Following Google’s adoption in its Oreo update, Picture in Picture (PiP) mode is slowly becoming a video-play standard for Android. Users have experienced it in apps like YouTube, VLC, and even Maps, and WhatsApp is the latest to take it on.
WhatsApp’s 2.18.301 update for Android beta users is introducing a new Picture in Picture mode for viewing videos.
In the near future, when you share or receive links of videos hosted on YouTube, Facebook, Streamable, or Instagram, you should be able to play them in the mode.

This was revealed by WABetaInfo, a Whatsapp BETA testers forum, stating that the PiP mode will help you to navigate through chats while a video is also playing.
✅ WhatsApp is finally rolling out the PiP mode, to see YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Streamable videos today for all Android beta users! ?https://t.co/O5lpfPL0G1
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) October 3, 2018
When you tap to play the video, WhatsApp will display the video in Picture in Picture mode, so you can continue to navigate in the chat while it is playing. However, once you switch to a different chat, the PiP will disappear.
Availability
You will need to update your WhatsApp version to the 2.18.301 Android beta update in order to use the Picture in Picture mode. In case you make the update but still can’t see the feature, then back up your chat history and reinstall WhatsApp.
Note that whenever you reinstall the app, the most updated configurations from the server are downloaded, enabling the latest features.
The update is available for all Android users having Android 4.4 and newer. The PiP mode has been there on the iOS platform for sometime now.