WhatsApp beta update gets request payment, download deleted media features

WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging app owned by social media giant Facebook, has rolled out the beta update v2.18.113 for Android devices. This update allows the app user to request money from other users based on Unified Payment Interface (UPI), along with the ability to download deleted media files.

WhatsApp’s UPI-based payments feature has been under testing for some time now. First enabled in February, the payments feature reached only a handful of users, and the home-grown wallet service provider Paytm accused WhatsApp of not following UPI payment security guidelines. Soon, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) – a government body behind UPI -- said that WhatsApp would have to make its payments feature fully interoperable in order to continue being part of the UPI ecosystem.

The new payments’ request feature is available only in the beta app for Android and only for select users. The feature requires virtual payment address (VPA) to request payment using UPI protocols. To enable the feature, a user needs to download and install the beta version 2.18.113. In the beta app, the user needs to go to settings and check for ‘payments’ option. Only those users who see the ‘payments’ option can exercise the payments’ request feature by selecting the option and setting it up

In middle of a WhatsApp voice call? You can switch to video call instantly

WhatsApp has launched a feature in its beta version that will let users switch to video calls from voice calls at the touch of a button.

According to a report in the Independent, if you are in the middle of a WhatsApp voice call and want to switch to a video call, you just need to tap that button to make the switch.

Tapping the button will send a request to the person on the other side, asking if he or she wants to switch from voice to video.

If the offer is accepted, the call will be switched.

If the offer is declined, the voice call will continue as normal. In the current version of WhatsApp, you need to end a voice call to make a video call.

WhatsApp calls are currently only available in one-on-one conversations but it might be available to group chats in the near future, the report said.

The new feature was spotted by watcher of the popular chat app WABetaInfo, which said that the feature is only available to those who have signed up to the beta version of WhatsApp.

Last month, WABetaInfo reported that WhatsApp mistakenly rolled out the 'Reply Privately' feature in a beta update that would allow users to privately send a message to a participant in a group without anyone else knowing about it.

The feature appeared and was subsequently dropped from the beta version of the app, watcher of the popular chat app @WABetaInfo said, confirming that the developers wrongly enabled the feature.

WABetaInfo also leaked the details of the features that WhatsApp was developing for web and desktop, including tap to unblock and a picture-in-picture (PIP) mode.
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WhatsApp may soon allow you to withdraw sent messages

Have you faced a situation when you sent a message to someone by mistake on WhatsApp and then regretted? Instant messaging services can be tricky – while they allow you to express yourself freely and instantly, they can also lead to embarrassment. Well, you need not worry anymore. A new WhatsApp feature might now let you recall an uncomfortable message. The popular messaging app is rumoured to soon roll out the much-anticipated ‘delete for everyone’ feature, for both the Android and iOS platforms.

According to tweets by WABetaInfo, a fan site that tests new WhatsApp features, the instant messaging service, which has over 1.2 billion monthly active users, is finally testing this feature and will remotely enable it soon.

What is this feature all about?

Technically, the new 'Delete for Everyone' feature will let users ‘unsend’ messages. You will have five minutes from the time when you sent the message to delete it – only if the message is not opened.

At present, WhatsApp, available in 50 languages, including 10 Indian, shows a single tick when the message is sent successfully and a double tick when it is delivered. This might change soon with this new WhatsApp feature, reportedly under testing.
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