WhatsApp Reactions will be available starting today, allowing the instant messaging network to compete with rivals like Telegram and iMessage, as well as productivity tools like Slack and even sister firm Instagram. The functionality will allow users to instantly respond to messages with an emoji, with six initially available – like, love, laugh, surprise, sad, and thanks – though testing has revealed that all emojis will be available in the future.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted the functionality as coming soon in the company's big revelation about WhatsApp Communities last month, and made the news via an Instagram story. As previously said, there would initially be only six WhatsApp Reactions, which Zuckerberg also confirmed in his Instagram story (see below).
According to a recent report claiming evidence in a development version, a future upgrade may simply allow WhatsApp Reactions users to use any emoji, GIF, or sticker in the chat. When users tap the plus button, the latest version seen in testing appears to provide them access to the whole emoji keyboard. The expanded emoji reaction palette is currently unavailable, even to beta testers.
The WhatsApp Reactions feature has been in beta since 2018, but at first, sticker reactions were planned before it progressed to a more final form in testing last year. Previously, the feature was known as Emoji Reactions, Message Reactions, and Quick Reactions.
WhatsApp claimed in its big announcement last month that Communities will add numerous capabilities to WhatsApp Groups, including giving admins additional tools like the ability to send a single message to everyone and control over which groups can be included in a community.
