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WhatsApp has fundamentally changed the way that we communicate, and it plans on taking things further.

The app is adding more new features in the coming months to elevate your messaging experience.

Unfortunately, it has yet to disable the old-fashioned phone call, but we live in hope.

While this is great for everyone who knows their way around a smartphone, can we have a moment of silence for the hours that will be lost helping older relatives navigate buttons that weren’t there before?

Apart from that. and according to MyBroadband, here’s what we can look forward to:

Expiring Media

The main, and most anticipated, addition to the app is the ‘Expiring Media’ feature that will reportedly allow users to send self-destructing texts and media to each other.

A word from The Independent about how it’s supposed to work:

Users will be able to send images, videos, and GIFs that disappear in the recipient’s phone once they change apps or leave the chat window.

A new button, which looks like a circle with a number in it, can be tapped to enable the feature.

Unlike Snapchat, where you can set a timer, this feature only has ‘on’ or ‘off’  modes.

It’s also been suggested that the message will disappear as soon as the recipient exits the app.

WhatsApp has refused to comment on the upcoming feature, but we do know that it was already in the works last year.

Once you have the feature, make sure that you don’t fall into a state of false security. Consider this a gentle reminder that most phones can capture screenshots.

Fingerprint Security

The latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android, which is still under development, includes a fingerprint security feature.

They’ve ironed out a couple of bugs as well.

The idea is that users will be able to verify their identity on the app using the fingerprint sensor on their smartphone. If you want to create a new WhatsApp web session it will allow you to verify that it is indeed you logging into the mobile app.

Check Messages

The ‘Check Messages’ feature has been confirmed and is on its way in the coming months.

The feature will allow you to check the validity of messages that have been forwarded multiple times on the app.

I would imagine this is a tool that will help to sift out some of the rubbish that does the rounds, like that booze ban voicenote that freaked everyone out during lockdown.

BusinessTech with more from WhatsApp:

“We’re piloting a simple way to double-check these messages by tapping a magnifying glass button in the chat,” it said.

“Providing a simple way to search messages that have been forwarded many times may help people find news results or other sources of information about the content they have received.

It’s also supposed to be able to monitor messages sent from a single phone. In other words, if someone is spamming hundreds of people, the app will interfere.

I’ll leave you with the knowledge that WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, so gird your loins.

[source:independent&mybroadband&businesstech]