New features that make WhatsApp even better

WhatsApp has been one of the most active mobile messengers in the last few months. It has been adding new features or making improvements to its mobile app to make it more relevant to its users and compete with its Japanese and South Korean rivals such as Line and Kakao Talk which are more popular than WhatsApp in these regions.

The introduction of video calling puts it on par with its rivals. It also makes life easier for anyone who uses WhatsApp as the primary messenger, and had to download another messaging app for video calling. But video calling is not the only useful feature the Facebook-owned messenger has added.

Here are some of the other cool and useful features you may have missed in your favourite messenger so far.

Video streaming

Until now a user had to wait for a shared video to download completely before they could play it. The video streaming feature makes it possible for users to watch a video even if it is still downloading, just like YouTube videos. Once the video is downloaded, it will be automatically saved on the phone, but this new feature does away with the waiting time.

Image editing

The option to annotate a photo with text or graphics of your choice has been very popular with social media buffs. The feature was first introduced in a social networking app by Snapchat but is now available on a number of messengers, including WhatsApp. This new feature allows users to edit, add text, caption and emoji on the photos they want to share with their friends. The options will automatically show once an image is clicked or picked up within WhatsApp.

Two-step verification

Security is one of the key concerns for any user with an online presence. WhatsApp already provides end-to-end 256 bit encryption for all its messages, but one of its recent additions called two-step verification adds a layer of extra security by doing away with the risk of someone else trying to access your account using your mobile number. You can enable this feature in Settings-> Account->Two-step verification and you will be directed to create a password which will then be linked to the mobile number with which your WhatsApp account has been configured.

Convert videos into GIF

GIF images are very popular with users for the fun element they bring to chats. While a user could share GIF images shared on WhatsApp, there was no option which allowed users to create a GIF of their own. With the addition of options to add text, emoji and change colours now available on WhatsApp, users can convert short video clips into GIF images and share with their friends. To access it, users need to long press and record a 6-second video on WhatsApp and all the options to create a GIF image will pop up automatically on the app’s interface.