WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new messaging feature called message reactions. Message reaction is exactly what you think it is: the ability to react to a text message using an emoji. While it was always possible to react to a message by quoting it and then sending emoji in reply, message reactions will make the experience much more streamlined for WhatsApp users.
Apps like Instagram, Twitter, Signal, Slack, and Facebook Messenger have long offered message reactions, so again, WhatsApp is playing catch-up with the competition here.
The evidence of message reactions in WhatsApp was first spotted by WABetainfo, which believes that the feature will be available in a future update for beta testers. Similar to Instagram DM, WhatsApp users should be able to add emoji expressions to individual messages once this feature rolls out to users.
We don’t have a glimpse at how the feature will look as it appears to be in the early stage of development.
The screenshot shared by WABetainfo suggests that users will have to be running the latest version of WhatsApp in order to see reactions. If you react to someone’s message and they’re on an older version, they’ll receive a message telling them to update their WhatsApp app.
You received a reaction: Update your version of WhatsApp to see reactions.
We don’t know when, if ever, this feature will roll out to end-users. If WhatsApp does decide to implement a message reaction feature, it will most likely arrive first on WhatsApp beta. But seeing how early in the development the feature is, we don’t expect it will arrive on WhatsApp anytime soon.
Message reactions join the growing list of WhatsApp features currently in development and haven't been rolled out to the public yet. This includes a new shortcut to quickly send payments, end-to-end encryption for local backups, new options for the disappearing message feature, and multi-device support for iPad and Android tablets.
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Featured image by Domingo Alvarez E on Unsplash