In the last two weeks WhatsApp introduced new features for its Android and iOS apps. The new WhatsApp features are available for everyone to use now. Users need to download and update WhatsApp to the latest version for these features.
Some of these features were being tested on beta for some time before the official rollout. WhatsApp fingerprint lock is now available on Android, a feature iPhone users had since February this year. WhatsApp also updated its group privacy settings for Android and iOS, and iPhone users can now watch Netflix trailers within the app. Let’s take a look at the new WhatsApp features.
Group privacy settings
WhatsApp updated its group privacy settings earlier this week. WhatsApp users can prevent others from adding them to groups by selecting either ‘Nobody’, ‘My Contacts’ or ‘Everyone’. WhatsApp has now replaced ‘Nobody’ with ‘My Contacts except’ which lets users manually choose which contacts to block from adding them to groups.
Fingerprint lock
Fingerprint lock is finally available on WhatsApp for Android. As the name suggests, this feature lets users lock WhatsApp with their phone’s fingerprint sensor. Users can enable this by selecting Account > Privacy > Fingerprint Lock. iPhone users already have this feature where they can use Face ID or Touch ID to lock WhatsApp.
Netflix trailers
WhatsApp’s ‘Picture-in-Picture’ mode lets users watch Facebook, YouTube and Instagram videos within the app. WhatsApp has now enabled Netflix trailers for PiP mode on the app. Netflix trailers shared directly from the app can now be viewed on WhatsApp. This feature is available only for iPhone users as of now.
Bonus: Dark mode on WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp Web has a workaround which enables dark mode. WhatsApp Web users can install the Stylus browser extension on Chrome or Firefox and it will enable dark mode. Note that this isn’t the official WhatsApp dark mode but it’s useful for people who can’t wait for the change.
