WhatsApp Beta Version Allows Testers to Try New Voice Chats and 'Send for Review' Feature 2k5i24 Technology News

WhatsApp will soon allow group s to decide whether s can send them chats to for review. 4y5w69

Written by David Delima | Updated: 7 August 2023 18:29 IST

WhatsApp Beta Version Allows Testers to Try New Voice Chats and 'Send for Review' Feature

WhatsApp is rolling out both features to s who have signed up to receive beta updates 576u1u

Highlights

WhatsApp has begun testing a feature that will improve group audio calls
These voice chats won't ring the phones of group unlike calls
WhatsApp group s could soon gain access to a new moderation feature

ment

WhatsApp beta — the company's testing version of the popular messaging app — has added a new feature with the latest update. Previously referred to as audio chats, this feature allows s to start a voice call in a group. Meanwhile, a recent beta update also added for sending messages to group s for review, a feature that could help improve istration of groups on the platform. These features are expected to roll out to s on the stable channel at a later date.

With the update to WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.16.19, some beta testers will gain access to a feature called voice chats, as spotted by WhatsApp feature tracker WABetaInfo. This feature changes the way group audio calls by replacing the call icon with a waveform icon. Tapping the icon will start a voice chat that other group can also . However, unlike a group voice call, these voice chats won't ring your phone — all group will see a push notification instead.

Voice chats on WhatsApp
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

The feature tracker has shared a couple of screenshots of the feature, showing how it works in a group. Once a voice chat is initiated, group can and speak, as if it were a regular audio call. Idle calls will be automatically closed after an hour, according to WABetaInfo. It appears that WhatsApp's existing limits on calls will also apply to voice chats — only 32 will be able to at a time.

WhatsApp Starts Testing Safety Tools, Improves Forwarding on Latest Beta

On the other hand, WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.16.18 which was released over the weekend, reportedly adds a new feature aimed at improving moderation in groups. WhatsApp has included a new toggle in the group settings section called Send for review that will allow group to send messages to a group's for review.

The new group moderation tool on WhatsApp
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

While s can currently report messages sent by other s to WhatsApp, the messaging service recently allowed group s to delete messages to improve moderation on the app. Once this feature is enabled, s will be able to report specific messages sent to the group to s, so that they can be removed, according to WABetaInfo. The feature could help s catch messages they might miss when they are away from their phone.

There's no word from WhatsApp on when these features will be rolled out to all s on the app. Gadgets 360 was unable to confirm the presence of both these features after updating to the latest version of the app. This suggests that they could be enabled by a server-side update, and s who install the latest beta version might have access to the feature in the coming days.

From the launch of the Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon's latest mega-sale, we discuss the most noteworthy technology news events of the week on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Meta

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be ed via email at [email protected], on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More