You can now use any emoji

Update: July 13, 2022 (3:23 AM ET): After pushing out six emoji message reactions officially, WhatsApp is now rolling out the ability to react to messages using any emoji. The update was announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook. WhatsApp will show a Plus symbol next to the list of six pre-chosen emoji reactions. You can tap it to select a different emoji from your keyboard.

Original article: March 22, 2022 (3:11 AM ET): We’ve known for a while now that WhatsApp is working on message reactions, aping the likes of Telegram, Discord, and Slack. Now, it looks like the Facebook-owned messaging app is finally ready to push out the feature in some capacity.

Veteran WhatsApp tipster WABetaInfo reports that the company is now pushing out message reactions to some Android beta testers running version 2.22.8.3 of the app. According to the leaker, users can choose from six reactions, namely Like, Love, Laugh, Surprised, Sad, and Thanks.

WABetaInfo notes that this is a limited release right now, but adds that everyone should be able to see message reactions at the very least. There’s no word on whether this is limited to group chats, individual chats, or if both chat types can get in on the action. For what it’s worth, the likes of Telegram and Slack offer reactions for both groups and individual chats.

This is just the latest feature coming to WhatsApp, and we’ve seen several more additions in the last 12 months or so. Some of the more notable features and tweaks include a sticker creator on desktop, the ability to preview voice notes before sending them, and encrypted backups.