Source: PocketnowWhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app on the planet Earth right now. Millions and billions of people use the Meta-owned service to connect with their loved ones. Some even use WhatsApp for business purposes. Despite its immense popularity, WhatsApp lacks many features that other instant messaging apps, such as Telegram, offer.
One of the features that Telegram (and even Meta’s own Instagram DM and Messenger) offers is the ability to react to a message. You can simply tap and hold a message on these instant messaging platforms and acknowledge the message sent by the other person. WhatsApp is again playing the catch-up game here as the company has announced that emoji reactions, along with a number of other new features, are now available on the platform.
Message Reactions were first spotted back in the August of 2021 until the company announced it officially a few days ago. The feature, as self-explanatory as it already is, would allow users to react to a WhatsApp message using an emoji. Currently, if you have to respond with a thumbs-up or smiley face to a particular message, you have to quote a reply or send a separate message to reply. The new ability would allow users to react to a message without quoting it.
These emoji reactions appear just below the message. If a person reacts with an emoji to a particular message, that emoji will appear beneath the message with the emoji count next to it.
“We’re excited to share that emoji reactions are now available on the latest version of the app. Reactions are fun, fast, and they reduce overload in groups too. We’ll continue improving them by adding an even broader range of expressions in the future.”
WhatsApp says that Message Reactions should be available to all the users in “about a week.” So, if you don’t see them in your app right away, don’t worry. The feature will definitely hit your phone in the next few days. Before we go on and explain how you can use WhatsApp message reaction on Android and iPhone, check out some of the other features that WhatsApp has rolled out, along with emoji reactions.
Other WhatsApp features
Source: WhatsApp In addition to message reactions, WhatsApp has announced that it has started rolling out new features it announced a few weeks ago. First up, the company has announced that it has increased the group chat member limit from 256 people to 512. Now you can add up to 512 people in a single group chat. This increased limit will surely help a lot of people and come in handy when its Communities feature goes live.
WhatsApp has also announced that you can now send files up to 2GB in size via the instant messaging platform. Until now, you could send files only up to 100MB in size on WhatsApp, but with the new feature now available, you can send files as large as 2GB. WhatsApp says the increased file size limit will be helpful for collaboration among small businesses and school groups. The app will also display a time counter while uploading or downloading a file to let you know how long your transfer will take.
How to send Message Reactions on WhatsApp
Source: WhatsAppBefore we explain how you can send emoji reactions on WhatsApp, there are a few things that you need to know. First up, only 6 emojis reactions are available right now. The 6 emojis that are available currently include ?, ❤️, ?, ?, ?, ?. WhatsApp has announced that it will add support for all emojis (including skin tone variations) that you can normally use in messages as the feature develops. In addition to this, there are a few key things that you need to keep in mind about Message Reactions on WhatsApp:
- You can only send one emoji reaction to a message.
- Reactions to disappearing messages will disappear as and when the message disappears.
- You cannot hide emoji reaction count.
- Other members of a group chat will be able to see the emoji reaction you send.
- Only the sender of the message being reacted to will receive the notification.
How to send an emoji reaction to a message
Source: 9to5MacTo send an emoji reaction to a WhatsApp message, follow these steps:
- On Android and iOS:
- Long press on the message you want to react to.
- A pop-up with 6 emojis will appear.
- Simply select one of the 6 emojis displayed inside the pop-up.
- Your chosen emoji reaction will appear under the message you selected.
- On WhatsApp Web and Desktop:
- Hover over the message you want to react to.
- An arrow will appear on the top right of the message.
- Click on the downwards arrow icon and select React to message.
- Select the emoji you want to send as a message reaction.
- The emoji reaction you choose will appear below the message you selected.
Source: WABetaInfoHow to change or remove a reaction
Sent a wrong message reaction? Don’t worry. You can change it in just a couple of steps. Here’s how:
- On Android and iOS:
- Long press on the message you want to react to. Previously chosen emoji reaction should already be displayed below this message.
- A pop-up with 6 emojis will appear.
- If you want to remove a message reaction, simply select the previously selected emoji, and the reaction will be removed.
- If you want to change a message reaction, select a different emoji.
- The newly chosen emoji reaction will appear below the message you selected.
- On WhatsApp Web and Desktop:
- Hover over the message you want to react to. Previously chosen emoji reaction should already be displayed below this message.
- An arrow will appear on the top right of the message.
- Click on the downwards arrow icon and select React to message.
- If you want to remove a message reaction, simply select the previously selected emoji, and the reaction will be removed.
- Select a different emoji if you want to change a message reaction.
- The newly chosen emoji reaction will appear below the message you selected.
How to stop notifications for WhatsApp message reactions
Reaction notifications can be annoying, especially if you’re a part of a big group. Thankfully, WhatsApp allows you to disable individual notifications for message reactions. To disable notifications for WhatsApp message reactions, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings → Notifications.
- Turn off the toggle with the label Reaction Notifications.
This is pretty much everything you need to know about WhatsApp message reactions. It seems that the company wants to reduce the chaos that results from the current practice of sending separate emojis as reactions to messages. The company also wants to catch up with other feature-rich instant messaging apps with the message reaction feature. Have you used message reactions on WhatsApp? How’s your experience been? Let us know in the comments section below!
Via: WhatsApp Blog