The popular WhatsApp messaging service is making a small change to its iOS app, but the change could prove to be a pain for anyone used to quickly sharing images and GIFs.
As discovered by WABetaInfo (via TechRadar), an update to the iOS beta version of WhatsApp will soon remove the context menu. That feature lets you long-press a message, image, video or other piece of content and easily share, copy or forward it, making it a handy tool to quickly send a funny meme or important message to a friend.
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According to WABetaInfo, the context menu is being removed so that WhatsApp can investigate "an issue that causes the share sheet to crash."
There's currently no timeframe for when the context menu might return in the beta version of WhatsApp, and no guarantee that it won't be cut out of the official version of WhatsApp as well.
While this change appears to be unrelated to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, WhatsApp has made several changes in response to the global crisis.
The company recently limited how frequently WhatsApp messages can be forwarded in order to slow the spread of coronavirus-related misinformation. It also launched its own fact-checking page to help people suss out any questionable info.
Fortunately, WhatsApp fans also have some positive changes to look forward to. The latest beta version of the app reveals that it will be getting two highly requested features.
The first will be an advanced search filter, which will let you find specific files and messages from your entire message library using detailed filters. The second is an option to password-protect message backups to help secure your archive of messages.
There's no word on when either of these features will come to the release version of WhatsApp, but you can try them now in the Android beta version of the app.
