WhatsApp now has voice notes and chat transfer feature

WhatsApp has begun to roll out a feature that allows users to send audio notes as status updates to selected contacts.

Voice status is now available for certain users running the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.2.8, according to WABetaInfo, a source recognised for reporting on WhatsApp features in development or testing.

On the status creation page, those who have gotten the update will see a new microphone button. They can record and share a voice note up to 30 seconds long after tapping it.

The voice note, like text, photographs, and videos published as a WhatsApp status, would disappear from viewers’ feeds after 24 hours unless erased by the poster before then.

The screenshot below, courtesy of WABetaInfo, reveals where the audio recording option appears in WhatsApp’s status creation area.

Under their privacy settings, users may also control who can see their voice status.

A voice status, like all communication on WhatsApp, is end-to-end encrypted.

Other users, according to WABeta, would need to upgrade their app to listen to a voice status.

WABetaInfo also provided an update on a new chat transfer function, which would allow Android users to migrate their conversation history across devices without utilising Google Drive.

While the functionality was still under development, WhatsApp Android beta 2.23.2.7 provided further information on how it will function.

To begin the procedure, users must scan a QR code on their new device with their old one.

It is unknown when this feature will be included in a stable WhatsApp update, but it will most likely be tested first on beta versions of the app. This procedure might take weeks or months.

The screenshots below from WABetaInfo demonstrate how the new chat migration on Android will look on old and new devices.