UPI payments to group calling: All the cool features coming to WhatsApp
WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging service in the world. With more than 1.5 billion users, the application finds space on almost every smartphone on the planet, and by default becomes an important part of our daily lives.
This stupendous growth in part has been fuelled by the messaging service constantly reinventing itself over the last few years to stay ahead of the game. Since making an entry into the market in 2010, WhatsApp has periodically rolled out new features. While some of them have been met with enthusiasm, others such as Live Location Sharing have garnered mixed responses. However, that hasn't meant the Facebook-owned messaging service has gone easy on updates.
After announcing the all-new WhatsApp for Business – an application aimed at helping small enterprises connect better with their customers – it is now planning an overhaul of the parent platform by adding a number of services and features.
Here are all the new features that will make their way to the platform in the coming days.
UPI-based payments feature
According to reports, WhatsApp has started to roll out beta updates to select users. The feature is now available on WhatsApp version 2.18.21 for iOS, and version 2.18.41 for Android.
First reported by Gizmo Times, the feature can be accessed directly from within WhatsApp's chat window through the Attachments menu. With this new feature, users will be able to make quick bank-to-bank money transfers without any extra charges.
WhatsApp will face strong competition from the likes of PayTm, Google Tez and the government's own BHIM payment service. However, its wide user base in the country should help it fight off the competition.
Edit sent messages
Another feature that the company had announced in beta — which is expected to be rolled out to a wider audience in the future — is the "Edit Message" functionality. The company, towards the end of last year, had added it to delete texts from chats. However, the power to edit sent texts would also be highly appreciated.
It is not clear as to when the feature will be seen in our phones, but when it does, expect it to be one of the more loved ones.
Group calls
Next up is the addition of the group calling feature for video and voice calls.
As per a report by WaBetaInfo, the Facebook-owned platform is working overtime to add the group calling functionality to its voice and video calls. After the feature is introduced, users can add more members to a voice or video call and turn it into a conference at the push of a button. Literally.
However, there will be a cap on the number of users who can be part of the chat. According to reports, the conference call would not be able to accommodate more than four people, including the person who started the call.
The feature is available in the Android beta version 2.18.39.