WhatsApp Unveils New Features: Here’s What’s New And How They Work

As 2025 kicks off, WhatsApp, one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, has rolled out new features aimed at improving user experience and boosting engagement. These include fresh video call-inspired effects for shared photos and videos, a simpler way to create personalised stickers, a new gesture for reacting to messages, and more. Here’s a look at the exciting new features:

WhatsApp New Features

According to WhatsApp’s official page, here are the exciting new features that have been rolled out:

• Camera Effects: WhatsApp has introduced new Camera Effects, allowing users to apply the effects that were previously available for video calls to their photos and videos. Now, you can choose from 30 different backgrounds, filters, and effects while sharing photos or videos in chats.
• Selfie Stickers: A fun new feature lets users turn their selfies into stickers directly. In the stickers menu, there’s a new “Create” option that opens the camera interface, allowing you to take a picture or select an existing one. The image is then turned into a sticker, which can be further edited. This feature is currently available on the Android version of the app, with iOS support coming soon.
• Share a Sticker Pack: Users can now share entire sticker packs directly with another contact in a chat. This makes it easier to spread your favourite stickers with friends.
• Quicker Reactions: WhatsApp now allows users to double-tap a message to react instead of tapping and holding. The pop-up menu for reactions now shows your most frequently used emojis, making it quicker to respond. You can still access additional emoji options by clicking the plus symbol in the reaction bar.

These updates aim to make messaging on WhatsApp more fun and personalised!

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WhatsApp To Replace ‘Communities’ Tab With ‘AIs’?

According to a recent report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp v2.25.1.26 beta for Android is introducing a new ‘AIs’ tab, replacing the previous ‘Communities’ tab. This feature is similar to Meta’s AI Studio tool for Instagram, allowing users to create custom AI chatbots with personalised traits.

For instance, users will be able to design AI chatbots made to assist with tasks like productivity, offer personalised support, provide motivational boosts during workouts, or keep users updated with the latest news. While AI chatbots have been available on WhatsApp before, this new ability to create unique, personalised chatbots opens up more possibilities. Each AI character will have its own distinct traits, which will likely differ from those created by other users, offering a more customised experience.

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As for the Communities tab, it seems that WhatsApp plans to relocate it to the main Chats tab. Since these changes are still under development, there’s no official timeline for when this functionality will be available to all users. So, you may need to wait a bit longer before you can start creating your own AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot.

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Credits: FREEPIK