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WhatsApp is making some minor changes to its Android app, though they’re clearly useful additions (even if one of them is currently still in beta testing).
The incoming tweaks with the latest release version of the Android client include the ability to add captions when sharing a document via WhatsApp, such as WABetaInfo (opens in new tab) reports.
In addition, there will be a big increase in the number of photos and videos you can send at once in a conversation. Previously, the limit for this was 30 pieces of media, but that has been increased to 100 (which should be enough for everyone – we hope).
Another change in the release version of the Android app means users can now have longer group names (up to 100 characters in total) and a group description that informs people about the purpose of the group.
As for the change that is still in beta, it relates to a feature that already exists, namely Disappearing Messages (which, as the name suggests, disappear after a certain amount of time if you select this option).
Also spotted by WABetaInfo (opens in new tab), the new Android beta has a Kept Messages feature. It allows you to save certain disappearing messages (as opposed to the entire chat) and save them for later use.
Analysis: Some helpful and useful additions
These are all handy extras for WhatsApp on Android, meaning you don’t have to take a screenshot of disappearing messages, for example (a somewhat controversial feature, as we’ve discussed in the past) to get hold of them – instead, they can just be saved become. Keep in mind this one is still in beta, and sounds like it’s being rolled out in preview in phases, as not every tester sees Kept Messages. (However, there is no guarantee that a beta feature will make it to the final release).
It’s also a useful piece of functionality to be able to add captions to documents so you can provide some information about the file being shared. As for the new features that came in with the release version of WhatsApp on Android, they are still being rolled out across the user base at the moment, so you may not have them just yet, but they will be coming soon enough.
Via android police [1 (opens in new tab), 2 (opens in new tab)]