WhatsApp appears to be working on a feature that will allow users to “react” to messages on the service using emoji, and the app was recently spotted working on the ability to view reaction information for messages. Now, the Meta-owned messaging service is said to be working on a new animation for when a user reacts to a message. Reactions on messages will eventually be tested on the beta channel for Android, iOS, WhatsApp Web and the official desktop apps, before being rolled out to users on the stable channel.

A new report by feature tracker WABetaInfo shows a new animation being developed on WhatsApp for Android when reacting to messages on the app. The animation shows the selected emoji reaction “jump” into place at the bottom of the message, and may be used to draw a user’s attention to the selected emoji reaction. The message reactions feature is currently unavailable to users — including the beta channel, as it is currently under development.

Selecting an emoji to react to a message now shows a new animation
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

Last week, WhatsApp was spotted working on message reactions on the WhatsApp Desktop beta version. The feature tracker shared a screenshot of the feature, showing an emoji icon next to individual messages, which reveals a panel with six emoji when clicked. The animation shared from the Android app and the WhatsApp Desktop app both show the same emoji — thumbs up, red heart, face with tears of joy, shocked face, crying face, and folded hands emoji. It is currently unclear whether WhatsApp will let users react to messages with other emoji when development is completed.

WhatsApp message reactions were first spotted in August 2021, and the company has been developing the feature for months, while glimpses of the feature have occasionally been spotted online, giving users an idea of what to expect. Reacting to messages with emoji is not a new feature — it is already available on several messaging platforms including Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Signal, and Telegram. WhatsApp is yet to officially announce message reactions, and the feature could see further changes and improvements before it is released to users.