WHATSAPP is preparing a big change for photos – and it’s pretty useful.

The popular messaging app is working on a brand new feature very similar to what we’ve seen on iPhone.

Extract text like magic

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Extract text like magicCredit: WABetaInfo

Leaks suggest the firm is working on a trick to extract text from images.

This could be useful when trying to take the words from a sign or a restaurant menu perhaps.

According to WABetaInfo who found it, you just need to open the image with text on it and look for the text detection button.

It appears to be specific to iOS 16, using the same text box icon seen in the iPhone’s Photo app.

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So if you’re using an older version of iOS or an Android device, it looks like you’re out of luck with this one for now.

When the button is visible in the bottom right corner of the photo, you can tap it to extract what you want.

“Note that this feature is specific to iOS 16 and is not a service provided by WhatsApp,” WABetaInfo said.

“Rather, WhatsApp has begun supporting this feature by using the system API.”

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The feature was spotted by beta testers who get to try out early builds of WhatsApp before they’re made available to the general public.

They don’t always make it to full release.

So we’ll have to wait and see whether this one will ever launch.

Though it looks very ready to go, so fingers crossed.

How to get WhatsApp beta

To download WhatsApp beta for your smartphone you need to go to Google Play on your Android and search for WhatsApp.

Scroll down the page until you see “Become a Beta Tester”.

Tap the “I’m In” button and then click “Join” to confirm.

Now all you have to do is wait for the update to the beta version of the app.

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Joining the WhatsApp beta on iOS for iPhone is more difficult, and has limited capacity.

Follow Apple’s guide here.

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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk

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