What festive new feature is WhatsApp rolling out?

As the festive season approaches, WhatsApp is introducing an exciting update by adding the Party Popper emoji as the seventh default reaction in the reaction tray.

This change in Meta's popular instant-messaging app allows users to celebrate the joyous moments of Christmas and the New Year in the most accessible way by making it readily available in the reaction tray, WABetaInfo reported.

The Party Popper emoji is a universal symbol of celebration which also makes it a perfect addition to the reaction tray, eliminating the need for users to sift through the emoji picker to select a relevant holiday emoji at a time when celebratory messages are more frequent.

It's important to mention that this feature is consistent across all platforms, including iOS, Android, individual chats, group chats, and even channels, so that users can have the same enhanced experience regardless of the device or context in which they are using WhatsApp.

The decision to include the Party Popper emoji among the default reactions aligns with their recent rollout of animated confetti effects.

By pairing this new animation with a more accessible emoji, WhatsApp aims to create a more engaging experience for users, levelling up the festive atmosphere of the holiday season.

However, it is worth noting that this addition to the reaction tray is likely temporary.

The Party Popper emoji is expected to remain among the default reactions during the festive period, after which it might be removed as the celebrations wind down.

Yet, the animated confetti effect introduced to the emoji alongside this update is likely to remain as part of WhatsApp's reaction features despite its potential removal from the default tray.

Adding it to the reaction tray ensures that it is available at a glance, particularly helpful during the holiday season when celebratory messages are more frequent.