WhatsApp for Android has received a new beta version (2.18.159) that brings a Media visibility feature. The feature, as its name suggests, allows you to hide or show the WhatsApp media content in the gallery. The latest beta version also has a New contact shortcut that makes it easy to add a new contact from WhatsApp. The new contact shortcut already exists on WhatsApp for iPhone. With the new Media visibility feature, you can now choose whether you want to make the media that you've received on WhatsApp visible in your gallery or make it limited to WhatsApp only. This means that if you've disabled the Media visibility feature, the media will not appear in your gallery app, though you'll be able to view all the photos and videos you've received from your WhatsApp contacts directly within WhatsApp.
By default, the Media visibility feature is enabled on the WhatsApp beta version. You can, however, easily disable it by turning off the Show media in gallery option after going through the WhatsApp Settings > Data and storage usage. It is worth mentioning here that while the downloaded WhatsApp media content will not be available in your gallery if you've disabled the Media visibility feature, the content can be accessed by going to the WhatsApp Images folder through a file manager app.
In addition to the Media visibility feature, the new WhatsApp beta for Android has a New contact shortcut that you can leverage to quickly add a contact without leaving WhatsApp. You can find the new shortcut by pressing the new message button from the bottom right side of the Chats screen. It sits next to the New group option. Moreover, iPhone users already have this new shortcut on their WhatsApp app.
You can experience the new features by downloading the latest WhatsApp beta version on your Android device. It is available through the Google Play beta programme or in an APK file form via APK Mirror. The new features were first spotted by folks at WABetaInfo.
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