WhatsApp has kickstarted the new year by adding four brand-new features to its immensely popular chat app. The new additions rolling out to the messaging service are focused on allowing you to add some creative flourishes to the photos and videos shared inside the app.
WhatsApp is owned by Meta, the Californian behemoth that also owns Facebook and Instagram. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced plans to cull its fact-checkers in the United States, heralding the decision as a way for the $1.5 trillion company to “get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms.”
The first swathe of new features coming to WhatsApp are focused on creative ways to spice-up your photos and videos — allowing you to add filters, colourful backgrounds, and stickers before you send a snap. For the first time, you can transform your selfies into custom stickers to react to messages with a few taps
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Update WhatsApp on iPhone and Android to add several new camera effects for photos and videos. When you take and send a video or photo from within an existing conversation or Group Chat, you’ll now be able to choose from 30 backgrounds, filters, and effects to transform your shots.
WhatsApp relies on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to cut-out the subject of the shot, replacing the real-world background with a variety of colourful backdrops. We’ve seen similar techniques in popular video-conferencing apps, like Zoom and Google Meet.
If this feature sounds familiar, it’s likely because WhatsApp debuted 10 backgrounds and filters in October last year, although at the time, these were restricted to video calls made within the app. With the latest free upgrade to the popular chat app, WhatsApp has expanded the selection and added the ability to use all of these tools in static photos or pre-recorded videos — not just calls.
Android users can also create their own personalised stickers by taking a selfie from the front-facing camera. The chat app automatically removes background. You can use the resulting sticker to react to messages or photos sent in the chat, or overlay it onto photos and videos.
WhatsApp says the same functionality is “coming to iOS soon,” so fingers crossed iPhone owners won’t have to wait too long before they enjoy the same selection of tools as their Android counterparts.
On the topic of stickers, if you’ve added a custom sticker pack to your chat app that you know a friend or family member would love — you can easily share them directly in your chats. With a tap, the recipient is able to install all variants of the sticker pack to their app.
Lastly, WhatsApp is making it quicker to react to messages, photos, and videos. Now you can double tap a message to react and quickly scroll through your most-used reactions. This works across iOS and Android.
WhatsApp introduced a selection of 10 new filters and 10 backgrounds to customise the look of your video calls last year, while the latest update expands on this selection and opens-up the functionality to static images for the first time
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WhatsApp has indicated that these new features are just the start of a broader rollout planned for 2025. The world’s most popular messaging service — with some 2.95 billion active users globally — has committed to introducing “more exciting features this year,” while maintaining its focus on secure messaging.
“We’re looking forward to introducing more exciting features this year, while offering private, secure messaging wherever you are in the world,” the developers penned in a blog post about the new additions.