WhatsApp recent feature additions have been somewhat hard to keep track of, considering how frequently the developers are experimenting with new design and functionality within thepopular texting app. As one of the more recent additions to the stable version of WhatsApp,Channelshas seen a number of changes as more celebrities and notable individuals join the platform to reach their audiences directly. Another design tweak is now on the way to the beta version of WhatsApp for Android, enabling users to quickly search for their favorite creators via Channels or a status update from their contact.
WABetaInfo reports seeing a new search functionality with a conventional magnifying glass icon on the top right of the page, as pictured below. This particular UI addition is crucial as it finally lets users conduct a search within the Updates tab, be it a contact’s recent Status or a creator you like on Channels. As the publicationnotes, the conglomeration of Status and Channels within the Updates tab meant that users lost the ability to quickly search for their favorite user/creator, and WhatsApp beta for Androidversion 2.23.20.16has rectified this.
The new search icon doesn’t appear to be live on my device despite running the beta version that supposedly enables this feature. Nevertheless, based on the usefulness of Status/Channels search, it should eventually make its way to the stable release as well, though we don’t have a timeline just yet.
Some of the recent updates to WhatsApp beta are also focused on bolstering user security. Last week, we learned about the app’s developersworking on passkeys, thus providing an additional layer of security to users. By the looks of it,Google Password Managerwould be the password manager of choice by default. But passkeys on WhatsApp should theoretically work on practically any of thetop password managers, provided passwordless login is supported.
Similarly, back in May, the company added another layer of privacy for your personal chats withChat Lock. This feature hides sensitive chats from plain view and places them under a dedicated section called Locked Chats, requiring a password/PIN or biometric authentication such as your fingerprint to access.
Away from the beta channels of WhatsApp, the chat app will soon gain significant artificial intelligence capabilities thanks to Meta’srecent announcement. The company is currently beta testing generative AI experiences across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, with the project known simply as Meta AI.
It is currently limited to people in the US, with Meta saying it is launching the new AI elements “slowly,” adding that they come with “built in safeguards.” Ablog postgoes into detail about the company’s plans for these safeguards, which include training the AIs on safety and responsibility guidelines, and helping them reduce bias, to name a few.
