On Friday WhatsApp announced the long waiting stickers will be rolled out to all Android and iPhone users over the coming weeks. iPhone version 2.18.100 already has this feature and is stable, however, the recent Android v2.18.327 didn't yet have it. The company has also explained how users can create their own sticker packs. Alongside with default stickers, WhatsApp also provides a dedicated Stickers Store to download new sticker packs for free. WhatsApp by default will have 12 sticker packs. Additionally, link to download different sticker packs directly from Google Play is available.

"From emoji and camera features to Status and animated GIFs, we're always looking to add new features that make communicating with friends and family on WhatsApp easy and fun. Today, we're excited to introduce a new way for people to express themselves with stickers," said the company's blog post.

To use stickers in your chats, you need to tap the emoji button and then tap the stickers icon from the bottom bar. There is a history tab available to show all the previously used stickers in one place. Likewise, there is a favourites tab that includes stickers that you've marked as a favourite by pressing the star option after selecting your favourite sticker in a particular chat. You just need to hit the download button available on the right of the sticker pack to download it on your device. Furthermore, there is a plus button that takes you directly to the Stickers Store to find appropriate sticker packs for your chats. You can additionally view all the downloaded stickers by tapping the My Stickers tab from the Stickers Store. Moreover, you can download sticker packs other than the ones listed on the Stickers Store by tapping the Get More Stickers button from the bottom of the All Stickers tab.

You can remove a downloaded sticker pack directly from the My Stickers tab available on the Stickers Store. To rearrange the downloaded sticker packs hold on the button available at the rightmost corner of the sticker pack. The company has also provided users to create their own sticker apps for WhatsApp, to publish on Google Play and the App Store.

WhatsApp has also handled a way to send grouped stickers. You only need to send multiple stickers from your device and those will be available in a grouped form on the recipient's device. This looks similar to the photo albums available on WhatsApp that come once you send multiple photos at once.

WhatsApp Web also gives you access to the stickers you have downloaded. If in case stickers on the WhatsApp Web version is not available, users need to clear the cache on the browser and then restart the webpage.

Currently WhatsApp for Android beta version 2.18.329 or later has stickers. You can download the latest beta from Google Play beta programme or in an APK file form via APK Mirror.

The reports of the rollout were first published by WABetaInfo, which added that apart from WhatsApp for Android beta users, WhatsApp for iPhone version 2.18.100 users also have the functionality. However, while testing that version received stickers, it didn't have the ability to send them. WABetaInfo says, users, till android version 2.18.310 will be able to receive stickers.

Before this update, users were able to send stickers on WhatsApp by using third-party keyboards such as Gboard. But those stickers were sent as an image. Therefore, the new change is likely to encourage users to communicate in more engaging ways.

Facebook had formally revealed the arrival of stickers on WhatsApp back in May at the F8 developers' conference.