More than 2 billion people in more than 180 countries use WhatsApp to connect with friends and family. This messaging application is free and allows you to send messages and make calls from anywhere in the world at any time.
In the last month of the year, the messaging application Meta has incorporated new icons in the redesign of the platform. And although many users were initially confused by these updates, we must say that They are very usefulas well as information. I know the details.
One by one, the new WhatsApp icons
The redesign of the WhatsApp application, available for Android and IOSbrought not only more clarity in its operationbut also the appearance of new icons.
Some of these add information wanting to tell us something; others, when pressed, activate new functions. To get them, users must update the app.
Microphone and voice memos
One of the icons that has generated the most doubts: a new microphone. This is not to send audios, but rather it tells us that our contact is sending us a voice note. Replaces the text at the top of the chat that said “Recording audio…”, making the notification more visual and less intrusive. A modern, minimalist and clean change that does not take up additional space on the screen, it only appears at the end of the last message.
This icon, which anticipates that the user is about to receive an audio, is only informative, so touching it does not activate any function. This change seeks to make the process more visual and less intrusive, moving the notification directly to the chat,
Ellipsis below the last message
Like the previous one, it replaces a text that was previously at the top of the chat. This easy and simple icon, represents the classic “Writing…” .
When someone is typing, ellipses will appear next to the last message in the chat. And in group chats, it will also appear the contact’s profile photo who is typing, making it easy to identify who is active.
However, this change does not completely remove the text. This will continue to appear in the main chat list while you are not in the specific conversation.
The double arrow
This new icon appears in the lower corner of sent images, videos, documents or multimedia content, allowing resend it quickly and directly. You just have to touch it to go to the forwarding screen, without having to hold your finger down and make extra touches on the screen.
Sound waves in groups
This feature appears only in group chats and offers the possibility of start a voice chat. By pressing the icon, this mode is activated silentthat is, it does not send mass notifications to all members, but rather a discreet one that warns about this activity. Each person in the group can join whenever they want, and if no one participates in an hour, it automatically closes.
To use it, you just have to touch the icon, confirm the creation of the voice chat and wait for the other members of the group. A change that diversifies the application’s communication options, making the groups more dynamic, functional and entertaining.
The padlock icon
This icon appears below the name of your contact or group chat. It is informative in nature and indicates to all participants in the conversation that it is a secure chat, end-to-end encryption by WhatsApp to preserve our privacy.
In the second, it will be replaced by the indicator that indicates the group participants or the “Last time online” information, in case it is an individual chat.
Other new features in WhatsApp
In addition to incorporating the new icons that we mentioned before, WhatsApp also included new functions in its latest update:
New method to make video calls
You can Manually select members of a video call within a group. Previously, when you started a group video call, the invitation was automatically sent to all members of the group. Making it more personalized and practical.
Message transcription
It allows you to transcribe voice notes to text, offering the option to read them instead of playing them. For now, it only supports English, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian languages.
Add contacts only in the app
You can save contacts only in the application and not only in the phone’s contact book.
Custom lists
These lists act as filters, making it easier for users to organize their conversations according to the topics of their choice, for example, friends, university or work.
To create one, you just have to touch the “+” icon located at the top of the application and select the chats you want to be part of.
Appearance of states
Previously they were shown in a circular format, but now they adopt a rectangular shape that includes their preview, resembling those on Facebook.
This update seeks to improve the experience, making access more intuitive and visually attractive. It allows users to get a feel for the content before opening it, making navigation easier and reinforcing aesthetic integration with other Meta platforms.
Source: Ambito
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