WhatsApp Working on Nearby File Sharing Feature for Android 253y4x New Beta Update Brings Camera Bug Fix: Report

The nearby file sharing feature should be available widely in a future update of the app. 5od55

Written by Manas Mitul | Updated: 22 January 2024 20:11 IST

WhatsApp Working on Nearby File Sharing Feature for Android, New Beta Update Brings Camera Bug Fix: Report

Photo Credit: Reuters 3v6d2p

WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.2.20 update has also rolled out a fix for a camera bug

Highlights

WhatsApp introduced HD photo sharing for all s last year
Nearby file sharing will also allow s to set their visibility
A previous update for the beta version of the app brought a camera bug

ment

Android to share files with other s in their vicinity. Additionally, as part of the same update for the beta version of the app on Android, WhatsApp has also issued a fix for a camera bug in the application.

According to a Apple's AirDrop feature, and the feature should be available widely in a future update of the app.

Nearby file sharing is not yet ready for beta testers, but the WABetaInfo report provides a preview of the feature. A shared screenshot of the in-development feature shows a “Share files with people nearby” option in the app, along with a list of s nearby and a setting that allows s to set their visibility. Additionally, it seems s can set themselves to be visible to other nearby s without revealing their phone number to non-s. s would also have to wait for nearby s to accept their share request. Nearby s can open WhatsApp and shake their device to see an incoming share request. It's also worth noting that the nearby sharing feature would be end-to-end encrypted to maintain privacy.

WhatsApp Rolls Out Polls, Voice Notes and More Features on Channels

The nearby file sharing feature will be end-to-end encrypted
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

While the nearby file sharing feature will reportedly arrive in a future update, the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.2.20 update has rolled out a fix for a recent bug that prevented s from launching the camera in the app. According to a separate WABetaInfo report, some beta testers on Android encountered an issue that prevented them from launching the camera inside the app after the 2.24.2.13 WhatsApp beta update. The bug would show a message in the app that read “Can't start camera, please restart your device.” Restarting the device or relaunching the app, however, did not fix the issue.

WhatsApp Will Soon Let You Change Theme Colours, Edit Stickers in the App

The latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.2.20 update brings a fix for the camera bug, allowing s to launch the camera inside WhatsApp and proceed to share photos and videos with their s.

Last week, WhatsApp Channels, the broadcasting feature that lets organisations and public personalities send updates to their followers on the messaging platform, received a host of new tools, including a polling feature, voice notes and the ability to share Channel updates to Status.

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: Nearby File Sharing

Manas Mitul

Email Manas Mitul

In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More