WhatsApp ups the ante with GIF search and increased media sharing limit

WhatsApp has introduced a feature in WhatsApp Beta v2.17.6 for Android with which you can search for GIF files from within the mobile messenger app. It is now possible to perform a search for the animation files and share them with your friends and colleagues.

Meanwhile, the Facebook-owned company has also increased the media sharing limit from 10 to 30. Currently, you can select up to 10 image files for sharing. With the public availability of the latest WhatsApp Beta v2.17.6 for Android update, you can upload 30 images files at a single time.

If you don’t have the patience to wait for another 3 to 4 months, you can download the WhatsApp beta v2.17.6 for Android to test drive the new features. However, you need not have to worry if you are adamant on testing the features in a stable service. If you have an iOS-powered iPhone, these features are already available on WhatsApp for iPhone.

In late 2016, WhatsApp has established a partnership with Giphy to integrated GIF support. If you are not aware, Giphy is a popular search engine, which enables you to search for GIF files.

As you can see, WhatsApp has been integrating new features based on user feedback. The product team constantly monitor the requests from users and beta testers. If they find any feature which is worth adding, it will be programmed and tested by the team. Initially, the new features are rolled out in beta mode followed by public availability after a span of several months.

In the recent past, users heavily complained that WhatsApp is very slow in releasing new features. However, in 2016 we saw a plethora of new features ranging from improved editing to video calling.

With over 1 billion users who make use of WhatsApp, the service is slowly picking the pace. When Google Allo was introduced, people thought the popularity of hatsApp would diminish. However, the reverse happened with Google Allo failed to get adequate user interaction.