Newest version of WhatsApp on Android introduces competitive new features

2 min readFeb 16, 20238:13 AM

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WhatsApp has been hard at work lately, adding features to compete with the likes of Signal and Telegram. However, a few new features are already making their way to the Android app, including one still in the beta testing phase.

According to WABetaInfo, the new features are in addition to the status update ones announced last week, which were meant for both iOS and Android. These additional new features targeted the Android app specifically and were spotted when they appeared in the release notes of the latest version available via the Google Play Store.

The version in question is 2.23.3.77, which has an update date of February 13th, and lists the below new features:

You can now add captions when sending documents
Added support for longer group subjects and descriptions to describe your group better
You can now send up to 100 photos/videos at once (vs. 30 previously)
You can now create personalized avatars and use them as stickers and profile photos. Go to Settings > Avatar to get started.

The most prominent and useful one of all the features above, at least to me, happens to be the increase in the number of photos and videos that can be sent all at once within a conversation. Going from 30 to 100 is quite the leap and hopefully enough for even the most active photographers.

However, one rumored upcoming feature has not yet made it out of beta: Disappearing Messages. The ephemeral message feature, made popular initially by Snapchat, is currently only available in the beta version of the app. Additionally, the beta version also includes a “Kept Messages” folder, which is meant to store the disappearing messages you prefer to keep indefinitely. Sadly, the beta version of WhatsApp for Android is currently full and not accepting new registrations.

All of these changes come at a time when Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp at Meta, is launching an all-out war against Telegram by urging his Twitter followers not to use that app, going as far as to label it as “Russian spyware.” So far, this battle has been beneficial for WhatsApp users in that it has sparked some innovation and new features to be launched. It will be interesting to see how far this goes and how much we as users can get out of it.

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Questions & Answers

Which specific new features have been added to the Android app?

Users can now add captions when sending documents, send up to 100 photos/videos at once, and create personalised avatars for stickers and profile photos. Also, support for longer group subjects and descriptions has been added.

What is the version number and update date for these new features?

The new features are part of version 2.23.3.77 of the WhatsApp Android app. This version was updated on February 13th, as seen in the release notes available via the Google Play Store.

Are Disappearing Messages now available in the public Android app?

No, the Disappearing Messages feature has not yet been released to the public Android app. It is still in the beta testing phase and has not made it out of beta.

Who is urging people not to use Telegram, and why?

Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp at Meta, is urging his Twitter followers not to use Telegram. He has gone as far as to label Telegram as “Russian spyware” in his public campaign.

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