This year WhatsApp keeps adding new features and works on improving the experience. First, we saw them push the forwarding messages limit to help curb the spread of fake news. Then, we learned about WhatsApp being integrated with Facebook Messenger and Instagram, which means it will take a lot of work to do that – we’ll probably see the change in 2020.
We will soon see other features that are now under beta testing.
But this month what we will surely get to see is the PIP mode for WhatsApp Web, which is quite handy! Although most of the WhatsApp users are on the mobile app, there are people who use the desktop app too. This update comes with the Picture-in-Picture feature, and according to Hindustan Times, it lets users see Instagram or YouTube videos directly from the app.
WABetainfo has announced the feature on their blog, saying that the app will be “giving the possibility to use the Picture in Picture (PiP) feature for videos hosted on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Streamable!”
How to Check WhatsApp PIP Feature on Desktop
If you want to try the feature, click on the pop-out icon on the video and you can also reposition the video by dragging it. For now, the app supports only the four sources – YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Streamable.
- Make sure you have the latest version to try this feature.
- You can check if your web app is updated by going to the WhatsApp Web ‘Settings’ -> ‘Help’ -> ‘Version.’
- The version has to be 0.3.2041 and if you haven’t got it yet, clear your web browser cache (shortcut for it is ‘CTRL+F5’).
- After that, restart the browser and recheck WhatsApp.
The Beta version of WhatsApp has introduced new features on the mobile version too. We have support for biometric authentication to lock and unlock the app. You can use both facial recognition and fingerprint sensor to do that.
Some emojis were redesigned a little, and stickers also got integrated into other keyboards so that users can find it on the keyboard and not the in the app’s dashboard.
Nora Reynolds is a major in biology and a minor in Biological Basis of Behavior, writing about science in general. She also likes to try new gadgets and sports about the AI new era.
