Just after announcing that WhatsApp will be getting stickers and group video calls functionality at the F8 Keynote last week, the instant messaging app has released a new version for iOS users. With the update, you can be able to watch Instagram and Facebook videos with in WhatsApp. This is an addition to ability to watch YouTube videos in-app that was rolled out in January this year for all iPhone users. You can watch from the links without having to navigate away from your chats.
According to the WhatsApp changelog on Apple’s App Store, it reads — “When you receive a link to an Instagram or Facebook video, you can now play it right within WhatsApp. With picture-in-picture, you can also keep watching the video while you navigate to another chat”.
Picture-in-Picture means you can still navigate through Whatsapp and chat with different people as you continue watching the video. This is similar to YouTube’s PiP video bubble and comes with play/pause, close and full screen toggles. You can move the bubble anywhere on the screen.
The above features are available on WhatsApp version 2.18.51 on the App Store. The features are not currently working but going by the official change log, they may be just a few weeks away.
WhatsApp has stopped support for YouTube in-App video playback for devices having iOS 10 or lower. The reasons for this move have not been officially communicated. It’s not yet clear if these said devices will get support for Facebook and Instagram videos.
The changelog Added that “If you are an admin, you can now remove admin rights fom other participants. Select the admin in “Group Info” and two “Dismiss As Admin””.
Also, group Admins can now choose who can change the group’s icon, description and subject by going to “Group a info” and tapping group “Group Settings”.
