According to WABetaInfo, the latest Android beta for WhatsApp has a secret: message reactions! Or at least it has the implication of message reactions, anyway. The latest beta doesn’t actually have functioning reactions in it yet. Instead, it provides users with a message telling them they need to update in order to view reactions. So while reactions aren’t currently available, it’s clear that WhatsApp is working on their inclusion. All additional details are up in the air at this point, so it’s uncertain exactly how message reactions will work. WhatsApp could provide a small assortment of reactions to choose from, similar to Facebook. It could do something a simple as a single “Like” button. It could allow you to choose from all available emojis, as we see in apps like Slack or Discord. For now, we can only guess. Availability is also uncertain for the moment. WABetaInfo spotted the message reaction notification in the WhatsApp beta for Android, but believed it should be coming to iOS and desktop, as well. It’s certainly unlikely that WhatsApp would avoid bringing message reactions to iOS users and only focus on Android. With no official announcement to accompany the discovery, it’s anyone’s guess as to when WhatsApp will make message reactions widely available. However, it’s clearly in the testing phase, so if nothing else, we should be able to learn more details as beta development continues.
