There are loads of new features coming to WhatsApp. These are currently limited to beta versions of the app and have been spotted by the popular WhatsApp feature tracker WABetaInfo.
We have covered most of the features coming to WhatsApp, but the long list of updates makes it hard to keep track of every single one. This is why we have put together a list of updates WhatsApp is working on to bring you up to speed on what’s to come.
At the time of writing, there is no launch date for these features yet since there is still no official word from WhatsApp. But since they are already in the beta version of the app, they are guaranteed to roll out to the stable version eventually.
Here is a list of 10 notable features coming to WhatsApp soon.
1. Edit Button
First and foremost, the biggest and most anticipated feature coming to WhatsApp is the ability to edit text messages. As the name says, this will let you make changes to your messages even after sending them, similar to Telegram and Discord. It is unclear whether there will be a limited time window for editing messages or if you can do it any time you want to.
2. Hide Online Status
The ability to hide your online activity is another highly anticipated WhatsApp feature. As shown in the screenshot, this will let you hide your online status from your contacts based on your preference. You can either show it to everyone, just your contacts, only select contacts, or no one.
3. New Message Reactions
Currently, WhatsApp has a limited selection of reaction emojis to choose from, but soon it will let you add more to the list. This feature will let you add emoji of your choice to the list, giving it an edge over rivals such as Telegram. For now, the amount of emojis you can add yourself is unclear.
4. Move Chats to iOS
We have been able to move WhatsApp chats from iOS to Android phones since the start of the year. It started off with Samsung phones only, but now we can do so on any Android phone running the latest software. Soon it will work the other way around as well, letting you move chats from Android to iOS.
It will work the same way as iOS exports. Both phones need to stay connected through a wire or the same Wi-Fi connection and they also need to stay unlocked or active. Other details are currently unknown.
5. Pause and Play Voice Recordings
Getting interrupted while messaging someone is quite normal, which is why WhatsApp will soon let you pause your voice messages while recording. You can pick up right where you left when you hit the play button. This update will also let you hear your recordings before sending them.
6. Cover Photos
WhatsApp Business users will soon be able to create profiles similar to Facebook and Twitter through cover photos. This will let you advertise more about yourself and your business with more space to share information.
7. Mute Specific People in Group Calls
Group calls can be chaotic, but they should get a little better with a future update that will let you mute specific people in group calls. This update will also let you message specific people directly from the call menu as shown in the screenshot above.
8. Export Backups
Google Drive backups are nothing new. This lets you move your WhatsApp data to a new phone quite easily as you can simply download your cloud backup on the new device. However, being able to recover your chats at any time is an entirely new feature that is in the works.
Exporting backups will prove to be extremely useful if you ever lose your local WhatsApp data and need to recover it from the cloud.
9. Group Polls
Group polls have been in the rumor mill for ages and sadly the feature is still in the works with no sign of an official release. Polls should make group decisions a lot easier than before.
For instance, if you and your friends need to pick a place to eat, you can simply vote through a group poll and outvote that one picky friend every time.
10. WhatsApp Premium
WhatsApp Premium is another feature that has been in the works for a while. It is solely meant for WhatsApp Business users and will unlock extra features for paying customers such as the ability to add up to 10 linked devices and rename them, create custom business links for customers, and more.
