WhatsApp Testing Restoration of Group Chat Invite Links, Redesigned Media Picker, New Animations: Report

WhatsApp has been spotted testing, developing, and rolling out new features for its app on smartphones and Windows devices. As per a report, WhatsApp for Android is currently beta testing the ability to restore group chats if they have been mistakenly disabled by the messaging app. Another report mentions that the instant messaging service is testing a redesigned version of the media picker for its mobile app. Furthermore, a third report mentions that WhatsApp is beta testing new animations for its desktop app.

As per a report by WhatsApp features tracker WABetaInfo, Meta's messaging app disables certain group chats if it finds them violating its Terms of Service. However, WhatsApp cannot see the content of the group due to end-to-end encryption but disables groups when it receives multiple reports from different users. The instant messaging app may also disable groups if they have suspicious names or descriptions.

Naturally, once a group chat is disabled, users will not be able to send messages or invite others to join. The group invite link in such cases also gets deactivated, as per a screenshot shared in the report. In case the group was mistakenly disabled, WhatsApp can re-enable the group and reactivate the group invite link. It is available with WhatApp for Android beta 2.22.4.5 update.

Another report by WABetaInfo states that WhatsApp is currently internally testing a new media picker menu. The redesigned menu will show two tabs — Recent and Gallery. This redesign will only appear when users are sending media — images, GIFs, and videos — through the in-app camera. Since the feature is currently being tested, it is expected to release sometime in the future.

Lastly, WABetaInfo also reports that WhatsApp is beta testing new animations for its desktop app. The new animations are available with WhatsApp for desktop beta UWP 2.2203.3.0 update. As per the screenshot shared in the report, the settings icon gets a new animation and there is another animation when users navigate between different settings in the app. The report mentions that since WhatsApp is introducing small animations with beta updates, future updates may also keep getting new animations.