WhatsApp rolls out a new feature that allows iOS users to selectively store audio, video, photo and even text files such as PDF, based on specific contacts or groups.
With this new update, iPhone users are given the option to save incoming media from selected sources only, replacing the previous all-or-nothing option that only lets the user accept all incoming media from each and every contact or group, or nothing at all.
In this feature, the user can select a contact or a group of contacts and save incoming media from those chosen contacts to be automatically stored in their gallery. The default setting is "Off," with a corresponding "Allow" and "Never" option for specific contacts.
So far, this update is only available for iOS. Also included in the latest update (version 2.12.16) is the pull down on in-app notification, which allows the user to quickly reply to a message. Missed call notifications now appear inside of chats in the app itself, instead of just being in the Recent tab.
iOS users are now also able to share documents such as PDFs, just like with WhatsApp Android, which, by the way, now allows users to have the bold and italic options when typing.
With all the recent media storage advancements such as cloud storage popping up these days, it is high time that WhatsApp came up with this feature because the completely exclusive earlier versions prove to be inconvenient, especially when it comes to those unwanted forward messages and spam mails we could all do without.
This feature is all the more beneficial to users with slower internet connections or those running low on phone data storage space. It also allows for monitoring and sorting out incoming files to lessen clutter and lower the risk of receiving suspicious items from unverified sources.
According to a report by The Guardian, WhatsApp is also looking to further improve user data security by employing data encryption.
Photo : Sam Azgor | Flickr
