WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will give users another way to express themselves, according to a leak.
Animated emojis are reportedly soon coming to iOS, Android and desktop versions of the platform, although it’s uncertain exactly when.
The upcoming feature has been discovered by independent WhatsApp experts WABetaInfo, which posted a GIF of the new emoji in action.
It shows the ‘Face with Party Horn and Party Hat’ emoji spinning around while blowing a party horn.
It follows the introduction of a new WhatsApp feature that lets you video call up to eight people from your desktop.
‘WhatsApp is working on bringing animated emojis to a future update of the app,’ says WABetaInfo in the update.
‘The ability to send animated emojis is under development and it will be released in a future update of WhatsApp Desktop beta.
‘This cosmetic improvement to the app will definitely enhance the user experience while sending messages to make messaging more fun and communicate feelings more effectively.’
According to the report, animated emojis will be sent by default when the animated version of a certain emoji is available.
But this may mean WhatsApp users won’t be able to turn off the animation if they want to use the standard, static emoji.
MailOnline has contacted Meta – Mark Zuckerberg’s company that owns WhatsApp as well as Facebook and Instagram – for comment.
WABetaInfo predicts that animated emoji will cause distractions for some users who want a ‘simple messaging experience without unnecessary animations’.
It has called on Meta developers to include the ability to toggle on and off animated emoji in the WhatsApp Settings so that the platform’s 2 billion users can still use normal emoji if they want to.
WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will give users another way to express themselves, according to a leak
One of WhatsApp’s primary rivals, Telegram, already has animated emoji, leading to accusations from some users on Twitter that WhatsApp is ‘stealing’ the idea.
Animated emojis are also already on Messages by Google and iMessage, the messaging service developed by Apple.
WhatsApp – which regularly introduces new features and tools to the app to tweak the user experience – launched three big changes in February.
The first lets WhatsApp users send up to 100 photos or videos at once in any given chat, compared with only 30 before.
It means WhatsApp users no longer have to spend ages when sending big batches of media to friends and family through the app.
Android users can also now include longer names and descriptions for group chats and even include captions when sending documents.
It follows news that WhatsApp could potentially be banned in the UK due to its use of a security standard known as end-to-end encryption.
End-to-end encryption ensures only the two participants of a chat can read messages, and no one in between – not even the company that owns the service.
But some argue it has made it more difficult for security agencies and other organisations – such as child protection charities – to detect criminal activity.
The UK government is currently considering new legislation that could force WhatsApp and other chat platforms to break end-to-end encryption, as part of the Online Safety Bill.
Messaging services that use it, including WhatsApp, Signal, Viber and Element, have signed an open letter opposing the Online Safety Bill ahead of its final reading in the House of Lords, which is still upcoming.
‘The UK Government must urgently rethink the Bill, revising it to encourage companies to offer more privacy and security to its residents, not less,’ Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta, said in the letter along with six other signatories.
