WhatsApp Readies Message Reactions for iPhone and Android

[MacRumors]

WhatsApp's plan to bring iMessage-style message reactions to the massively popular chat platform appears to be entering its final stages, based on new screenshots shared by WABetaInfo.

WhatsApp has been working on message reactions – or "Tapbacks" in Apple Messages parlance – for some time, with evidence of their development first coming to light last summer.

The feature gives messaging app users a quick and easy way to respond to a message (a thumbs-up or thumbs-down in iMessage, for example) without having to type out a lengthier text-based reply.

Early hints that message reactions are coming to WhatsApp suggested the functionality and appearance of the feature hadn't been properly fleshed out, but the latest images give users a better idea of how they're likely to work.

Similar to Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp users will see a row of emoji just above a message, although it's not immediately clear from the pictures whether this is after a long press or the tap of a new button.

The six emoji currently present include thumbs up, heart, face with tears of joy, face with open mouth, crying face, and folded hands. When a reaction is chosen, it appears in a smaller profile below the message.

Image credit: WABetaInfo​

Notably, Facebook Messenger includes a plus button in its reaction options to access a full emoji picker, but currently this doesn't appear in the WhatsApp screenshots and it's not known if one will be added in time.

According to WABetainfo, WhatsApp plans to bring the message reactions to WhatsApp on both iOS and Android, possibly in an upcoming beta before being rolled out to the general public. The app specialist also adds that reactions will be end-to-end encrypted, just like messages shared over the platform.

Article Link: WhatsApp Readies Message Reactions for iPhone and Android

 

[TwoBytes]

I don't get how Messenger and WhatsApp are the same company and they can't with ease just copy a feature from one app to the other with ease - or better yet, unify the apps so it's just one platform and works and put all the development into that so it works rather than release simple features after years...

 

[djcerla]

They better ready an Apple Watch app. Most requested app ever.

 

[MayaUser]

Wow
this is new meta

 

[rgeneral]

What app?

 

[dabi]

I don't get how Messenger and WhatsApp are the same company and they can't with ease just copy a feature from one app to the other with ease - or better yet, unify the apps so it's just one platform and works and put all the development into that so it works rather than release simple features after years...

Different apps with different code bases and reasons to exist. Messenger is more of a chat platform tied to personal Facebook accounts, Whatsapp is more of a universal phone number based chatting platform. They can and should coexist imo.

 

[JustSomebody12]

I don't get how Messenger and WhatsApp are the same company and they can't with ease just copy a feature from one app to the other with ease - or better yet, unify the apps so it's just one platform and works and put all the development into that so it works rather than release simple features after years...

The main difference is WhatsApp uses E2E-encrypted message delivery, while Messenger is FB-synced.

Also, in the times of Antitrust ramp-up, it wouldn’t be too wise to merge them.

 

[TwoBytes]

Hey WhatsApp, Checkout the Macrumours news on Telegram today! Pay attention. They find it easy, why not you? Do you not have enough backing, coders, money?
Telegram Gains Better Reactions, Video Stickers, Interactive Emoji, and More

Not only that, they are doing it much better than you.

 

[HideAndSeek]

It always amazes me, how slow WhatsApp is in their whole development... No Tablet or Watch App, no Polls integrated, ...
The feature to decouple from Phones took YEARS to roll out and it is still in Beta.

I don't know.. I kinda want WhatsApp to die, but just about everyone uses it here. Nothing else is even remotely close.

 

[JosephAW]

Yeah telegram recently added this feature, they’re feeling the pressure of users bailing out on them.

 

[wanha]

I don't get how Messenger and WhatsApp are the same company and they can't with ease just copy a feature from one app to the other with ease - or better yet, unify the apps so it's just one platform and works and put all the development into that so it works rather than release simple features after years...

When you spend most of your working week attending meetings, doing powerpoint presentations, process reviews, and product roadmap meetings, it eventually becomes difficult to see the forest for the trees.

Said another way, the more process oriented a company is, the less common common sense is.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Finally, It’s about time. I really hope they don’t take forever to release it.

 

[svish]

Good. But the final public release might take some time though.

 

[GuilleA]

They own three different messaging platforms. They have thousands of developers. Endless amounts of money. How the **** are they not able to align all of them and have the same features across the board?

