The year 2022 was big for WhatsApp with the messaging platform getting several updates over the year, many of which were long overdue. Some added privacy features, some improved accessibility and some were just gratuitous. Here are all the updates the app received in 2022, as listed on WhatsApp’s official blog.
The most appreciated update that WhatsApp got this year has to be the emoji reactions. Let’s be honest, nobody wants to be in that awkward place where neither of you can decide where to end the conversation and emoji reactions make it so much easier. It is similar to what we see on Instagram direct messages, but better and for a larger audience.
Talking about making conversations awkward, WhatsApp now allows participants to leave groups silently without notifying the whole group, except for the admin. People who are in the group will still be able to see the list of ‘Past Participants’ below the participants’ list.
Group admins can now delete any message they see as problematic on the chat.
WhatsApp also introduced avatars, which it describes as a digital version of you that can be created from billions of combinations of diverse hairstyles, facial features, and outfits. “You can now use your personalised avatar as your profile photo or choose from one of 36 custom stickers reflecting many different emotions and actions,” the company added.
Keeping in mind how the work culture is shifting towards a hybrid mode and how most interactions happen online, WhatsApp also introduced several features to help the platform with work call platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google calls, etc.
Here are some features that were a part of the update:
32-person calls: Just like with voice calls, you can now do video calls on your mobile with up to 32 people, four times the number of people than before.
Message or mute call participants: Long pressing on a participant will enlarge the video or audio feed and allow you to either mute or message them separately while keeping the calls going.
Call links: Whether making a last-minute call or planning ahead, you can easily invite people to a group call by sharing a call link.
Colourful waveforms: Now you can easily see who is speaking if their camera is off.
In-call banner notifications: See when someone new joins a group call.
Picture in picture on iOS: Now in beta testing and rolling out in the new year, easily multitask while on a call thanks to a minimised in-call video screen
File sharing: Increasing file sharing to support files up to GB so people can easily collaborate on projects.
Communities were also introduced this year. These, like neighbourhoods, parents at a school, and workplaces, can now connect multiple groups together under one umbrella to organise group conversations on the platform.
Voice of reason
Voice messages also received a much-needed upgrade this year. Gone are the days when you had to stick to listening to a long rant from a friend and wait for it to end to be able to do other things on your phone. WhatsApp has now made it easier with out-of-chat playback where you can listen to voice messages even if you’re not in the window. You can also pause when listening to a voice message and can pick up where you left off when you return to the chat.
You can also now pause and resume recording a voice message so that you don’t have to send several notes at a time or add unnecessary noise that, honestly, nobody appreciates. Another good thing is that you can even listen to a draft of the message before sending it. Just to be sure you didn’t spill anything that you weren’t supposed to.
Voice messages can also be heard at 1.5x or 2x speeds on both regular and forwarded messages.
Makes business sense
WhatsApp also launched the ability to find a business right on WhatsApp so people can now browse businesses by categories — such as travel or banking — or search by the business name. This will save people from having to find phone numbers off websites or type a number into their contacts.
“We’ve built business search in a way that preserves people’s privacy. What you search for is processed in a way that cannot be linked back to your account. To start, we’re bringing the ability to search for a business to Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, and the UK where people can find companies using our WhatsApp Business Platform. In Brazil, search will help people find small businesses as well,” the company said during the launch.
Message Yourself
WhatsApp now also lets users customise who can and cannot see them online. The feature was only limited to last seen but in the culture of ghosting, even WhatsApp realises how important it is to hide from others — and other security reasons, of course.
Another privacy feature that was long overdue was the screenshot blocking for View Once messages. The whole point of a View Once message is to disappear, and by enabling blocking, WhatsApp ensures that there is no digital record of the media shared.
The most important of them all has to be the ‘Message Yourself’ feature. People have gone to all lengths and breadths to try and save memos and links and photos by texting themselves. With WhatsApp finally acknowledging that this is happening, it has made things way easier for everyone.
While these are most of the updates that we have already, many others are underway like linking one WhatsApp account to up to four devices. God knows how long we have been waiting for that.
