video files. If someone does it, the screenshots and recordings will appear to be black with no sound. Did you know about that?
A new and exciting feature in which callers can share their screens with the other side for teaching the other side how to do a particular action by sharing the screen or for any other reason has been introduced by WhatsApp. You need to make any changes in the settings for that because the feature is already there. Just make a video call to any of your contacts > Tap the icon of a cellphone with an outward arrow in options available at the bottom of the screen > Tap on Start Now on the next window. Your live screen will be shared with the caller on the other side. Tap stop sharing whenever you are done with sharing your screen.
All the above-mentioned features are now available for use for WhatsApp users across the globe. However, the latest updates of the app must be installed on cell phones to enjoy the latest features. Some old devices might not get a few or all of the new features because their devices are not getting an update for the app. It’s all for now. Please use these features and share your thoughts with us in the comments.
