WhatsApp in 2024: All the Features You Should Be Taking Advantage Of

While North America continues to fight Apple with iMessage alternatives like the recent Beeper fiasco(Apple blocked them), the rest of the global south and Europe have WhatsApp as their main cross-platform messaging app.

Over 300 billion messages and 8 billion voice messages are sent through the app by its over 3 billion daily active users.

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The chat app owned by Meta now has made improvements and new features which you should take advantage of this year.

Posting Updates From Linked Devices

WhatsApp fixed the issue of only viewing status updates from linked devices by adding the ability to post from the companion device.

This feature lets you edit or delete your status update(voice, GIF, text, video/photo) from a secondary device.

Host Watch Parties

WhatsApp now lets you share your phone’s screen including video and audio in a video call which means you can now host watch parties.

New Way To Post Status Updates

WhatsApp has simplified how to post status updates by moving the floating action buttons from the bottom to the top next to the status header.

This makes it easier to navigate the app without accidentally tapping the button.

Pin Messages in a Conversation

This handy feature lets you pin messages to the top of the conversation in a chat for quick access – something Slack and Telegram already had.

This is different from pinning actual chats at the top of the chats tab in the app.

Lock Chats More Securely Behind a Code

For those who want to keep their chats even more private, you can now use a unique password to lock your chats by simply long-pressing the conversation in the chat list and then tapping on the Lock Chat option.

Sending High-Quality Photos and Videos on Status

This is WhatsApp best new feature when it comes to sharing videos and photos on your Status. You were able to send high-resolution media through the app and now that feature is available on Status updates.

There’s a HD icon on the status editing tab which lets you switch between standard and high-resolution quality for the video and photo you’re sharing.

Sending View-Once Audio Messages

Adding to view-once images and videos, WhatsApp now supports view-once audio messages. Recipients get to play the audio only once.

It’s worth noting that these view-once audio messages have end-to-end encryption. Also, you can’t forward or star these messages.

Instagram Style Reply Interface for Status Updates

There’s now a permanent reply bar on the Status feature for quick replies instead of taking the extra step to swipe and then reply.

Meta is trying to unify the design across its apps and its no surprise that you’ll soon be able to post your ephemeral status updates to Instagram stories so this design change makes a lot of sense.