WhatsApp has seen a slew of new features lately, some of which elevate the app"s versatility of use, such as a more robust set of admin controls for groups, and others, such as clearer demarcation of forwarded messages, that have risen partly in reaction to real-world events that necessitate the need for such features.
Now, WhatsApp seems to be taking a leaf out of Android Messages"s book, so to speak, and is internally testing a new "mark as read" shortcut that accompanies all notifications pushed from the app. It"s not quite yet ready for a public beta owing to "development reasons".
There is, however, an additional feature that users can try out right now, introduced with the app"s latest beta release from Google Play. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp beta 2.18.216 comes with a new "mute" shortcut in its notifications that appears only if the number of unread messages from a source exceeds 51.
Given 51 messages from just one source can be borderline egregious for many, this feature is likely meant for groups, where the number of messages to keep track of can quickly get out of hand. All things considered, it would be nice if WhatsApp allows this number to be user-customizable, given different people have different tolerance levels when it comes to unread message notifications.
WhatsApp can be downloaded from Google Play here and if you"re interested in checking out its beta program, you can enroll for it here.
Image: WABetaInfo