Whatsapp

WhatsApp has introduced a range of New Year 2026 features designed to help users celebrate and stay connected. The Meta-owned messaging platform says New Year’s Day consistently records its highest levels of activity, with message and call volumes far exceeding its daily average of more than 100 billion messages and nearly 2 billion calls worldwide. User activity typically peaks over a 24-hour window as people across different countries and time zones exchange greetings and make video and voice calls with friends and family. Fireworks, Confetti and New Stickers for New Year Celebrations To mark the arrival of 2026, WhatsApp has launched a dedicated New Year sticker pack that users can share in both personal and group chats. The company has also introduced new video call effects, allowing participants to add animated visuals such as fireworks, confetti, and star effects during calls. In addition, WhatsApp has reintroduced animated confetti reactions. When users react to a message with the confetti emoji, a celebratory animation appears within the chat. The platform is also rolling out animated stickers for Status updates for the first time. Users can choose a 2026-themed layout and animated elements to share festive wishes with their contacts during the holiday

Still sending the same old “Happy New Year” stickers on WhatsApp? In 2025, it’s easier than ever to make your wishes stand out with personalised stickers that include your name, photos, inside jokes, or even custom greetings. Whether you’re chatting with family, friends, or work groups, custom New Year 2026 stickers add a fun, thoughtful touch, and you don’t need any design skills to create them. WhatsApp has introduced a new sticker pack creation feature on both Android and iOS, designed to make organising and sharing custom stickers simpler. A new pencil icon now appears in the sticker tray alongside GIFs, avatars, and standard stickers, giving users quick access to the tool. ALSO SEE: Indians Didn’t Just Buy More Tech in 2025, They Bought Better: Amazon India The feature allows users to select images, convert them into stickers, and group them into a single, custom-named pack. Once created, the entire sticker pack can be shared at once with friends and family, making the experience faster and more efficient, especially for themed stickers. Steps to create a sticker pack on WhatsApp Open the sticker section in any chat. Tap the new pencil icon in the sticker tray. Choose the images you

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Currently in beta testing, iPhone users are being given access to an enhanced and updated version of WhatsApp’s chat cleanup tool. The feature – which allows for the deletion of messages and media in different ways – is not completely new, but it now offers greater control over what is deleted. The cleanup tool now provides a better balance between freeing up space and retaining the files that were shared in a chat. Now when you choose to delete a chat in the iOS version of WhatsApp, the app displays a new confirmation screen from which it is possible to select various components which should be retained. Included in this list are photos and videos, and there is also the choice of saving or deleting messages which have been starred. The confirmation screen is part of a two-step process which gives users more control over how messages are deleted. The first screen – as can be seen in the screenshot above, shared by WABetaInfo) – shows shortcuts for deleting all messages, or all messages apart from those which have been starred. The “Clear media files” option allows for further customization via a second screen. The second screen allows the deletion

Credits: Reuters Italy’s competition watchdog has stepped in against Meta, ordering the company to temporarily suspend a WhatsApp policy that prevents businesses from using its tools to distribute independent AI chatbots on the platform. Why Italy’s Regulator Intervened On Wednesday, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) said it found sufficient grounds to act while its investigation into Meta is still ongoing. The watchdog is examining whether Meta abused its dominant market position by restricting access to WhatsApp’s business API, effectively limiting how rival AI chatbot providers can reach users. ALSO READ:  WhatsApp Chat Lock Feature Lets You Hide Private Conversations Learn How It Works According to the AGCM, Meta’s conduct “appears to constitute an abuse” because it could restrict market access and technical development in the AI chatbot services space. The authority warned that, if left unchecked, the policy could cause “serious and irreparable harm” to competition and undermine fair contestability in the market. What the WhatsApp Policy Does The dispute centres on a policy change Meta introduced in October, which is set to take effect in January. Under the updated rules, companies are barred from using WhatsApp’s business API to offer general-purpose AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Claude, or bots

WhatsApp introduces smart storage tool: Here’s how it works The Meta-owned platform is testing a new version of its "clear storage" feature that will allow users to manage space more carefully. This updated tool shows separate sections for messages, starred items and different types of media like photos and videos so users can easily choose what to remove without accidentally deleting important content. How this new feature will work? When user choose to delete chat data, instead of just seeing a quick confirmation pop-up, WhatsApp now shows a detailed screen which shows separate messages, starred messages and save media intro different sections, so users can see exactly what will be deleted, as per WABetaInfo. With this feature, users can also choose exactly which types of files to delete such as photos, videos, documents, audio, stickers or voice notes and see how much storage space will be freed. Source: WABetaInfo The new tool can be accessed either from chat's information page or directly from main chat list. However, this new feature is only available to iOS users and in case if you haven't received it yet, make sure to keep your app updated to the latest version. WhatsApp is frequently rolling

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WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature for iOS that will allow channel admins to increase their audience and engagement. The instant messaging platform could soon allow admins to share invite links directly with their contacts. This feature is said to be currently in the testing phase and is available to select iPhone users via the TestFlight beta programme. Admins will reportedly be able to notify up to 64 users about the channel at once. The Meta-owned instant messaging platform is developing a new feature that will allow WhatsApp group admins to share a channel invite with their contacts. This feature is said to be rolling out via the TestFlight beta Programme, with the 25.37.10.74 beta version for iOS. It is reportedly available to some beta testers and will reach more devices over the coming days. Beta testers on WhatsApp iOS can now reportedly invite followers directly from the channel information page. Admins can select up to 64 contacts at once, and WhatsApp will automatically generate an invitation message, including a button to preview and follow the channel instantly. Recently, WhatsApp has introduced several new features. The company recently expanded the ads in WhatsApp Status updates. It is said

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Summarize Next Article The feature is currently available to some beta testers What's the story WhatsApp has introduced a new feature in its latest iOS update, version 25.37.10.74, via the TestFlight beta Program. The update brings the ability for channel admins to invite their contacts to follow their channels. This feature is currently being rolled out and is compatible with the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS version 25.37.10.74, according to WABetaInfo. How the feature works The new feature allows channel admins to open the channel info screen, select an invite option, and pick specific contacts from their address book. WhatsApp then automatically generates an invitation message that is sent directly to those contacts. The message includes a button for them to view and follow the channel instantly. This process gives admins a clear overview of who they are inviting while keeping it smooth for recipients. WhatsApp's approach to channel invitations When an admin sends channel invitations, WhatsApp creates a temporary broadcast list to send the invite to multiple contacts simultaneously. This method ensures the same invitation is sent efficiently without triggering spam detection systems that could be activated by sending identical messages in many individual chats. Broadcast lists are specifically