WhatsApp feature drop: Single-vote polls, document captions and more
What's the story
WhatsApp has officially announced new features, which bring in new updates to polls and provide more options for captions. Now when you forward media, you have the option to add or remove a caption before sending them across. The company said that the updates are rolling out globally and will be "available to everyone in the coming weeks."
Context
Why does this story matter?
WhatsApp has been surprising us with feature releases one after another. Just in the past month, the messaging app got major updates including the option to save disappearing messages and the ability to use your current WhatsApp account on multiple phones. Although the latest updates are relatively minor, the new features are surely set to boost user experience.
Polls
Here's how you can create single-vote polls
By default, polls on WhatsApp are multiple-choice, which means users could select multiple options when you send a poll. But what if you want others to pick just one answer? Finally, WhatsApp lets you create single-vote polls, allowing you to limit poll answers to just one choice. All you have to do is toggle off 'allow multiple answers' when creating a poll.
Detail
WhatsApp now alerts you when people have voted
Next, there's a new search option that lets you easily find polls across your chats. From the 'Chats' screen, click 'Search' and then 'Polls' and you can find a list of all results. Also, WhatsApp now notifies you when people vote on your polls, allowing you to easily track the responses and saving you the hassle of constantly checking if people have voted.
Captions
You can add or modify captions while forwarding media
Forwarding captions along with photos and videos is now far easier than it has been in the past. When you forward media, you can select whether to "keep, delete or completely rewrite" the original caption attached to it. If the photos or videos did not have a caption attached to them, you will be able to add one before forwarding the media.
Availability
You can now add a caption with documents too
Coming to the last feature, WhatsApp now allows you to add a caption with documents. "Whether it's when sending a newspaper article or a work document, now you have the option to add a caption before sharing," said WhatsApp in a blog post. If you are not able to access the updates as yet, don't worry, you will receive them in the coming days.