YOU can now use ANY emoji to react on WhatsApp – but you’ll need to know how. The clever trick was announced yesterday and totally changes how you use the popular chat app. WhatsApp added emoji reactions earlier this year, but limited them strictly to six preselected emoji. Then yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg announced a shock update to […]
YOU can now use ANY emoji to react on WhatsApp – but you’ll need to know how.
The clever trick was announced yesterday and totally changes how you use the popular chat app.
WhatsApp added emoji reactions earlier this year, but limited them strictly to six preselected emoji.
Then yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg announced a shock update to the app.
You can now use the full emoji keyboard for WhatsApp reactions.
That’s in contrast to the old roster of six default emoji: Like, Love, Laugh, Shocked, Teary Eye and Pray (or high five…).
Read more on WhatsApp
“We’re rolling out the ability to use any emoji as a reaction on WhatsApp,” said Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.
Zuckerberg revealed that the feature is rolling out right now, so you should see it very soon.
First, make sure you’re using the latest version of WhatsApp.
That means checking the App Store on iPhone or the Google Play Store on Android.
Then once you’ve updated, go into a chat and hold down on a message to react to it.
In the new reaction tray you’ll see a plus icon.
This lets you select any emoji of your choosing – as long as it’s available on your device.
If you still don’t see it then don’t panic.
New feature roll-outs can often take a little time, so it might not have arrived on your phone yet.
Keep checking back each day to see if you can do it.
In any case, the feature isn’t a total surprise: it’s actually been in testing for a few weeks.
What is surprising is that all-emoji reactions made it on to the live app so quickly – the process often takes months.
If you want to try other upcoming WhatsApp features before everyone else, you can join the beta.
Follow our guide below to get involved.
To download WhatsApp beta for your smartphone you need to go to Google Play on your Android and search for WhatsApp.
Scroll down the page until you see “Become a Beta Tester”.
Tap the “I’m In” button and then click “Join” to confirm.
Now all you have to do is wait for the update to the beta version of the app.
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Joining the WhatsApp beta on iOS for iPhone is more difficult, and has limited capacity.
Follow Apple’s guide here.
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