Back in 2022, WhatsApp gave users the ability to react to messages using emojis. This started with only six predetermined ones, followed by allowing reactions to be done with any emoji two months later. In what may be a followup, the Meta subsidiary may be working on letting users double-tap on messages as an emoji react shortcut.
WABetaInfo reports that this feature has been seen in the WhatsApp beta for Android, version 2.24.16.7. By default, double-tapping on a message would make you react to it with a heart emoji, skipping the reaction tray unless you want to react with something else.
That being the case though, it’s unclear if there will be an option to change what the default reaction to messages, as the heart may not be the go-to for some users. On the flip side, it can be a bit worrying that the report mentions “that an option to disable this feature is not currently planned”. It may just be a case of it not being implemented in this stage of the beta, but it can be quite the hassle if this isn’t the case.
It’s perhaps a good thing then that this upcoming WhatsApp feature is exactly that: upcoming. That being said, as with any other feature discovered during the beta phase, it’s unclear when it will be available to the general user base.
(Source: WABetaInfo)
