Ritik Gupta
India is WhatsApp’s largest market.
WhatsApp is, by remote, the most distinguished instant messaging app in work. It attained even tremendous primacy through the year 2020 as it came to be the default messages arena for work, for catching up with friends, and for families to keep up in touch. As a result, WhatsApp data indicated a significant fixture in usage also. In March, when the Coronavirus pandemic indeed carried its impact with lockdowns and function from home routines, users typically were expending over 15 billion minutes communicating each day on WhatsApp calls, above the pre-pandemic usage tendencies. As per Statista, as of October 2020, WhatsApp has 2 billion functional international users, with Facebook Messenger in second place with 1.3 billion active users and WeChat commemorating in third with 1.2 billion.
WhatsApp has been super vigorous this year in rolling out modern elements, functionality, updates for WhatsApp for Android, IOS, and WhatsApp Web.
1. WhatsApp Payments
- The last substantial improvement of the year has to be the activation of WhatsApp Payments. As we led the way towards the verge of 2020, WhatsApp declared that the WhatsApp Payments feature is now accessible to 20 million users in India.
- The Facebook-owned WhatsApp platform ascertained that WhatsApp Payments are now Live with State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank, and will facilitate the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) Unified Payment Interface (UPI) network for users to formulate payments, money transfers and more. The statement appeared as a fraction of the ongoing Facebook Fuel for India conference. In November, WhatsApp Payments was ratified to stimulate payments for users in India within the WhatsApp app.
2. Dark Mode
After a long time of speculation and an impatient hold, WhatsApp users ultimately got access to the Dark Mode in the app. The WhatsApp Dark Mode rollout occurred earlier this year for Android as well as the iPhone. A recent WhatsApp update also augmented new chat wallpapers for the WhatsApp Dark Mode. Ultimately, Dark Mode was also rolled out for WhatsApp on the desktop to formulate a level playing arena for all users. Everything glances well in the dark mode.
3. Disappearing Messages
WhatsApp’s new Disappearing Messages characteristic is now accessible for all users. You will be able to deliver messages to friends and family, which will automatically vanish after seven days. But why seven days? “We’re starting with seven days because we think it offers peace of mind that conversations aren’t permanent while remaining practical so you don’t forget what you were chatting about. The shopping list or store address you received a few days ago will be there while you need it, and then disappear after you don’t,” is how WhatsApp describes it.
4. WhatsApp Group Video And Voice Call
At a period when millions around the world were operating from home and counting heavily on instant messengers and video calling apps to get work done and keep up in touch with friends and family, WhatsApp revised the group phoning feature to comprise 8 participants, instead of 4 that was the threshold earlier. WhatsApp announced that in March, when the Coronavirus Pandemic hit in, users on average were expending over 15 billion minutes conversing each day on WhatsApp calls, well above the pre-pandemic usage tendencies.
5. Mute Groups Forever
WhatsApp now enables you to mute disturbing, irking, and hyperactive WhatsApp Groups forever. The “Always” option in the Mute settings for each group now replaces the 1-year substitute, with the other choices being 8 hours and one week. The alternative is usable on WhatsApp for Android and iPhone and is priceless.
