WhatsApp, the Meta-owned instant messaging platform, is reportedly working on a new feature that will allow users to send animated emojis. The feature was spotted in the development of the latest desktop beta of the popular messaging service. Animated emojis are currently supported by messaging services like Telegram and Slack, offering a richer conversational experience on those platforms. According to a feature tracker, WhatsApp is also working on adding the same feature to a future update of WhatsApp Beta for iOS and Android. The app currently allows users to send standard, static emojis along with stickers and GIFs.
according to a report from Whatsapp Feature tracker WABetaInfo, the service is working to add support for new animated emoji. These are said to have been created using animations from the Lottie library. As soon as it becomes available, the new animated emoji will be sent by default, according to WABetaInfo. In addition, these animations are small and can be resized without loss of quality.
The feature, which is currently in development, was spotted in a beta version of WhatsApp Desktop. As the feature is still in development, there’s no word on when (or if) it will eventually release, and Beta Channel users can’t try these animated emojis at this time. The feature tracker states that the messaging platform will bring the same feature to a future update of WhatsApp Beta for iOS and Android.
WhatsApp last month rolls Support for Unicode 15.0 emoji to select beta tester update on Android. It added 21 new emoji to the official WhatsApp keyboard. Users can access the emojis by downloading WhatsApp Beta for Android 2.23.5.13 or later versions from Google Play Store.
Meanwhile WhatsApp recently announced the introduction of three new security features for all users on Android and iOS devices. “Account Protect”, “Device Verification” and “automatic security codes” are intended to make the app more secure for users. While “Device Verification” prevents users from installing malware, “Account Protect” warns users if they’re trying to migrate an account from an old device to a new one, according to Meta’s news service.
