Despite being slow to roll out certain features when compared to services like Telegram,WhatsAppcontinues to be one of the world’s most popular instant messaging apps. We often come across under-development features being tested by the Meta-owned chat app courtesy of beta releases. Last week, it was revealed that the company enhancing thediscoverability of stickersby linking them to their corresponding emoji. WhatsApp now appears to be working on another visual feature, as per the good folks at WABetaInfo, taking a cue from Apple’s popular Memoji feature for iPhones.
For the uninitiated, Memoji lets users create customizable avatars based on their faces, which can then be used as stickers. The sitereportsthat a similar feature is now in the works for WhatsApp’s Android app, as found in the latest beta version 2.23.15.6. Although the feature is accessed through the Google Play beta program, it’s not visible to all testers.
This piggybacks off of another recently released beta feature — the ability to create personalized avatars using a picture, à la Memoji. However, this new beta addition takes it a step further and lets people use these custom avatars as individual stickers, with one seemingly available for each emoji. Reactions appear to be split between multiple categories, with “Love” prominently visible in the brief video below.
People who use WhatsApp on their iPhones wouldn’t find this feature particularly groundbreaking. That’s because Memoji has allowed individuals to do this since at least 2018 with iOS 12. Regardless, this is a welcome addition to WhatsApp and one that would go a long way in curbing the envy that Android users face whenever someone with an iPhone flaunts their Memoji.
Among the other features being worked on at WhatsApp’s labs is letting users potentiallymask their phone numbersfrom Communities. We’ve alsofound evidencethat the chat app is adding much-needed filters likeUnread,Personal,Business, andAllfor easier scrolling through a long list of chats.
