WhatsApp to lend support to GIF images in next update, video calling also rumoured

Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp may soon lend support to GIF image format, according to latest reports. The upcoming update may also feature the video calling feature which has been rumoured for a while now.

A Twitter account named @WABetaInfo which keeps track of every update has indicated through a series of tweets that the next WhatsApp update for iOS will get some major changes, one of which is the support for GIF images on the chat window. While messaging apps like Snapchat and Facebook's very own Messenger have provided users with an array of GIF options, WhatsApp still does not even support the format.

With the next update, which is slated to be version 2.16.7.1, WhatsApp will allow embedding of GIFs from links into conversations and auto play them. However, this feature reportedly only works with GIF links. So if one tries to share a GIF image directly, it won't play. Additionally, one will be able to convert a GIF into a simple image. As of now, the feature is said to be at work for iOS only and may soon be in progress for Android as well.

Apart from this, in a changelog provided by the Twitter account, the next update will also get the much awaited video calling feature. Prior to this, IBTimes UK had reported that the next WhatsApp update will get this feature as certain screenshots had leaked from a beta version of the app that was testing the feature. However, there has been no sign of such a feature yet either on Android or on iOS.