According to WABetainfo, the instant messaging platform’s move is an unexpected one, considering how WhatsApp has been working on introducing new features over the past few months but has not done the same for its messaging functions.
“You already know what is a reaction: it’s usually an emoji that you can place on a message to express emotions. Instagram, Twitter, iMessage already support message reactions and today we can start to discover the progress of their development,” read a post on WABetainfo.
WhatsApp, as per WABetainfo, is working on introducing a message to present when the user is using an outdated version of the app that does not support receiving reactions.
In this case, the user cannot see the reaction but WhatsApp will present a different message, asking to update WhatsApp to see the reaction:
Since the screenshot taken above is from a WhatsApp beta for Android, WhatsApp will obviously implement this feature on WhatsApp for iOS and Web/Desktop as well.