Rewind 2020: Here is how WhatsApp evolved last year
A NUMBER OF INTERESTING FEATURES WERE INTRODUCED IN ORDER TO MAKE IT MORE FUNCTIONAL AND HANDY
It is safe to assume that our reliance on WhatsApp has only grown over 2020. As people around the world shifted to digital tools to remotely work and communicate, WhatsApp remained one of the most preferred ones. And not just for personal communication but professional as well. And the messaging platform just got better.
CHAT BOTS FOR AWARENESS
WhatsApp’s role during the pandemic started with a partnership with global health organisations to launch chat bots to get access to reliable Covid-19 information. WhatsApp also partnered with the Common Services Centers (CSC) to launch a chat bot to receive digital literacy services. The messaging platform said there have been over 13,000 unique conversations on CSC’s chat bot.
VIDEO CALLING
Video calling witnessed a surge this year as people communicated virtually, particularly for group calls. This lead to WhatsApp increasing the group calling participant limit to eight.
DARK MODE
2020 saw the release of one of the most awaited features on WhatsApp — the Dark mode. It also launched an advanced search tool, QR code support, animated stickers and a redesigned storage tool. Another major feature to launch was the disappearing messages. WhatsApp has set a self-destruct timer of seven days for messages that can be activated by anyone, and by admins in group chats.
WHATSAPP PAY
Another milestone for WhatsApp in 2020 was finally launching its peer-to-peer payments service in India. WhatsApp Pay has been active in India since 2018 but official rollout was stalled. It finally received the green light with a cap of 20 million users in the first stage.
WHATSAPP BUSINESS
WhatsApp also rolled out new features for its business app this year. The most recent feature was a shopping button that makes it possible for users to enquire about specific products from the catalogue. In India, WhatsApp Business has over 15 million users, and over three million users visit a business catalogue daily.