WhatsApp announced today that it has added the ability to record and share short personal videos directly in chats to its functionality. The company believes that voice messages revolutionized the way people communicate by providing a quick and secure method to share voice messages, and it hopes to extend this convenience with video messages.
According to a WhatsApp blog post, "Video messages offer a real-time way to reply to chats with anything you want to communicate and illustrate in 60 seconds. We anticipate that this feature will be an enjoyable way to share moments, capturing the emotion that comes from video, such as birthday wishes, laughter at a joke, or sharing good news."
sometimes you just have to see it to believe it 👀 now you can capture the moment right when it happens with a Video Message. pic.twitter.com/QiDTRhRRJ6
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) July 27, 2023
Sending a video message on WhatsApp will be as simple as sending a voice message. Users will have to tap to switch to video mode and hold to record the video. They can also swipe up to lock and record the video hands-free. The videos will automatically play on mute when opened in a chat, and tapping on the video will enable the sound. WhatsApp also assures users that video messages will have end-to-end encryption for security.
This feature starts rolling out today and will be available to all users in the upcoming weeks.
This latest addition is one of several new features that WhatsApp has incorporated into its app in recent months. The company recently introduced a feature that silences calls from unknown numbers automatically. They also added the ability to edit a message within 15 minutes of sending it, and reports suggest they are working on introducing usernames.
