New Delhi: As the year draws to an end, Meta (formerly Facebook) owned WhatsApp on Thursday announced its year-end review of 2021 that captured the key highlights that include the rollout of chatbots, built in partnership with the Indian government, for citizens to access Covid-related information, the introduction of WhatsApp Business app that empowered enabled small and micro businesses and "Payments on WhatsApp" feature that intends to scale financial solutions for everybody in the country. 


The world's most popular messaging platform also rolled out a host of features and updates throughout the year and was used by millions to stay connected when physical distancing was the norm during the pandemic.


“During the pandemic, the world over, WhatsApp became one of the most used and dependable ways for people to connect with family and friends, as well as for users to interact with businesses. We’re humbled and pleased that during challenging times of the pandemic we could serve India, by building custom helpline solutions in partnership with the central and several state governments and civic actors to offer Covid relief related solutions that citizens could depend upon," Abhijit Bose, Head of India, WhatsApp, said in a statement. 


With 2022 around the corner, WhatsApp remains committed to connecting the world privately, enabling businesses to connect with their customers in meaningful ways, supporting governments to drive effective citizen engagement and efficient governance, as well as, continues to endeavour on its mission to drive financial and digital inclusion at scale in India. 


The key highlights of WhatsApp India year-in-review for the year 2021 are as follows.


Payments on WhatsApp 


This year was when WhatsApp took "Payments on WhatsApp" to more people in India. The company says Payments on WhatsApp has the potential to bring millions of Indians to the digital payments ecosystem and hence drive financial inclusion and digital and financial literacy. 2021 saw the launch of several new features that were tailor-made for India with the goal of simplifying digital payments. 


WhatsApp chatbots for fight against Covid and drive vaccination


Since the start of the pandemic, WhatsApp has been one of the preferred mediums for people to find authoritative information, seek and receive support and stay connected. In 2021, WhatsApp’s role matured as central and state administrations used the WhatsApp Business platform to stay connected with citizens to drive vaccinations across the country as well as offer more efficient governance and citizen engagement.


This year, 15 state governments launched dedicated Covid helplines on WhatsApp for a number of Covid related use-cases ranging from access to resources to vaccination appointment bookings. The MyGov chatbot on WhatsApp is equipped to manage several different types of requests including vaccine certificate download, appointment bookings, etc. So far, over 55 million people have reached out to the bot, over 12 million vaccine certificates have been downloaded and millions of vaccination appointments are being booked. 


Improve user experience and safety on WhatsApp 


WhatsApp launched several product updates and features, to improve user experience and enhance safety and security on the platform. Some of the new ephemerality features, Disappearing Messages, View Once, and Default Disappearing Mode with multiple durations are intended to give users more control and privacy. 


User safety being a top priority, WhatsApp launched features like Message level reporting where users can report accounts by flagging a specific message, Touch ID and Face ID for iPhone, and Fingerprint lock for Android and encrypted backup, offering additional layers of security for users. Other innovative product features like Desktop Calling, Archive 2.0, Joinable calls, Cross-platform migration, Elevating important messages, Sticker packs, Media web editor on web, Stickers in status, have all helped bring people closer together privately. 


WhatsApp for Businesses of all 


Apart from forging impactful India-first partnerships, there have been traditional sectors like education, healthcare, financial services that use the power of WhatsApp Business Platform to provide their services to underserved and marginalized communities, at scale, thereby building an inclusive India. The free-of-cost WhatsApp Business App is being used by more than 15 million small and micro businesses to scale their digital presence.