Written notation may become a thing of the past when WhatsApp launches its self-chat feature.
Much to the delight of those who may enjoy speaking to themselves, sending messages to themselves on WhatsApp may be nothing new to the many who have managed to do this.
However, the Meta-owned instant messaging app will soon formalise its self-chat functionality, offering users the ability to send messages to themselves when they add themselves as a contact.
First reported by independent WhatsApp blog WABetaInfo, the platform is launching a minor test by rolling out "messages with yourself" to some beta testers.
"It is necessary to specify that it has always been possible to send messages to your phone number, but it needed to be used by clicking on WhatsApp to open it on WhatsApp for Android. After updating the latest update of the Android app, some beta testers noticed that WhatsApp is now highlighting that chat by adding "message yourself" as the chat caption," WABetaInfo reported.
The blog post on the updated functionality went further to state that with the feature already possible but not formalised, WhatsApp is only highlighting the chat with your own phone number by using a different caption.
Although many users might question the need for such a feature, it comes in handy for short notes and to capture memos.
"If you send a message to the chat with your phone number, it will always be synced with your other linked devices since it is no longer an unsupported feature when using multi-device," WABetaInfo said.
The chat-with-yourself functionality will now be highlighted using a different caption for some beta testers. It is rolling out to more users over the coming days.
The launch of enhanced functionality comes amid the recent announcement by the company to roll out a host of new features set to change how users conduct business or everyday work on WhatsApp.
The new tweaks expected to make their way to WhatsApp include the ability to edit sent messages within a few minutes of sending, functionality to forward media and, more especially, links with new captions and the option to create shareable links for video or voice calling that anyone on the platform can use.
Some users may not yet be able to see all the new features. However, it likely has yet to be rolled out for many older devices. Still, it should be visible for all users within the coming weeks after the latest update to various operating systems.
IOL Tech
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