WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world right now, boasting a following of over 1.1 billion and still counting.
One thing that makes WhatsApp such a popular messaging app is the fact that it is available on just about every mobile platform. Whether you are using iOS, Android or Windows – the app can be downloaded and installed for free. One downside of this application, however, is that it tends to favor Android users more than any other platforms supported.
Usually, new features and updates are rolled out to Android users before they appear on the iOS and later on Windows side of the divide. Those using the Google-owned platform already have quite a number of features that are currently making their way to the iOS via the latest WhatsApp v2.17.1. Two weeks ago, Android users were gifted with the opportunity to share up to 30 photos or videos in a single message, but it only now that Apple iPhone users of this Facebook-owned app can enjoy this same feature.
Many have been calling for it to be added, with the previous version only capable of sending up to 10 media files at once. The good thing is that this is not the only new feature that WhatsApp for iOS users will be getting from this update. Apparently, the update also comes with a new storage usage screen. Here, users of this chat app will now be able to manage their storage space by simply erasing select message types from specific chats on the phone, be it videos, images, GIFs or even locations shared via the same app. To access the new storage screen, go to Settings>Data & Storage Usage>Storage Usage and then hit “Clear chat”.
Finally, the third major update that the new WhatsApp 2.17.1 brings to iPhone users is the ability to send offline messages. Not that you can now chat with your friends without an active data connection, but users will now be able to hit the “Send” button even if there’s no internet connection. Messages will be sent to a queue and when your iPhone gets back to an internet connection, they will be sent to whomever you were sending them to. In this way, you can simply add messages to a queue and continue doing other stuff.
The latest version of WhatsApp for iPhone can be downloaded directly from the official iTunes App Store.