whatsapp dog illustration cartoon

Pic: WhatsApp

Update: You can now draw on pictures in WhatsApp, just like in Snap and Instagram

By | 21 October, 2016

WHATSAPP, the world’s most popular messaging app, is injecting a bit more fun into its repertoire – a new update lets users draw, write, and superimpose emojis on pictures sent to their contacts on the app. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is – Snap and Instagram Stories use the exact same feature in their platforms.

WhatsApp’s features are playful and allow users who don’t have Snap or Instagram to partake in the silliness of drawing cartoon bunny ears on selfies. Other new features in the update include a front-facing ‘flash’ using light from the camera, double-tapping to switch cameras, and zooming in and out using just one finger.

SEE ALSO: WhatsApp cycles back on privacy policy, will share certain data with Facebook

Users can also pixelate pictures, turn parts of a picture black and white with color remover brushes, and change fonts when writing messages on top of the pictures, which you can’t do in Instagram Stories.

Other recent WhatsApp updates include the ability to tag other users in a group conversation to highlight a message meant for them.

In February this year, WhatsApp announced it crossed the one billion mark in terms of monthly active users, up from over 700 million in January 2015, according to Statista, making it the second most-used app in the world after its parent company, Facebook, which bought the messaging app in 2014.

Its foray into more engaging visuals, rather than straightforward text, marks new territory for the messaging app. As one of the more stable technology companies around, it’s not likely to lose any users – in fact, this new feature could lead to more WhatsApp-ers.



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