"WhatsApp reactions" to be rolled out today
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New Delhi: The instant messaging app, WhatsApp, is to release an update of quick reactions, similar to that of Facebook Messenger and Instagram, on Thursday, NDTV reported, citing CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement.
The new update, called WhatsApp Reactions, will enable users to react through like, love, laugh, sad, surprise and thanks. The platform might add more emoticons and skin tones in the future, NDTV reports.
WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has been testing the feature for more than three years. Zuckerberg made the new update announcement on Facebook and listed the six emojis that act as reactions and said, reactions on WhatsApp will start rolling out today. "We're including [hands joined emoji] to help spread thanks and appreciation. More expressions coming soon," he wrote.
To use the WhatsApp reaction feature, users have to long-press on any chat and select the desired emoji to react instantly. The feature is already available in Facebook's Messenger and Instagram chats.
Earlier, WhatsApp had announced the quick reactions feature in April during a Communities event. It proclaimed more features like the ability to add 32 more people to a group audio call and the file-sharing limit to be increased to 2GB.
Now, Meta is a step closer to integrating WhatsApp with Instagram and Messenger. Users of Facebook Messenger and Instagram can communicate with one another at the moment. But, to include WhatsApp into the circle, the other two need to get the end-to-end encryption feature, NDTV reports.