In a major update, WhatsApp for iOS has gotten in-app play support for Facebook and Instagram videos. After this latest WhatsApp update, Facebook and Instagram videos that are shared on WhatsApp can now be played on the same chat screen and users would no longer need to switch to the other app to watch the videos.
The new WhatsApp update comes with version 2.18.51. The update to the iOS app also adds support for a Picture-in-Picture mode for Facebook and Instagram videos. This ensures that the videos play even if the users have logged out of the respective app. WhatsApp already offers similar support to play YouTube videos. However, the chat app only recently dropped support for the YouTube in-app videos on iOS 10 or lower for reasons unknown.
The change log of the recent WhatsApp update says, “When you receive a link to an Instagram or Facebook video, you can now play it right within WhatsApp. With picture-in-picture, you can also keep watching the video while you navigate to another chat.”
In addition, the group administrator functions have also been updated in the latest version of the app. The update empowers the group admins to take away the admin rights from other participants. To remove an admin, select the user in “Group Info” and select “Dismiss As Admin.” Also, group admins can now select who can change the group’s subject, icon and description. The options would be accessed in the Group Info under the “Group Settings” section.
WhatsApp is always striving to become a complete messaging app, adopting the latest technology into its groundbreaking features. During the F8 conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the chat app will soon get a group call feature and sticker support.
“Voice and video calling are very popular on WhatsApp, and we’re excited to share that group calling will be coming in the months ahead. Stickers are also coming to WhatsApp soon,” a Facebook blog post stated. A maximum of four people can do video and voice calls at once. The Facebook-owned chat app would also support the third-party stickers made by the developers.
Facebook also recently announced that WhatsApp Business, which launched in 2017, now has 3 million users. During the F8 conference, Zuckerberg also revealed that 450 million people are using WhatsApp’s status feature worldwide. Further, over 2 billion minutes of video and voice calls are made via WhatsApp everyday.
Meanwhile, Facebook Messenger would also receive some major changes including the AR camera effects. As of now, the feature has been launched in the beta mode. In a recent blog post, Facebook noted that the feature would help them to get valuable and instant feedback about the purchase and more.
“Developers will be able to build experiences that let people virtually customize or try on merchandise, walk through new products, or simply express themselves in a fun way,” the company said.
Further, talking of another Facebook-owned product, Oculus Go, the standalone VR headset is now up for sale. In the U.S., the standalone headset is available for $199. Also, the social networking giant revealed that the Oculus TV service, which would offer people VR content, would be launched soon.
Meanwhile, talking of Facebook, the company will soon have the dating feature, allowing users to make a separate profile visible only to non-friends, who also opted for the same dating feature. Facebook would suggest a match based on the data fed in the new profile. The dating feature also has a messaging option via dedicated inbox rather than Messenger.
About the dating app, the social networking giant stated that they are committed to building long-term relationships and finding a partner for life. The biggest challenge, however, would be to ensure user privacy, something that has been an issue with Facebook. Also, the social networking website announced bringing in 3D illustration and models to the News Feed. Also, the 2D photos could be turned into VR memories.
During the F8 conference, Facebook also talked about a new Clear History feature. The new feature allows users to delete all the data gathered by Facebook from different sites and apps that use its ads and analytics tools. After receiving backlash from privacy advocates and the users, Facebook is being extra cautious in making the user experience more private, but at the same time less personalized.
