WhatsApp updates: New app for Windows, more features for group admins and more

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has announced the launch of an updated WhatsApp app for Windows that loads faster and has an interface similar to the mobile version of the app.

The new app loads faster and enables group video calls with up to eight people and audio calls with up to 32 people.

"Launching a new WhatsApp desktop app for Windows. Now you can make E2E encrypted video calls with up to 8 people and audio calls with up to 32 people," Zuckerberg said on Facebook.

It also offers end-to-end encryption that allows cross-platform communication between mobile phones, computers, tablets with improved syncing and new features. This means that your personal messages, media, and phone calls are always encrypted end-to-end across all of your devices.

More control for group admins

Zuckerberg announced two new WhatsApp group updates earlier this week. Admins will have more control over group privacy with the new updates. These changes follow some updates made over the last few months, including making groups larger, and giving admins the ability to delete messages sent in the groups they manage.

Earlier this week, Zuckerberg announced two new WhatsApp group updates. With the new updates, admins will have more control over group privacy. These changes follow some recent updates, such as making groups larger and giving administrators the ability to delete messages sent in groups they manage.

"Groups continue to be an essential part of WhatsApp, and we're excited to give people even more tools to get the most out of groups. Today, we're excited to roll out a few new changes we've made to make these more manageable for admins and easier to navigate for everyone," Meta' statement read.

Let's discuss the new updates in detail

Admins to decide who can join: This will help admins to decide whether a person can join a group or not. The importance of this tool lies in that groups are where people have some of their most intimate conversations, and, therefore, it is important for admins to be able to decide easily who can be a member and who cannot come in.

Easily see groups in common: With the growth of Communities and their larger groups, WhatsApp wants to make it easy to know which groups users have in common with someone. Whether you're trying to remember the name of a group you know you share with someone or you want to see the groups you're both in, you can now easily search a contact's name to see your groups in common. These features will start rolling out globally over the coming weeks.

Ability to limit polls

A new feature that will allow poll designers to confine users to only one vote is reportedly being rolled out by the messaging app owned by meta and is already accessible for some Android beta testers.

According to WABetaInfo, this feature will enable users to choose the single option they are most passionate about.

The report also said that this feature is helpful as it will make the poll results more accurate as users are limited to one choice.

Moreover, this is even useful in cases where only one answer is required. This is because when users must choose just one option, they are more likely to engage with the poll and think more deeply about their choice.

The report also said that the feature was also in development for iOS, and after installing the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS update, some beta testers may be able to use this feature.

Tweaked link preview interface

WhatsApp is also rolling out a tweaked link preview interface on iOS beta.

For beta testers, a new row will now appear above the chat bar when a link is entered into the platform, and the application will animate the row while loading the link preview.

Earlier, users had no indication whether the platform was loading the preview or not, which undoubtedly caused confusion and wasted time while they waited for it to arrive.

The tweaked interface when loading a link preview is available for some beta testers that install the latest version of WhatsApp beta for iOS from the TestFlight app, and is expected to roll out to more people over the coming days, the report said.

Pinning messages within chats

According to reports, the app is working on pinning messages inside of conversations and groups. Users can now prioritise their messages and put the most crucial ones at the top of their chat list for quick access.

“The feature is still in development but, thanks to the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.7.3 update available on the Play Store, we can preview how a pinned message will look within a conversation once the feature is fully developed and released in the future," WABetaInfo reported.

How to pin messages: To pin a message, select the "Pin" action within the message options. When a message is pinned, a small icon appears on the chat bubble to indicate that it is pinned, and the message is displayed at the top of the conversation for quick access whenever needed.

By pinning messages to the top of chats, everyone in the chat will find it easier to find important messages later on. Furthermore, pinned messages help to organize group chats.