Send WhatsApp voice notes without opening app: Here’s how

WhatsApp may soon let Android users record and send voice messages without ever opening the app. According to WABetaInfo, a home screen widget is in development and was discovered embedded in WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.24.2, though it is not yet available for testing.

The feature is still in early development, but the design and functionality have already taken shape.

How does WhatsApp new widget work?

The widget uses a default size of 3×1 for an Android home screen, but it can be resized. The UI is very basic; just a small tile with the microphone icon with instructions to 'tap to record'. On tap, the widget allegedly starts a voice message, which is then sent after a prompt from WhatsApp to choose the contact to send the message.

The important thing to note here is multi-sending capability. According to WABetaInfo, users will have the ability to select multiple contacts and send them the same voice message in one go, which is currently impossible to do without forwarding a message to individual contacts separately.

To share a voice memo with multiple individuals using WhatsApp, one must open the app, find the memo, and repeat the forwarding procedure for all contacts.

The addition of such a widget would combine the above tasks into just one action taken from the home screen, resulting in a significantly quicker process, which is highly likely among users accustomed to sharing voice messages—a typical occurrence in WhatsApp-centric regions of South Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.