LONDON: WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature to its instant messaging app for Android that allows users to mark messages as “unread” – just as they can on email clients.
By tapping and holding any conversation, users can switch it its status to “green”, serving as a visual reminder to respond to the sender at a later time.
It does not, however, change the status of messages inside the chat. Any messages that have been seen by the recipient will appear with two blue ticks next to them.
The new “mark as unread” feature is one of several new updates to WhatsApp this week, first spotted by Android Police.
Other updates include the ability to “mute” a conversation for eight hours, one week, or one year, and to assign ringtones, vibration lengths, lights or popup notifications to specific conversations.
A new a low data usage option for voice calls has also been added.
WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, is one of the most popular instant messaging apps in the world, with more than 800 million monthly active users.
However, controversial new legislation could see the app banned in the UK unless the company agrees to give British intelligence agencies access to encrypted communications.
