Since being acquired by Facebook in 2014, WhatsApp has seemingly picked it up in terms of adding new features to the platform. Some of those features that are live already, include the ability to use WhatsApp through the browser with extensions for Chrome and Firefox, encryption for every message sent on WhatsApp, as well as voice calls. Speaking of voice calls, WhatsApp has been tipped to be adding video calls in the near future. This isn’t yet live, but we have been seeing more and more evidence pointing to this feature arriving very soon. Last month, we heard that the platform may allow users to share ZIP files, as well as vcf files (think, contact cards). Another feature that was tipped to come soon is voicemail. Which would be a pretty awesome feature to have, and could allow you to drop your phone number. But that would mean WhatsApp would need to allow you to use them as a service for that number – since that is how you login to the app – sort of like Google Voice.
Now we’re hearing that WhatsApp may be adding the ability to send group invites using links, QR Codes and NFC tags. Now the part about sending group invites via a link isn’t really all that earth shattering, that’s how you typically send out invites these days on most platforms. But it looks like – according to some strings of code found in the app – that there may also be the ability to share using a QR Code, as well as writing it on an NFC Tag. So you could put a group link on an NFC tag and then share it with everyone in the room. Instead of having to invite each person individually.
WhatsApp is arguably the biggest messaging platforms in the world, and being one of the only messaging apps to have a billion downloads on Android (alongside Facebook Messenger). Some of these features may come to WhatsApp, some may get canned. But it’s clear that WhatsApp is testing a slew of new features that might be coming to the platform pretty soon.