WhatsApp group chat messages may soon get easier to distinguish.
The company behind the secure messaging app is reportedly testing a feature that brings improved profile icons within its group chats, giving users without profile pictures easily distinguishable ones.
WhatsApp users without any profile pictures appear as a silhouette in group chats until they add one as of press time.
WhatsApp is giving its users more control over their privacy settings.
WhatsApp Improved Group Chat Icon Details
WhatsApp group chats work just like any group chats in other messaging apps, secured or otherwise. They let you talk to groups of up to 32 people thanks to the addition of the Communities feature in Nov. 2022.
However, such a feature doesn't fix the fact the issue that it's easy to mistake a message from someone being sent by another because both don't have a profile picture to make them easily distinguishable.
WhatsApp users may be aware that users who didn't set a profile picture when they created their profile picture will appear as a white-grey silhouette with a dark grey background. As such, it is quite easy to mistake someone's message for someone else.
Fortunately, WhatsApp is testing something to fix just that. According to WABetaInfo, the company is testing a new feature through its iOS 23.13.0.76 beta update that gives a revised and improved profile picture for users without one.
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This revised and improved profile picture takes the form of a profile picture displaying the initials of the respective group member's name while retaining the color assigned to it to improve their identification. With this feature, the idea of mistaking someone's message for others may soon become a thing of the past.
While using a profile picture is still the best way to make oneself easily identifiable in a WhatsApp group chat, these revised and improved profile pictures is a big step towards properly identifying a group chat member from others without a profile picture.
Unfortunately, this feature won't be coming to WhatsApp for public release anytime soon. The feature is still in its beta testing period; it won't become publicly available in the immediate future.
However, the fact that the feature is undergoing its beta testing period means it is coming to iOS devices in the foreseeable future. Here's hoping it will be available for Android devices on release or sometime after at most.
Other Upcoming WhatsApp Features
Aside from the revised and improved profile pictures for group chat members without one, WhatsApp is also working on other features to improve users' experience on the app. The company reportedly working on a feature that allows users to send animated avatar stickers to other WhatsApp users.
It is also testing a feature called "phone number privacy," which will hide users' phone numbers when they add a reaction to a group message. More recently, WhatsApp is developing a chat list filter that allows users to see messages by three classifications: Unread, Personal, and Business.
Related Article: WhatsApp Could Feature Animated Avatars in Future Update
