We already know them from services like Facebook or programs like Teams and Slack: feedback that allows you to quickly and easily comment on messages with an emoji. This will also be possible soon with WhatsApp. BZ knows the details.
The news service WABetaInfo, which specializes in WhatsApp, reports that the alleged reactions are currently being developed in WhatsApp and can already be seen in earlier versions of the messenger.
As is common with other messengers and chat programs, you should be able to tag individual messages with an emoji in WhatsApp.
The feature on the smiley face in a separate message (where it was sent mostly until now): WhatsApp collects and counts the reactions, and displays them in a little bubble right below the speech bubble of the message – great for group chats.
Smileys can be customized for individual texts. On Twitter, WABetaInfo previously shows what it would look like.
As usual with WhatsApp, feedback is sent fully encrypted. Users can freely choose among all the emojis how they want to interact. If desired, several reactions to the text can be selected. If you later click on a small smiley bubble, it will show who has interacted with which emoji.
New speech bubbles
In addition to the reactions, WhatsApp will likely also introduce a new design for speech bubbles. WABetaInfo shows what chats with slightly rounded borders should look like in the future (iPhone above, Android below – old version on the left, new version on the right).
Currently, both functions can be seen in beta versions of WhatsApp. Smiley Reactions should be available with one of the following updates on iPhone and Android.
It’s even less obvious at the moment when new speech bubble designs come in. WhatsApp can also use the beta version of its software to test the new look.