WhatsApp rolls out its latest update: Here’s what you need to know

The world’s biggest messaging platform, WhatsApp, has kicked off the new year with a suite of features and design updates aimed at enhancing user experience.

The updates – revealed by WhatsApp’s owner Meta – include creative camera effects, personalised selfie stickers, and improved message reactions, with a focus on making the platform more engaging and intuitive.

Here’s what users can expect in terms of the four key updates:

Revamped camera effects

Users can now transform their photos and videos with 30 new backgrounds, filters, and effects when sending media in chats. The move is designed to provide a more interactive and visually appealing way to communicate.

Personalised selfie stickers

WhatsApp has introduced the ability to turn selfies into custom stickers, a feature currently available on Android and set to launch on iOS soon. To create a sticker, users simply tap the “create sticker” icon, snap a selfie, and personalise their new digital expression.

Enhanced sticker sharing

The platform has also made it easier to share sticker packs. Users can now send entire packs to friends directly through their chats, adding a new layer of convenience to sharing popular stickers.

Quicker message reactions

Responding to messages is faster and more efficient with a new double-tap feature. Users can instantly react to messages and access their most-used reactions with a quick scroll, making conversations smoother and more dynamic.

WhatsApp is the world’s most widely used messaging app. According to Meta, it has 2 billion daily users who send more than 100 billion messages every day in 60 languages across 180 countries.

Some 400 million of those users are in India, WhatsApp’s biggest market, followed by another 120 million in Brazil.