 

[GeoStructural]

I don't get how Messenger and WhatsApp are the same company and they can't with ease just copy a feature from one app to the other with ease - or better yet, unify the apps so it's just one platform and works and put all the development into that so it works rather than release simple features after years...

They did copy this feature from Messenger and Instagram, not iMessage as this article claims, Apple was also late to the party, as usual.

They did try some form of unification, but European regulators prevented it. All they could do was “link” or be able to contact people within Instagram and Facebook even if they are not in your contacts list, however WhatsApp was excluded, partly because of the conditions of the purchase and partly because of how technically different it is to the other two.

 

[prest1ge]

I don't get how Messenger and WhatsApp are the same company and they can't with ease just copy a feature from one app to the other with ease - or better yet, unify the apps so it's just one platform and works and put all the development into that so it works rather than release simple features after years...

Being owned by the same parent company doesn’t mean that the products automatically merge. Just because GM owns both Chevrolet and Buik, doesn’t mean the Corvette’s drivetrain can easily be made to work with the Enclave.

Meta owns WhatsApp, but WhatsApp is recognized as its own company and therefore has a non-trivial degree of autonomy. WhatsApp’s main focus is user data privacy (via e2ee) and reliability. Being the most widely used chat application by far (with over 2 billion monthly active users), it needs to be very careful when deciding what new features to build without sacrificing its primary focuses. When your user base is smaller, you have more freedom to take risks.

Also, Messenger and WhatsApp are built on completely different technology stacks by completely different teams of engineers. Migrating a feature from one app to another is far from being a simple cut-and-paste job. There is a huge time and risk cost to adding a new feature. My guess is that WhatsApp didn’t migrate the message reaction feature from Messenger; they probably built their own from ground up.

 

[blairh]

Love this. The only thing I like about iMessage is reactions.

 

[icanhazmac]

Even if I felt the need for another message app..... WhatsApp = Meta = Zuck = Hard pass

 

[wireless-toyz09]

I just want WhatsApp to introduce individual read receipts like iMessage has and not just on/off for all contacts.

 

[prest1ge]

I just want WhatsApp to introduce individual read receipts like iMessage has and not just on/off for all contacts.

I don’t use iMessage so I’m not sure how it’s implemented there but WhatsApp does have individual read receipts too. Just long press a message and click info.

 

[DanteHicks79]

Finally, It’s about time. I really hope they don’t take forever to release it.

It's WhatsApp - expect it to go live somewhere around 2026

 

[DanteHicks79]

Being owned by the same parent company doesn’t mean that the products automatically merge. Just because GM owns both Chevrolet and Buik, doesn’t mean the Corvette’s drivetrain can easily be made to work with the Enclave.

Actually, that was the entire point of GM for decades. The frame/base (in some case, even drivetrain) for cars was shared across all the makes, and then the bodies were from coach builders, with really only the power plant being made by the actual brand - but even then, there was a decent amount of crossover on parts/components. The Fleetwood from Cadillac was literally made by a company called Fleetwood, as far as body goes.

Most modern automobiles also share tons of components across lines/divisions. All a Lexus is is a Toyota with an additional 5-10k stamped on the price tag and different exterior styling. Functionally, they're more or less identical cars. It extends to international makers, as well. Ford/Mazda/Mercury, Nissan/Infinity, etc.

Bad analogy, there.

 

[Macaholic868]

What’s up in WhatsApp? Facebook knows. Nothing of value is ever really free. If you think they aren’t listening you’re not paying attention.

 

[CarlJ]

I don't get how Messenger and WhatsApp are the same company and they can't with ease just copy a feature from one app to the other with ease - or better yet, unify the apps so it's just one platform and works and put all the development into that so it works rather than release simple features after years...

Tell me you're not a software developer without telling me you're not a software developer.

 

[CarlJ]

What’s up in WhatsApp? Facebook knows. Nothing of value is ever really free. If you think they aren’t listening you’re not paying attention.

Actually, plenty of things of value can be really free, including a lot of the underpinnings of software you use every day. Take a look at Unix, Linux, and many of the projects on GitHub.

But, yeah, if someone releases software that requires back-end servers to make it work (where the servers and maintenance and electricity and internet bandwidth are ongoing costs), I want to know what their funding model is before I use that software.

I'm more comfortable using Apple's Messages, where their funding model is quite clear (they charge a lot up front and also offer paid services like iCloud) than using FaceBook's Messenger (which they let everybody use "for free").