We all have that friend who insists on flooding our phone with three-minute voice notes.
But things could soon get a lot worse, if the latest WhatsApp leaks are anything to go by.
WABetaInfo has spotted a new video message feature in the latest beta updates for iOS and Android.
The feature will allow users to send their friends short videos of up to one minute long.
‘Since a video message is recorded and sent in real-time, it offers a sense of immediacy compared to a pre-recorded video that can be saved for being sent later,’ WABetaInfo explained.
WABetaInfo has spotted a new video message feature in the latest beta updates for iOS and Android
The tool was spotted in the WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.12.0.71 and WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.13.4.
A screenshot shared by WABetaInfo suggests the tool will work alongside voice notes.
To send a voice note, users currently hold the microphone icon in the bottom right of chat.
However, in the beta version of WhatsApp, tapping on this icon turns it into a video camera icon, allowing you to record video messages.
‘When you send or receive a video message, you need to enlarge it by tapping on the video once if you want to listen to the audio, as shown in the attached screenshot,’ WABetaInfo explained.
While users can already send their friends pre-recorded videos on WhatsApp, WABetaInfo claims the new tool offers more of a ‘sense of immediacy’.
‘When recipients receive a video message, they can perceive it has recently been recorded, which significantly enhances its authenticity,’ it added.
The feature will allow users to send their friends short videos of up to one minute long (stock image)
It remains unclear when, or even if, the new feature will be rolled out to all users.
The news comes shortly after Apple confirmed a new feature in the iOS 17 update that will automatically transcribe voice notes and voicemails.
The tech giant revealed the feature at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) and said it will be availble in iOS 17, which is coming to iPhones this September.
The new feature automatically converts incoming voice messages to text as they’re being spoken by the sender.
