That latest WhatsApp update brings improved wallpapers and sticker search to the Facebook-owned app used by over 2 billion people.
The most notable change is custom chat wallpaper backgrounds. “Make your chats personal and distinguishable by using a custom wallpaper for your most important chats and favorite people, and you never need worry about sending the wrong message in the wrong chat ever again,” Facebook said in an email sent to The Verge.
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Separate wallpapers can also be chosen for light and dark mode settings. “Watch your chat wallpaper automatically transition as your phone device setting switches from light to dark mode,” says Facebook.
WhatsApp is also making the default doodle wallpaper available in more colors. All wallpapers can be dimmed or brightened as you desire.
Facebook is also improving sticker search allowing users to search and find their stickers with text or emoji, or browse through common sticker categories. However, the improvements won’t work without some tweaks by the sticker creators. “As we start to roll this out, we encourage sticker app creators to tag their stickers with emojis and text moving forward,” says Facebook, “so their stickers are searchable for WhatsApp users.”
Lastly, the World’s Health Organization’s “Together at Home” sticker pack is now available as animated stickers. “Together at Home has been one of the most popular sticker packs across WhatsApp,” says Facebook, “and will now be even more expressive and useful in its animated form.”
Facebook says the updates are rolling out this week, although some iOS WhatsApp users have seen them appear in the app already.
