Beta Testing Of WhatsApp’s Updated Settings UI Is Now More Widespread

(CTN News) – Keeping up with WhatsApp’s pace of updating is often difficult due to the rapid pace at which they are released. There are not all updates that are equal, but there are some that tend to significantly change the way we use a communications app in a positive way.

A recent addition to the stable channel of the WhatsApp’s app was the ability to share HD-quality videos, which followed on the heels of the ability to share high-resolution images.

In the latest update to the app, we’re now noticing a couple of new visual additions coming to the app, including a refreshed user interface for some of the key settings and a new way to browse through your chats.

There are a number of additions in WhatsApp beta for Android v2.23.18.7 that appear to be part of the beta version. As a new feature, the top bar of the app’s homescreen now displays a picture of the user’s profile in the right corner of the screen.

The tap of this button will open up a dedicated page that is simply called You. The user can find all the necessary information about their account on this page, including easy access shortcuts to their profile, privacy settings, and contacts for quick and easy access.

The rest of the app’s settings, such as Starred messages, Account, Chats, Notifications, etc, are listed just below them, as highlighted in the screenshots, so you can easily access them.

In the meantime, the user’s profile image on this page has a QR code shortcut layered on top of it, while older WhatsApp versions of the app offer a QR code shortcut to the right of the user’s profile image (as seen in the screenshot below).

From the chats list, we particularly like the ability to move directly to the Settings page by clicking on the profile icon to the right of each chat.

Currently, WhatsApp requires you to tap the three-dot icon at the top right of the screen and then tap Settings to be able to access this page.

Besides these visual improvements, the always-reliable WABetaInfo also noted that the Account page within the settings menu has a couple of new icons available, which potentially hints at the fact that the Meta-owned app is making some broader changes to the look and feel of the app as well.

Last but not least, this WhatsApp beta version also appears to resolve an issue with the app’s widget whereby it appeared to be unable to refresh chats when it was supposedly updated. According to the site, the update is currently seeding to beta testers via the Google Play Store, and it should be more widely available soon afterward.

SEE ALSO:

TikTok Introduces ‘Search Ads Toggle’: A New Avenue For Advertisers to Connect with Users