With a global outreach of 1.5 billion people, WhatsApp has rolled out a number of features in 2018. This is a very quick read glancing at all the features of WhatsApp.

1. Group video and voice calling

The prime feature of WhatsApp in 2018 is its group video and voice calling. It is official now for Android and iPhone users. This feature is something that allows users to conduct VoIP calls which are making it especially convenient considering the scale at which WhatsApp is used in India.

2. WhatsApp Payments

Another significant feature is the payment integration using the Indian government-backed UPI or Unified Payments Interface, WhatsApp Payments is a simple way to transfer money to your contacts by entering just a UPI pin. This feature can be accessed by clicking on the Attachment icon in an individual conversation or a group. It is available for Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone.

3. Group admin controls

Enhancing groups and admin controls was one of the focus of WhatsApp which now enable group creators the ability to change a group's description, as did participants in the group. Participants can be restricted from changing the description, subject and group icon by the admin. WhatsApp also disabled the ability to remove group creators.

Group admins can restrict participants from sending messages to the group. This is most likely formulated for WhatsApp groups that are involved in buying and selling of products, which has the potential to cut down on spam. To access the feature go to Group Info > Group Settings > Send Messages. From here, two options - All Participants and Only Admins - will be revealed.

6. Suspicious link indicator

An effort to cut down spam, spoofing, and phishing instances on the platform the new Suspicious Link Indicator feature has been added. WhatsApp beta on Android 2.18.221 includes the ability to label a 'Suspicious Link', as such, whenever detected locally by the app. This will warn unknowing users before they mistakenly open a malicious link.

7. Forwarding restrictions

In order to cut down on the fake news circulation, the Facebook-owned company has a forwarding limit of up to five chats per user which was rolled out recently only in India, along with the removal of the forwarding shortcut from media messages.

It has also started labeling forwards with a new 'Forwarded' tag to inform users. This can allow recipients to stay alert and fact checks the text before sending it to others.

9. Predictive Upload

The predicted Upload feature is the ability to predict which photograph is going to be sent in a particular chat and upload it to the server in advance. This enables the user to send it to the recipient without any sort of upload delay.

10. Mute from notifications and WhatsApp stickers

WhatsApp allows you to mute message threads from the notification panel. However, the user should have sent you a minimum of 51 messages without you accessing the app.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg back in May this year confirms, WhatsApp stickers have been made available in beta version 2.18.218 of WhatsApp on Android. A separate WhatsApp stickers store will be available with the stable versions in the future. This is similar to what we see on Facebook Messenger.

11. Media visibility

The new media visibility toggle help users to pick and choose which individual or group chats they want to hide or show media content from. This feature is accessible under Contact Info and Group Info in Settings on the app.