WhatsApp is working on another new feature for its popular instant messaging app. The app will soon allow users to ‘react’ to the messages of other users. Users will be able to react with emojis when receiving messages from other users. Similar features are already available in Facebook’s Messenger, and Instagram, among other popular platforms. Facebook owns both WhatsApp and Instagram.

The feature was spotted by WABetaInfo, a platform that collects WhatsApp news for iOS, Android and Windows, and was shared through screenshots of the beta tests.

“Today we can finally announce one of the first messaging features that’s coming on WhatsApp: reactions! You already know what is a reaction: it’s usually an emoji that you can place on a message to express emotions. Instagram, Twitter, iMessage already support message reactions and today we can start to discover the progress of their development,” the WABetaInfo report said.

An official announcement has not been made for the feature yet, since it is only in beta testing. The feature on Instagram’s direct messaging service is used by ‘long pressing’ on any message and choosing the desired emoji to react with. It is expected that the feature will be replicated in WhatsApp. WhatsApp will probably use the same suite of emojis that are used across Facebook and Instagram for the upcoming feature.

The company has been rolling out features for its popular messaging almost on a constant schedule throughout the year. WhatsApp is also reported to add a payment shortcut payment button to its app sticker in an upcoming update.

“WhatsApp is introducing a new shortcut to quickly send payments. Previously you had to open the chat action sheet in order to send payments, instead of (that) WhatsApp is now placing a dedicated button on the chat bar,” WABetaInfo had reported. The Facebook-owned company recently opened its beta programme for its desktop users as well.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Aug 26, 2021 7:51 PM IST