INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
WhatsApp has had quite an eventful 2018 up until now
The world's most popular messaging platform now has over 1.5 billion monthly active users, as last recorded in February this year
Despite the massive success, WhatsApp has constantly updated its mobile apps to offer the best experience to its billions of users
Whether be it UPI-based payments in India or assigning better controls to group admins, the Facebook-owned app has released a slew of new
features for its users on Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone
Here's a rundown of all the new features that WhatsApp has released, or is planning to release, in 2018.1
WhatsApp PaymentsEasily the biggest launch of this year for the messaging app in India was the integration of payments
Based on the Indian government-backed UPI or Unified Payments Interface, WhatsApp Payments is essentially a simple way to transfer funds to
your contacts by entering in your UPI pin
While other platforms such as PhonePe, Paytm, and BHIM have already made the feature popular, integrating it onto a massively popular
platform like WhatsApp has only helped it grow in India which is one of the biggest markets for the messaging platform. The feature can be
accessed by going into an individual conversation or a group, clicking on the Attachment icon, setting up your UPI account, and making the
It is available on Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone.2
Download all dataIn line with the EU's new guidelines for data privacy, GDPR or European General Data Protection Regulation, that came into
effect on May 25, WhatsApp has made available the ability to download all the data that has been collected by WhatsApp, on you, since you
made your account on the platform
To request the data that WhatsApp has on you, you need to head over to Settings > Account > Request Account Info
Once done, you will be taken to a page where you have to click Request Report
Of course, messages will not be included in this data due to end-to-end encryption. Do note that the data report will be generated only
after about three days of submitting the request, and the data will be available for download only for a few weeks after that
Actions such as account deletion, number/ device change, and account re-registration will cancel the request.3
Group admin controlsWhatsApp in 2018 put a lot of its focus on enhancing groups and admin controls
First of all, group creators received the ability to change a group's description, as did participants in the group
However, group admins have the option to restrict participants from changing the description
Admins can also choose between All Participants and Only Admins to decide upon who can change the subject and icon of the group
In an update this year, WhatsApp also disabled the ability to remove group creators.Another highlight of updates to WhatsApp groups in 2018
was a new feature that allows group admins to restrict participants from sending messages in the group
Most likely formulated for WhatsApp groups that are involved in buying and selling of products, this feature is expected to cut down on spam
To be able to use it, admins need to go into Group Info > Group Settings > Send Messages
From here, two options - All Participants and Only Admins - will be revealed.4
Use Siri to send group messagesAn extension of using Siri to send individual messages on WhatsApp for iPhone, first introduced in 2016, is
the ability to use Apple's digital assistant to send messages in groups on the platform
To send a group message using Siri, users need to say "Hey, Siri!" or press and hold the iPhone's home button and then ask, "Send a message
to group (name)." Once you select the appropriate group from the list it offers, you can speak out loud your message which will be sent to
Group video and voice callingAnother one of the major additions to WhatsApp has to be group video and voice calling
While individual video and voice calling have been available on the messaging app since long, group calling is something that allows
multiple users to come together and conduct VoIP calls, making it especially convenient considering the platform is so widely used in
India. While not yet officially available, reports suggest that group calling capabilities are rolling out on Android beta and on Windows
It is expected to be made available on the stable version of Android via a server-side update in the coming weeks
Currently, however, it is available on beta version 2.18.189 and beta version 2.18.192 on Android.6
Suspicious link indicatorRolling out widely to WhatsApp beta for Android users as of July 2018, the new Suspicious Link Indicator feature
has been added to WhatsApp updates amidst an effort to cut down spam, spoofing, and phishing instances on the platform
WhatsApp beta on Android 2.18.221 includes the ability to label a 'Suspicious Link', as such, whenever detected locally by the app
This is expected to warn unknowing users before they mistakenly open a malicious link
The app also gives out another warning when the user attempts to open the link.7
Forwarding restrictionsEver since the news of mob lynchings related to fake news on WhatsApp came to light, WhatsApp announced that it is
testing putting strict limits on message forwarding on the platform in India
As per a statement by the Facebook-owned company, forwarding limit of up to five chats per user might be put into place soon, along with the
removal of the forwarding shortcut from media messages.In yet another move to combat the spread of misinformation, WhatsApp recently
announced that it will start labelling forwards with a new 'Forwarded' tag to inform users of the action
This can allow recipients to stay alert and possibly fact check the text before sending it to others.8
Jio Phone supportAt Reliance Industries Limited's 41st Annual General Meeting this year, CEO Mukesh Ambani announced that WhatsApp will be
coming to the company's Jio Phone and Jio Phone 2 starting August 15
The app will allow for input using voice commands as well as text, it was said at the event. 9
Predictive UploadRolling out for Android and iPhone users, the new Predicted Upload feature will have the ability to predict which
photograph is going to be sent in a particular chat and upload it to the server in advance
This enables the user to send it to the recipient without any sort of upload delay
This feature is for when the photo is sent without any editing, as that will prompt a re-upload of the media file.10
Mute from notifications and WhatsApp stickersAs is apparent from the name, WhatsApp now allows you to mute message threads right from the
But this feature is only applicable in the scenario where the user has sent you a minimum of 51 messages without you accessing the app
The Mute button appears below the messages in the notification panel, next to the Reply To option.After a confirmation by CEO Mark
Zuckerberg back in May this year, WhatsApp stickers have been made available in beta version 2.18.218 of WhatsApp on Android
A separate WhatsApp stickers store will roll out to stable versions in the future with the ability to download new sticker packs as they
This is similar to what Facebook Messenger offers.11
Media visibilityWith the new media visibility toggle, users can now pick and choose which individual or group chats they want to hide or
The media visibility feature is accessible under Contact Info and Group Info in Settings on the app
By default, all media content is visible in all groups and individual chats
You can select No to switch it off.
