WhatsApp is busy working on a feature called Reactions. It may not sound very exciting and if you follow developments closely you have probably heard about it before. But the company behind the popular application is taking it a step further and making it interesting indeed.
The folks at WABetaInfo come across the functionality in, an almost complete form, in a new test version of WhatsApp. Is the functionality coming our way soon?
WhatsApp soon to be more like Facebook
When Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, it was immediately mentioned that the company would not interfere too much with the platform. Anno 2022, that has finally changed a bit. The Reactions functionality is a good example of that, as it makes the chat app a little more the same as its big blue boss. Reactions is a functionality that has been available on Facebook for some time.
Notifications are customizable (Image: WABetaInfo)
With Reactions, it will soon be possible to add an emoji to a message, just like on Facebook. This means that you don’t have to quote the text and write a reply, but are thus able to simply give a small ‘like’. This has been known since November last year, but now the groundwork seems to have been laid for a wider rollout. WABetaInfo spots in the settings (of the new beta version) the ability to customize notifications for Replies.
So by default you get a notification when someone gives a heart or a thumbs up on your post, but that can then be turned off again. Or you can simply customize the notification by changing the tone of the notification.
Renewed notifications
In addition to the introduction of Reactions, WhatsApp seems to be working on more features. For example, the company is now testing new notifications. Where you normally have to settle for the contact’s name and the message, the new feature also allows you to see the profile picture.
WhatsApp also wants to make its notifications more manageable, by the way. The company is working on the ability to see when people are talking about you. Want to know more? Then be sure to check out the article above or this page.
