WhatsApp To Bring Quick Emoji Reactions To Status Updates: Details

In a bid to simplify experience for users, WhatsApp is working to introduce a quick heart emoji reaction on status updates, similar to what we have seen on Instagram.

Meta, the parent firm of WhatsApp and Instagram, recently rolled out a similar feature for the latter. Image: Getty

New Delhi: In a bid to simplify experience for users, WhatsApp is working to introduce a quick heart emoji reaction on status updates, similar to what we have seen on Instagram bringing for its users some time back, according to WABetaInfo, the beta tracker of WhatsApp. Meta, the parent firm of WhatsApp and Instagram, recently rolled out a similar feature for the latter that makes it easier to react to a story on Instagram.

"While WhatsApp is working on bringing a new version of message reactions by adding the ability to react to messages with any emoji, the company is now developing another new feature: quick reactions! What are quick reactions? It is a way to quickly send an emoji when viewing a status update on WhatsApp, so the same feature we use on Instagram when reacting to a story!," WABetaInfo wrote on its page.

As mentioned above, once the feature rolls out, users will be able to see emojis above the box, instead of only a text box, when they see Status on WhatsApp. The same thing is available on Instagram Stories which is similar to WhatsApp Status.

WABetaInfo shared a screenshot of the feature which is under development and added: "As you can see in this screenshot, when you are viewing a status update from WhatsApp Desktop, WhatsApp is planning to add 8 new emojis to use as reactions: Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes, Face with Tears of Joy, Face with Open Mouth, Crying Face, Folded Hands, Clapping Hands, Party Popper, and Hundred Points."

It should be noted that this feature is under development, and there is no official confirmation or word from WhatsApp about the release date so we do not know when it will be available for beta users.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp, to compete with rivals Google Pay and homegrown payments company Paytm, is working to introduce cashback rewards for UPI payment service users in India. This development comes soon after Meta-owned WhatsApp won regulatory approval to more than double its payments offering to 100 million or 10 crore users in India, also its biggest market.

Earlier this month, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) gave its go-ahead to an additional 60 million users on the unified payments interface (UPI) for WhatsApp, thus, increasing its payments offering to 100 million users on the platform.