We’ll never say no to a WhatsApp update (unless it’s force-feeding AI down our throats), and Meta has obliged with a group-chat-focused renovation that adds three new features starting today. We’re still waiting for a proper username upgrade to move away from the app’s reliance on phone numbers, but we’ll take what we can get.
Group chats just got smarter
The most interesting addition is what WhatsApp calls ‘Member tags’, which allows users to assign themselves a role in the groupchat, mainly for the benefit of other members. For example, you might be known as “Anna’s Dad” in the parent-only class group chat, while elsewhere you could be “Goalkeeper”. How the platform plans to censor any unsavoury tags in family or neighbourhood group chats is still unclear.
Next up are ‘Text stickers’, which Meta reckons will turn just about any word into a sticker. Just punch in the letters into Sticker Search, and it’ll sort you out. Alternatively, Meta notes that users add newly created stickers directly to their private sticker packs without sending them in a chat first.
Read More: Latest WhatsApp update reintroduces Instagram-like ‘About’ feature
Finally, ‘Event reminders’ are for the friends who routinely bail on group plans with lame excuses. When creating an event for the group, users can create custom early reminders for everyone involved. There’s no guarantee this will keep those friends on track, but it does make finding excuses that much harder.
Surprisingly, all three features have already found their way onto our mobile devices at the time of writing — a departure from tradition for WhatsApp. If you’ve yet to spot any of the changes — which can be accessed inside any group chat — make sure your app is up to date, after which they’ll be along shortly.
