WhatsApp is introducing new features to improve polls and media-sharing on its popular chat app. The new updates will enhance the ability of groups to gather information and make collective decisions. Polls will have three new features to facilitate the process.
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Firstly, poll creators can limit participants to a single vote per question by using the new toggle for “allow multiple answers.” Secondly, WhatsApp has added a filter to the search section, enabling users to locate polls easily. Lastly, poll creators will be notified every time someone votes, making it easier to track poll results.
In addition to the poll features, WhatsApp has made changes to captions in media and documents shared with contacts. WhatsApp initially launched the ability to forward media with captions in January 2023. With the latest update, users now have the option to keep, delete, or rewrite the text caption that accompanies a photo. They can also add captions to photos and videos without text, as well as when sharing documents.
These new features have started rolling out globally, and WhatsApp intends to make them available to all users in the coming weeks. The improvements will enable WhatsApp users to have a better experience sharing media and documents with their contacts. The new poll features, in particular, will facilitate decision-making for groups using the app.
Here is the full blog post from WhatsApp:
New updates to Polls
We’re introducing three new updates for polls to help groups gather info and make decisions together.
- Create single-vote polls: For when you need a definitive answer, we’re introducing the option for poll creators to allow people to vote only once. Simply turn off ‘allow multiple answers’ when creating a poll.
- Search for polls in your chats: It’s not always possible to answer a poll immediately, and it can be difficult to find a poll within the chat at a later time. Now, you can filter messages by polls, just like you can for photos, videos or links. On the ‘Chats’ screen, press ‘Search’ and then ‘Polls’ to find a list of all results.
- Stay updated on poll results: You will now receive notifications when people vote on your polls, so you can easily keep up to date on responses.
Forwarding with Captions
Sharing photos on WhatsApp is one of the easiest ways of keeping friends and family updated on your life, and the ability to forward media means you can quickly reshare images from one group of connections to another. But sometimes you might not have time to add context before someone responds.
Now when you forward media that has a caption, you have the option to keep, delete or completely rewrite it to give extra information when sharing photos between chats. You can also add a caption to photos and videos when you forward them.
Sharing Documents with Captions
Just like when sharing images or videos, the documents you share may require a little explanation. Whether it’s when sending a newspaper article or a work document, now you have the option to add a caption before sharing.
These updates have started rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
