WhatsApp has improved significantly in the recent months and the team behind the world's largest instant messaging app continues the efforts to bring convenience and better usability. In series of updates released to the app in a short span of time, several new features have been added.
According to Android Police, WhatsApp received as many as five updates in just 24 hours and recently retrieved the Google Drive back-up function.
After updating WhatsApp to the latest version, users will find a new option "Mark As Unread" that lets you mark messages as unread so you can get back to them at a later time. Long-press any conversation and users will find the "Mark As Unread" option alongside archive chat, delete chat and email chat options. By tapping the new option for a particular chat, the status of the message turns green without affecting the chronological order of the conversation, Android Police reported.
After update, users also have the freedom to customise the ringtones for calls and messages. Custom Notifications will appear for individual contacts just below their status and media section under contact details. Users can change tones for calls and messages, vibration length, colour of the LED, pop-up settings and more.
After being criticised for using high data for calls, WhatsApp finally introduced low-data usage option. This feature can be helpful if you are on a slow connection or a limited data pack. You can review the amount of data consumed for calls in bytes under Network Usage. Other additions include options to mute chats for eight hours, one week or one year.
Finally, WhatsApp seems to have retrieved the Google Drive backup option. Not official yet, Android Police spotted the option to back up chats and images using Google Drive when the app is scheduled for its daily routine backup at 4 am.
The latest WhatsApp version 2.12.200 is not available via Google Play Store but users can download the APK file from the company's official website and install it on the smartphone.
