Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- WhatsApp is working on emoji reactions and a raise hand feature for video calls.
- The new features appear in beta version 2.25.5.21.
- You can access these features by tapping on the horizontal three dots.
While it’s not exactly the most important feature to have access to, it’s nice to have the option to react to what’s going on during a video call. WhatsApp has long been missing this functionality, but it looks like it could soon catch up to other services that do have it, like Google Meet and Zoom.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
During our investigation into the latest beta (version 2.25.5.21) of WhatsApp, we found that the company is working on a couple of new video call features. One of these features is emoji reactions and the other is a “Raise hand” feature. These features can be accessed by tapping on the horizontal three-dot button in the bottom bar.
As you would expect, emoji reactions let you react to whatever is happening during the video call. The emojis include a thumbs up, heart, laughing face, shocked face, crying face, and folded hands. Meanwhile, the Raise hand feature is there to let participants in the call know that you have a question without interrupting the conversation.
Although Signal and other platforms have beat WhatsApp to the punch here, it’s better late than never.
