And you thought voice notes were annoying! WhatsApp will soon let your friends send you VIDEO messages
- A new video message feature is in the latest beta updates for iOS and Android
- It will allow users to send their friends short videos of up to one minute long
We all have that friend who insists on flooding our phone with three-minute voice notes.
But things could soon get a lot worse, if the latest WhatsApp leaks are anything to go by.
WABetaInfo has spotted a new video message feature in the latest beta updates for iOS and Android.
The feature will allow users to send their friends short videos of up to one minute long.
‘Since a video message is recorded and sent in real-time, it offers a sense of immediacy compared to a pre-recorded video that can be saved for being sent later,’ WABetaInfo explained.
WABetaInfo has spotted a new video message feature in the latest beta updates for iOS and Android
READ MORE: Can’t be bothered listening to your friend’s voice note? Your iPhone will soon TRANSCRIBE them for you
The tool was spotted in the WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.12.0.71 and WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.13.4.
A screenshot shared by WABetaInfo suggests the tool will work alongside voice notes.
To send a voice note, users currently hold the microphone icon in the bottom right of chat.
However, in the beta version of WhatsApp, tapping on this icon turns it into a video camera icon, allowing you to record video messages.
‘When you send or receive a video message, you need to enlarge it by tapping on the video once if you want to listen to the audio, as shown in the attached screenshot,’ WABetaInfo explained.
While users can already send their friends pre-recorded videos on WhatsApp, WABetaInfo claims the new tool offers more of a ‘sense of immediacy’.
‘When recipients receive a video message, they can perceive it has recently been recorded, which significantly enhances its authenticity,’ it added.
The feature will allow users to send their friends short videos of up to one minute long (stock image)
It remains unclear when, or even if, the new feature will be rolled out to all users.
The news comes shortly after Apple confirmed a new feature in the iOS 17 update that will automatically transcribe voice notes and voicemails.
The tech giant revealed the feature at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) and said it will be availble in iOS 17, which is coming to iPhones this September.
The new feature automatically converts incoming voice messages to text as they’re being spoken by the sender.
BEST WHATSAPP ALTERNATIVES
If you’re considering deleting WhatsApp, you’ll be happy to hear that there are several alternative apps to choose from:
1. Telegram
With more than 400 million users, Telegram is one of the most popular WhatsApp alternatives.
While it looks very similar to WhatsApp, what sets it apart is the fact that it gives the option to set messages to self-destruct after a given period of time, leaving no trace.
Telegram also offers end-to-end encryption.
However, as a WhatsApp spokesperson pointed out, Telegram ‘does not offer end-to-end encryption by default so it’s not necessarily more secure than WhatsApp’.
2. Signal
Signal is one of the most secure messaging apps, thanks to the fact that it is open-source.
This means that the code for the app is publicly available to view, making it near-impossible for the app’s creators to sneak in any backdoors that could allow governments or hackers to spy on your messages.
3. iMessage
If you use an iPhone, you may consider simply switching to iMessage, Apple’s own messaging app.
The app has a number of impressive features included no character limits, the ability to send pictures and videos, and of course Apple’s animated emoji feature, Animoji.
Unfortunately, iMessage is only available for iPhone users, so you’ll struggle to interact with anyone using an Android.
4. Google Messages
Google’s answer to iMessage is Google Messages, an Android-only messaging service.
The app replaces your standard SMS app, and integrates with all of Google’s apps and services, making it easy to share images or use Google Assistant.
5. Facebook Messenger
If you were put off using WhatsApp due to its sharing of data with Facebook, Facebook Messenger may not be the best option for you.
However, the app offers a number of helpful features, including games, secret conversations and video calls.
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