WhatsApp, or ‘WhatsUp’ as your parents call it, is changing the way we communicate.

Sure, some people still insist on calling out of the blue, which we are hopeful will one day be declared a hate crime, but at least South African mobile providers are seeing a sharp decline in regular phone calls related to the messaging service.

WhatsApp regularly adds features to stay ahead of the game, and it looks like we could see four more in the not-too-distant future.

Some of these are already in beta versions of the app for Android and iOS, according to MyBroadband, although there is no certainty that they will eventually be made available to the general public for use.

To start, there’s Dark Mode:

Recent reports showed that Facebook is working on adding a Dark Mode to WhatsApp, with the feature first appearing in the Android beta version of the application.

Once implemented, this feature will be accessible through a new section under WhatsApp’s Settings menu titled Theme Settings.

From within the Theme Settings menu, WhatsApp users will be able to choose between three options: Light Theme, Dark Theme, and System Default.

When System Default is selected, WhatsApp will automatically detect which theme is used by your Android operating system and set the same theme within the application.

Dark mode helps take some of the strain off your eyes, provides comfort of use at night or in dark environments, and conserves battery power.

For a full rundown of dark mode’s pros and cons, head here.

The second feature is a surefire recipe for disaster, disappearing messages:

Once implemented, WhatsApp’s upcoming Disappearing Messages feature will reportedly allow users to send self-destructing text and media to each other.

When Disappearing Messages is turned on for a chat, all messages sent by participants will be removed after a pre-defined interval.

The current implementation of this functionality in the Android beta version of WhatsApp allows messages to be automatically deleted from a chat after either five seconds or one hour.

Five seconds, but a screenshot lasts forever.

Use this feature wisely, and responsibly, and remember that new South Africa laws will be unforgiving towards those who transgress.

Facebook Pay

References to an upcoming Facebook Pay feature have been found in the application’s code, suggesting that Facebook may look to launch its own mobile payment tool through WhatsApp.

Facebook Pay would function similarly to WeChat’s WePay system in China, although there may be some key differences following the launch of the company’s Libra cryptocurrency.

Integrating Facebook Pay on WhatsApp to the Calibra digital wallet could allow messaging app users to facilitate blockchain transactions across borders with relative ease.

If you feel like WhatsApp doesn’t have enough of an Instagram feel to it, you’ll enjoy the potential for “Boomerang” videos:

Boomerang videos are used on Instagram, and allow users to create a video that loops backwards and forwards endlessly, similar to a GIF.

WhatsApp may borrow this feature from the other Facebook-owned app in the future, with the report stating that users will be able to create a looping video from any clip that is seven seconds or shorter.

The feature would be available in the video type panel, alongside the video and GIF media sending options.

Now you can look forward to hundreds of videos of people raising a glass, and then raising a glass, and then raising a glass…

I think there’s one feature WhatsApp really needs to get on ASAP, and that’s the ability to reject a call that’s coming through when you’re in the middle of sending a voice note.

There you are, 30 seconds in (a voice note should not exceed two minutes), and a call comes through. Bang, voice note erased, and you’re forced to ignore the call before starting from scratch on the voice note front.

You then live in perpetual fear that the caller could give it another bash, because people are notoriously terrible at realising you’ve made the conscious decision to reject their telephonic advances.

The tech must exist, at this stage, to have the voice note continue to record, while an option is presented to cancel the incoming call. If it doesn’t, can someone please hop on that sooner rather than later?

We thank you.

[source:mybroadband]