Communities to new media picker — Upcoming WhatsApp features on Android

• WhatsApp is testing a couple of features for its Android app.
• Some of these include Communities, a new media picker, and more.
• Here’s a look at the most awaited WhatsApp features on Android.

WhatsApp has been testing several features on its Android, iOS and desktop/web platforms. There are new and upcoming features such as Communities, redesigned media picker, visual changes and more. Some of these features have been in development since last year but they haven’t been officially released yet. WhatsApp is expected to start rolling out these features soon.

WhatsApp on Android is one platform that is always buzzing with new features and tests. You can also try out the unreleased features through the WhatsApp beta programme for Android users. There are quite a few features being tested currently but we’ve rounded up some of the most awaited ones for WhatsApp on Android.

Communities

Communities on WhatsApp have been rumoured for quite some time. This new feature essentially brings your WhatsApp groups together in one place. If you have multiple but similar groups and you need to communicate with all at once then Communities will let you do that. You will be able to send announcements to all groups under one Community. Screenshots of this feature were shared by WABetaInfo hinting at its close arrival.

New time limit for disappearing messages

WhatsApp currently lets you set messages to disappear 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days after the time they are sent. When the feature first launched you could only choose the 7-day timer but in December last year, WhatsApp added two more options of 24 hours and 90 days. It is now working on adding more options which include 2 days and 12 hours. WhatsApp is also testing the ability for admins to delete any message in group chats.

New Media Picker

WhatsApp is testing a new media picker that will make it easier to send multiple media after taking a photo on the app. The new feature will show a ‘Recents’ section and ‘Gallery’ section. Under Recents, all recent photos, videos, and GIFs from your gallery will be shown. The Gallery section will show all content. The new media picker will appear when you take a photo from the in-app camera.

Android to iOS chat transfer

WhatsApp currently lets users transfer chats from iOS to select Android phones. It has also started working on the ability to transfer chats from Android to iOS phones. For this feature to work, you will need the Move to iOS app. Since chats on Android phones are backed up on Google Drive, and iPhones on iCloud, it wasn’t possible to transfer chats. But WhatsApp has finally started working on that possibility.

Wallpapers for voice calls

This is a small update but it could bring about a visual change to the app. WhatsApp currently shows the general wallpaper when you make voice calls on the app. It is now testing the possibility to show your chat wallpaper when you place voice calls on the app.

New drawing tools

WhatsApp could soon add two new pencils as drawing tools for editing photos and videos on the app. This way you will have more editing options and three pencils in total. Another editing feature that could soon arrive on the Android app is the possibility to blur images.

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