WhatsApp has released another nice update, so that you can now privately reply to others in group conversations. In addition, the chat service adds two useful functions.
WhatsApp private replies and more: three new features in iOS app
The feature was discovered a while ago in a beta version of WhatsApp, but is now finally available for everyone to use. Now you can privately reply to a message in a group chat. This makes it easier to keep an overview in chaotic group conversations.
The average WhatsApp user has at least a handful of group chats, and at peak times the messages can sometimes fly around your ears. To create peace in that chaos, WhatsApp now introduces the private reply function.
Responding privately is very easy. Tap and hold the message in a group chat you want to reply to privately. Then tap ‘More’ in the menu that appears and then choose ‘Private answers’. This will open the message from the group conversation as a reply in a private conversation with the sender.
Here you can then type an answer, or add an image, for example. This way you respond personally to someone without other group members being able to read along. This is especially useful if you want to short-circuit something with someone, but there are too many messages coming into the group app to keep track of.
Edit with stickers and preview status
In the most recent version of the app, it is now also possible to add stickers or emoji to a photo or video while editing. When you want to send a photo or video to someone in WhatsApp, you always first get the option to edit it or add text.
You can simply add stickers and emoji by tapping the smiley icon in the editing window and selecting a suitable image. Tap this and drag it around on the image until it’s right. Wrong emoji stuck on it? Simply hold it down, after which a trash can will appear in the top left in which you can drag it.
The third new feature is a status preview using 3D Touch. WhatsApp Status has been available for almost two years and is an equivalent of Snapchat or Instagram Stories.
Despite this, the chat app’s Status feature is not as popular as these competitors. When you are in the Status tab, you can preview the status of contacts by holding down your screen forcefully.
Waiting for dark mode
Although WhatsApp makes the app a lot more user-friendly with this update, it is still waiting for the rollout of a dark mode. The developers of the chat service seem to have been working on this for some time.
At the end of last year, leaked screenshots of a dark version in WhatsApp surfaced. More and more apps are getting a dark mode, including Facebook Messenger, which looks better, especially in the evenings.
Read more about WhatsApp
- ‘Facebook tests merger WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger despite criticism’ (19-4)
- Tip: This is how WhatsApp automatically makes backups of your chats (17-4)
- WhatsApp on the Apple Watch: this is how you send apps from your wrist (10-4)
- Explanation: Import Animated Stickers into WhatsApp (25-3)
- Tip: This is how you transfer WhatsApp conversations from Android to iPhone (17-3)