The latest WhatsApp beta is now adding profile photos to home-screen notifications, as opposed to just aching them with notifications that show up once a smartphone is opened.
Honestly, there isn’t all too much we can discuss about with this feature. A fun fact is that this will be WhatsApp’s first feature for the new year, so we’re kicking of 2022 with more visual representation across the platform. While the beta these profile pictures are being introduced to, version 2.22.1.1., was introduced last year, it seems that the social media communications platform still isn’t finished with it and wants to experiment with more features. One would expect the start of a new year to be with a grand, in-your-face feature that really sets the tone for how WhatsApp intends to keep its UX fresh and engaging for the rest of the year. Then again, the platform’s been around for ages now, I guess the devs are getting tired of adding more and more new and productive features; no one has time to do this and then also plan for having a big development coincide with the new year. This is a social media platform with updates that roll out on a near-weekly schedule, after all.
At any rate, this new feature is labelled Profile Photos - Notifications by Wabetainfo, a comprehensive website listing all betas and new additions to WhatsApp, regardless of importance and impact. It’s a feature that Android users are incredibly familiar with, but iOS users have strangely not been made party to. Essentially, whenever a user receives a message via the social media platform, they can also now view its associated user, allowing iPhone users to identify the person messaging them. Profile photos typically show up on notifications in unlocked phones, but seeing them on the locked screen notifications allows users to save just a teensy bit of time and then address messages according to their urgency. While messages will still continue to remain hidden, depending on a user’s preferred privacy settings, it’s still nice to be able to identify the source from which they come without having to unlock one’s phone.
Read next: WhatsApp test shows what its community feature will do, and needless to say it looks very promising
Honestly, there isn’t all too much we can discuss about with this feature. A fun fact is that this will be WhatsApp’s first feature for the new year, so we’re kicking of 2022 with more visual representation across the platform. While the beta these profile pictures are being introduced to, version 2.22.1.1., was introduced last year, it seems that the social media communications platform still isn’t finished with it and wants to experiment with more features. One would expect the start of a new year to be with a grand, in-your-face feature that really sets the tone for how WhatsApp intends to keep its UX fresh and engaging for the rest of the year. Then again, the platform’s been around for ages now, I guess the devs are getting tired of adding more and more new and productive features; no one has time to do this and then also plan for having a big development coincide with the new year. This is a social media platform with updates that roll out on a near-weekly schedule, after all.
At any rate, this new feature is labelled Profile Photos - Notifications by Wabetainfo, a comprehensive website listing all betas and new additions to WhatsApp, regardless of importance and impact. It’s a feature that Android users are incredibly familiar with, but iOS users have strangely not been made party to. Essentially, whenever a user receives a message via the social media platform, they can also now view its associated user, allowing iPhone users to identify the person messaging them. Profile photos typically show up on notifications in unlocked phones, but seeing them on the locked screen notifications allows users to save just a teensy bit of time and then address messages according to their urgency. While messages will still continue to remain hidden, depending on a user’s preferred privacy settings, it’s still nice to be able to identify the source from which they come without having to unlock one’s phone.
Read next: WhatsApp test shows what its community feature will do, and needless to say it looks very promising