WhatsApp has confirmed the introduction of Live Photos support on iPhones running its encrypted chat platform, allowing users to send and receive images captured in the format.
Introduced in 2015, Apple's Live Photos capture 1.5 seconds of video and audio before and after you take a picture, with the aim of adding a little bit of life and movement to still images.
In a blog post on Monday rounding up its recent feature additions, Meta-owned WhatsApp listed support for Live Photos on iOS, as well as Motion Photos – the equivalent format on Android.
When a Live Photo appears in a WhatsApp conversation, the familiar Live Photo symbol appears in the top-left corner of the preview image. Tapping the image plays the related clip as well as accompanying audio.
Among the other features recently added, you can now use Meta AI to design custom chat themes and generate unique video call backgrounds, or add AI-powered backdrops to photos and videos in chats. In addition, finding a group chat has become easier – you can now search for a contact in your Chats tab, and WhatsApp will show the groups you share.
The new features are said to have been added to the app "over the past few months," so if any don't appear for you, make sure you're running the latest version of WhatsApp.
