WhatsApp to Introduce Global Voice Message Player; Making Disappearing Messages Smarter

WhatsApp Global Voice Message Player: WABetaInfo reports that global voice message player will allow users to listen to voice messages even when they leave the chat.

WhatsApp, a few months ago, launched the ability to play voice messages at different playback speeds. This feature was implemented in WhatsApp iOS and Android-based applications. Now, the Facebook-owned messaging app is said to be working to further improve its voice messages. WhatsApp has reportedly started work on a new feature called Global Voice Message Player.

WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp's upcoming Global Voice Message Player feature will allow users to listen to voice messages even when they leave the chat window with that particular contact. The blog site says that the feature has been named this way because it is pinned to the top of the app and is always visible when WhatsApp users open any section of the app. The blog site also said that it is also possible to pause and discard the voice message at any time.

Practically, WhatsApp's upcoming Global Voice Message Player feature will be like a picture-in-picture feature for playing videos within the app. The only difference is that the Global Voice Message Player feature can be pinned within the WhatsApp interface.

As far as usability is concerned, WhatsApp's upcoming global voice message player feature will come in handy when users receive a long voice message, in which case, they can continue to message other contacts while listening to the voice message. In specific, this feature is still in the development phase for iOS. But WhatsApp is said to be also planning to introduce the same feature in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android.

In addition to the global voice message player, WhatsApp is also working on two new features that aim to make disappearing messages a bit smarter. WhatsApp plans to add more duration time to manage your disappearing messages. At present, WhatsApp disappearing messages automatically disappear after seven days. Now, the blog site reports that WhatsApp is working on a setting that will allow users to choose a different duration, including 24 hours, 90 days and 7 days as the expiring period for their disappearing messages.

In addition to this, users will also be able to set a default message timer for new chats. The blog site says that if you enable the "Default Message Timer" within the WhatsApp Privacy Settings, all new chats will start with the Disappearing Messages option enabled for the selected duration. These new features are being rolled out in the beta version of WhatsApp for iOS, WhatsApp Business beta for iOS and will soon be available in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android.