WhatsApp has just started releasing a new update of the Beta version of the application for Android through the Google Play Beta Program: the version has arrived 2.22.7.4. The most interesting news of this new update of WhatsApp Beta concerns the ephemeral messageshowever, it is still under development and is not even available to beta testers.
In the last few days we have analyzed numerous news, more and less important, arriving on WhatsApp: reactions to messages, surveys in groups, Community, but also news for image editing and limits on the forwarding of messages. Let’s find out what else is cooking.
WhatsApp Beta: the news of the update 2.22.7.4
The new function we are talking about today concerns the possibility of keep messages in chats and ephemeral groupsbut is still under development (ergo will only come with a future update), so much so that it is not even available in WhatsApp Beta 2.22.7.4.
Ephemeral messages, you surely know, are a new function introduced by WhatsApp in chats and groups after a long development path with the promise of benefiting the privacy of users. However, the possibility that a user sends a message of great importance in a chat in which ephemeral messages are active and needs to keep the message saved in the conversation is not remote.
At present, the remedy that the hypothetical user could experience is decidedly cumbersome: it should temporarily disable the ephemeral messages (“Settings> Privacy> Default Message Timer> No“), Forward the message to be kept in the same chat and then activate the Timer again.
It goes without saying that repeating this operation every single time you want to avoid the disappearance of a message is definitely frustrating. For this reason, the WhatsApp development team is currently working on a much more convenient solution that does not make you want to completely disable ephemeral messages: the function that allows you to keep only specific messages within a chat.
As you can see from the screenshot below, every time a user decides to keep an ephemeral message in a chat, a new warning is shown with confirmation request. Furthermore, for previously saved messages, there is the option of delete them later (for example when they are no longer considered relevant or necessary). The result of this new function is clear: when you decide to keep an ephemeral message, it does not disappear from the chat when the set deadline arrives, therefore the counterparty continues to see it, but the possibility of canceling it at a later time is not lacking. .
The source underlines that at present the function described is still in the early stages of development, therefore – as in all similar cases – its purpose could still undergo variations before release for all users; the WhatsApp team may even retrace their steps and decide not to release it at all.
How to update WhatsApp Beta
The new function described, as mentioned, is not yet available to anyone. In any case – as we explained in our article dedicated to methods to update WhatsApp -, the most recent version of WhatsApp Beta for Android (here is the page to join the beta program) can be downloaded from the Google Play Store by clicking on the badge below. Alternatively you can resort to APK Mirror.
You may also be interested in: our WhatsApp guides