WhatsApp to roll out larger file size sharing, bigger groups, and new reactions feature

WhatsApp, the messaging platform owned by Meta, has announced new features in line with last month’s communities announcement that includes larger file sharing, a new emoji reactions feature to respond to messages, and eventually larger chat groups. 

WhatsApp claimed in a blog post that the new features will “make it easier” for its app to facilitate internal conversations within small business groups, school groups, and community organisations. The announcement detailed that users can now send files, protected by end-to-end encryption, of up to 2GB in size, an increase from the previous limit of 100MB. 

“We recommend using Wi-Fi for larger files and we’ll display a counter while uploading or downloading to let you know how long your transfer will take,” the company added.

WhatsApp also confirmed that it will begin to roll out the option for larger group chats of up to 512 people, up from the previous number of 256. Additionally, the company announced WhatsApp Reactions, a new feature that will be available on the latest version of the app.

“Reactions are fun, fast, and they reduce overload in groups too. We’ll continue improving them be adding an even broader range of expressions in the future,” it said.

“Building private, safe, and secure communities takes work and we think this series of improvements will help people and groups stay close to one another.”

Earlier this year, Meta announced that it would delay the launch of WhatsApp’s Communities feature in Brazil as part of plans to tackle the spread of false information ahead of the presidential elections. According to the company, the feature will only be launched in Brazil after the presidential elections, set to take place in October.

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