Learn about the new messaging features in WhatsApp for iPhone and Android that arrived recently across the Chats, Calls and Updates tabs.
Did you know that WhatsApp now animates some emoji reactions? Or that you can finally write a shared caption for multiple photos at videos? Or turn videos into moving stickers? Me neither! That’s why Meta recently shared a roundup of the latest new WhatsApp features on the official WhatsApp blog.
I’m familiar with some of the latest arrivals because I wrote about them, like an easier way to start a new group chat without having to add anyone right away.
WhatsApp: 9 new features you may have missed
These WhatsApp features were released in the past few months.
Animated emoji
Reacting with the following emoji (hold the chat bubble) will actually move them: Red Heart, Two Hearts, Hundred Points, Smiling Face with Sunglasses, Winking Face, Sparkles and Face Blowing a Kiss. Other emoji reactions don’t animate.
Animated sticker maker
WhatsApp’s built-in sticker maker now lets you turn a video into an animated sticker.
Avatar social stickers
WhatsApp lets you create stickers based on your avatar in the app. You can only share them with others who have an avatar and those you’ve saved as a contact. Avatar social stickers are unavailable in group chats.
Easier group creation
You can now start a group chat on WhatsApp with just the group name and nothing else, without actually adding anyone right away. You can then later add participants or send them an invite link to join your group chat.
Caption, react and reply to multiple media
“Now when you send multiple photos and videos all at once, you can add a shared caption for them all, and recipients can react or reply to the entire collection as well as individual items,” writes Meta.
New filters and effects
You can now prettify yourself with six new filters and six new effects when videoconferencing or taking photos. To apply them, open the WhatsApp camera and choose the “Effects” and “Filters” option lined up alongside the shutter button. All WhatsApp effects and filters are available in real-time during video calls.
Photo polls
Channel admins can now add photos to each poll option to make their polls in the Updates tab more visually appealing.
Starring channel updates
You can now bookmark your favorite updates in the Updates tab by starring them. This lets you revisit them later in the Starred section of the WhatsApp settings. Starring also works for individual messages.
Mentioning groups in your statuses
You can now mention your favorite groups in your WhatsApp status. All members included in the group you mentioned are notified via a system message in the group chat about the mention. WhatsApp says that any group members can also reshare your status in which they were mentioned to their own.
For instructions on using these features, visit the WhatsApp Help Center.
Staggered WhatsApp releases
Meta has introduced dozens of new features in WhatsApp for iOS and Android since the start of 2025, and you may have missed some of them. Like other companies, WhatsApp doesn’t roll out new features to all users at once. Rather, it brings them in stages across several weeks or months.
If you read about a shiny new WhatsApp feature but cannot find it in your copy of the app, even if you’re running the latest version available on the App Store, this is why. But if you’re like me, you forget to check back in a few days or weeks to see if the feature has rolled out to you.
That’s why these roundups make a lot of sense. Meta started doing them this year. In May, for example, it listed eight new coming-soon WhatsApp features including AI wallpapers and message summarization, some of which still haven’t fully rolled out as of yet. A similar roundup was published in April.
Ads in WhatsApp don’t mean fewer new features
Meta recently announced that WhatsApp’s Status tab will show some ads. People like Apple commentator John Gruber reminded us that WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum said two years before the blockbuster $19 billion Facebook acquisition that they would never implement ads because the team was laser-focused on “bringing rich, affordable, reliable messaging to every phone in the world.” The original post by Korum is still available on the WhatsApp blog.
But I would argue that bringing ads to WhatsApp’s Updates tab doesn’t mean Meta stopped prioritizing new features over ad revenue. Quite the contrary, Meta has rolled out a ridiculous number of improvements that make WhatsApp, in my opinion, the best and most versatile messaging platform in the world that runs circles around Apple’s Messages app, which in 2025 brags about standard messaging features such as chat wallpapers and polls in group conversations.