Five ‘new’ WhatsApp features you should know about
Pinned chats
The Facebook-owned WhatsApp has added a very interesting feature called Pinned chats. As the name suggests, it allows the users to pin their favourite chats on the top of the conversation list. The number of chats that can be pinned to the top is limited to a maximum number of 3. The latest chats or conversations appear below the pinned chats.
To pin a chat, you will have to long press the chat and you will see the “pin” icon on the top bar. To unpin a chat, long press the pinned chat and tap on the unpin button. This basically solves the problem of heavy users as it might be irritating to scroll through lots of undesired conversations to get into your desired chat window. At present, this feature is available only on Android phones.
Two-step authentication feature
This feature adds an additional layer of protection by requiring a passcode when resetting and verifying your account. It aims at preventing others from using your phone number without a six-digit passcode (set by you).
For example: If your phone number is hijacked somehow, your WhatsApp account would be available meaning crooks could freely read your private messages and conversations. Two Step Verification requires setting up a six-digit passcode and an optional backup email address.
To enable Two Step Verification in WhatsApp, launch the application on your iPhone and navigate to the integrated settings. Tap on ‘Account’ and select ‘Two-Step verification’.
Siri can read your WhatsApp messages aloud
Yes, Apple’s voice assistant Siri can now read your WhatsApp messages for you.
The feature comes in Version 2.17.20 of the app and requires iO 10.3 or later to work.
WhatsApp text status is back
Earlier this year, WhatsApp had replaced the text status feature with another similar one called ‘Status’ that allowed users to add images, videos and GIFs as their status. However, due to popular demand from many users WhatsApp has brought back its text status feature.
This feature is now called “About and phone number” and users can access it by going to their profile tab into settings. For now, the feature is only available to Android users. But in the coming weeks, it will also be rolled out to iOS users.
New video-calling button
The chat app introduced video calling feature on Android phones. The most important change seen is the separate button for voice and video calls. Earlier, user had to tap the call button first and then choose between voice and video calls.
The new update now separates the two buttons, making it quick and easier to initiate calls. The video-calling button replaces the attachment button, which has been relocated to the bottom of the text bar.
Courtesy Economictimes.com