Six New WhatsApp Features You Can Try Right Now
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On Monday, Meta announced six new features it had implemented in WhatsApp . The problem is, these features may not be so new after all. The company somewhat confusingly states that these features were added to the app “over the past few months,” although some of them have apparently only appeared in recent days.
While it’s difficult to say when each of these features will officially launch, the important thing is that they’re here, and you can try them out today. Here are the six new features highlighted by Meta, and what you’ll see the next time you launch the app:
Support for live photos and moving photos
Perhaps the most important news is support for Live Photos (iOS) and Motion Photos (Android). Before the latest update, these motion photos were displayed as static images, so you lost a few seconds of motion and sound. To send a full Live Photo or Motion Photo, you had to choose a different messaging app. Now that’s impossible!
This is WhatsApp’s latest update, designed to make it easier to share media freely. Over the years, the company has been gradually updating its policies regarding high-quality photo and video sharing. WhatsApp will finally allow full-resolution image sharing only in 2024 , so it’s not surprising that Live Photo support arrived so late.
Scanning documents on Android
If you frequently share documents on WhatsApp, this is great news: Android users can now take advantage of the built-in document scanner. Previously, this feature was only available on iPhone , so it’s great to see it available on Android.
You will find the “Document” option under the (+) button in any chat.
Meta AI Chat Topics
Meta AI-powered custom chat themes are now available in WhatsApp. This feature is slightly hidden in the “Chat Themes” settings, but by tapping “Generate with AI,” you can ask the bot to create any background you want. If you can’t think of anything, Meta AI offers a selection of pre-made backgrounds.
As expected, these backgrounds have all the hallmarks of AI-generated images : striking realism, high contrast, and that “AI sparkle.” However, if you’re looking for something unique to your chat background that isn’t in the app’s selections, try this image generator. I’d prefer to use human-generated images.
However, WhatsApp is far from the only app offering AI-generated chat backgrounds. Even Apple’s Messages app now offers this feature, at least since iOS 26 .
Backgrounds for video calls
Similarly, you can now use Meta AI to create custom backgrounds for video calls. This feature also works when taking photos and videos directly in a chat, in case you need to quickly replace your background with something AI-generated. However, other than being a pure innovation, I’m not sure when this will have any practical application.
Better search by groups
You can now search for specific contact names in the main “Chats” tab, and WhatsApp will display all the groups you’re in together. I’d imagine this could be an easier way to find a group chat hidden in your conversations: instead of scrolling or searching for specific messages, simply search for the name of someone you know is in the chat.
Additional sticker sets
WhatsApp is also introducing at least two new sticker sets: ” Fearless Bird ” and ” Vacation .”