WhatsApp gets visual filters, albums and reply shortcuts

In the world of social media, change is the only constant. To keep up with Gen Y, the social networking platforms have to keep updating themselves to keep the users glued. In a similar move, Facebook-owned WhatsApp has brought in an iOS update with three new features aimed at improving the visual experience on the platform.

From new filters to albums to reply shortcuts, everything is centred around visual quotient leveraging phone's camera to enable more effective content sharing between friends and family.

Users can now add one of the five new filters to their imagery, with pop, black and white, cool, chrome and film as the new options to jazz up photos, GIFs and videos. Additionally, when users send or receive a collection of four or more photos or videos now, the content will automatically be grouped together as an album which will create a tile display within messages. When users tab on the album, they will see the collection of photos and videos in full screen.

Then there is reply shortcut feature that makes it easier to reply to a message. Users can just swipe right on any message and start typing their response. It’s quick and easy.

According to TechCrunch, these features are iOS-only for now; an Android update may happen in the future, though there isn't a specific timeline to do so.