Doha: WhatsApp is testing new groups features which will include emoji reactions, admin delete, one tap voice calling and larger file sharing options. It is also testing a new feature called Communities to organize groups in larger structures. The messaging service owned by Meta Platforms said this in a blog post.
Emoji reactions are coming to WhatsApp so people can quickly share their opinion without flooding chats. It said it was also adding the ability for group administrators to remove problematic messages from everyone's chat, introducing voice calling for up to 32 people, and increasing file sharing to 2 gigabytes.
The messaging service, which is end-to-end encrypted and has about 2 billion users, said the Communities feature will help to organize groups in larger structures that could be used by workplaces or schools and would also be end-to-end encrypted.
WhatsApp head Will Cathcart told Reuters recently that there were no current plans to charge for the new Communities features, which is being beta tested with a small number of global communities, but did not rule out offering "premium features to enterprise" in the future.
Meta also plans to roll out end-to-end encryption across the other messaging services on its apps as part of its ongoing, declared pivot towards privacy.
